Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 40[a](A)
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 I waited patiently(B) for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.(C)
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,(D)
out of the mud(E) and mire;(F)
he set my feet(G) on a rock(H)
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song(I) in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord(J)
and put their trust(K) in him.
4 Blessed is the one(L)
who trusts in the Lord,(M)
who does not look to the proud,(N)
to those who turn aside to false gods.[b](O)
5 Many, Lord my God,
are the wonders(P) you have done,
the things you planned for us.
None can compare(Q) with you;
were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
they would be too many(R) to declare.
6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—(S)
but my ears you have opened[c]—(T)
burnt offerings(U) and sin offerings[d] you did not require.
7 Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—
it is written about me in the scroll.[e](V)
8 I desire to do your will,(W) my God;(X)
your law is within my heart.”(Y)
9 I proclaim your saving acts(Z) in the great assembly;(AA)
I do not seal my lips, Lord,
as you know.(AB)
10 I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I speak of your faithfulness(AC) and your saving help.
I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness
from the great assembly.(AD)
11 Do not withhold your mercy(AE) from me, Lord;
may your love(AF) and faithfulness(AG) always protect(AH) me.
12 For troubles(AI) without number surround me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.(AJ)
They are more than the hairs of my head,(AK)
and my heart fails(AL) within me.
13 Be pleased to save me, Lord;
come quickly, Lord, to help me.(AM)
14 May all who want to take my life(AN)
be put to shame and confusion;(AO)
may all who desire my ruin(AP)
be turned back in disgrace.
15 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”(AQ)
be appalled at their own shame.
16 But may all who seek you(AR)
rejoice and be glad(AS) in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
“The Lord is great!”(AT)
Psalm 54[a]
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil[b] of David. When the Ziphites(A) had gone to Saul and said, “Is not David hiding among us?”
1 Save me(B), O God, by your name;(C)
vindicate me by your might.(D)
2 Hear my prayer, O God;(E)
listen to the words of my mouth.
Psalm 51[a]
For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.(A)
1 Have mercy(B) on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;(C)
according to your great compassion(D)
blot out(E) my transgressions.(F)
2 Wash away(G) all my iniquity
and cleanse(H) me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.(I)
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned(J)
and done what is evil in your sight;(K)
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.(L)
5 Surely I was sinful(M) at birth,(N)
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom(O) in that secret place.(P)
7 Cleanse(Q) me with hyssop,(R) and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.(S)
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;(T)
let the bones(U) you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins(V)
and blot out(W) all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart,(X) O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.(Y)
11 Do not cast me(Z) from your presence(AA)
or take your Holy Spirit(AB) from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation(AC)
and grant me a willing spirit,(AD) to sustain me.(AE)
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,(AF)
so that sinners(AG) will turn back to you.(AH)
14 Deliver me(AI) from the guilt of bloodshed,(AJ) O God,
you who are God my Savior,(AK)
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.(AL)
15 Open my lips, Lord,(AM)
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice,(AN) or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice,(AO) O God, is[b] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart(AP)
you, God, will not despise.
God’s Judgment on Assyria
5 “Woe(A) to the Assyrian,(B) the rod(C) of my anger,
in whose hand is the club(D) of my wrath!(E)
6 I send him against a godless(F) nation,
I dispatch(G) him against a people who anger me,(H)
to seize loot and snatch plunder,(I)
and to trample(J) them down like mud in the streets.
7 But this is not what he intends,(K)
this is not what he has in mind;
his purpose is to destroy,
to put an end to many nations.
8 ‘Are not my commanders(L) all kings?’ he says.
9 ‘Has not Kalno(M) fared like Carchemish?(N)
Is not Hamath(O) like Arpad,(P)
and Samaria(Q) like Damascus?(R)
10 As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols,(S)
kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—
11 shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images
as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?(T)’”
12 When the Lord has finished all his work(U) against Mount Zion(V) and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria(W) for the willful pride(X) of his heart and the haughty look(Y) in his eyes. 13 For he says:
“‘By the strength of my hand(Z) I have done this,(AA)
and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.
I removed the boundaries of nations,
I plundered their treasures;(AB)
like a mighty one I subdued[a] their kings.(AC)
14 As one reaches into a nest,(AD)
so my hand reached for the wealth(AE) of the nations;
as people gather abandoned eggs,
so I gathered all the countries;(AF)
not one flapped a wing,
or opened its mouth to chirp.(AG)’”
15 Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it,
or the saw boast against the one who uses it?(AH)
As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up,
or a club(AI) brandish the one who is not wood!
16 Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
will send a wasting disease(AJ) upon his sturdy warriors;(AK)
under his pomp(AL) a fire(AM) will be kindled
like a blazing flame.
17 The Light of Israel will become a fire,(AN)
their Holy One(AO) a flame;
in a single day it will burn and consume
his thorns(AP) and his briers.(AQ)
18 The splendor of his forests(AR) and fertile fields
it will completely destroy,(AS)
as when a sick person wastes away.
19 And the remaining trees of his forests(AT) will be so few(AU)
that a child could write them down.
17 These people are springs without water(A) and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.(B) 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words(C) and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping(D) from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.”(E) 20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing(F) our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ(G) and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.(H) 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.(I) 22 Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,”[a](J) and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.”
2 When John,(A) who was in prison,(B) heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come,(C) or should we expect someone else?”
4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy[a] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.(D) 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”(E)
7 As John’s(F) disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness(G) to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. 9 Then what did you go out to see? A prophet?(H) Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written:
11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence,[c] and violent people have been raiding it. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John.(K) 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.(L) 15 Whoever has ears, let them hear.(M)
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