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?
Eliphaz Accuses and Exhorts Job
22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,
21 “(A)Be reconciled with Him, and be at peace;
Thereby good will come to you.
22 Please receive [a](B)instruction from His mouth,
And put His words in your heart.
23 If you (C)return to [b]the Almighty, you will be [c]restored;
If you (D)remove injustice far from your tent,
24 And (E)put your [d]gold in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,
25 Then [e]the Almighty will be your [f]gold
And abundant silver to you.
26 For then you will (F)take pleasure in [g]the Almighty
And lift up your face to God.
27 You will (G)pray to Him, and (H)He will hear you;
And you will pay your vows.
28 You will also decide something, and it will be established for you;
And (I)light will shine on your ways.
29 When [h]they have brought you low, you will speak with [i]confidence,
And He will save the [j](J)humble person.
30 He will rescue one who is not innocent,
And he will be (K)rescued due to the cleanness of your hands.”
Job Says He Longs for God
23 Then Job responded,
2 “Even today my (L)complaint is rebellion;
[k]His hand is (M)heavy despite my groaning.
3 Oh that I knew how to find Him,
That I might come to His home!
4 I would (N)present my case before Him
And fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would learn the words which He would [l]answer,
And perceive what He would tell me.
6 Would He contend with me by (O)the greatness of His power?
No, surely He would pay attention to me.
7 There the upright would (P)argue with Him;
And I [m]would be (Q)free of my Judge forever.
26 “[a]Brothers, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of (A)this salvation has been sent. 27 For those who live in Jerusalem, and their (B)rulers, (C)recognizing neither Him nor the [b]declarations of (D)the prophets which are (E)read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him. 28 And though they found no grounds for putting Him to death, they (F)asked Pilate that He be executed. 29 When they had (G)carried out everything that was written concerning Him, (H)they took Him down from the [c](I)cross and (J)laid Him in a tomb. 30 But God (K)raised Him from the dead; 31 and for many days (L)He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now (M)His witnesses to the people. 32 And we (N)preach to you the good news of (O)the promise made to the fathers, 33 that God has fulfilled this promise to those of us who are the descendants by (P)raising Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘(Q)You are My Son; today I have fathered You.’ 34 As for the fact that He (R)raised Him from the dead, never again to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ‘(S)I will give you the holy and faithful mercies of David.’ 35 Therefore, He also says in another Psalm: ‘(T)You will not [d]allow Your [e]Holy One to [f]undergo decay.’ 36 For (U)David, after he had [g]served God’s (V)purpose in his own generation, (W)fell asleep, and was [h]buried among his fathers and [i]underwent decay; 37 but He whom God (X)raised did not [j]undergo decay. 38 Therefore let it be known to you, [k]brothers, that (Y)through [l]Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and [m]through Him (Z)everyone who believes is [n]freed from all things, from which you could not be [o]freed [p]through the Law of Moses. 40 Therefore, see that the thing spoken of (AA)in the Prophets does not come upon you:
41 ‘(AB)Look, you scoffers, and be astonished, and [q]perish;
For I am accomplishing a work in your days,
A work which you will never believe, though someone should describe it to you.’”
42 As [r]Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people repeatedly begged to have these [s]things spoken to them the next (AC)Sabbath. 43 Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and the (AD)God-fearing [t](AE)proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking to them and urging them to continue in (AF)the grace of God.
Parable of the Good Shepherd
10 “Truly, truly I say to you, the one who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is (A)a thief and a robber. 2 But the one who enters by the door is (B)a shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep listen to (C)his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and (D)leads them out. 4 When he puts all his own sheep outside, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know (E)his voice. 5 However, a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know (F)the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus told them this (G)figure of speech, but they did not understand what the things which He was saying to them [a]meant.
7 So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly I say to you, I am (H)the door of the sheep. 8 All those who came before Me are (I)thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 (J)I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they (K)would have life, and [b]have it abundantly.
11 “(L)I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd (M)lays down His life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand, and not a (N)shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters the flock. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and does not care about the sheep. 14 (O)I am the good shepherd, and (P)I know My own, and My own know Me, 15 just as (Q)the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and (R)I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 And I have (S)other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice; and they will become (T)one flock, with (U)one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves Me, because I (V)lay down My life so that I may take it back. 18 (W)No one has taken it away from Me, but I (X)lay it down on My own. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it back. (Y)This commandment I received from My Father.”
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