Book of Common Prayer
33 He turns rivers into a desert,
water springs into dry ground,
34 a fruitful land into salty wasteland,
because of the wickedness of those living there.
35 He turns a wilderness into pools of water,
a parched ground into springs of water.
36 There He makes the hungry dwell,
and they prepare a city to live in;
37 they sow fields and plant vineyards,
and yield a fruitful harvest.
38 He blesses them, so that they are greatly multiplied,
and He does not let their livestock decrease.
39 But when they are diminished and brought down
through oppression, affliction, and sorrow,
40 He pours contempt upon princes,
and causes them to wander in a wilderness with no road;
41 yet He raises up the poor from affliction
and cares for their families like flocks of sheep.
42 The righteous shall see it and rejoice,
and all evil people shall stop their mouth.
43 Whoever is wise let him observe these things;
let them consider the lovingkindness of the Lord.
Psalm 108(A)
A Song. A Psalm of David.
1 O God, my heart is determined;
I will sing and give praise with my whole heart.
2 Awake, O lyre and harp!
I will awake at dawn!
3 I will praise you, O Lord, among the peoples,
and I will sing praises unto You among the nations.
4 For Your mercy is great above the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
may Your glory be above all the earth.
6 That Your beloved ones may be delivered,
provide salvation with Your right hand and answer me.
7 God has spoken in His sanctuary:
“I will triumph and will divide up Shechem
and portion out the Valley of Sukkoth.
8 Gilead is Mine; Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim is My helmet;
Judah is My royal scepter;
9 Moab is My washbasin;
on Edom I throw My shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
10 Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me into Edom?
11 Have You not rejected us, O God?
You surely do not go out, O God, with our armies.
12 Grant us help against the foe,
for the help of man is worthless.
13 Through God we shall be valiant,
for He shall tread down our enemies.
Psalm 33
The Sovereignty of the Lord.
1 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
for praise is fitting for the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the harp;
make music to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
3 Sing to Him a new song;
play an instrument skillfully with a joyful shout.
4 For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all His work is done in truth.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and all their host by the breath of His mouth.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;
He puts the depths in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
9 For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.
10 The Lord frustrates the counsel of the nations;
He restrains the purposes of the people.
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the purposes of His heart to all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom He has chosen as His inheritance.
13 The Lord looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men.
14 From the place of His habitation He gazes
on all the inhabitants of the earth;
15 He fashions their hearts alike;
He considers all their works.
16 No king is saved by a great army;
a mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for safety;
it will not deliver by its great strength.
18 The eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
on those who hope in His lovingkindness,
19 to deliver their soul from death,
and to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart will rejoice in Him,
because we have trusted in His holy name.
22 Let Your lovingkindness, O Lord, be on us,
just as we hope in You.
True Worship
66 Thus says the Lord:
Heaven is My throne,
and the earth is My footstool.
Where then is the house that you could build for Me?
And where is the place of My rest?
2 For My hand made all those things,
thus all those things have come to be,
says the Lord.
But to this man I will look,
even to him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,
and trembles at My word.
3 He who kills a bull
is as if he kills a man;
he who sacrifices a lamb,
as if he breaks a dog’s neck;
he who offers a grain offering,
as if he offers swine’s blood;
he who burns incense,
as if he blesses an idol.
They have chosen their own ways,
and their soul delights in their abominations;
4 I also will choose their punishments
and will bring their fears on them,
because when I called, no one answered;
when I spoke, they did not listen;
but they did evil before My eyes
and chose that in which I did not delight.
The Vindication of Zion
5 Hear the word of the Lord,
you who tremble at His word:
Your brothers who hate you,
who cast you out for My name’s sake, said,
“Let the Lord be glorified
that we may see your joy.”
Yet they shall be ashamed.
6 A voice of noise from the city,
a voice from the temple,
the voice of the Lord
who renders recompense to His enemies.
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. 8 If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with these things. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and harmful lusts, which drown men in ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil. While coveting after money, some have strayed from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
The Good Fight of Faith
11 But you, O man of God, escape these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life, to which you are called and have professed a good profession before many witnesses. 13 I command you, in the sight of God, who gives life to all things, and in the sight of Christ Jesus, who testified a good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 to keep this commandment without blemish, blameless until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which He, who is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, will reveal at the proper time. 16 He alone has immortality, living in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen, nor can see. To Him be honor and everlasting power. Amen.
17 Command those who are rich in this world that they not be conceited, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who richly gives us all things to enjoy. 18 Command that they do good, that they be rich in good works, generous, willing to share, 19 and laying up in store for themselves a good foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of eternal life.
20 O Timothy, guard that which is committed to your trust. Avoid profane babblings and opposing views from so-called knowledge. 21 By professing it, some have erred concerning the faith.
Grace be with you. Amen.
The Question About David’s Son(A)
35 While Jesus taught in the temple, He said, “How can the scribes say that Christ is the Son of David? 36 David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
until I put Your enemies
under Your feet.” ’[a]
37 David himself calls Him ‘Lord.’ How then is He his Son?”
And the large crowd heard him gladly.
The Denouncing of the Scribes(B)
38 He said to them in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who love to go about in long robes and love greetings in the marketplaces, 39 and the prominent seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets, 40 who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive greater condemnation.”
The Widow’s Offering(C)
41 Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. Many who were rich put in much. 42 But a certain poor widow came and put in two mites, which make a farthing.[b]
43 He called His disciples to Him and said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. 44 They all contributed out of their abundance. But she, out of her poverty, put in all that she had, her entire livelihood.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.