Book of Common Prayer
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
Prayer for Help and Praise to God
40 I waited expectantly[a] for the Lord,
and he took notice of me
and heard my cry.
2 He plucked me out of a pit of confusion,[b]
even out of the quicksand;
he placed my feet on a rock
and established my steps.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
praise to our God!
Many will watch and be in awe,
and they will place their trust in the Lord.
4 How blessed is that strong person
who places his trust in the Lord,
and who has not acknowledged the proud
nor resorted to lies.
5 Lord, my God,
You have done great things:
marvelous works and your thoughts toward us.
There is no one who compares to you!
I will try to recite your actions,[c]
even though there are too many to number.
6 You take no delight in sacrifices and offerings—
you have prepared my ears to listen—[d]
you require no burnt offerings or sacrifices for sin.
7 Then I said, “Here I am! I have come!
In the scroll of the book it is written about me.
8 I delight to do your will, my God.
Your Law is part of my inner being.”
9 In the great congregation I have proclaimed the righteous good news.
Behold, I did not seal my lips, Lord, as you know.
10 I have not ignored[e] your righteousness in my heart;
instead, I have proclaimed your faithfulness and deliverance.
I have not concealed your gracious love and truthfulness
from the great congregation.
11 Lord, do not withhold your mercy[f] from me,
for your gracious love and truthfulness will keep me safe continuously.
12 Innumerable evils have surrounded me;
my iniquities have overtaken me so that I cannot see.
They are more in number than the hair on my head,
and my courage[g] has forsaken me.
13 Be pleased, Lord, to deliver me;
Lord, hurry up and help me!
14 May those who seek to destroy my life be ashamed and confounded;
let them be driven backwards and humiliated,
particularly those who wish me evil.
15 Let shame be the reward for those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
16 Let all who seek you shout for joy and be glad in you.
May those who love your deliverance say,
“The Lord be magnified!” continuously.
17 But I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think about me.
You are my help and deliverer.
My God, do not tarry too long!
To the Director: With stringed instruments. A Davidic instruction,[a] when the Ziphites came and told Saul, “David is hiding among us, is he not?”
A Prayer in Times of Trouble
54 God, by your name deliver me,
and by your power vindicate me.
2 God, listen to my prayer,
and pay attention to the words of my mouth.
3 For the arrogant have arisen against me;
oppressors have sought to take my life.
They do not keep God in mind![b]
4 Look, God is my helper;
the Lord is with those who are guarding my life.
5 He will turn the evil upon those who lie in wait for me.
Cut them off with your truth.
6 With a free will offering I will sacrifice to you;
I will give thanks to your name, Lord,
because it is good,
7 for he has delivered me from every trouble,
and my eyes have seen the end of[c] my enemies.
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm. When the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
A Prayer for Cleansing and Pardon
51 Have mercy, God, according to your gracious love,
according to your unlimited compassion,
erase my transgressions.
2 Wash me from my iniquity,
cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgression;
my sin remains continuously before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned,
and done what was evil in your sight.
As a result, you are just in your pronouncement
and clear in your judgment.
5 Indeed, in iniquity I was brought forth;
in sin my mother conceived me.
6 Indeed, you are pleased with truth in the inner person,
and you will teach me wisdom in my[a] innermost parts.
7 Purge me with hyssop,
and I will be clean.
Wash me,
and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me know[b] joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
9 Hide your countenance from my sins
and erase the record of my iniquities.
10 God, create a pure heart in me,
and renew a right attitude within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence;
do not take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and let a willing attitude control me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors about your ways,
and sinners will turn to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of shedding blood,[c]
God, God of my salvation.
Then my tongue will sing about your righteousness.
15 Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 Indeed, you do not delight in sacrifices,
or I would give them,
nor do you desire burnt offerings.
17 True sacrifice to God[d] is a broken spirit.
A broken and chastened heart, God,
you will not despise.
18 Show favor to Zion in your good pleasure;
and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will be pleased with right sacrifices,
with burnt offerings, and with whole burnt offerings.
Then they will offer bulls on your altar.
Job Wishes for the Old Days
29 Then Job continued with his discourse:
No Trust in Wealth and Heavenly Bodies
24 “If I’ve put my confidence in gold,
if I’ve told gold, ‘You’re my security,’
25 if I’ve found joy in great wealth that I own,
if I’ve earned a lot with my own hands,
26 if I look at the sun[a] when it shines
or the moon as it rises in steady splendor,
27 so that in the depths of my deceived heart
I worshipped them with my mouth and hands,
28 this is also a sin that deserves to be judged,
since I would have tried to deceive[b] God above.”
No Rejoicing over the Plight of Adversary
29 “Have I rejoiced in the destruction of those who hate me,
or have I been happy that evil caught up with him?
30 No, I haven’t allowed my mouth to sin
by asking for his life[c] with a curse.
31 People in my household have said,
‘We cannot find anyone who has not been satisfied with his meat,’ haven’t they?
32 No stranger ever spent the night in the street,
because I opened my doors to travelers.”
No Secret Sins
33 “Have I covered my transgression like other people,
to conceal iniquity within myself?[d]
34 Have I feared large crowds?
Has my family’s contempt ever terrified me
so that I remained silent and wouldn’t go outside?”
Request for A Hearing
35 “Who will grant me a hearing?
Here’s my signature[e]—let the Almighty answer!
Since my adversary indicted me,
36 I’ll wear it on my shoulder,
or tie it on my head for a crown!
37 I’ll give an account for every step I’ve taken;
I’ll approach him confidently like a Commander-in-Chief.”[f]
No Abuse of the Land
38 “If my land were to cry out against me
or if all its furrows wept as one,
39 If I’ve consumed its produce[g] without paying for it
and snuffed out the life of its owners;
40 may thorns spring up instead of wheat,
and obnoxious weeds instead of barley.”
With this, Job’s discourse with his friends[h] is completed.
12 The whole crowd was silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul tell about all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the gentiles. 13 After Paul and Barnabas[a] had finished speaking, James responded, “Brothers, listen to me: 14 Simeon[b] has explained how God first showed his concern for the gentiles by taking from among them a people for his name. 15 This agrees with the words of the prophets. As it is written,
16 ‘“After this, I will come back
and set up David’s fallen tent again.
I will restore its ruined places
and set it up again
17 so that the rest of the people may search for the Lord,
including all the gentiles who are called by my name,’
declares the Lord.[c]
‘He is the one who has been doing these things
18 that have been known from long ago.’[d]
19 “Therefore, I have decided that we should not trouble these gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead, we should write to them to keep away from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from anything strangled,[e] and from blood.[f] 21 After all, Moses has had people to proclaim him in every city for generations, and on every Sabbath his books are[g] read aloud in the synagogues.”
30 Now Jesus had not yet arrived at the village but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with her, consoling her in the house, saw Mary get up quickly and go out, they followed her, thinking that she had gone to the tomb to cry there.
32 As soon as Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet and told him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was greatly troubled in spirit and deeply moved. 34 He asked, “Where have you put him?”
They told him, “Lord, come and see.”
35 Jesus burst into tears.
36 So the Jews said, “See how much he loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “Surely the one who opened the eyes of the blind man could have kept this man from dying, couldn’t he?”
Jesus Brings Lazarus Back to Life
38 Groaning deeply again, Jesus came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying in front of it. 39 Jesus said, “Remove the stone.”
Martha, the dead man’s sister, told him, “Lord, there must be a stench by now, because he’s been dead for four days.”
40 Jesus told her, “I told you that if you believed you would see God’s glory, didn’t I?” 41 So they removed the stone.
Then Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. 42 I know that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.”
43 After saying this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet tied with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a handkerchief. Jesus told them, “Untie him, and let him go.”
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