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.
Heaven Is God’s Throne
66 This is what the Lord says:
“(A)Heaven is My throne and the earth is the footstool for My feet.
Where then is a (B)house you could build for Me?
And where is a place that [a]I may rest?
2 For (C)My hand made all these things,
So all these things came into being,” declares the Lord.
“But I will look to this one,
At one who is humble and (D)contrite in spirit, and who (E)trembles at My word.
Hypocrisy Rebuked
3 “But the one who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a person;
The one who sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
One who offers a grain offering is like one who offers (F)pig’s blood;
One who [b](G)burns incense is like one who blesses an idol.
As they have chosen their (H)own ways,
And their souls delight in their (I)abominations,
4 So I will (J)choose their [c]punishments
And (K)bring on them what they dread.
Because I called, but (L)no one answered;
I spoke, but they did not listen.
Instead, they did (M)evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”
5 Hear the word of the Lord, you who (N)tremble at His word:
“Your brothers who (O)hate you, who (P)exclude you on account of My name,
Have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, so that we may see your joy.’
But (Q)they will be put to shame.
6 A sound of uproar from the city, a voice from the temple,
The voice of the Lord who is (R)dealing retribution to His enemies.
6 (A)But godliness actually is a means of (B)great gain when accompanied by (C)contentment. 7 For (D)we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it, either. 8 If we (E)have food and [a]covering, with these we shall be content. 9 (F)But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and (G)a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For (H)the love of money is a root of all [b]sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have (I)wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many [c]griefs.
11 But (J)flee from these things, you (K)man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, (L)faith, (M)love, [d]perseverance, and gentleness. 12 (N)Fight the good fight of (O)faith; (P)take hold of the eternal life (Q)to which you were called, and for which you made the good (R)confession in the presence of (S)many witnesses. 13 (T)I direct you in the presence of God, who [e]gives life to all things, and of (U)Christ Jesus, who testified the (V)good confession (W)before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep the commandment without [f]fault or reproach until the (X)appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which He will [g]bring about at (Y)the proper time—He who is (Z)the blessed and (AA)only Sovereign, (AB)the King of [h]kings and (AC)Lord of [i]lords, 16 (AD)who alone possesses immortality and (AE)dwells in unapproachable light, (AF)whom [j]no one has seen or can see. (AG)To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.
17 Instruct those who are rich in (AH)this present world (AI)not to be conceited or to (AJ)set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, (AK)who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do good, to be rich in (AL)good [k]works, (AM)to be generous and ready to share, 19 (AN)storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may (AO)take hold of that which is truly life.
20 (AP)Timothy, protect (AQ)what has been entrusted to you, avoiding (AR)worldly, empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”— 21 which some have professed and thereby have (AS)gone astray [l]from (AT)the faith.
(AU)Grace be with you.
35 (A)And Jesus responded and began saying, as He (B)taught in the temple area, “How is it that the scribes say that the [a]Christ is the (C)son of David? 36 David himself said [b]in the Holy Spirit,
‘(D)The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’
37 David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And (E)the large crowd [c]enjoyed listening to Him.
38 (F)And in His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like (G)personal greetings in the marketplaces, 39 and seats of honor in the synagogues, and places of honor at banquets, 40 (H)who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive all the more condemnation.”
The Widow’s Coins
41 (I)And Jesus sat down opposite (J)the treasury, and began watching how the [d]people were (K)putting [e]money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large amounts. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two [f]lepta coins, which amount to a [g]quadrans. 43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all [h]the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their [i]surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, [j]all she had (L)to live on.”
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