Book of Common Prayer
The Lord Praised for Rescuing David.
For the music director. A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, [a]who spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day that the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said,
18 “I love You, Lord, (A)my strength.”
2 The Lord is (B)my rock and (C)my fortress and my (D)savior,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My (E)shield and the (F)horn of my salvation, my (G)stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is (H)worthy to be praised,
And I am (I)saved from my enemies.
4 The (J)ropes of death encompassed me,
And the (K)torrents of [b]destruction [c]terrified me.
5 The (L)ropes of [d]Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
6 In my (M)distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice (N)from His temple,
And my (O)cry for help before Him came into His ears.
7 Then the (P)earth shook and quaked;
And the (Q)foundations of the mountains were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
8 Smoke went up [e]out of His nostrils,
And (R)fire from His mouth was devouring;
Coals burned from it.
9 He also (S)bowed the heavens down low, and came down
With thick (T)darkness under His feet.
10 He rode on a (U)cherub and flew;
And He sped on the (V)wings of the wind.
11 He made (W)darkness His hiding place, (X)His [f]canopy around Him,
Darkness of waters, thick clouds.
12 From the (Y)brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,
Hailstones and (Z)coals of fire.
13 The Lord also (AA)thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
14 He (AB)sent out His arrows, and scattered them,
And lightning flashes in abundance, and [g]routed them.
15 Then the (AC)channels of water appeared,
And the foundations of the world were exposed
By Your (AD)rebuke, Lord,
At the blast of the (AE)breath of Your nostrils.
16 He (AF)sent from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of (AG)many waters.
17 He (AH)saved me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me, for they were (AI)too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in (AJ)the day of my disaster,
But (AK)the Lord was my support.
19 He also brought me out into an (AL)open place;
He rescued me, because (AM)He delighted in me.
20 The Lord has (AN)rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the (AO)cleanness of my hands He has repaid me.
21 For I have (AP)kept the ways of the Lord,
And have (AQ)not acted wickedly against my God.
22 For all (AR)His judgments were before me,
And I did not put away His (AS)statutes from me.
23 I was also [h](AT)blameless with Him,
And I (AU)kept myself from my wrongdoing.
24 Therefore the Lord has (AV)repaid me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.
25 With (AW)the faithful You show Yourself faithful;
With the [i]blameless (AX)You prove Yourself blameless;
26 With the pure You show Yourself (AY)pure,
And with the crooked (AZ)You show Yourself [j]astute.
27 For You (BA)save an afflicted people,
But You humiliate (BB)haughty eyes.
28 For You (BC)light my lamp;
The Lord my God (BD)illumines my darkness.
29 For by You I can (BE)run at a [k]troop of warriors;
And by my God I can (BF)leap over a wall.
30 As for God, His way is [l](BG)blameless;
The (BH)word of the Lord is refined;
He is a (BI)shield to all who take refuge in Him.
31 For (BJ)who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a (BK)rock, except our God,
32 The God who (BL)encircles me with strength,
And [m]makes my way [n](BM)blameless?
33 He (BN)makes my feet like deer’s feet,
And (BO)sets me up on my high places.
34 He (BP)trains my hands for battle,
So that my arms can (BQ)bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have also given me (BR)the shield of Your salvation,
And Your (BS)right hand upholds me;
And (BT)Your [o]gentleness makes me great.
36 You (BU)enlarge my steps under me,
And my [p](BV)feet have not slipped.
37 I (BW)pursued my enemies and overtook them,
And I did not turn back (BX)until they were consumed.
38 I shattered them, so that they were (BY)not able to rise;
They fell (BZ)under my feet.
39 For You have (CA)encircled me with strength for battle;
You have forced those who rose up against me (CB)to bow down under me.
40 You have also made my enemies (CC)turn their backs to me,
And I [q](CD)destroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried for help, but there was (CE)no one to save,
They cried to the Lord, but (CF)He did not answer them.
42 Then I beat them fine like the (CG)dust before the wind;
I emptied them out like the mud of the streets.
43 You have rescued me from the (CH)contentions of the people;
You have placed me as (CI)head of the nations;
A (CJ)people whom I have not known serve me.
44 As soon as they hear, they obey me;
Foreigners (CK)pretend to obey me.
45 Foreigners (CL)lose heart,
And (CM)come trembling out of their [r]fortresses.
46 The Lord (CN)lives, and blessed be (CO)my rock;
And exalted be (CP)the God of my salvation,
47 The God who (CQ)executes vengeance for me,
And (CR)subdues peoples under me.
48 He (CS)rescues me from my enemies;
You indeed (CT)lift me above those who rise up against me;
You rescue me from a (CU)violent man.
49 Therefore I will (CV)give thanks to You among the nations, Lord,
And I will (CW)sing praises to Your name.
50 He gives great [s](CX)salvation to His king,
And shows faithfulness to (CY)His anointed,
To David and (CZ)his [t]descendants forever.
The Lures of the Prostitute
7 My son, (A)keep my words
And treasure my commandments within you.
2 (B)Keep my commandments and live,
And my [a]teaching (C)as the [b]apple of your eye.
3 (D)Bind them on your fingers;
(E)Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And call understanding your intimate friend,
5 So that they may keep you from an [c]adulteress,
From the foreigner who flatters with her words.
6 For (F)at the window of my house
I looked out (G)through my lattice,
7 And I saw among the (H)naive,
And discerned among the [d]youths
A young man (I)lacking [e]sense,
8 Passing through the street near (J)her corner;
And he walks along the way to (K)her house,
9 In the (L)twilight, in the [f]evening,
In the [g]middle of the night and the darkness.
10 And behold, a woman comes to meet him,
(M)Dressed as a prostitute and cunning of heart.
11 She is (N)boisterous and rebellious,
Her (O)feet do not remain at home;
12 She is now in the streets, now (P)in the public squares,
And (Q)lurks by every corner.
13 So she seizes him and kisses him,
[h]And with a (R)brazen face she says to him:
14 “[i]I was due to offer (S)peace offerings;
Today I have (T)paid my vows.
15 Therefore I have come out to meet you,
To seek your presence diligently, and I have found you.
16 I have spread my couch with (U)coverings,
With colored (V)linens of Egypt.
17 I have sprinkled my bed
With (W)myrrh, aloes, and (X)cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning;
Let’s delight ourselves with caresses.
19 For [j]my husband is not at home;
He has gone on a long journey.
20 He has taken a (Y)bag of money [k]with him.
At the full moon he will come home.”
21 With her many persuasions she entices him;
With her [l](Z)flattering lips she seduces him.
22 Suddenly he follows her
As an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or as [m]one walks in ankle bracelets to the discipline of a fool,
23 Until an arrow pierces through his liver;
As a (AA)bird hurries to the snare,
So he does not know that it will cost him his life.
24 Now therefore, my sons, (AB)listen to me,
And pay attention to the words of my mouth.
25 Do not let your heart (AC)turn aside to her ways,
Do not stray into her paths.
26 For many are the [n]victims she has brought to ruin,
And (AD)numerous are all those slaughtered by her.
27 Her (AE)house is the way to Sheol,
Descending to the chambers of death.
This Is Written That You May Know
13 (A)These things I have written to you who (B)believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have (C)eternal life. 14 This is (D)the confidence which we have [a]before Him, that, (E)if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, (F)we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.
16 If anyone sees his brother or sister [b]committing a sin not leading to death, (G)he shall ask and [c]God will, for him, give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. (H)There is sin leading to death; (I)I am not saying that he should ask about that. 17 (J)All unrighteousness is sin, and (K)there is sin not leading to death.
18 (L)We know that (M)no one who has been born of God [d]sins; but He who was born of God (N)keeps him, and (O)the evil one does not (P)touch him. 19 (Q)We know that (R)we are of God, and that (S)the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 20 And (T)we know that (U)the Son of God has come, and has (V)given us understanding so that we may know (W)Him who is true; and we (X)are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. (Y)This is the true God and (Z)eternal life.
Come to Me
25 [a](A)At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, (B)Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that (C)You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to infants. 26 Yes, (D)Father, for this way was well pleasing in Your sight. 27 (E)All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father (F)except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son determines to reveal Him.
28 “(G)Come to Me, all [b]who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and (H)learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and (I)you will find [c]rest for your souls. 30 For (J)My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.”
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