Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for Guidance, Deliverance, and Forgiveness
Of David.[a]
25 To you, O Yahweh, I lift up my soul.
2 O my God, I trust you; let me not be put to shame.
Do not let my enemies exult over me.
3 Indeed, none who wait for you should be put to shame.
Those who betray without cause should be put to shame.
4 Make me know your ways, O Yahweh.
Teach me your paths.
5 Cause me to walk in your truth and teach me,
because you are the God of my salvation.
I await you all day long.[b]
6 Remember your compassion, O Yahweh,
and your acts of loyal love,
because they are from of old.
7 Do not remember
the sins of my youth or my transgressions.
According to your loyal love remember me if you will,
for the sake of your goodness, O Yahweh.
8 Good and right is Yahweh;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9 He causes the humble to walk in justice,
and teaches the humble his way.
10 All the paths of Yahweh are loyal love and faithfulness
for those who keep his covenant and statutes.[c]
11 Also, for the sake of your name, O Yahweh,
forgive my sin, because it is great.
12 Who is the man fearing Yahweh?
He will instruct him in the way he should choose.
13 His soul will lodge in prosperity,
and his offspring will possess the land.
14 Intimate fellowship with Yahweh is for those who fear him,
and he makes known his covenant to them.
15 My eyes are continually toward Yahweh,
because he will take my feet from the net.
16 Turn to me and have mercy on me
because I am lonely and afflicted.
17 Remove the troubles of my heart;
bring me out from my distresses.
18 Consider my affliction and trouble,
and forgive[d] all my sins.
19 Consider that my enemies are many,
and they hate me with violent hatred.
20 Protect my life and deliver me.
Let me not be put to shame, because I take shelter in you.
21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
because I wait for you.
22 O God, redeem Israel
from all its troubles.
Praise for Yahweh’s Justice
For the music director, according to Muth-labben.[a] A psalm of David.[b]
9 I will thank Yahweh with all my heart.
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you.
I will sing the praise of your name, O Most High.
3 When my enemies turn back,
they will stumble and perish because of your presence.
4 For you have maintained my just cause;
you have sat on the throne judging correctly.
5 You have rebuked the nations;
you have destroyed the wicked.
Their name you have blotted out
forever and ever.
6 The enemies are destroyed in ruins forever,
and you have uprooted their cities;
their very memory has perished.
7 But Yahweh sits enthroned forever.
He has established his throne for judgment.
8 And he will judge the world with righteousness.
He will judge the peoples with equity.
9 And Yahweh will be a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of distress.
10 And those who know your name will trust in you,
for you do not forsake those who seek you, O Yahweh.
11 Sing praises to Yahweh who sits enthroned[c] in Zion.
Tell his deeds among the peoples,
12 for he who avenges bloodshed[d] remembers them.
He does not forget the distressed cry of the afflicted.
13 Be gracious to me, O Yahweh.
See my suffering from those who hate me,
you who lift me up from the gates of death,
14 so that I may tell of all your praises.
In the gates of the daughter of Zion
let me rejoice in your salvation.
15 The nations have fallen in the pit that they made;
their foot is caught in the net that they hid.
16 Yahweh has made himself known;
he has executed judgment.
The wicked is snared by the work of his hands. Higgaion[e] Selah
17 The wicked shall turn back to Sheol,
all the nations forgetting God,
18 for the needy shall not always be forgotten;
the hope of the poor shall never perish.
19 Rise up, O Yahweh, let not humans[f] prevail;
let the nations be judged before you.
20 O Yahweh, put them in fear.
Let the nations know they are merely human. Selah
A Description of Those Who May Dwell with Yahweh
A psalm of David.[a]
15 O Yahweh, who may reside in your tent?
Who may dwell on your holy mountain?
2 He who walks blamelessly and does what is right.
He who speaks honestly in his heart.
3 He does not slander with his tongue.
He does not harm his friend,
nor bring up[b] a disgrace against his neighbor.
4 In his eyes a rejected one is contemptible,
but he honors those who respect Yahweh.
He takes an oath to his own injury and does not retract it.
5 He does not lend his money at interest,
and does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
will never be shaken.
Job’s Fourth Speech
12 Then[a] Job answered and said,
2 “Truly indeed you[b] are the people,
and wisdom will die with you.[c]
3 I also have insight[d] like you;[e]
I am not more inferior than you.[f]
And who does not know things like these?[g]
4 I am a laughingstock to my friends:[h]
‘He calls on God, and he answers him.’
A righteous, blameless man is a laughingstock.
5 Those at ease have contempt[i] for the thought of disaster,[j]
but it is ready for those unstable of foot.
6 The tents of the destroyers are at peace,
and there is security for those who provoke God,
for those whom God brings into his hand.[k]
13 “With him are wisdom and powerful deeds,
and to him belong counsel and understanding.
14 If he tears down, then[a] it will not be rebuilt;
if he shuts a man in, then[b] he cannot be freed.
15 Look, if he withholds the water,[c] then[d] they dry up;
and if he sends them out, then[e] they overwhelm the land.
16 “Strength and sound wisdom are with him;
the deceived and the deceiver are his.[f]
17 He leads counselors away stripped,
and he makes fools of judges.
18 He loosens the fetters of kings,
and he binds a loincloth on their loins.
19 He leads priests away stripped,
and he overthrows the members of ancient families.[g]
20 He deprives the trustworthy of speech,
and he takes away the discretion of elders.
21 He pours contempt on noblemen,
and he loosens the girdle of the mighty.
22 “He uncovers mysteries out of darkness,
and he brings deep shadow to the light.
23 He makes the nations great, then[h] he destroys them;
he expands the nations, then[i] he guides them.
24 He strips away the insight of the heads of the earth’s people,
and he makes them wander in a pathless wasteland.[j]
25 They grope in the dark without[k] light,
and he makes them stagger like a[l] drunkard.
Developments in the Church in Antioch
19 Now those who had been scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, proclaiming the message to no one except Jews alone. 20 But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they[a] came to Antioch, began to speak[b] to the Hellenists[c] also, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 And the report came to the attention[d] of the church that was in Jerusalem about them, and they sent out Barnabas as far as[e] Antioch, 23 who, when he[f] arrived and saw the grace of God, rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with devoted hearts,[g] 24 because he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a large number were added[h] to the Lord. 25 So he departed for Tarsus to look for Saul. 26 And when he[i] found him,[j] he brought him[k] to Antioch. And it happened to them also that they met together for a whole year with the church and taught a large number of people.[l] And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.
27 Now in those days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 And one of them named[m] Agabus stood up and[n] indicated by the Spirit that a great famine was about to come over the whole inhabited earth (which took place in the time of Claudius). 29 So from the disciples, according to their ability to give,[o] each one of them determined to send financial aid[p] for support to the brothers who lived in Judea, 30 which they also did, sending the aid[q] to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
Jesus Predicts His Death
21 So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me and will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come!” 22 Then the Jews began to say,[a] “Perhaps he will kill himself, because he is saying, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’” 23 And he said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are from this world; I am not from this world. 24 Thus I said to you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”
25 So they began to say to him,[b] “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “What[c] I have been saying to you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but the one who sent me is true, and the things which I heard from him, these things I say to the world.” 27 (They did not know that he was speaking to them about the Father.)
28 Then Jesus said,[d] “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will recognize that I am he, and I do nothing from myself, but just as the Father taught me, I say these things. 29 And the one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 While[e] he was saying these things, many believed in him.
The Truth Will Set You Free
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who had believed him, “If you continue in my word you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software