Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 38[a]
Prayer of a Sinner in Great Peril
1 A psalm of David. For remembrance.[b]
2 O Lord, do not punish me in your anger
or chastise me in your wrath.
3 For your arrows[c] have pierced me deeply,
and your hand has come down upon me.
4 No portion of my body[d] has been unscathed
as a result of your anger;
my bones have become weak
as a result of my sins.
5 My iniquities tower far above my head;[e]
they are a burden too heavy to bear.
6 My wounds are fetid and fester
because of my folly.
7 I am bowed down and bent over,
as I spend each day in sorrow.
8 My loins are filled with searing pain;
no part of my body[f] is unafflicted.
9 I am numb and completely crushed,
and I groan in anguish of heart.[g]
10 O Lord, all my longing is known to you,
and my sighs are not hidden from you.
11 My heart throbs, and my strength is spent;
even the light has faded from my eyes.
12 My friends and companions stay away from my affliction,
and my neighbors keep their distance.
13 Those who seek my life set traps;
those who wish me harm threaten violence
and plot treachery all day long.[h]
14 [i]But I am like a man who cannot hear,
like one who cannot open his mouth.
15 I am like one who hears nothing
and has no answer to offer.
16 I place my hope in you, O Lord;
you, O Lord, my God, will answer for me.
17 For I prayed, “Never let them gloat over me
or exult should my foot slip.”
18 I am at the point of exhaustion,
and my grief is with me constantly.
19 I acknowledge my iniquity,
and I sincerely grieve for my sin.
20 [j]Numerous and strong are my enemies without cause;
many are those who hate me without good reason.[k]
21 Those who repay my good deeds with evil
oppose me because I follow a path of righteousness.
22 Do not abandon me, O Lord;
my God, do not remain far from me.
23 Come quickly to my aid,
O Lord, my Savior.
25 [a]My soul lies prostrate in the dust;[b]
revive me in accordance with your word.
26 I proclaim my ways and you answer me;
teach me your decrees.
27 Help me to understand the way of your commandments,
and I will meditate on your wonders.
28 My soul is wasting away in sorrow;
renew my strength in accordance with your word.
29 Keep me from the way of falsehood,
and let me live according to your law.
30 [c]I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
I have set your judgments before me.
31 I cling to your statutes, O Lord;
do not allow me to be put to shame.
32 I run in the way of your precepts,
for you have set my heart free.
He
33 [d]Teach me, O Lord, the way of your decrees,
and I will follow it to the end.[e]
34 Give me understanding, and I will observe your law
and obey it with all my heart.[f]
35 Guide me in the way of your precepts,
for in them is my delight.
36 Dispose my heart to follow your statutes
and to flee selfish gain.
37 Turn my eyes away from what is unimportant,
and let me live in your way.
38 Fulfill your word to your servant,
so that you may be feared.[g]
39 Let me escape the disgrace that I dread,
for your judgments are good.
40 See, I long for your commandments;
in your righteousness preserve my life.
Waw
41 [h]Let your kindness[i] descend on me, O Lord,
your salvation in accord with your promise.
42 Then I will respond to those who insult me,
because I trust in your word.
43 Do not remove from my mouth the word of truth,[j]
for I place my hope in your judgment.
44 I will keep your law continually,
forever and ever.
45 I will walk in complete freedom
because I have sought your commands.[k]
46 I will speak of your statutes in the presence of kings
and will not be ashamed.
47 Your precepts fill me with delight
because I love them.
48 I lift up my hands[l] to your precepts, which I love,
and I meditate on your decrees.
Zayin
Chapter 20
David and Jonathan’s Friendship. 1 David fled from Naioth in Ramah and he went to Jonathan and said, “What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father that he is trying to take my life?” 2 He answered him, “You will surely not die! Everything that my father does, whether it is important or insignificant, he confides to me. Why would my father hide this from me? It is just not so.” 3 But David swore an oath saying, “Your father knows very well that you like me, so he said to himself, ‘I will not let Jonathan know about it, lest he be grieved by it.’ As the Lord lives and as you live, there is only one step between me and death.”
4 So Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you want me to do for you, I will do it.” 5 David said to Jonathan, “Tomorrow is the new moon celebration,[a] and I am supposed to dine with the king. Let me go and hide myself in the field until the evening of the day after tomorrow. 6 If your father should miss me, tell him, ‘David begged me for permission to hurry to Bethlehem because they are offering an annual sacrifice there for the whole clan.’ 7 If he says, ‘That is fine,’ then your servant is safe. But if he becomes very angry, you can be sure that he is plotting harm. 8 Deal kindly with your servant, for you have entered into a covenant before the Lord with your servant. If I am guilty, kill me yourself, why should you hand me over to your father?”
9 Jonathan answered, “Never! If I knew for sure that my father was planning to harm you, would I not tell you?” 10 David asked Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father’s answer is harsh?” 11 Jonathan said, “Come. Let us go out into the field.” So they went out into the field together. 12 Jonathan said to David, “By the Lord, the God of Israel, by this time on the day after tomorrow, I will have sounded out my father. If he is well disposed toward David, will I not send word to you to let you know? 13 Otherwise, may the Lord do this and more to Jonathan. But if my father wishes to harm you, I will send you away so that you can be safe. May the Lord be with you as he has been with my father. 14 Only will you not treat me with the Lord’s kindness as long as I live, so that I not be killed? 15 Never cease being kind to my family, even when the Lord has eliminated all of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”
16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David saying, “May the Lord take vengeance on all of David’s enemies.” 17 Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him more than he loved himself.
18 Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is a new moon, and you will be missed because your seat will be empty. 19 The day after tomorrow, hurry down to the place where you hid yourself when this trouble began, and stay by the stone of Ezel. 20 I will shoot three arrows off to the side of it, as if I were shooting at a target. 21 Then I will send a boy out saying, ‘Go and find the arrows.’ If I say to him, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you. Bring them,’ then, as the Lord lives, you are safe, there is no danger. 22 But if I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are ahead of you,’ then go on your way, for the Lord is sending you. 23 The Lord is a witness between me and you forever in regard to the things about which we have spoken.”
18 At daybreak, there was a great deal of commotion among the soldiers about what had become of Peter. 19 After instituting a search for him and being unable to find him, Herod interrogated the guards and ordered their execution. Then he left Judea to reside for a while in Caesarea.
20 Death of Herod Agrippa I.[a] For a long time, Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, who now came to him in a body. After gaining the support of Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace because their country depended on the king’s territory for their food supplies.
21 On the designated day, Herod donned his royal robes and, seated on a throne, delivered a public address to them. 22 They began to acclaim him, shouting, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!” 23 Immediately, the angel of the Lord struck him down because he had not attributed the honor to God. He was eaten away by worms and died.
24 Return of Barnabas and Saul to Jerusalem.[b] Meanwhile, the word of God continued to spread and gain more followers. 25 Then, after Barnabas and Saul had completed their mission, they returned to Jerusalem, bringing with them John, also called Mark.[c]
13 Jesus Calls Levi (Matthew). Once again Jesus went out to the shore of the lake,[a] and as a large crowd came to him, he taught them. 14 As he was walking along, he saw Levi[b] the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. Jesus said to him, “Follow me,” and he got up and followed him.
15 Jesus Eats with Sinners. When he was sitting at dinner in his[c] house, many tax collectors and sinners were seated with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed Jesus. 16 Some scribes who were Pharisees noticed that Jesus was eating with sinners and tax collectors, and they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 When Jesus overheard this remark, he said, “It is not the healthy who need a physician, but rather those who are sick. I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”
18 A Time of Joy and Grace.[d] John’s disciples and the Pharisees were observing a fast. Some people came to Jesus and asked, “Why do John’s disciples and those of the Pharisees fast but your disciples do not do so?” 19 Jesus answered, “How can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is still with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then on that day they will fast.[e]
21 “No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results. 22 Nor does anyone pour new wine[f] into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and then the wine and the skins are both lost. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”
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