Book of Common Prayer
God Sustains His Servant.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
40 I (A)waited [a]patiently for the Lord;
And He reached down to me and (B)heard my cry.
2 He brought me up out of the (C)pit of [b]destruction, out of the mud;
And (D)He set my feet on a rock, (E)making my footsteps firm.
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 the Lord.
4 How (H)blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust,
And (I)has not turned to the [c]proud, nor to those who (J)become involved in falsehood.
5 Many, Lord my God, are (K)the wonders which You have done,
And Your (L)thoughts toward us;
There is no one to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They (M)would be too numerous to count.
6 (N)You have not desired [d]sacrifice and meal offering;
You have [e]opened my ears;
You have not required burnt offering and sin offering.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
It is [f]written of me in the scroll of the book.
8 (O)I delight to do Your will, my God;
(P)Your Law is within my [g]heart.”
9 I have (Q)proclaimed good news of righteousness in the great congregation;
Behold, I will (R)not restrain my lips,
Lord, (S)You know.
10 I have (T)not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have (U)spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your mercy and Your truth from the great congregation.
11 You, Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me;
[h]Your (V)mercy and Your truth will continually watch over me.
12 For evils beyond number have (W)surrounded me;
My (X)guilty deeds 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, Lord, to rescue me;
(AB)Hurry, Lord, to help me.
14 May those be (AC)ashamed and humiliated together
Who (AD)seek my [j]life to destroy it;
May those be turned back and dishonored
Who delight [k]in my hurt.
15 May those (AE)be [l]appalled because of their shame
Who (AF)say to me, “Aha, aha!”
16 (AG)May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
May those who love Your salvation continually (AH)say,
“The Lord be exalted!”
17 But (AI)I am afflicted and needy;
(AJ)May the Lord be mindful of me.
You are my help and my savior;
Do not delay, my God.
Prayer for Defense against Enemies.
For the music director; on stringed instruments. A [a]Maskil of David, [b]when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Is David not keeping himself hidden among us?”
54 Save me, God, by (A)Your name,
And [c]vindicate me by (B)Your power.
2 (C)Hear my prayer, God;
(D)Listen to the words of my mouth.
3 For strangers have (E)risen against me
And (F)violent men have (G)sought my [d]life;
They have (H)not set God before them. Selah
A Contrite Sinner’s Prayer for Pardon.
For the music 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, God, according to Your faithfulness;
According to the greatness of (B)Your compassion, (C)wipe out my wrongdoings.
2 (D)Wash me thoroughly from my guilt
And (E)cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I (F)know my wrongdoings,
And my sin is constantly before me.
4 (G)Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is (H)evil in Your sight,
So that (I)You [b]are justified [c]when You speak
And [d]blameless when You judge.
5 Behold, I was (J)brought forth in guilt,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
6 Behold, You desire (K)truth in the [e]innermost being,
And in secret You will (L)make wisdom known to me.
7 [f]Purify me (M)with hyssop, and I will be clean;
[g]Cleanse me, and I will be (N)whiter than snow.
8 [h]Let me hear (O)joy and gladness,
Let the (P)bones You have broken rejoice.
9 (Q)Hide Your face from my sins
And wipe out all my guilty deeds.
10 (R)Create [i]in me a (S)clean heart, God,
And renew 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 wrongdoers Your ways,
And sinners will [j]be (Z)converted to You.
14 Save me from (AA)the guilt of bloodshed, God, (AB)the God of my salvation;
Then my (AC)tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
15 Lord, [k](AD)open my lips,
So that my mouth may (AE)declare Your praise.
16 For You (AF)do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You do not take pleasure in burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a (AG)broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, God, You will not despise.
Your Attitude toward God
5 [a](A)Guard your steps as you go to the house of God, and approach to listen rather than to offer the (B)sacrifice of fools; for they do not know that they are doing evil. 2 [b]Do not be (C)quick with your mouth or [c]impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your (D)words be few. 3 For the dream comes through much [d]effort, and the voice of a (E)fool through many words.
4 When you (F)make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. (G)Pay what you vow! 5 It is (H)better that you not vow, than vow and not pay. 6 Do not let your [e]speech cause [f]you to sin, and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a (I)mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice, and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For in many dreams and in many words there is futility. Rather, [g](J)fear God.
Intent of the Law
15 (A)Brothers and sisters, (B)I speak [a]in terms of human relations: (C)even though it is only a man’s [b]covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds [c]conditions to it. 16 Now the promises were spoken (D)to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as one would in referring to many, but rather as in referring to one, “(E)And to your seed,” that is, Christ. 17 What I am saying is this: the Law, which came (F)430 years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. 18 For (G)if the inheritance is [d]based on law, it is no longer [e]based on a promise; but (H)God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.
19 (I)Why the Law then? It was added on account of the [f]violations, having been (J)ordered through angels (K)at the hand of a [g]mediator, until (L)the Seed would come to whom the promise had been made. 20 Now (M)a mediator is not [h]for one party only; but God is only one. 21 Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? [i](N)Far from it! For (O)if a law had been given that was able to impart life, then righteousness [j]would indeed have been [k]based on law. 22 But the Scripture has (P)confined [l]everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
Jesus Walks on the Water
22 (A)Immediately afterward He compelled the disciples to get into the boat and to go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. 23 After He had sent the crowds away, (B)He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. 24 But the boat was already [a]a long distance from the land, [b]battered by the waves; for the wind was [c](C)contrary. 25 And in (D)the [d]fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. 26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is (E)a ghost!” And they cried out [e]in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “(F)Take courage, [f]it is I; (G)do not be afraid.”
28 Peter responded and said to Him, “Lord, if [g]it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29 And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and when he began to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out with His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “(H)You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are truly (I)God’s Son!”
34 (J)When they had crossed over, they came to land at (K)Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place [h]recognized Him, they sent word into all that surrounding region and brought to Him all who were sick; 36 and they pleaded with Him that they might just touch (L)the [i]border of His cloak; and all who (M)touched it were cured.
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