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.
Contrast of the Righteous and the Wicked
10 The (A)proverbs of Solomon.
(B)A wise son makes a father glad,
But (C)a foolish son is a grief to his mother.
2 [a](D)Ill-gotten gains do not benefit,
But righteousness rescues from death.
3 The Lord (E)will not allow the [b]righteous to hunger,
But He (F)will [c]reject the craving of the wicked.
4 Poor is one who works with [d]a lazy hand,
But the (G)hand of the diligent makes rich.
5 He who gathers in summer is a son who acts wisely,
But he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully.
6 (H)Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
But (I)the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
7 The (J)mentioning of the righteous is a blessing,
But (K)the name of the wicked will rot.
8 The (L)wise of heart will receive commands,
But [e]a babbling fool will come to ruin.
9 One (M)who walks in integrity walks securely,
But (N)one who perverts his ways will be found out.
10 He (O)who winks the eye causes trouble,
And [f](P)a babbling fool will come to ruin.
11 The (Q)mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
But (R)the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
12 Hatred stirs up strife,
But (S)love covers all offenses.
Correcting False Teaching
1 Paul, (A)an apostle of (B)Christ Jesus (C)according to the commandment of (D)God our Savior, and of (E)Christ Jesus, who is our (F)hope,
2 To (G)Timothy, (H)my true [a]son in the faith: (I)Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and (J)Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 Just as I urged you [b]upon my departure for (K)Macedonia, to remain on at (L)Ephesus so that you would instruct certain people not to (M)teach strange doctrines, 4 nor to [c]pay attention to (N)myths and endless (O)genealogies, which give rise to useless (P)speculation rather than (Q)advance [d]the plan of God, which is by faith, so I urge you now. 5 But the goal of our [e](R)instruction is love (S)from a pure heart, from a (T)good conscience, and from a sincere (U)faith. 6 Some people have strayed from these things and have turned aside to (V)fruitless discussion, 7 (W)wanting to be (X)teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.
8 But we know that (Y)the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 realizing the fact that (Z)law is not made for a righteous person but for those who are lawless and (AA)rebellious, for the (AB)ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and (AC)worldly, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the [f](AD)sexually immoral, (AE)homosexuals, [g](AF)slave traders, (AG)liars, (AH)perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to (AI)sound teaching, 11 according to (AJ)the glorious gospel of (AK)the blessed God, with which I have been (AL)entrusted.
Paul’s Testimony
12 I thank (AM)Christ Jesus our Lord, who has (AN)strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, (AO)putting me into service, 13 even though I was previously a blasphemer and a (AP)persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was (AQ)shown mercy because (AR)I acted ignorantly in unbelief; 14 and the (AS)grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the (AT)faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. 15 (AU)It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that (AV)Christ Jesus came into the world to (AW)save sinners, among whom (AX)I am foremost. 16 Yet for this reason I (AY)found mercy, so that in me as the foremost sinner Jesus Christ might (AZ)demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those [h]who would believe in Him for eternal life. 17 Now to the (BA)King [i]eternal, (BB)immortal, (BC)invisible, the (BD)only God, (BE)be honor and glory [j]forever and ever. Amen.
The Pharisees Rebuked
22 (A)Then a (B)demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to [a]Jesus, and He healed him so that the man who was unable to speak talked and [b]could see. 23 And all the crowds were amazed and were saying, “This man cannot be the (C)Son of David, can he?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man (D)casts out demons only by [c]Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”
25 (E)And (F)knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if (G)Satan is casting out Satan, he [d]has become divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if (H)by [e]Beelzebul I cast out the demons, (I)by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. 28 But (J)if I cast out the demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or, how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
The Unpardonable Sin
30 (K)The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.
31 “(L)Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 (M)And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in (N)this age or in the age to come.
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