Book of Common Prayer
Prayer in Time of Chastening
A Psalm of David. (A)To bring to remembrance.
38 O Lord, do not (B)rebuke me in Your wrath,
Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!
2 For Your arrows pierce me deeply,
And Your hand presses me down.
3 There is no soundness in my flesh
Because of Your anger,
Nor any health in my bones
Because of my sin.
4 For my iniquities have gone over my head;
Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds are foul and festering
Because of my foolishness.
6 I am [a]troubled, I am bowed down greatly;
I go mourning all the day long.
7 For my loins are full of inflammation,
And there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am feeble and severely broken;
I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.
9 Lord, all my desire is before You;
And my sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart pants, my strength fails me;
As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.
11 My loved ones and my friends (C)stand aloof from my plague,
And my relatives stand afar off.
12 Those also who seek my life lay snares for me;
Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction,
And plan deception all the day long.
13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;
And I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.
14 Thus I am like a man who does not hear,
And in whose mouth is no response.
15 For [b]in You, O Lord, (D)I hope;
You will [c]hear, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, “Hear me, lest they rejoice over me,
Lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me.”
17 (E)For I am ready to fall,
And my sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I will (F)declare my iniquity;
I will be (G)in [d]anguish over my sin.
19 But my enemies are vigorous, and they are strong;
And those who hate me wrongfully have multiplied.
20 Those also (H)who render evil for good,
They are my adversaries, because I follow what is good.
21 Do not forsake me, O Lord;
O my God, (I)be not far from me!
22 Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation!
ד DALETH
25 (A)My soul clings to the dust;
(B)Revive me according to Your word.
26 I have declared my ways, and You answered me;
(C)Teach me Your statutes.
27 Make me understand the way of Your precepts;
So (D)shall I meditate on Your wonderful works.
28 (E)My soul [a]melts from [b]heaviness;
Strengthen me according to Your word.
29 Remove from me the way of lying,
And grant me Your law graciously.
30 I have chosen the way of truth;
Your judgments I have laid before me.
31 I cling to Your testimonies;
O Lord, do not put me to shame!
32 I will run the course of Your commandments,
For You shall (F)enlarge my heart.
ה HE
33 (G)Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
And I shall keep it to the end.
34 (H)Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law;
Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
35 Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
For I delight in it.
36 [c]Incline my heart to Your testimonies,
And not to (I)covetousness.
37 (J)Turn[d] away my eyes from (K)looking at worthless things,
And revive me in [e]Your way.
38 (L)Establish Your word to Your servant,
Who is devoted to fearing You.
39 Turn away my reproach which I dread,
For Your judgments are good.
40 Behold, I long for Your precepts;
Revive me in Your righteousness.
ו WAW
41 Let Your mercies come also to me, O Lord—
Your salvation according to Your word.
42 So shall I have an answer for him who [f]reproaches me,
For I trust in Your word.
43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
For I have hoped in Your ordinances.
44 So shall I keep Your law continually,
Forever and ever.
45 And I will walk [g]at (M)liberty,
For I seek Your precepts.
46 (N)I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings,
And will not be ashamed.
47 And I will delight myself in Your commandments,
Which I love.
48 My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments,
Which I love,
And I will meditate on Your statutes.
Vision of the Summer Fruit
8 Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, a basket of summer fruit. 2 And He said, “Amos, what do you see?”
So I said, “A basket of summer fruit.”
Then the Lord said to me:
(A)“The end has come upon My people Israel;
(B)I will not pass by them anymore.
3 And (C)the songs of the temple
Shall be wailing in that day,”
Says the Lord God—
“Many dead bodies everywhere,
(D)They shall be thrown out in silence.”
4 Hear this, you who [a]swallow up the needy,
And make the poor of the land fail,
5 Saying:
“When will the New Moon be past,
That we may sell grain?
And (E)the Sabbath,
That we may [b]trade wheat?
(F)Making the ephah small and the shekel large,
Falsifying the scales by (G)deceit,
6 That we may buy the poor for (H)silver,
And the needy for a pair of sandals—
Even sell the bad wheat?”
7 The Lord has sworn by (I)the pride of Jacob:
“Surely (J)I will never forget any of their works.
8 (K)Shall the land not tremble for this,
And everyone mourn who dwells in it?
All of it shall swell like [c]the River,
Heave and subside
(L)Like the River of Egypt.
9 “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord God,
(M)“That I will make the sun go down at noon,
And I will darken the earth in [d]broad daylight;
10 I will turn your feasts into (N)mourning,
(O)And all your songs into lamentation;
(P)I will bring sackcloth on every waist,
And baldness on every head;
I will make it like mourning for an only son,
And its end like a bitter day.
11 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God,
“That I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread,
Nor a thirst for water,
But (Q)of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 They shall wander from sea to sea,
And from north to east;
They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord,
But shall (R)not find it.
17 And (A)when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But (B)He laid His right hand on me, saying [a]to me, “Do not be afraid; (C)I am the First and the Last. 18 (D)I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, (E)I am alive forevermore. Amen. And (F)I have the keys of [b]Hades and of Death. 19 [c]Write the things which you have (G)seen, (H)and the things which are, (I)and the things which will take place after this. 20 The [d]mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are (J)the [e]angels of the seven churches, and (K)the seven lampstands [f]which you saw are the seven churches.
The Loveless Church
2 “To the [g]angel of the church of Ephesus write,
‘These things says (L)He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, (M)who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: 2 (N)“I know your works, your labor, your [h]patience, and that you cannot [i]bear those who are evil. And (O)you have tested those (P)who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; 3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have (Q)not become weary. 4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, (R)or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. 6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 (S)“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give (T)to eat from (U)the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’
Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees(A)
23 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: (B)“The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you [a]to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for (C)they say, and do not do. 4 (D)For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5 But all their works they do to (E)be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. 6 (F)They love the [b]best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ 8 (G)But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your [c]Teacher, [d]the Christ, and you are all brethren. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; (H)for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. 11 But (I)he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 (J)And whoever exalts himself will be [e]humbled, and he who humbles himself will be [f]exalted.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.