Book of Common Prayer
The One Who Rescues Me
For the choir director. Of David. A Psalm.
40 I (A)hoped [a]earnestly for Yahweh;
And He inclined to me and (B)heard my cry for help.
2 He brought me up out of the (C)pit of destruction, out of the [b]miry clay,
And (D)He set my feet upon a high rock, (E)He established my steps.
3 He put a (F)new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will (G)see and fear
And will trust in Yahweh.
4 How (H)blessed is the man who has made Yahweh his trust,
And (I)has not [c]turned to the proud, nor to those who (J)stray into falsehood.
5 Many, O Yahweh my God, are (K)the wondrous deeds You have done,
And Your (L)thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
I would declare and speak of them,
But they (M)are too numerous to recount.
6 [d](N)Sacrifice and meal offering [e]You have not desired;
My ears You have [f]opened;
Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is [g]written of me.
8 (O)I desire to do Your will, O my God;
(P)Your law is within my inner being.”
9 I (Q)proclaim good news of righteousness in the great assembly;
Behold, I do (R)not restrain my lips,
O Yahweh, (S)You know.
10 I do (T)not conceal Your righteousness within my heart;
I (U)speak of Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I do not hide Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great assembly.
11 You, O Yahweh, will not withhold Your compassion from me;
[h]Your (V)lovingkindness and Your truth will continually guard me.
12 For evils beyond number have (W)surrounded me;
My (X)iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see;
They are (Y)more numerous than the hairs of my head,
And my (Z)heart has [i]failed me.
13 (AA)Be pleased, O Yahweh, to deliver me;
Make (AB)haste, O Yahweh, to help me.
14 Let those be (AC)ashamed and humiliated together
Who (AD)seek my [j]life to sweep it away;
Let those be turned back and dishonored
Who delight in [k]evil against me.
15 Let those (AE)be [l]appalled because of their shame
Who (AF)say to me, “Aha, aha!”
16 (AG)Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let those who love Your salvation (AH)say continually,
“Yahweh be magnified!”
17 As for me, (AI)I am afflicted and needy,
[m](AJ)May the Lord think of me.
You are my help and the One who rescues me;
Do not delay, O my God.
God Is My Helper
For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A [a]Maskil of David. [b]When the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Is not David hiding himself among us?”
54 O God, save me by (A)Your name,
And render justice to me by (B)Your might.
2 (C)O God, hear my prayer;
(D)Give ear to the words of my mouth.
3 For strangers have (E)risen against me
And (F)ruthless men have (G)sought my [c]life;
They have (H)not set God before them. [d]Selah.
Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God
For the choir director. A Psalm of David. When [a]Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
51 (A)Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the abundance of (B)Your compassion (C)blot out my transgressions.
2 (D)Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And (E)cleanse me from my sin.
3 For [b]I (F)know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
4 (G)Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is (H)evil in Your sight,
So that (I)You [c]are justified [d]when You speak
And pure when You judge.
5 Behold, I was (J)brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
6 Behold, You delight in (K)truth in the [e]innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will (L)make me know wisdom.
7 [f]Purify me (M)with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
[g]Wash me, and I shall be (N)whiter than snow.
8 [h]Make me to hear (O)joy and gladness,
Let the (P)bones which You have crushed rejoice.
9 (Q)Hide Your face from my sins
And blot out all my iniquities.
10 (R)Create [i]in me a (S)clean heart, O God,
And renew [j]a (T)steadfast spirit within me.
11 (U)Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your (V)Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the (W)joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a (X)willing spirit.
13 Then I will (Y)teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will [k]be (Z)converted to You.
14 Deliver me from (AA)bloodguiltiness, O God, (AB)the God of my salvation;
Then my (AC)tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
15 O Lord, [l](AD)open my lips,
That my mouth may (AE)declare Your praise.
16 For You (AF)do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You are not pleased with burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a (AG)broken spirit;
A broken and a [m]contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
8 Then the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah saying, 9 “Thus has Yahweh of hosts said, ‘(A)Judge with true justice and show (B)lovingkindness and compassion each to his brother; 10 and (C)do not oppress the widow or the [a]orphan, the sojourner or the afflicted; and do (D)not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’ 11 But they (E)refused to give heed and [b](F)turned a stubborn shoulder and [c](G)dulled their ears from hearing. 12 And they made their (H)hearts [d](I)diamond-hard [e]so that they could not hear the law and the (J)words which Yahweh of hosts had sent by His Spirit by the hand of the (K)former prophets; therefore great (L)wrath came from Yahweh of hosts. 13 And it happened that just as (M)He called and they would not listen, so (N)they called and I would not listen,” says Yahweh of hosts; 14 “but I [f](O)scattered them with a (P)storm wind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land is (Q)desolated behind them [g]so that (R)no one was passing through and returning, for they (S)made the pleasant land desolate.”
Jerusalem, the City of Truth
8 Then the word of Yahweh of hosts came, saying, 2 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘[h]I am (T)jealous with great jealousy for Zion, and with great wrath I am jealous for her.’ 3 Thus says Yahweh, ‘I will return to Zion and will (U)dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of (V)Truth, and the mountain of Yahweh of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.’ 4 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘(W)Old men and old women will again sit in the [i]streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of [j]age. 5 And the [k]streets of the city will be filled with (X)boys and girls playing in its [l]streets.’ 6 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘If it is [m](Y)too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be [n](Z)too difficult in My sight?’ declares Yahweh of hosts. 7 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the land where the [o](AA)sun rises and from the land where the [p]sun sets; 8 and I will (AB)bring them back, and they will (AC)dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be (AD)My people, and I will be their God in [q]truth and righteousness.’
6 Then I saw in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures and in the midst of (A)the elders a (B)Lamb standing, as if (C)slain, having seven (D)horns and (E)seven eyes, which are (F)the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. 7 And He came and took (G)the scroll out of the right hand of Him who (H)sits on the throne. 8 And when He had taken the scroll, the (I)four living creatures and the (J)twenty-four elders (K)fell down before the (L)Lamb, each one having a (M)harp and (N)golden bowls full of incense, which are the (O)prayers of the [a]saints. 9 And they *sang a (P)new song, saying,
“(Q)Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were (R)slain and (S)purchased for God with Your blood people from (T)every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
10 And You made them to be a (U)kingdom and (V)priests to our God, and they will (W)reign upon the earth.”
Angels Worship the Lamb
11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels (X)around the throne and the (Y)living creatures and the (Z)elders; and the number of them was (AA)myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice,
“(AB)Worthy is the (AC)Lamb that was (AD)slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.”
13 And (AE)every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying,
“To Him who (AF)sits on the throne, and to the (AG)Lamb, (AH)be the blessing and the honor and the glory and the might forever and ever.”
14 And the (AI)four living creatures kept saying, “(AJ)Amen.” And the (AK)elders (AL)fell down and worshiped.
Parable of the Talents
14 “(A)For it is just like a man (B)about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and handed over his possessions to them. 15 And to one he gave five [a](C)talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he (D)went on his journey. 16 Immediately the one who had received the five (E)talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17 In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. 18 But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his [b]master’s money.
19 “Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *(F)settled accounts with them. 20 And the one who had received the five (G)talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed five talents over to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and (H)faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will (I)put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your [c]master.’
22 “Also the one who had received the two (J)talents came up and said, ‘Master, you handed two talents over to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and (K)faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’
24 “And the one also who had received the one (L)talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’
26 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. 27 Therefore, you ought to have put my money [d]in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28 Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’
29 “(M)For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30 And throw out the worthless slave into (N)the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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