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.
False Prophets Denounced
9 As for the prophets:
My (A)heart is broken within me,
All my bones tremble;
I have become like a drunken man,
And like a man overcome by wine,
Because of the Lord
And because of His holy words.
10 For the land is full of (B)adulterers;
For the land (C)mourns because of the curse.
The (D)pastures of the wilderness have dried up.
Their course is evil
And their might is not right.
11 “For (E)both prophet and priest are defiled;
Even in My house I have found their wickedness,” declares the Lord.
12 “Therefore their way will be like (F)slippery paths to them,
They will be driven away into the (G)gloom and fall down in it;
For I will bring (H)disaster upon them,
The year of their punishment,” declares the Lord.
13 “Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an (I)offensive thing:
They (J)prophesied by Baal and (K)led My people Israel astray.
14 Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a (L)horrible thing:
The committing of (M)adultery and walking in deceit;
And they strengthen the hands of (N)evildoers,
So that no one has turned back from his wickedness.
All of them have become to Me like (O)Sodom,
And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.
15 Therefore this is what the Lord of armies says concerning the prophets:
‘Behold, I am going to (P)feed them wormwood
And make them drink poisonous water,
For from the prophets of Jerusalem
Ungodliness has spread into all the land.’”
Deep Concern for Israel
9 (A)I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying; my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. 3 For (B)I could [a]wish that I myself were (C)accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my countrymen, my kinsmen (D)according to the flesh, 4 who are (E)Israelites, to whom belongs (F)the adoption as sons and daughters, (G)the glory, (H)the covenants, (I)the giving of the Law, (J)the temple service, and (K)the promises; 5 whose are (L)the fathers, and (M)from whom is the [b]Christ according to the flesh, (N)who is over all, (O)God (P)blessed [c]forever. Amen.
6 But it is not as though (Q)the word of God has failed. (R)For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7 nor are they all children (S)because they are Abraham’s [d](T)descendants, but: “[e](U)through Isaac your [f]descendants shall be named.” 8 That is, it is not the children of the flesh [g]who are (V)children of God, but the (W)children of the promise are regarded as [h](X)descendants. 9 For this is the word of promise: “(Y)At this time I will come, and Sarah will have a son.” 10 (Z)And not only that, but there was also (AA)Rebekah, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; 11 for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that (AB)God’s purpose according to His choice would [i]stand, not [j]because of works but [k]because of Him who calls, 12 it was said to her, “(AC)The older will serve the younger.” 13 Just as it is written: “(AD)Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”
14 (AE)What shall we say then? (AF)There is no injustice with God, is there? [l](AG)Far from it! 15 For He says to Moses, “(AH)I will have mercy on whomever I have mercy, and I will show compassion to whomever I show compassion.” 16 So then, it does not depend on the person who [m]wants it nor the one who [n](AI)runs, but on (AJ)God who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “(AK)For this very reason I raised you up, in order to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed [o]throughout the earth.” 18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He (AL)hardens whom He desires.
60 So then many of His (A)disciples, when they heard this, said, “(B)This statement is very [a]unpleasant; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, (C)aware that His disciples were complaining about this, said to them, “Is this [b](D)offensive to you? 62 What then if you see (E)the Son of Man (F)ascending to where He was before? 63 (G)It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh provides no benefit; (H)the words that I have spoken to you are spirit, and are life. 64 But there are (I)some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus (J)knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and (K)who it was who would [c]betray Him. 65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have (L)told you that no one can come to Me unless (M)it has been granted him from the Father.”
Peter’s Confession of Faith
66 As a result of this many of His (N)disciples (O)left, and would no longer walk with Him. 67 So Jesus said to (P)the twelve, “You do not want to leave also, do you?” 68 (Q)Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have (R)words of eternal life. 69 And we have already believed and have come to know that You are (S)the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “(T)Did I Myself not choose you, (U)the twelve? And yet one of you is (V)a devil.” 71 Now He meant Judas (W)the son of Simon Iscariot; for he, (X)one of (Y)the twelve, [d]was going to betray Him.
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