Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 106(A)
1 Praise the Lord!
Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good,
for His mercy endures forever.
2 Who can recount the mighty acts of the Lord
or declare all His praise?
3 Blessed are those who keep justice
and who do righteousness at all times.
4 Remember me, O Lord, when You give favor to Your people;
visit me with Your deliverance,
5 that I may see the goodness over Your chosen ones,
that I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,
that I may glory with Your inheritance.
6 We have sinned with our fathers;
we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedly.
7 Our fathers did not consider
Your wonders in Egypt;
they did not remember the greatness of Your mercy,
but rebelled against Him at the sea, by the Red Sea.
8 Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake,
that He might make His mighty power known.
9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it was dried up,
so He led them through the depths as through the wilderness.
10 He saved them from the hand of him who hated them
and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11 The waters covered their enemies;
there was not one of them left.
12 Then they believed His words;
they sang His praise.
13 But they soon forgot His works;
they did not wait for His counsel,
14 but they lusted exceedingly in the wilderness
and tested God in the desert.
15 He gave them their request,
but He sent a wasting disease on them.
16 They envied in the camp Moses
and Aaron, the holy priest of the Lord.
17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan
and engulfed those led by Abiram.
18 A fire broke out among their company;
the flame burned up the wicked.
19 They made a calf at Horeb,
and worshipped the molded image.
20 Thus they changed the glory of God
for the image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They forgot God, their Deliverer,
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wondrous works in the land of Ham,
and marvelous deeds by the Red Sea.
23 Therefore He said that He would destroy them,
had not Moses, His chosen one,
stood before Him to intercede,
to turn away His wrath from destroying them.
24 Then they despised the pleasant land;
they did not believe His promise,
25 but they grumbled in their tents,
and did not listen to the voice of the Lord.
26 Therefore He lifted up His hand against them
and swore to overthrow them in the wilderness,
27 and to overthrow their offspring among the nations,
and to scatter them in the lands.
28 They joined themselves to Baal of Peor
and ate the sacrifices given for the dead.
29 Thus they provoked Him to anger with their acts,
and a plague broke out upon them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,
and so the plague ceased.
31 That was counted unto him for righteousness
unto all generations forever.
32 They angered Him also at the waters of Meribah,
so that Moses suffered because of them,
33 because they provoked his temper,
so that he spoke impulsively with his lips.
34 They did not destroy the nations
as the Lord commanded them,
35 but they mixed among the nations
and learned their deeds;
36 they served their idols,
which were a snare to them.
37 Yes, they sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to demons,
38 and poured out innocent blood,
even the blood of their sons and of their daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
and the land was polluted with blood.
39 Thus were they defiled by their acts
and acted like whores with these actions.
40 Therefore the wrath of the Lord was kindled against His people,
and He abhorred His own inheritance.
41 He gave them into the hand of the nations,
and those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies also oppressed them,
and Israel was brought into subjection under their powerful hand.
43 Many times He delivered them,
but they were rebellious against Him with their counsel,
and were afflicted for their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless, He regarded their affliction,
when He heard their cry:
45 and He remembered on their behalf His covenant
and relented according to the greatness of His mercies.
46 He made them pitied
among all those who held them captive.
47 Save us, O Lord our God,
and gather us from among the nations,
to give thanks unto Your holy name
and to boast in Your praise.
48 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting,
and let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord!
Naomi Loses
1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a man from Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the land of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelek, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
3 Now Elimelek, the husband of Naomi, died, so she was left alone with her two sons. 4 They took Moabite wives for themselves; the name of one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years. 5 Then Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
6 So she got up with her daughters-in-law to return from the land of Moab, for in the land of Moab, she had heard that the Lord had visited His people by giving them food. 7 She set out from the place where she had been, with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to return to the land of Judah.
8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with your deceased husbands and with me. 9 May the Lord grant that you each find rest in the house of another husband.”
Then she kissed them, and they raised their voices and wept aloud. 10 They said to her, “We will return with you to your people.”
11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters. Why would you go with me? Are there sons in my womb, who could become your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought that there was still hope for me, that I could have a husband tonight and give birth to sons, 13 would you wait until they were grown? Would you refrain from getting married? No, my daughters. It is much more bitter for me than for you, for the hand of the Lord has turned against me.”
14 Then they raised their voices and wept aloud once more. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
Salutation
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul’s Thanksgiving After Affliction
3 Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble by the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 As the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective in enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. 7 Our hope for you is steadfast, knowing that as you partake in the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.
8 For we would not, brothers, have you ignorant of our troubles which came to us in Asia. We were pressured beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. 9 We had the sentence of death in ourselves, so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from so great a death and does deliver us. In Him we trust that He will still deliver us, 11 as you help together by praying for us, so that thanks may be given by many on our behalf for the gift bestowed upon us by means of many persons.
The Sermon on the Mount(A)
5 Now seeing the crowds, He went up on a mountain. And when He sat down, His disciples came to Him.
The Beatitudes(B)
2 And He began speaking and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called the sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when men revile you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be very glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in this manner they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.