Book of Common Prayer
The Psalmist’s Profession of Uprightness.
A Psalm of David.
101 I will (A)sing of mercy and [a]justice;
To You, Lord, I will sing praises.
2 I will (B)carefully attend to the [b]blameless way.
When will You come to me?
I will walk within my house in the [c](C)integrity of my heart.
3 I will set no (D)worthless thing before my eyes;
I hate the [d]work of those who (E)fall away;
It shall not cling to me.
4 A (F)perverse heart shall leave me;
I will know no evil.
5 Whoever secretly (G)slanders his neighbor, him I will [e]destroy;
I will not endure one who has a (H)haughty look and an arrogant heart.
6 My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me;
One who walks in a [f](I)blameless way is one who will serve me.
7 One who (J)practices deceit shall not dwell within my house;
One who speaks lies (K)shall not [g]maintain his position before me.
8 (L)Every morning I will [h](M)destroy all the wicked of the land,
So as to (N)eliminate from the (O)city of the Lord all those who do injustice.
Vengeance Invoked upon Adversaries.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
109 (A)God of my praise,
(B)Do not be silent!
2 For they have opened a [a]wicked and (C)deceitful mouth against me;
They have spoken [b]against me with a (D)lying tongue.
3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And have fought against me (E)without cause.
4 In return (F)for my love they act as my accusers;
But (G)I am in prayer.
5 So they have [c](H)repaid me evil for good,
And (I)hatred for my love.
6 Appoint a wicked person over him,
And may an [d](J)accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is judged, may he (K)come out guilty,
And may his (L)prayer become sin.
8 May (M)his days be few;
May (N)another take his office.
9 May his (O)children be fatherless,
And his (P)wife a widow.
10 May his (Q)children wander about and beg;
And may they (R)seek sustenance [e]far from their ruined homes.
11 May (S)the creditor [f]seize everything that he has,
And may (T)strangers plunder the product of his labor.
12 May there be none to [g](U)extend kindness to him,
Nor (V)any to be gracious to his fatherless children.
13 May his (W)descendants be [h]eliminated;
May their (X)name be wiped out in a following generation.
14 May (Y)the guilt of his fathers be remembered [i]before the Lord,
And do not let the sin of his mother be (Z)wiped out.
15 May (AA)they be before the Lord continually,
So that He may (AB)eliminate their memory from the earth;
16 Because he did not remember to show mercy,
But persecuted the (AC)afflicted and needy person,
And the (AD)despondent in heart, to (AE)put them to death.
17 He also loved cursing, so (AF)it came to him;
And he did not delight in blessing, so it was far from him.
18 But he (AG)clothed himself with cursing as with his garment,
And it (AH)entered [j]his body like water,
And like oil into his bones.
19 May it be to him as (AI)a garment with which he covers himself,
And as a belt which he constantly (AJ)wears around himself.
20 May this be the (AK)reward of my accusers from the Lord,
And of those who (AL)speak evil against my soul.
21 But You, [k]God, the Lord, deal kindly with me (AM)for the sake of Your name;
Because (AN)Your mercy is good, rescue me;
22 For (AO)I am afflicted and needy,
And [l]my heart is (AP)wounded within me.
23 I am passing (AQ)like a shadow when it lengthens;
I am shaken off (AR)like the locust.
24 My (AS)knees [m]are weak from (AT)fasting,
And my flesh has grown lean, without fatness.
25 I also have become a (AU)disgrace to them;
When they see me, they (AV)shake their head.
26 (AW)Help me, Lord my God;
Save me according to Your mercy.
27 [n]And may they (AX)know that this is Your hand;
You, Lord, have done it.
28 (AY)They will curse, but You bless;
When they arise, they will be ashamed,
But Your (AZ)servant will be glad.
29 [o]May (BA)my accusers be clothed with dishonor,
And [p]may they (BB)cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.
30 With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the Lord;
And (BC)I will praise Him in the midst of many.
Ayin
121 I have (A)done justice and righteousness;
Do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Be (B)a guarantor for Your servant for good;
Do not let the arrogant (C)oppress me.
123 My (D)eyes fail with longing for Your salvation,
And for Your righteous [a]word.
124 Deal with Your servant (E)according to Your graciousness,
And (F)teach me Your statutes.
125 (G)I am Your servant; (H)give me understanding,
So that I may know Your testimonies.
126 It is time for the Lord to (I)act,
For they have broken Your Law.
127 Therefore I (J)love Your commandments
Above gold, yes, above pure gold.
128 Therefore I carefully follow all Your (K)precepts concerning everything,
I (L)hate every false way.
Pe
129 Your testimonies are (M)wonderful;
Therefore my soul (N)complies with them.
130 The (O)unfolding of Your words gives light;
It gives (P)understanding to the simple.
131 I (Q)opened my mouth wide and (R)panted,
For I (S)longed for Your commandments.
132 (T)Turn to me and be gracious to me,
As is right for those who love Your name.
133 Establish my (U)footsteps in Your [b]word,
And do not let any [c]wrongdoing (V)have power over me.
134 (W)Redeem me from oppression by man,
So that I may keep Your precepts.
135 (X)Make Your face shine upon Your servant,
And (Y)teach me Your statutes.
136 My eyes [d]shed (Z)streams of water,
Because they (AA)do not keep Your Law.
Tsadhe
137 (AB)You are righteous, Lord,
And Your judgments are right.
138 You have commanded Your testimonies in (AC)righteousness
And great (AD)faithfulness.
139 My (AE)zeal has [e]consumed me,
Because my enemies have forgotten Your words.
140 Your (AF)word is very [f]pure,
Therefore Your servant (AG)loves it.
141 I am small and (AH)despised,
Yet I do not (AI)forget Your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
And (AJ)Your Law is truth.
143 Trouble and anguish have [g]come upon me,
Yet Your commandments are my (AK)delight.
144 Your (AL)testimonies are righteous forever;
(AM)Give me understanding that I may live.
2 From the day that the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim, the [a]time was long, for it was twenty years; and all the house of Israel [b]mourned after the Lord.
3 Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “(A)If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then (B)remove the foreign gods and the (C)Ashtaroth from among you, and (D)direct your hearts to the Lord and (E)serve Him alone; and He will save you from the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and served the Lord alone.
5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to (F)Mizpah and (G)I will pray to the Lord for you.” 6 So they gathered to Mizpah, and drew water and (H)poured it out before the Lord, and (I)fasted on that day and said there, “(J)We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah.
7 Now when the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the governors of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the sons of Israel heard about it, (K)they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 So the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “(L)Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that He will save us from the hand of the Philistines!” 9 Samuel took (M)a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord; and Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and (N)the Lord answered him. 10 Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines advanced to battle Israel. But (O)the Lord thundered with a great [c]thunder on that day against the Philistines and (P)confused them, so that they were struck down before Israel. 11 And the men of Israel came out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and killed them as far as below Beth-car.
12 Then Samuel (Q)took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it [d]Ebenezer, saying, “[e]So far the Lord has helped us.” 13 (R)So the Philistines were subdued, and (S)they did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 The cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and Israel [f]recovered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. So there was peace between Israel and (T)the Amorites.
Samuel’s Ministry
15 Now Samuel (U)judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 And he used to go annually on a circuit to (V)Bethel, (W)Gilgal, and (X)Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places. 17 Then he would make his return to (Y)Ramah, because his house was there, and there he also judged Israel; and there he (Z)built an altar to the Lord.
Choosing of the Seven
6 Now [a]at this time, as the (A)disciples were (B)increasing in number, a complaint developed on the part of the [b](C)Hellenistic Jews against the native (D)Hebrews, because their (E)widows were being overlooked in (F)the daily serving of food. 2 So the twelve summoned the [c]congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. 3 Instead, (G)brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, (H)full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. 4 But we will (I)devote ourselves to prayer and to the [d]ministry of the word.” 5 The [e]announcement found approval with the whole [f]congregation; and they chose (J)Stephen, a man (K)full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and (L)Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and [g]Nicolas, a [h](M)proselyte from (N)Antioch. 6 And they brought these men before the apostles; and after (O)praying, they (P)laid their hands on them.
7 (Q)The word of God kept spreading; and (R)the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to (S)the faith.
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great (T)wonders and [i]signs among the people. 9 But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both (U)Cyrenians and (V)Alexandrians, and some from (W)Cilicia and [j](X)Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen. 10 But they were unable to [k]cope with his wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and they (Y)came up to him and dragged him away, and brought him [l]before (Z)the [m]Council. 13 They put forward (AA)false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop [n]speaking against this (AB)holy place and the Law; 14 for we have heard him say that (AC)this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and change (AD)the customs which Moses handed down to us.” 15 And all who were sitting in the [o](AE)Council stared at him, and they saw his face, which was like the face of an angel.
The Lord’s Supper
14 (A)When the hour came, He reclined at the table, and (B)the apostles with Him. 15 And He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I shall not eat it again (C)until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 (D)And when He had taken a cup and (E)given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; 18 for (F)I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And when He had taken some bread and (G)given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, which is being given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup, which is (H)poured out for you, is the (I)new covenant in My blood. 21 (J)But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with [a]Mine on the table. 22 For indeed, the Son of Man is going (K)as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” 23 And they began to debate among themselves which one of them it was who was going to do this.
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