Book of Common Prayer
Thanksgiving for Rescue from Death.
A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. A Psalm of David.
30 I will (A)exalt You, Lord, for You have (B)lifted me up,
And have not let my (C)enemies rejoice over me.
2 Lord my God,
I (D)cried to You for help, and You (E)healed me.
3 Lord, You have (F)brought up my soul from [a]Sheol;
You have kept me alive, [b]that I would not (G)go down to the pit.
4 (H)Sing praise to the Lord, you (I)His godly ones,
And (J)praise the mention of His holiness.
5 For (K)His anger is but for a moment,
His (L)favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may (M)last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.
6 Now as for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I will (N)never be moved.”
7 Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain to stand strong;
You (O)hid Your face, I was dismayed.
8 To You, Lord, I called,
And to the Lord I pleaded for compassion:
9 “What gain is there in my blood, if I (P)go down to the pit?
Will the (Q)dust praise You? Will it declare Your faithfulness?
Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.
A Psalm of David. A [a]Maskil.
32 (A)How blessed is he whose wrongdoing is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is a person whose guilt the Lord (B)does not take into account,
And in whose spirit there is (C)no deceit!
3 When (D)I kept silent about my sin, (E)my [b]body wasted away
Through my [c](F)groaning all day long.
4 For day and night (G)Your hand was heavy upon me;
My [d](H)vitality failed as with the dry heat of summer. Selah
5 I (I)acknowledged my sin to You,
And I (J)did not hide my guilt;
I said, “(K)I will confess my wrongdoings to the Lord”;
And You (L)forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You [e](M)in a time when You may be found;
Certainly (N)in a flood of great waters, they will not reach him.
7 You are (O)my hiding place; You (P)keep me from trouble;
You surround me with [f](Q)songs of deliverance. Selah
8 I will (R)instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will advise you (S)with My eye upon you.
9 Do not be (T)like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.
10 The (U)sorrows of the wicked are many,
But (V)the one who trusts in the Lord, goodness will surround him.
11 Be (W)glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are (X)upright in heart.
BOOK 2
Thirsting for God in Trouble and Exile.
For the music director. A [a]Maskil of the sons of Korah.
42 As the deer [b]pants for the water brooks,
So my soul [c](A)pants for You, God.
2 My soul (B)thirsts for God, for the (C)living God;
When shall I come and [d](D)appear before God?
3 My (E)tears have been my food day and night,
While they (F)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
4 I remember these things and (G)pour out my soul within me.
For I (H)used to go over with the multitude and walk them to the house of God,
With a voice of (I)joy and thanksgiving, a multitude celebrating a festival.
5 (J)Why are you [e](K)in despair, my soul?
And why are you (L)restless within me?
(M)Wait for God, for I will [f]again praise [g]Him
For the [h](N)help of His [i]presence, my God.
6 My soul is [j]in despair within me;
Therefore I (O)remember You from (P)the land of the Jordan
And the [k]peaks of (Q)Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
All Your (R)breakers and Your waves have passed over me.
8 The Lord will (S)send His goodness in the daytime;
And His song will be with me (T)in the night,
A prayer to (U)the God of my life.
9 I will say to God (V)my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go about (W)mourning [l]because of the (X)oppression of the enemy?”
10 As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries taunt me,
While they (Y)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
11 (Z)Why are you [m]in despair, my soul?
And why are you restless within me?
Wait for God, for I will again praise [n]Him
For the [o]help of His presence, my God.
Prayer for Help.
43 (AA)Vindicate me, God, and (AB)plead my case against an ungodly nation;
[p]Save me from (AC)the deceitful and unjust person!
2 For You are the (AD)God of my strength; why have You (AE)rejected me?
Why do I go about (AF)mourning [q]because of the oppression of the enemy?
15 Through [a](A)patience a ruler may be persuaded,
And a gentle tongue breaks bone.
16 Have you (B)found honey? Eat only [b]what you need,
So that you do not have it in excess and vomit it.
17 Let your foot rarely be in your neighbor’s house,
Or he will become [c]weary of you and hate you.
18 Like a club, a (C)sword, and a sharp (D)arrow
Is a person who gives (E)false testimony against his neighbor.
19 Like a bad tooth and [d]an unsteady foot
Is confidence in a (F)treacherous person in time of trouble.
20 Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar on [e]soda,
Is one who sings songs to [f]a troubled heart.
21 (G)If [g]your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;
22 For you will [h]heap burning coals on his head,
And (H)the Lord will reward you.
23 The north wind brings rain,
And a [i](I)gossiping tongue brings an angry face.
24 It is (J)better to live on a corner of the roof,
Than [j]in a house shared with a contentious woman.
25 Like cold water to a weary soul,
So is (K)good news from a distant land.
26 Like a (L)trampled spring and a [k]polluted well,
So is a righteous person who gives way before the wicked.
27 It is not good to eat much honey,
Nor is it glory to (M)search out [l]one’s own glory.
28 Like a (N)city that is broken into and without walls
So is a person (O)who has no self-control over his spirit.
6 (A)But godliness actually is a means of (B)great gain when accompanied by (C)contentment. 7 For (D)we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it, either. 8 If we (E)have food and [a]covering, with these we shall be content. 9 (F)But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and (G)a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For (H)the love of money is a root of all [b]sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have (I)wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many [c]griefs.
11 But (J)flee from these things, you (K)man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, (L)faith, (M)love, [d]perseverance, and gentleness. 12 (N)Fight the good fight of (O)faith; (P)take hold of the eternal life (Q)to which you were called, and for which you made the good (R)confession in the presence of (S)many witnesses. 13 (T)I direct you in the presence of God, who [e]gives life to all things, and of (U)Christ Jesus, who testified the (V)good confession (W)before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep the commandment without [f]fault or reproach until the (X)appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which He will [g]bring about at (Y)the proper time—He who is (Z)the blessed and (AA)only Sovereign, (AB)the King of [h]kings and (AC)Lord of [i]lords, 16 (AD)who alone possesses immortality and (AE)dwells in unapproachable light, (AF)whom [j]no one has seen or can see. (AG)To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.
17 Instruct those who are rich in (AH)this present world (AI)not to be conceited or to (AJ)set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, (AK)who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do good, to be rich in (AL)good [k]works, (AM)to be generous and ready to share, 19 (AN)storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may (AO)take hold of that which is truly life.
20 (AP)Timothy, protect (AQ)what has been entrusted to you, avoiding (AR)worldly, empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”— 21 which some have professed and thereby have (AS)gone astray [l]from (AT)the faith.
(AU)Grace be with you.
The Weeds Explained
36 Then He left the crowds and went into (A)the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “(B)Explain to us the parable of the [a]weeds of the field.” 37 And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is (C)the Son of Man, 38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are (D)the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are (E)the sons of (F)the evil one; 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is (G)the [b]end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40 So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at (H)the [c]end of the age. 41 (I)The Son of Man (J)will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom [d]all (K)stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and they (L)will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place (M)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 (N)Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. (O)The one who has ears, [e]let him hear.
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