Book of Common Prayer
The Lord, the Psalmist’s Portion in Life and Salvation in Death.
A [a]Mikhtam of David.
16 (A)Protect me, God, for (B)I take refuge in You.
2 [b]I said to the Lord, “You are [c]my Lord;
I (C)have nothing good besides You.”
3 As for the [d](D)saints who are on the earth,
[e]They are the majestic ones; (E)all my delight is in them.
4 [f]The (F)pains of those who have acquired another god will be multiplied;
I will not pour out their drink offerings of (G)blood,
Nor will I (H)take their names upon my lips.
5 The Lord is the (I)portion of my inheritance and my (J)cup;
You support my (K)lot.
6 The measuring (L)lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my inheritance is (M)beautiful to me.
7 I will bless the Lord who has (N)advised me;
Indeed, my [g](O)mind instructs me in the night.
8 (P)I have (Q)set the Lord continually before me;
Because He is (R)at my right hand, (S)I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore (T)my heart is glad and (U)my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will (V)dwell securely.
10 For You (W)will not abandon my soul to [h]Sheol;
You will not [i](X)allow Your [j]Holy One to [k]undergo decay.
11 You will make known to me (Y)the way of life;
In (Z)Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are (AA)pleasures forever.
Prayer for Protection against Oppressors.
A Prayer of David.
17 Hear a (AB)just cause, Lord, (AC)give Your attention to my cry;
(AD)Listen to my prayer, which is not from (AE)deceitful lips.
2 Let (AF)my [l]judgment come forth from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look with (AG)integrity.
3 You have (AH)put my heart to the test;
You have visited me by night;
You have (AI)sifted me and (AJ)You find [m]nothing;
My (AK)intent is that my mouth will not offend.
4 As for the works of mankind, (AL)by the word of Your lips
I have kept from the (AM)ways of the violent.
5 My (AN)steps have held to Your [n]paths.
My (AO)feet have not slipped.
6 I have (AP)called upon You, for You will answer me, God;
(AQ)Incline Your ear to me, hear my speech.
7 (AR)Show Your wonderful faithfulness,
(AS)Savior of those who take refuge [o]at Your right hand
From those who rise up against them.
8 Keep me as [p]the (AT)apple of the eye;
Hide me (AU)in the shadow of Your wings
9 From the (AV)wicked who deal violently with me,
My (AW)deadly enemies who surround me.
10 They have (AX)closed their [q]unfeeling hearts,
With their mouths they (AY)speak proudly.
11 They have now (AZ)surrounded us in our steps;
They set their eyes (BA)to cast us down to the ground.
12 He is (BB)like a lion that is eager to tear,
And as a young lion (BC)lurking in secret places.
13 (BD)Arise, Lord, confront him, (BE)make him bow down;
(BF)Save my soul from the wicked with (BG)Your sword,
14 From people by (BH)Your hand, Lord,
From people [r]of the world, (BI)whose portion is in this life,
And whose belly You (BJ)fill with Your treasure;
They are satisfied with children,
And leave their abundance to their babies.
15 As for me, I shall (BK)behold Your face in righteousness;
(BL)I shall be satisfied with Your (BM)likeness when I awake.
A Cry of Anguish and a Song of Praise.
For the music director; upon [a]Aijeleth Hashshahar. A Psalm of David.
22 (A)My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
(B)Far from my [b]help are the words of my [c](C)groaning.
2 My God, I (D)cry out by day, but You do not answer;
And by night, but [d]I have no rest.
3 Yet (E)You are holy,
You who [e]are enthroned upon (F)the praises of Israel.
4 In You our fathers (G)trusted;
They trusted and You (H)rescued them.
5 To You they cried out and they fled to safety;
(I)In You they trusted and were not [f]disappointed.
6 But I am a (J)worm and not a person,
A (K)disgrace of mankind and (L)despised by the people.
7 All who see me (M)deride me;
They [g]sneer, they (N)shake their heads, saying,
8 “[h]Turn [i]him over to the Lord; (O)let Him save him;
Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”
9 Yet You are He who (P)brought me forth from the womb;
You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.
10 I was cast upon You (Q)from [j]birth;
You have been my God from my mother’s womb.
11 (R)Do not be far from me, for [k]trouble is near;
For there is (S)no one to help.
12 Many (T)bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of (U)Bashan have encircled me.
13 They (V)open their mouths wide at me,
As a ravening and roaring (W)lion.
14 I am (X)poured out like water,
And all my (Y)bones are out of joint;
My (Z)heart is like wax;
It is melted within [l]me.
15 My (AA)strength is dried up like a piece of pottery,
And (AB)my tongue clings to my jaws;
And You (AC)lay me [m]in the dust of death.
16 For (AD)dogs have surrounded me;
[n]A band of evildoers has encompassed me;
[o]They (AE)pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
(AF)They look, they stare at me;
18 They (AG)divide my garments among them,
And they cast lots for my clothing.
19 But You, Lord, (AH)do not be far away;
You who are my help, (AI)hurry to my assistance.
20 Save my [p]soul from (AJ)the sword,
My (AK)only life from the [q]power of the dog.
21 Save me from the (AL)lion’s mouth;
From the horns of the (AM)wild oxen You (AN)answer me.
22 I will (AO)proclaim Your name to my brothers;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 (AP)You who fear the Lord, praise Him;
All you [r]descendants of Jacob, (AQ)glorify Him,
And (AR)stand in awe of Him, all you [s]descendants of Israel.
24 For He has (AS)not despised nor scorned the suffering of the afflicted;
Nor has He (AT)hidden His face from him;
But (AU)when he cried to Him for help, He heard.
25 From You comes (AV)my praise in the great assembly;
I shall (AW)pay my vows before those who fear Him.
26 The [t]afflicted will eat and (AX)be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will (AY)praise the Lord.
May your (AZ)heart live forever!
27 All the (BA)ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the (BB)families of the nations will worship before [u]You.
28 For the (BC)kingdom is the Lord’s
And He (BD)rules over the nations.
29 All the [v](BE)prosperous of the earth will eat and worship,
All those who (BF)go down to the dust will kneel before Him,
Even he who [w](BG)cannot keep his soul alive.
30 A [x](BH)posterity will serve Him;
It will be told of the Lord to (BI)the coming generation.
31 They will come and (BJ)will declare His righteousness
To a people (BK)who will be born, that He has performed it.
Safe at Malta
28 When (A)they had been brought safely through, (B)then we found out that (C)the island was called [a]Malta. 2 (D)The [b]natives showed us extraordinary kindness, for they kindled a fire and (E)took us all in because of the rain that had started and because of the cold. 3 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out [c]because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. 4 When (F)the [d]natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, “(G)Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, [e]justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 However, [f](H)Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 Now they were expecting that he was going to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and (I)began to say that he was a god.
7 Now in the neighboring parts of that place were lands belonging to the [g]leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us warmly for three days. 8 And it happened that the father of Publius was lying in bed afflicted with a recurring fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him, and after he (J)prayed, he (K)laid his hands on him and healed him. 9 After this happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to him and being cured. 10 They also showed us many honors, and when we were about to set sail, they [h]supplied us with [i]everything we needed.
Paul Arrives in Rome
11 After three months we set sail on (L)an Alexandrian ship which had wintered at the island, and which had [j]the Twin Brothers for its figurehead. 12 After we put in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. 13 From there we sailed around and arrived at Rhegium, and a day later a south wind came up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14 [k]There we found some (M)brothers and sisters, and were invited to stay with them for seven days; and that is how we came to Rome. 15 And from there the (N)brothers and sisters, when they heard about us, came as far as the [l]Market of Appius and the [m]Three Inns to meet us; and when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.
16 When we entered Rome, Paul was (O)allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.
The Transfiguration
28 (A)About eight days after these sayings, He took along (B)Peter, John, and James, and (C)went up on the mountain (D)to pray. 29 And while He was (E)praying, the appearance of His face (F)became different, and His clothing became white and [a]gleaming. 30 And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, 31 who, appearing in [b]glory, were speaking of His (G)departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and his companions (H)had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who were standing with Him. 33 And as [c]these two men were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “(I)Master, it is good that we are here; and (J)let’s make three [d]tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—(K)not realizing what he was saying. 34 But while he was saying this, a cloud [e]formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And then (L)a voice came from the cloud, saying, “(M)This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” 36 And when the voice [f]had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And (N)they kept silent, and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.
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