Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 41[a]
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 Blessed(A) are those who have regard for the weak;(B)
the Lord delivers them in times of trouble.(C)
2 The Lord protects(D) and preserves them—(E)
they are counted among the blessed in the land—(F)
he does not give them over to the desire of their foes.(G)
3 The Lord sustains them on their sickbed(H)
and restores them from their bed of illness.(I)
4 I said, “Have mercy(J) on me, Lord;
heal(K) me, for I have sinned(L) against you.”
5 My enemies say of me in malice,
“When will he die and his name perish?(M)”
6 When one of them comes to see me,
he speaks falsely,(N) while his heart gathers slander;(O)
then he goes out and spreads(P) it around.
7 All my enemies whisper together(Q) against me;
they imagine the worst for me, saying,
8 “A vile disease has afflicted him;
he will never get up(R) from the place where he lies.”
9 Even my close friend,(S)
someone I trusted,
one who shared my bread,
has turned[b] against me.(T)
Psalm 52[a]
For the director of music. A maskil[b] of David. When Doeg the Edomite(A) had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”
1 Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero?
Why do you boast(B) all day long,(C)
you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?
2 You who practice deceit,(D)
your tongue plots destruction;(E)
it is like a sharpened razor.(F)
3 You love evil(G) rather than good,
falsehood(H) rather than speaking the truth.[c]
4 You love every harmful word,
you deceitful tongue!(I)
5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:
He will snatch you up and pluck(J) you from your tent;
he will uproot(K) you from the land of the living.(L)
6 The righteous will see and fear;
they will laugh(M) at you, saying,
7 “Here now is the man
who did not make God his stronghold(N)
but trusted in his great wealth(O)
and grew strong by destroying others!”
Psalm 44[a]
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil.[b]
1 We have heard it with our ears,(A) O God;
our ancestors have told us(B)
what you did in their days,
in days long ago.(C)
2 With your hand you drove out(D) the nations
and planted(E) our ancestors;
you crushed(F) the peoples
and made our ancestors flourish.(G)
3 It was not by their sword(H) that they won the land,
nor did their arm bring them victory;
it was your right hand,(I) your arm,(J)
and the light(K) of your face, for you loved(L) them.
4 You are my King(M) and my God,(N)
who decrees[c] victories(O) for Jacob.
5 Through you we push back(P) our enemies;
through your name we trample(Q) our foes.
6 I put no trust in my bow,(R)
my sword does not bring me victory;
7 but you give us victory(S) over our enemies,
you put our adversaries to shame.(T)
8 In God we make our boast(U) all day long,(V)
and we will praise your name forever.[d](W)
9 But now you have rejected(X) and humbled us;(Y)
you no longer go out with our armies.(Z)
10 You made us retreat(AA) before the enemy,
and our adversaries have plundered(AB) us.
11 You gave us up to be devoured like sheep(AC)
and have scattered us among the nations.(AD)
12 You sold your people for a pittance,(AE)
gaining nothing from their sale.
13 You have made us a reproach(AF) to our neighbors,(AG)
the scorn(AH) and derision(AI) of those around us.
14 You have made us a byword(AJ) among the nations;
the peoples shake their heads(AK) at us.
15 I live in disgrace(AL) all day long,
and my face is covered with shame(AM)
16 at the taunts(AN) of those who reproach and revile(AO) me,
because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.(AP)
17 All this came upon us,
though we had not forgotten(AQ) you;
we had not been false to your covenant.
18 Our hearts had not turned(AR) back;
our feet had not strayed from your path.
19 But you crushed(AS) us and made us a haunt for jackals;(AT)
you covered us over with deep darkness.(AU)
20 If we had forgotten(AV) the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,(AW)
21 would not God have discovered it,
since he knows the secrets of the heart?(AX)
22 Yet for your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep(AY) to be slaughtered.(AZ)
16 Bind up this testimony of warning(A)
and seal(B) up God’s instruction among my disciples.
17 I will wait(C) for the Lord,
who is hiding(D) his face from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my trust in him.(E)
18 Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me.(F) We are signs(G) and symbols(H) in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.(I)
The Darkness Turns to Light
19 When someone tells you to consult(J) mediums and spiritists,(K) who whisper and mutter,(L) should not a people inquire(M) of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 Consult God’s instruction(N) and the testimony of warning.(O) If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light(P) of dawn. 21 Distressed and hungry,(Q) they will roam through the land;(R) when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse(S) their king and their God. 22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom,(T) and they will be thrust into utter darkness.(U)
9 [a]Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom(V) for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,(W) but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—
1 Simon Peter, a servant(A) and apostle of Jesus Christ,(B)
To those who through the righteousness(C) of our God and Savior Jesus Christ(D) have received a faith as precious as ours:
2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance(E) through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.(F)
Confirming One’s Calling and Election
3 His divine power(G) has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him(H) who called us(I) by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises,(J) so that through them you may participate in the divine nature,(K) having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.(L)
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;(M) 6 and to knowledge, self-control;(N) and to self-control, perseverance;(O) and to perseverance, godliness;(P) 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.(Q) 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive(R) in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.(S) 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind,(T) forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.(U)
10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters,[a] make every effort to confirm your calling(V) and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble,(W) 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom(X) of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.(Y)
Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives(A)
39 Jesus went out as usual(B) to the Mount of Olives,(C) and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”(D) 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down(E) and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup(F) from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”(G) 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.(H) 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.[a]
45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”(I)
Jesus Arrested(J)
47 While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, 48 but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
49 When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?”(K) 50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
51 But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.
52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard,(L) and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? 53 Every day I was with you in the temple courts,(M) and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour(N)—when darkness reigns.”(O)
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