Book of Common Prayer
33 He (A)turns rivers into a [a]wilderness,
And springs of water into a thirsty ground;
34 And a (B)fruitful land into a (C)salt waste,
Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
35 He (D)turns a [b]wilderness into a pool of water,
And a dry land into springs of water;
36 And He has the hungry live there,
So that they may establish [c](E)an inhabited city,
37 And sow fields and (F)plant vineyards,
And [d]gather a fruitful harvest.
38 He also blesses them and they (G)multiply greatly,
And He (H)does not let their cattle decrease.
39 When they (I)become few and (J)lowly
Because of oppression, misery, and sorrow,
40 He (K)pours contempt upon noblemen
And (L)makes them wander (M)in a pathless wasteland.
41 But He (N)sets the needy [e]securely on high, away from affliction,
And (O)makes his families like a flock.
42 The (P)upright see it and are glad;
But all (Q)injustice shuts its mouth.
43 Who is (R)wise? He is to pay attention to these things,
And consider the (S)mercy of the Lord.
God Praised and Pleas to Give Victory.
A Song, a Psalm of David.
108 (T)My heart is steadfast, God;
I will sing, I will sing praises also with my [f]soul.
2 Awake, harp and lyre;
I will awaken the dawn!
3 I will give thanks to You, Lord, among the peoples,
And I will sing praises to You among the nations.
4 For Your (U)mercy is great (V)above the heavens,
And Your truth reaches to the skies.
5 (W)Be exalted above the heavens, God,
And may Your glory be above all the earth.
6 (X)So that Your beloved may be rescued,
Save with Your right hand, and answer me!
7 God has spoken in His [g]holiness:
“I will triumph, I will divide up Shechem,
And measure out the Valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is the [h]helmet of My head;
(Y)Judah is My [i]scepter.
9 Moab is My washbowl;
I will throw My sandal over Edom;
I will shout aloud over Philistia.”
10 (Z)Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who [j]will lead me to Edom?
11 God, have You Yourself not (AA)rejected us?
And will You not go forth with our armies, God?
12 Give us help against the enemy,
For (AB)deliverance [k]by man is worthless.
13 [l]Through God we will do valiantly,
And (AC)it is He who will trample down our enemies.
Praise to the Creator and Protector.
33 (A)Sing for joy in the Lord, you righteous ones;
Praise is (B)becoming to the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the (C)lyre;
Sing praises to Him with a (D)harp of ten strings.
3 Sing to Him a (E)new song;
Play skillfully with (F)a shout of joy.
4 For the word of the Lord (G)is right,
And all His work is done (H)in faithfulness.
5 He (I)loves righteousness and justice;
The (J)earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
6 By the (K)word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And (L)by the breath of His mouth (M)all their [a]lights.
7 He gathers the (N)waters of the sea together [b]as a heap;
He puts the depths in storehouses.
8 Let (O)all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world (P)stand in awe of Him.
9 For (Q)He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it [c]stood firm.
10 The Lord (R)nullifies the plan of nations;
He frustrates the plans of peoples.
11 The (S)plan of the Lord stands forever,
The (T)plans of His heart from generation to generation.
12 Blessed is the (U)nation whose God is the Lord,
The people He has (V)chosen for His own inheritance.
13 The Lord (W)looks from heaven;
He (X)sees all the sons of mankind;
14 From (Y)His dwelling place He looks out
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 He who (Z)fashions [d]the hearts of them all,
He who (AA)understands all their works.
16 (AB)The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not rescued by great strength.
17 A (AC)horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it rescue anyone by its great strength.
18 Behold, (AD)the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who (AE)wait for His faithfulness,
19 To (AF)rescue their soul from death
And to keep them alive (AG)in famine.
20 Our soul (AH)waits for the Lord;
He is our (AI)help and our shield.
21 For our (AJ)heart rejoices in Him,
Because we trust in His holy name.
22 Let Your favor, Lord, be upon us,
Just as we have waited for You.
13 “Your words have been [a]arrogant against Me,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ 14 You have said, ‘It is (A)pointless to serve God; and what (B)benefit is it for us that we have done what He required, and that we have walked in mourning before the Lord of armies? 15 So now we (C)call the arrogant blessed; not only are the doers of wickedness built up, but they also put God to the test and (D)escape punishment.’”
The Book of Remembrance
16 Then those who [b]feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord (E)listened attentively and heard it, and a (F)book of remembrance was written before Him for those who [c]fear the Lord and esteem His name. 17 “And they will be (G)Mine,” says the Lord of armies, “on the (H)day that I [d]prepare My (I)own possession, and I will have compassion for them just as a man (J)has compassion for his own son who serves him.” 18 So you will again (K)distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.
Final Admonition
4 “[e]For behold, the day is coming, (L)burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be (M)chaff; and the day that is coming will (N)set them ablaze,” says the Lord of armies, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branches. 2 But for you who [f]fear My name, the (O)sun of righteousness will rise with (P)healing in its wings; and you will go forth and (Q)frolic like calves from the stall. 3 And you will (R)crush the wicked underfoot, for they will be (S)ashes under the soles of your feet (T)on the day [g]that I am preparing,” says the Lord of armies.
4 “(U)Remember the Law of Moses My servant, the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel.
5 “Behold, I am going to send you (V)Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. 6 He will (W)turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and (X)strike the land with complete destruction.”
13 Is anyone among you (A)suffering? (B)Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to (C)sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for (D)the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, [a](E)anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the (F)prayer of faith will [b](G)restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will (H)raise him up, and if he has committed sins, [c]they will be forgiven him. 16 Therefore, (I)confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be (J)healed. (K)A [d]prayer of a righteous person, when it is [e]brought about, can accomplish much. 17 Elijah was (L)a man with a nature like ours, and (M)he prayed [f]earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for (N)three years and six months. 18 Then he (O)prayed again, and (P)the sky [g]poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.
19 My brothers and sisters, (Q)if anyone among you strays from (R)the truth and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that the one who has turned a sinner from the error of his way will (S)save his soul from death and (T)cover a multitude of sins.
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 Now He also told this parable to some people who (A)trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and (B)viewed others with contempt: 10 “Two men (C)went up into the [a]temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee (D)stood and began praying this in regard to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, crooked, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I (E)fast twice a week; I (F)pay tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, (G)standing some distance away, (H)was even unwilling to raise his eyes toward heaven, but (I)was beating his chest, saying, ‘God, be [b]merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other one; (J)for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
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