Book of Common Prayer
The Lord, a Provider and Deliverer.
A Psalm of David when he [a]feigned madness before [b]Abimelech, who drove him away and he departed.
34 I will (A)bless the Lord at all times;
His (B)praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul will (C)make its boast in the Lord;
The (D)humble will hear it and rejoice.
3 O (E)magnify the Lord with me,
And let us (F)exalt His name together.
4 I (G)sought the Lord, and He answered me,
And (H)delivered me from all my fears.
5 They (I)looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will (J)never be ashamed.
6 This [c]poor man cried, and (K)the Lord heard him
And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The (L)angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.
8 O (M)taste and see that the Lord is good;
How (N)blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
9 O fear the Lord, you (O)His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is (P)no want.
10 The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the Lord shall (Q)not be in want of any good thing.
11 (R)Come, you children, listen to me;
(S)I will teach you (T)the fear of the Lord.
12 (U)Who is the man who desires life
And loves length of days that he may (V)see good?
13 Keep (W)your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking (X)deceit.
14 (Y)Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and (Z)pursue it.
15 The (AA)eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The (AB)face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To (AC)cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous (AD)cry, and the Lord hears
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord (AE)is near to the (AF)brokenhearted
And saves those who are [d](AG)crushed in spirit.
19 (AH)Many are the (AI)afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord (AJ)delivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones,
(AK)Not one of them is broken.
21 (AL)Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will be [e]condemned.
22 The Lord (AM)redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who (AN)take refuge in Him will be [f]condemned.
Salvation Reaches to the End of the Earth
49 Listen to Me, O (A)islands,
And pay attention, you peoples from afar.
(B)The Lord called Me from the womb;
From the [a]body of My mother He named Me.
2 He has made My (C)mouth like a sharp sword,
In the (D)shadow of His hand He has concealed Me;
And He has also made Me a [b]select (E)arrow,
He has hidden Me in His quiver.
3 He said to Me, “(F)You are My Servant, Israel,
(G)In Whom I will [c]show My glory.”
4 But I said, “I have (H)toiled in vain,
I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity;
Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the Lord,
And My (I)reward with My God.”
5 And now says (J)the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him, so that (K)Israel might be gathered to Him
(For I am (L)honored in the sight of the Lord,
And My God is My (M)strength),
6 He says, “It is too [d]small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the (N)preserved ones of Israel;
I will also make You a (O)light [e]of the nations
So that My salvation may [f]reach to the (P)end of the earth.”
Servants of Christ
4 Let a man regard us in this manner, as (A)servants of Christ and (B)stewards of (C)the mysteries of God. 2 In this case, moreover, it is required [a]of stewards that one be found trustworthy. 3 But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human [b]court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. 4 For I (D)am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this (E)acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. 5 Therefore (F)do not go on [c]passing judgment before [d]the time, but wait (G)until the Lord comes who will both (H)bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s (I)praise will come to him from God.
6 Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you may learn not to exceed (J)what is written, so that no one of you will (K)become [e]arrogant (L)in behalf of one against the other. 7 For who regards you as superior? (M)What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?
8 You are (N)already filled, you have already become rich, you have become kings without us; and indeed, I wish that you had become kings so that we also might reign with you. 9 For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men (O)condemned to death; because we (P)have become a spectacle to the world, [f]both to angels and to men. 10 We are (Q)fools for Christ’s sake, but (R)you are prudent in Christ; (S)we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor. 11 To this present hour we are both (T)hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; 12 and we toil, (U)working with our own hands; when we are (V)reviled, we bless; when we are (W)persecuted, we endure; 13 when we are slandered, we try to [g]conciliate; we have (X)become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.
14 I do not write these things to (Y)shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved (Z)children. 15 For if you were to have countless (AA)tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in (AB)Christ Jesus I (AC)became your father through the (AD)gospel. 16 Therefore I exhort you, be (AE)imitators of me.
A Call to Worship the Lord the Righteous Judge.
96 (A)Sing to the Lord a (B)new song;
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
(C)Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.
3 Tell of (D)His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
4 For (E)great is the Lord and (F)greatly to be praised;
He is to be (G)feared (H)above all gods.
5 For (I)all the gods of the peoples are [a]idols,
But (J)the Lord made the heavens.
6 (K)Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
7 [b]Ascribe to the Lord, O (L)families of the peoples,
[c](M)Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
8 [d]Ascribe to the Lord the (N)glory of His name;
Bring an [e](O)offering and come into His courts.
9 (P)Worship the Lord in [f]holy attire;
(Q)Tremble before Him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “(R)The Lord reigns;
Indeed, the (S)world is firmly established, it will not be moved;
He will (T)judge the peoples with [g]equity.”
11 Let the (U)heavens be glad, and let the (V)earth rejoice;
Let (W)the sea [h]roar, and [i]all it contains;
12 Let the (X)field exult, and all that is in it.
Then all the (Y)trees of the forest will sing for joy
13 Before the Lord, (Z)for He is coming,
For He is coming to judge the earth.
(AA)He will judge the world in righteousness
And the peoples in His faithfulness.
All Men Exhorted to Praise God.
A Psalm for [a]Thanksgiving.
Jesus’ Public Ministry, First Converts
35 Again (A)the next day John was standing [a]with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and *said, “Behold, (B)the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus turned and saw them following, and *said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “(C)Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” 39 He *said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the [b]tenth hour. 40 (D)One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He *found first his own brother Simon and *said to him, “We have found the (E)Messiah” (which translated means [c]Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of [d](F)John; you shall be called (G)Cephas” (which is translated [e](H)Peter).
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