Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 16[a]
A prayer[b] of David.
16 Protect me, O God, for I have taken shelter in you.[c]
2 I say to the Lord, “You are the Lord,
my only source of well-being.”[d]
3 As for God’s chosen people who are in the land,
and the leading officials I admired so much[e]—
4 their troubles multiply;
they desire other gods.[f]
I will not pour out drink offerings of blood to their gods,[g]
nor will I make vows in the name of their gods.[h]
5 Lord, you give me stability and prosperity;[i]
you make my future secure.[j]
6 It is as if I have been given fertile fields
or received a beautiful tract of land.[k]
7 I will praise[l] the Lord who[m] guides[n] me;
yes, during the night I reflect and learn.[o]
8 I constantly trust in the Lord;[p]
because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 So my heart rejoices
and I am happy;[q]
my life is safe.[r]
10 You will not abandon me[s] to Sheol;[t]
you will not allow your faithful follower[u] to see[v] the Pit.[w]
11 You lead me in[x] the path of life.[y]
I experience absolute joy in your presence;[z]
you always give me sheer delight.[aa]
Psalm 17[ab]
A prayer of David.
17 Lord, consider my just cause.[ac]
Pay attention to my cry for help.
Listen to the prayer
I sincerely offer.[ad]
2 Make a just decision on my behalf.[ae]
Decide what is right.[af]
3 You have scrutinized my inner motives;[ag]
you have examined me during the night.[ah]
You have carefully evaluated me, but you find no sin.
I am determined I will say nothing sinful.[ai]
4 As for the actions of people[aj]—
just as you have commanded,
I have not followed in the footsteps of violent men.[ak]
5 I carefully obey your commands;[al]
I do not deviate from them.[am]
6 I call to you because you will answer me, O God.
Listen to me![an]
Hear what I say![ao]
7 Accomplish awesome, faithful deeds,[ap]
you who powerfully deliver those who look to you for protection from their enemies.[aq]
8 Protect me as you would protect the pupil of your eye.[ar]
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.[as]
9 Protect me from[at] the wicked men who attack[au] me,
my enemies who crowd around me for the kill.[av]
10 They are calloused;[aw]
they speak arrogantly.[ax]
11 They attack me, now they surround me;[ay]
they intend to throw me to the ground.[az]
12 He[ba] is like a lion[bb] that wants to tear its prey to bits,[bc]
like a young lion crouching[bd] in hidden places.
13 Rise up, Lord!
Confront him.[be] Knock him down.[bf]
Use your sword to rescue me from the wicked man.[bg]
14 Lord, use your power to deliver me from these murderers,[bh]
from the murderers of this world.[bi]
They enjoy prosperity;[bj]
you overwhelm them with the riches they desire.[bk]
They have many children,
and leave their wealth to their offspring.[bl]
15 As for me, because I am innocent I will see your face;[bm]
when I awake you will reveal yourself to me.[bn]
Psalm 22[a]
For the music director, according to the tune “Morning Doe”;[b] a psalm of David.
22 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?[c]
I groan in prayer, but help seems far away.[d]
2 My God, I cry out during the day,
but you do not answer,
and during the night my prayers do not let up.[e]
3 You are holy;
you sit as king receiving the praises of Israel.[f]
4 In you our ancestors[g] trusted;
they trusted in you[h] and you rescued them.
5 To you they cried out, and they were saved;
in you they trusted and they were not disappointed.[i]
6 But I[j] am a worm,[k] not a man;[l]
people insult me and despise me.[m]
7 All who see me taunt[n] me;
they mock me[o] and shake their heads.[p]
8 They say,[q]
“Commit yourself[r] to the Lord!
Let the Lord[s] rescue him!
Let the Lord[t] deliver him, for he delights in him.”[u]
9 Yes, you are the one who brought me out[v] from the womb
and made me feel secure on my mother’s breasts.
10 I have been dependent on you since birth;[w]
from the time I came out of my mother’s womb you have been my God.[x]
11 Do not remain far away from me,
for trouble is near and I have no one to help me.[y]
12 Many bulls[z] surround me;
powerful bulls of Bashan[aa] hem me in.
13 They[ab] open their mouths to devour me[ac]
like a roaring lion that rips its prey.[ad]
14 My strength drains away like water;[ae]
all my bones are dislocated.
My heart[af] is like wax;
it melts away inside me.
15 The roof of my mouth[ag] is as dry as a piece of pottery;
my tongue sticks to my gums.[ah]
You[ai] set me in the dust of death.[aj]
16 Yes,[ak] wild dogs surround me—
a gang of evil men crowd around me;
like a lion they pin my hands and feet.[al]
17 I can count[am] all my bones;
my enemies[an] are gloating over me in triumph.[ao]
18 They are dividing up my clothes among themselves;
they are rolling dice[ap] for my garments.
19 But you, O Lord, do not remain far away.
You are my source of strength.[aq] Hurry and help me![ar]
20 Deliver me[as] from the sword.
Save[at] my life[au] from the claws[av] of the wild dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lion,[aw]
and from the horns of the wild oxen.[ax]
You have answered me.[ay]
22 I will declare your name to my countrymen.[az]
In the middle of the assembly I will praise you.
23 You loyal followers of the Lord,[ba] praise him.
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him.
All you descendants of Israel, stand in awe of him.[bb]
24 For he did not despise or detest the suffering[bc] of the oppressed.[bd]
He did not ignore him;[be]
when he cried out to him, he responded.[bf]
25 You are the reason I offer praise[bg] in the great assembly;
I will fulfill my promises before the Lord’s loyal followers.[bh]
26 Let the oppressed eat and be filled.[bi]
Let those who seek his help praise the Lord.
May you[bj] live forever!
27 Let all the people of the earth acknowledge the Lord and turn to him.[bk]
Let all the nations[bl] worship you.[bm]
28 For the Lord is king[bn]
and rules over the nations.
29 All the thriving people[bo] of the earth will join the celebration and worship;[bp]
all those who are descending into the grave[bq] will bow before him,
including those who cannot preserve their lives.[br]
30 A whole generation[bs] will serve him;
they will tell the next generation about the Lord.[bt]
31 They will come and tell about his saving deeds;[bu]
they will tell a future generation what he has accomplished.[bv]
Paul on Malta
28 After we had safely reached shore,[a] we learned that the island was called Malta.[b] 2 The local inhabitants[c] showed us extraordinary[d] kindness, for they built a fire and welcomed us all because it had started to rain[e] and was cold. 3 When Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood[f] and was putting it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the local people[g] saw the creature hanging from Paul’s[h] hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer! Although he has escaped from the sea, Justice herself[i] has not allowed him to live!”[j] 5 However,[k] Paul[l] shook[m] the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 But they were expecting that he was going to swell up[n] or suddenly drop dead. So after they had waited[o] a long time and had seen[p] nothing unusual happen[q] to him, they changed their minds[r] and said he was a god.[s]
7 Now in the region around that place[t] were fields belonging to the chief official[u] of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us hospitably as guests for three days. 8 The father[v] of Publius lay sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him[w] and after praying, placed[x] his hands on him and healed[y] him. 9 After this had happened, many of the people on the island who were sick[z] also came and were healed.[aa] 10 They also bestowed many honors,[ab] and when we were preparing to sail,[ac] they gave[ad] us all the supplies we needed.[ae]
Paul Finally Reaches Rome
11 After three months we put out to sea[af] in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered at the island and had the “Heavenly Twins”[ag] as its figurehead.[ah] 12 We put in[ai] at Syracuse[aj] and stayed there three days. 13 From there we cast off[ak] and arrived at Rhegium,[al] and after one day a south wind sprang up[am] and on the second day we came to Puteoli.[an] 14 There[ao] we found[ap] some brothers[aq] and were invited to stay with them seven days. And in this way we came to Rome. 15 The brothers from there,[ar] when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius[as] and Three Taverns[at] to meet us. When he saw them,[au] Paul thanked God and took courage. 16 When we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to live[av] by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.
The Transfiguration
28 Now[a] about eight days[b] after these sayings, Jesus[c] took with him Peter, John, and James, and went up the mountain to pray. 29 As[d] he was praying,[e] the appearance of his face was transformed,[f] and his clothes became very bright, a brilliant white.[g] 30 Then[h] two men, Moses and Elijah,[i] began talking with him.[j] 31 They appeared in glorious splendor and spoke about his departure[k] that he was about to carry out[l] at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those with him were quite sleepy,[m] but as they became fully awake,[n] they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33 Then[o] as the men[p] were starting to leave,[q] Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three shelters,[r] one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he was saying. 34 As[s] he was saying this, a cloud[t] came[u] and overshadowed[v] them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 Then[w] a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One.[x] Listen to him!”[y] 36 After[z] the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. So[aa] they kept silent and told no one[ab] at that time[ac] anything of what they had seen.
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