Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 88[a]
A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth.[b] A maskil[c] of Heman the Ezrahite.
1 Lord, you are the God who saves me;(A)
day and night I cry out(B) to you.
2 May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.
3 I am overwhelmed with troubles(C)
and my life draws near to death.(D)
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;(E)
I am like one without strength.(F)
5 I am set apart with the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
who are cut off(G) from your care.
6 You have put me in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths.(H)
7 Your wrath(I) lies heavily on me;
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.[d](J)
8 You have taken from me my closest friends(K)
and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined(L) and cannot escape;(M)
9 my eyes(N) are dim with grief.
I call(O) to you, Lord, every day;
I spread out my hands(P) to you.
10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do their spirits rise up and praise you?(Q)
11 Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness(R) in Destruction[e]?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
13 But I cry to you for help,(S) Lord;
in the morning(T) my prayer comes before you.(U)
14 Why, Lord, do you reject(V) me
and hide your face(W) from me?
15 From my youth(X) I have suffered(Y) and been close to death;
I have borne your terrors(Z) and am in despair.(AA)
16 Your wrath(AB) has swept over me;
your terrors(AC) have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like a flood;(AD)
they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken from me friend(AE) and neighbor—
darkness is my closest friend.
Psalm 91
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter(A) of the Most High
will rest in the shadow(B) of the Almighty.[a]
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge(C) and my fortress,(D)
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare(E)
and from the deadly pestilence.(F)
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;(G)
his faithfulness will be your shield(H) and rampart.
5 You will not fear(I) the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.(J)
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm(K) will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels(L) concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;(M)
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.(N)
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.(O)
14 “Because he[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.(P)
16 With long life(Q) I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.(R)”
Psalm 92[c]
A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.
1 It is good to praise the Lord
and make music(S) to your name,(T) O Most High,(U)
2 proclaiming your love in the morning(V)
and your faithfulness at night,
3 to the music of the ten-stringed lyre(W)
and the melody of the harp.(X)
4 For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord;
I sing for joy(Y) at what your hands have done.(Z)
5 How great are your works,(AA) Lord,
how profound your thoughts!(AB)
6 Senseless people(AC) do not know,
fools do not understand,
7 that though the wicked spring up like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they will be destroyed forever.(AD)
8 But you, Lord, are forever exalted.
9 For surely your enemies(AE), Lord,
surely your enemies will perish;
all evildoers will be scattered.(AF)
10 You have exalted my horn[d](AG) like that of a wild ox;(AH)
fine oils(AI) have been poured on me.
11 My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries;
my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.(AJ)
12 The righteous will flourish(AK) like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;(AL)
13 planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.(AM)
14 They will still bear fruit(AN) in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
15 proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.(AO)”
The Year of the Lord’s Favor
61 The Spirit(A) of the Sovereign Lord(B) is on me,
because the Lord has anointed(C) me
to proclaim good news(D) to the poor.(E)
He has sent me to bind up(F) the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom(G) for the captives(H)
and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor(I)
and the day of vengeance(J) of our God,
to comfort(K) all who mourn,(L)
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown(M) of beauty
instead of ashes,(N)
the oil(O) of joy
instead of mourning,(P)
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting(Q) of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.(R)
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins(S)
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.
5 Strangers(T) will shepherd your flocks;
foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
6 And you will be called priests(U) of the Lord,
you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth(V) of nations,
and in their riches you will boast.
7 Instead of your shame(W)
you will receive a double(X) portion,
and instead of disgrace
you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit(Y) a double portion in your land,
and everlasting joy(Z) will be yours.
8 “For I, the Lord, love justice;(AA)
I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
and make an everlasting covenant(AB) with them.
9 Their descendants(AC) will be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”(AD)
3 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.(A) 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,(B) boastful, proud,(C) abusive,(D) disobedient to their parents,(E) ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous,(F) rash, conceited,(G) lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness(H) but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.(I)
6 They are the kind who worm their way(J) into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.(K) 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses,(L) so also these teachers oppose(M) the truth. They are men of depraved minds,(N) who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men,(O) their folly will be clear to everyone.
A Final Charge to Timothy
10 You, however, know all about my teaching,(P) my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch,(Q) Iconium(R) and Lystra,(S) the persecutions I endured.(T) Yet the Lord rescued(U) me from all of them.(V) 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,(W) 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse,(X) deceiving and being deceived.(Y) 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,(Z) 15 and how from infancy(AA) you have known the Holy Scriptures,(AB) which are able to make you wise(AC) for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed(AD) and is useful for teaching,(AE) rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,(AF) 17 so that the servant of God[a](AG) may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.(AH)
Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time(A)
32 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve(B) aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,”(C) he said, “and the Son of Man(D) will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law.(E) They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him(F) and kill him.(G) Three days later(H) he will rise.”(I)
The Request of James and John(J)
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”(K)
38 “You don’t know what you are asking,”(L) Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup(M) I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”(N)
39 “We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with,(O) 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,(P) 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,(Q) and to give his life as a ransom for many.”(R)
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