Book of Common Prayer
A Davidic Psalm: As a Reminder.
The Outcast Cries Out
38 Lord! Do not rebuke me in your anger;
do not correct me in your wrath,
2 because your arrows have sunk deep into me,
and your hand has come down hard on me.
3 My body is unhealthy due to your anger,
and my bones have no rest due to my sin.
4 My iniquities loom over my head;
like a cumbersome burden, they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds have putrefied and festered
because of my foolishness.
6 I am bent over and walk about greatly bowed down;
all day long I go around mourning.
7 My insides[a] are burning
and my body is unhealthy.
8 I am weak and utterly crushed;
I cry out in distress because of my heart’s anguish.
9 Lord, all my longings are before you,
and my groaning is not hidden from you.
10 My heart pounds,
my strength fails me,
even the gleam in my eye is gone.
11 As for my friends and my neighbors,
they stand aloof from my distress;
even my close relatives stand at a distance.
12 Those who seek my life lay snares for me;
those who seek to do me harm brag all day long about their wicked planning.
13 I am like the deaf, who cannot hear,
and like the mute, who cannot open his mouth.
14 Indeed, I have become like a man who hears nothing,
and in whose mouth there is no rebuke.
15 Because I have placed my hope in you, Lord,
you will answer, Lord, my God.
16 For I said, “Do not let them gloat over me,
as they congratulate themselves when my foot slips.”
17 Indeed, I am being set up for a fall,
and I am continuously reminded of my pain.
18 I confess my iniquity,
and my sin troubles me.
19 But my enemies are alive and well;[b]
those who hate me[c] for no reason are numerous.[d]
20 They[e] reward my good with evil,
opposing me because I seek to do good.[f]
21 Don’t forsake me, Lord.
My God, do not be so distant from me.
22 Come quickly and help me,
Lord, my deliverer.
Daleth
Strength Comes from the Word
25 My soul clings to the dust;
revive me according to your word.
26 I have talked about my ways,
and you have answered me;
Teach me your statutes.
27 Help me understand how your precepts function,[a]
and I will meditate on your wondrous acts.
28 I weep because of sorrow;
fortify me according to your word.
29 Remove false paths from me;
and graciously give me your instruction.[b]
30 I have chosen the faithful way;
I have firmly placed your ordinances before me.[c]
31 I cling to your decrees;
Lord, do not put me to shame.
32 I eagerly race along the way of your commands,
for you enable me to do so.[d]
He
Instructed by the Word
33 Teach me, Lord, about the way of your statutes,
and I will observe them without fail.[e]
34 Give me understanding
and I will observe your instruction.[f]
I will keep it with all of my heart.
35 Help me live my life by your commands,
because my joy is in them.
36 Turn my heart to your decrees
and away from unjust gain.
37 Turn my eyes away from gazing at worthless things,
and revive me by your ways.
38 Confirm your promise to your servant,
which is for those who fear you.
39 Turn away the shame that I dread,
because your ordinances are good.
40 Look, I long for your precepts;
revive me through your righteousness.
Vav
A Song of Praise
41 May your gracious love come to me, Lord,
your salvation, just as you said.
42 Then I can answer the one who insults me,
for I place my trust in your word.
43 Never take your truthful words from me,
For I wait for[g] your ordinances.
44 Then I will always keep your Law,
forever and ever,
45 I will walk in liberty,
for I seek your precepts.
46 Then I will speak of your decrees before kings
and not be ashamed.
47 I will take delight in your commands,
which I love.
48 I will lift up my hands to your commands,
which I love,
and I will meditate on your statutes.
The Vision of a Fruit Basket
8 This is what the Lord God showed me: Look! A basket of summer fruit! 2 And he was asking, “What do you see, Amos?”
I answered, “A basket of summer fruit.”
Then the Lord told me,
“The end[a] approaches for my people Israel.
I will no longer spare them.[b]
3 At that time,”
declares the Lord God,
“the temple songs will be wailing.
Many bodies will accumulate everywhere.
4 “Hear this, you who are swallowing up the needy,
who intend to make the poor of the land fail,
5 and who are saying,
‘When will the New Moon fade
so we may sell grain,
and the Sabbath conclude[c]
so we may market winnowed wheat?—
shortchanging the measure,[d]
raising the price,
falsifying the scales by treachery,
6 buying the poor for cash,[e]
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
selling chaff mixed in with the wheat.’
7 “The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
I will never forget anything they have done.
8 Surely the land will tremble because of this, won’t it?
And all who live in it will mourn, won’t they?
The entire land will swell up like a flooded[f] river.
It will be stirred up and then will sink
like the river of Egypt.
9 It will come about at that time,” declares the Lord God,
“I will cause the sun to set at noon
and the earth to darken in the daylight.
10 I will turn your festivals into mourning,
and all of your songs to dirges.
I will cause all of you to put on sackcloth
and to shave all of your heads.
I will make that time like mourning for an only son,
and its conclusion will be like the end of[g] a bitter day.”
A Famine of the Word of God
11 “Look! The days are coming,”
declares the Lord God,
“when I will send a famine throughout the land—
not a famine of food or a thirst for water—
but rather a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 People[h] will stagger from sea to sea,
from north to east.
They will run back and forth,
searching for a message from the Lord,
but they won’t find it.
13 At that time,
the beautiful virgins will faint,
as will the strong young men—from thirst.
14 Those who have been swearing oaths by the sin of Samaria,
or who say, ‘As your god lives, Dan…’
or who say, ‘As the way of Beer-sheba lives…’—
will fall, and will never rise again.”
17 When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead man. But he placed his right hand on me and said, “Stop being afraid! I am the first and the last, 18 the living one. I was dead—but look!—I am alive forever and ever! I have the keys of Death and Hades.[a] 19 Therefore, write down what you have seen, what is, and what is going to happen after this. 20 The secret meaning of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven gold lamp stands is this: the seven stars are the messengers[b] of the seven churches, and the seven lamp stands are the seven churches.”
The Letter to the Church in Ephesus
2 “To the messenger[c] of the church in Ephesus, write:
‘The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lamp stands, says this:
2 ‘I know what you’ve been doing, your toil, and your endurance. I also know that you cannot tolerate evil people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles, but are not, and have found them to be false. 3 You have endured and suffered because of my name, yet you have not grown weary. 4 However, I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Therefore, remember how far you have fallen. Repent and go back to what you were doing at first. If you don’t, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place—unless you repent. 6 But this is to your credit: You hate the actions of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 ‘Let everyone[d] listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give the privilege of eating from the tree of life that is in God’s paradise to everyone who overcomes.’”[e]
Jesus Denounces the Scribes and the Pharisees(A)
23 Then Jesus told the crowds and his disciples, 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees administer the authority of Moses,[a] 3 so do whatever they tell you and follow it, but stop doing what they do, because they don’t do what they say. 4 They tie up burdens that are heavy and unbearable and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they refuse to lift a finger to remove them.
5 “They do everything to be seen by people. They increase the size of their phylacteries[b] and lengthen the tassels of their garments. 6 They love to have the places of honor at festivals, the best seats in the synagogues, 7 to be greeted in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi’[c] by people.
8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’[d] because you have only one teacher, and all of you are brothers. 9 And don’t call anyone on earth ‘Father,’ because you have only one Father, the one in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called ‘Teachers,’ because you have only one teacher, the Messiah![e] 11 The person who is greatest among you must be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
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