Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Protection, Guidance, and Pardon.
A Psalm of David.
25 To You, Lord, I (A)lift up my soul.
2 My God, in You (B)I trust,
Do not let me (C)be ashamed;
Do not let my (D)enemies rejoice over me.
3 Indeed, (E)none of those who wait for You will be ashamed;
[a]Those who (F)deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.
4 (G)Make me know Your ways, Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
5 Lead me in (H)Your truth and teach me,
For You are the (I)God of my salvation;
For You I (J)wait all the day.
6 (K)Remember, Lord, Your compassion and Your faithfulness,
For they have been [b](L)from of old.
7 Do not remember the (M)sins of my youth or my wrongdoings;
(N)Remember me according to Your faithfulness,
For Your (O)goodness’ sake, Lord.
8 (P)The Lord is good and (Q)upright;
Therefore He (R)instructs sinners in the way.
9 He (S)leads the [c]humble in justice,
And He (T)teaches the [d]humble His way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are (U)faithfulness and truth
To (V)those who comply with His covenant and His testimonies.
11 For the (W)sake of Your name, Lord,
(X)Forgive my wrongdoing, for it is great.
12 Who is the person who (Y)fears the Lord?
He will (Z)instruct him in the way he should choose.
13 His soul will (AA)dwell in [e]prosperity,
And his [f]descendants will (AB)inherit the [g]land.
14 The [h](AC)secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him,
[i]And He will (AD)make them know His covenant.
15 My (AE)eyes are continually toward the Lord,
For He will [j](AF)rescue my feet from the net.
16 (AG)Turn to me and be gracious to me,
For I am (AH)lonely and afflicted.
17 [k]The (AI)troubles of my heart are enlarged;
Bring me (AJ)out of my distresses.
18 (AK)Look at my misery and my trouble,
And (AL)forgive all my sins.
19 Look at my enemies, for they (AM)are many,
And they (AN)hate me with violent hatred.
20 (AO)Guard my soul and save me;
Do not let me (AP)be ashamed, for I take refuge in You.
21 Let (AQ)integrity and uprightness protect me,
For (AR)I wait for You.
22 (AS)Redeem Israel, God,
From all his distress.
Thanksgiving for God’s Justice.
For the music director; on [a]Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.
9 I will give thanks to the Lord with all (A)my heart;
I will (B)tell of all Your [b]wonders.
2 I will rejoice and be (C)jubilant in You;
I will (D)sing praise to Your name, O (E)Most High.
3 When my enemies turn back,
They stumble and (F)perish before You.
4 For You have (G)maintained [c]my just cause;
You have sat on the throne [d](H)judging righteously.
5 You have (I)rebuked the nations, You have eliminated the wicked;
You have (J)wiped out their name forever and ever.
6 [e]The enemy has come to an end in everlasting ruins,
And You have uprooted the cities;
The very (K)memory of them has perished.
7 But the (L)Lord [f]sits as King forever;
He has established His (M)throne for judgment,
8 And He will (N)judge the world in righteousness;
He will execute judgment for the peoples fairly.
9 [g]The Lord will also be a (O)stronghold for the oppressed,
A stronghold in times of trouble;
10 And [h]those who (P)know Your name will put their trust in You,
For You, Lord, have not (Q)abandoned those who seek You.
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who (R)dwells in Zion;
(S)Declare His deeds among the peoples.
12 For (T)He who [i]requires blood remembers them;
He does not forget (U)the cry of the needy.
13 Be gracious to me, Lord;
See my oppression from those (V)who hate me,
You who (W)lift me up from the gates of death,
14 So that I may tell of (X)all Your praises,
That in the gates of the daughter of Zion
I may (Y)rejoice in Your [j]salvation.
15 The nations have sunk down (Z)into the pit which they have made;
In the (AA)net which they hid, their own foot has been caught.
16 The Lord has (AB)made Himself known;
He has (AC)executed judgment.
A wicked one is ensnared in the work of his own hands. [k]Higgaion Selah
17 The wicked will [l](AD)return to [m]Sheol,
All the nations who (AE)forget God.
18 For the (AF)needy will not always be forgotten,
Nor the (AG)hope of the afflicted perish forever.
19 (AH)Arise, Lord, do not let mankind prevail;
Let the nations be (AI)judged before You.
20 Put them (AJ)in fear, Lord;
Let the nations know that they are (AK)merely human. Selah
Description of a Citizen of Zion.
A Psalm of David.
15 Lord, who may reside (A)in Your tent?
Who may settle on Your (B)holy hill?
2 One who (C)walks with integrity, practices righteousness,
And (D)speaks truth in his heart.
3 He (E)does not slander [a]with his tongue,
Nor (F)do evil to his neighbor,
Nor (G)bring shame on his friend;
4 A despicable person is despised in his eyes,
But he (H)honors those who fear the Lord;
He (I)takes an oath to his own detriment, and does not change;
5 He (J)does not [b]lend his money [c]at interest,
Nor (K)does he take a bribe against the innocent.
(L)One who does these things will never be shaken.
Jethro Counsels Moses
13 And it came about the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood before Moses from the morning until the evening. 14 Now when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?” 15 Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me (A)to inquire of God. 16 When they have a [a](B)dispute, it comes to me, and I judge between someone and his neighbor and make known the statutes of God and His laws.” 17 Moses’ father-in-law then said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good. 18 (C)You will surely wear out, both yourself and [b]these people who are with you, because the [c]task is too heavy for you; (D)you cannot do it alone. 19 Now listen to [d]me: I will give you counsel, and God be with you. [e]You be the people’s representative before God, and you (E)bring the [f]disputes to God, 20 (F)then admonish them about the statutes and the laws, and make known to them (G)the way in which they are to walk and the work they are to do. 21 Furthermore, you shall [g]select out of all the people (H)able men (I)who fear God, men of truth, those who (J)hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, [h]of hundreds, [i]of fifties, and [j]of tens. 22 Let them judge the people at all times; and let it be (K)that they will bring to you every major matter, but they will judge every minor matter themselves. So it will be easier for you, and (L)they will carry the burden with you. 23 If you do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to [k]endure, and all [l]these people also will go to [m]their places in peace.”
24 So Moses listened [n]to his father-in-law and did everything that he had said. 25 Moses chose (M)able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, [o]of hundreds, [p]of fifties, and [q]of tens. 26 Then they judged the people at all times; (N)they would bring the difficult matter to Moses, but they would judge every minor matter themselves. 27 Then Moses [r](O)said goodbye to his father-in-law, and [s]Jethro went his way to his own land.
Serve God Willingly
5 (A)Therefore, I urge elders among you, as your (B)fellow elder and a (C)witness of the sufferings of Christ, and one who is also a [a](D)fellow partaker of the glory that is to be revealed: 2 shepherd (E)the flock of God among you, exercising oversight, (F)not under compulsion but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and (G)not [b]with greed but with eagerness; 3 nor yet as (H)domineering over [c]those assigned to your care, but by [d]proving to be [e](I)examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief (J)Shepherd appears, you will receive the (K)unfading [f](L)crown of glory. 5 (M)You [g]younger men, likewise, (N)be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with (O)humility toward one another, because (P)God is opposed to the proud, but He gives grace to the humble.
6 Therefore (Q)humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 having cast all your (R)anxiety on Him, because He cares about you. 8 (S)Be of sober spirit, (T)be on the alert. Your adversary, (U)the devil, prowls around like a roaring (V)lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 [h](W)So resist him, (X)firm in your faith, knowing that (Y)the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your [i]brothers and sisters who are in the world. 10 After you have suffered (Z)for a little while, the (AA)God of all grace, who (AB)called you to His (AC)eternal glory in Christ, will Himself (AD)perfect, (AE)confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 (AF)To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.
12 Through (AG)Silvanus, our faithful brother [j](for so I regard him), (AH)I have written to you briefly, [k]exhorting and testifying that this is (AI)the true grace of God. (AJ)Stand firm in it! 13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son, (AK)Mark. 14 (AL)Greet one another with a kiss of love.
(AM)Peace be to you all who are in Christ.
The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah
1 The [a]record of the genealogy of [b]Jesus the [c]Messiah, (A)the son of David, (B)the son of Abraham:
2 Abraham fathered Isaac, Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob fathered [d]Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar, (C)Perez fathered Hezron, and Hezron fathered [e]Ram. 4 Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon. 5 Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth, and Obed fathered Jesse. 6 Jesse fathered David the king.
David (D)fathered Solomon by [f]her who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon (E)fathered Rehoboam, Rehoboam fathered Abijah, and Abijah fathered [g]Asa. 8 Asa fathered Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat fathered [h]Joram, and Joram fathered Uzziah. 9 Uzziah fathered [i]Jotham, Jotham fathered Ahaz, and Ahaz fathered Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered [j]Amon, and Amon (F)fathered Josiah. 11 Josiah fathered [k]Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the (G)deportation to Babylon.
12 After the (H)deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah fathered [l]Shealtiel, and Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel fathered [m]Abihud, Abihud fathered Eliakim, and Eliakim fathered Azor. 14 Azor fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Achim, and Achim fathered Eliud. 15 Eliud fathered Eleazar, Eleazar fathered Matthan, and Matthan fathered Jacob. 16 Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, (I)who is called the [n]Messiah.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the (J)deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the (K)deportation to Babylon to the [o]Messiah, fourteen generations.
The Preaching of John the Baptist
3 Now (A)in those days (B)John the Baptist *[a]came, [b]preaching in the (C)wilderness of Judea, saying, 2 “(D)Repent, for (E)the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 For this is the (F)one referred to [c]by Isaiah the prophet when he said,
“(G)The voice of one [d]calling [e]out in the wilderness,
‘(H)Prepare the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!’”
4 Now John himself had [f](I)a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was (J)locusts and wild honey. 5 At that time Jerusalem (K)was going out to him, and all Judea and all (L)the region around the Jordan; 6 and they were being (M)baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
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