Book of Common Prayer
Davidic[a]
A Prayer for Help and Forgiveness
25 I will lift up my soul to you, Lord.
2 I trust in you, my God,
do not let me be ashamed;
do not let my enemies triumph over me.
3 Indeed, no one who waits on you will be ashamed,
but those who offend for no reason will be put to shame.
4 Cause me to understand your ways, Lord;
teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me;
for you are the God who delivers me.
All day long I have waited for you.
6 Remember, Lord, your tender mercies and your gracious love;
indeed, they are eternal!
7 Do not remember my youthful sins and transgressions;
but remember me in light of your gracious love,
in light of your goodness, Lord.
8 The Lord is good and just;
therefore he will teach sinners concerning the way.
9 He will guide the humble[b] to justice;
he will teach the humble[c] his way.
10 All the paths of the Lord lead to gracious love and truth
for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.[d]
11 For the sake of your name,[e] Lord,
forgive my sin, for it is great.
12 Who is the man who fears the Lord?
God[f] will teach him the path he should choose.
13 He[g] will experience good things;
his descendants will inherit the earth.
14 The intimate counsel of the Lord is for those who fear him
so they may know his covenant.
15 My eyes look to the Lord continuously,
because he’s the one who releases my feet from the trap.[h]
16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me,
for I am lonely and oppressed.
17 The troubles of my heart have increased;
bring me out of my distress!
18 Look upon my distress and affliction;
forgive all my sins.
19 Look how many enemies I have gained!
They hate me with a vicious hatred.
20 Preserve my life and deliver me;
do not let me be ashamed,
because I take refuge in you.
21 Integrity and justice will preserve me,
because I wait on you.
22 Redeem Israel, God, from all its troubles.
To the Director: Accompanied by female voices.[a] A Davidic Psalm.
A Cry for God’s Justice
9 [b]I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart,
I will declare all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praises to your name, Most High!
3 When my enemies turn back,
they will stumble and perish before you.
4 For you have brought about justice for me and my cause;
you sit on the throne judging righteously.
5 You rebuked the nations,
you destroyed the wicked,
you wiped out their name forever and ever.
6 The enemy has perished,
reduced to ruins forever.
You uprooted their cities,
the very memory of them vanished.
7 But the Lord sits on his throne[c] forever;
his throne is established for judgment.
8 He will judge the world righteously
and make just decisions for the people.
9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a refuge in times of distress.
10 Those who know your name will trust you,
for you have not forsaken those who seek you, Lord.
11 Sing praises to the Lord who dwells in Zion;
declare his mighty deeds among the peoples.
12 As an avenger of blood, he remembers them;
he has not forgotten the cry of the afflicted.
13 Be gracious to me, Lord,
take note of my affliction,
because of those who hate me.
You snatch me away from the gates of death,
14 so I may declare everything for which you should be praised[d]
in the gates of the daughter of Zion,[e]
so I will rejoice in your deliverance.
15 The nations have sunk down into the pit they made,
their feet are ensnared in the trap[f] they set.
16 The Lord has made himself known,
executing judgment.
The wicked are ensnared
by what their hands have made.
17 The wicked will turn back to where the dead are[h]—
all the nations that have forgotten God.
18 For he will not always overlook the plight of the poor,
nor will the hope of the afflicted perish forever.
19 Rise up, Lord,
do not let man prevail!
The nations will be judged in your presence.
20 Make them afraid, Lord,
Let the nations know that they are only human.[i]
A Davidic Psalm.
Welcomed into God’s Presence
15 Lord, who may stay in your tent?
Who may dwell on your holy mountain?
2 The one who lives with integrity,
who does righteous deeds,
and who speaks truth to himself.
3 The one who does not slander with his tongue,
who does no evil to his neighbor,
and who does not destroy his friend’s reputation.
4 The one who despises those who are utterly wicked,
but who honors the one who fears the Lord,
who keeps his word even when it hurts and does not change,
5 who does not loan his money with interest,
and who does not take a bribe against those who are innocent.
The one who does these things will stand firm[a] forever.
Job Responds to Zophar
12 In response Job replied:
2 “Truly, you are the people
and wisdom will die with you!
3 Like you, I also have understanding.[a]
I’m not inferior to you;
who doesn’t know things[b] like this?”
Job Has Become a Laughingstock
4 “I’m a laughingstock to my friends,
someone[c] who called on God.
But then he answered this upright and blameless man,
and I have become[d] a laughingstock.
5 The carefree are thinking, ‘I have contempt for misfortune,’
Those who are about to stumble deserve it.
6 The tents of robbers are at rest,
and those who provoke God are secure,
that is, those who carry their god in their pocket.[e]
13 With God[a] is wisdom and strength;
counsel and understanding belongs to him.
14 When he tears down, nobody rebuilds;
when[b] he incarcerates, nobody escapes.
15 When he withholds water, rivers[c] dry up;
when he lets them loose, they’ll flood[d] the land.
16 “With God[e] are strength and sound wisdom;
both the deceived and those who deceive are responsible to him.[f]
17 He leads counselors away naked;
he turns judges into fools.
18 He strips away the authority of kings to punish
and puts them in prison clothes instead.
19 He leads away the priests naked
and overthrows the ruling class.[g]
20 He keeps reliable advisors from speaking,[h]
and removes discernment from elders.
21 He pours contempt on nobles
and embarrasses[i] the mighty.
22 He uncovers the hidden dimensions from darkness,
bringing what is in deep shadow to light.
23 He makes nations great, and then destroys them;
he enlarges nations, but then sends them away to captivity.[j]
24 He withdraws understanding[k] from national leaders of the world,[l]
causing them to wander through uncharted[m] wilderness.
25 They grope in the dark without light;
he causes them to stagger around like a drunkard.”
The New Church in Antioch
19 Now the people who were scattered by the persecution that started because of Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But among them were some men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began proclaiming the Lord Jesus even to the Hellenistic Jews.[a] 21 The hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22 When the church in Jerusalem heard this news, they sent Barnabas all the way to Antioch. 23 When he arrived, he rejoiced to see what the grace of God had done,[b] and with hearty determination he kept encouraging all of them to remain faithful to the Lord, 24 because he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And so a large number of people was brought to the Lord.
25 Then Barnabas left for Tarsus to look for Saul. 26 When he found him, he brought him to Antioch, and for a whole year they were guests of the church and taught many people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.
27 At that time some prophets from Jerusalem came down to Antioch. 28 One of them named Agabus got up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine all over the world. This happened during the reign of Claudius. 29 So all of the disciples decided they would send a contribution to the brothers living in Judea, as they were able, 30 by sending it through[c] Barnabas and Saul to the elders.
The One from Above
21 Later on, he told them again, “I’m going away, and you’ll look for me, but you will die in your sin.[a] You cannot come where I’m going.”
22 So the Jewish leaders[b] were asking, “He isn’t going to kill himself, is he? Is that why he said,[c] ‘You cannot come where I’m going’?”
23 He told them, “You are from below, I’m from above. You are of this world, but I’m not of this world. 24 That is why I told you that you will die in your sins, for unless you believe that I AM, you’ll die in your sins.”
25 Then they asked him, “Who are you?”
Jesus told them, “What have I been telling you all along?[d] 26 I have much to say about you and to condemn you for.[e] But the one who sent me is truthful,[f] and what I’ve heard from him I declare to the world.”
27 They didn’t realize that he was talking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus told them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own authority. Instead, I speak only what the Father has taught me. 29 Moreover, the one who sent me is with me. He has never left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.” 30 While he was saying these things, many believed in him.
Freedom and Slavery
31 So Jesus told those Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are really my disciples. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
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