Book of Common Prayer
Prayer of a Suffering Penitent.
A Psalm of David, for a memorial.
38 O Lord, (A)rebuke me not in Your wrath,
And chasten me not in Your burning anger.
2 For Your (B)arrows have sunk deep into me,
And (C)Your hand has pressed down on me.
3 There is (D)no soundness in my flesh (E)because of Your indignation;
There is no health (F)in my bones because of my sin.
4 For my (G)iniquities are gone over my head;
As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
5 My [a]wounds grow foul and fester
Because of (H)my folly.
6 I am bent over and (I)greatly bowed down;
I (J)go mourning all day long.
7 For my loins are filled with (K)burning,
And there is (L)no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am (M)benumbed and [b]badly crushed;
I [c](N)groan because of the [d]agitation of my heart.
9 Lord, all (O)my desire is [e]before You;
And my (P)sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart throbs, (Q)my strength fails me;
And the (R)light of my eyes, even [f]that [g]has gone from me.
11 My [h](S)loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;
And my kinsmen (T)stand afar off.
12 Those who (U)seek my life (V)lay snares for me;
And those who (W)seek to injure me have [i]threatened destruction,
And they (X)devise treachery all day long.
13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;
And I am like a (Y)mute man who does not open his mouth.
14 Yes, I am like a man who does not hear,
And in whose mouth are no arguments.
15 For (Z)I [j]hope in You, O Lord;
You (AA)will answer, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, “May they not rejoice over me,
Who, when my foot slips, (AB)would magnify themselves against me.”
17 For I am (AC)ready to fall,
And (AD)my [k]sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I [l](AE)confess my iniquity;
I am full of (AF)anxiety because of my sin.
19 But my (AG)enemies are vigorous and [m]strong,
And many are those who (AH)hate me wrongfully.
20 And those who (AI)repay evil for good,
They (AJ)oppose me, because I follow what is good.
21 Do not forsake me, O Lord;
O my God, (AK)do not be far from me!
22 Make (AL)haste to help me,
O Lord, (AM)my salvation!
Daleth.
25 My (A)soul cleaves to the dust;
(B)Revive me (C)according to Your word.
26 I have told of my ways, and You have answered me;
(D)Teach me Your statutes.
27 Make me understand the way of Your precepts,
So I will (E)meditate on Your wonders.
28 My (F)soul [a]weeps because of grief;
(G)Strengthen me according to Your word.
29 Remove the false way from me,
And graciously grant me Your law.
30 I have chosen the faithful way;
I have [b]placed Your ordinances before me.
31 I (H)cling to Your testimonies;
O Lord, do not put me to shame!
32 I shall run the way of Your commandments,
For You will (I)enlarge my heart.
He.
33 (J)Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
And I shall observe it to the end.
34 (K)Give me understanding, that I may (L)observe Your law
And keep it (M)with all my heart.
35 Make me walk in the (N)path of Your commandments,
For I (O)delight in it.
36 (P)Incline my heart to Your testimonies
And not to (Q)dishonest gain.
37 Turn away my (R)eyes from looking at vanity,
And (S)revive me in Your ways.
38 (T)Establish Your [c]word to Your servant,
[d]As that which produces reverence for You.
39 (U)Turn away my reproach which I dread,
For Your ordinances are good.
40 Behold, I (V)long for Your precepts;
Revive me through Your righteousness.
Vav.
41 May Your (W)lovingkindnesses also come to me, O Lord,
Your salvation (X)according to Your [e]word;
42 So I will have an (Y)answer for him who (Z)reproaches me,
For I trust in Your word.
43 And do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
For I [f](AA)wait for Your ordinances.
44 So I will (AB)keep Your law continually,
Forever and ever.
45 And I will (AC)walk [g]at liberty,
For I (AD)seek Your precepts.
46 I will also speak of Your testimonies (AE)before kings
And shall not be ashamed.
47 I shall [h](AF)delight in Your commandments,
Which I (AG)love.
48 And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments,
Which I (AH)love;
And I will (AI)meditate on Your statutes.
Basket of Fruit and Israel’s Captivity
8 Thus the Lord [a]God showed me, and behold, there was a basket of summer fruit. 2 He said, “What do you see, Amos?” And (A)I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, “The (B)end has come for My people Israel. I will [b](C)spare them no longer. 3 [c]The (D)songs of the palace will turn to (E)wailing in that day,” declares the Lord God. “Many will be the (F)corpses; in every place [d]they will cast them forth [e]in silence.”
4 Hear this, you who [f](G)trample the needy, to do away with the humble of the land, 5 saying,
“When will the (H)new moon [g]be over,
So that we may sell grain,
And the (I)sabbath, that we may open the wheat market,
To make the [h]bushel smaller and the shekel bigger,
And to (J)cheat with [i]dishonest scales,
6 So as to (K)buy the helpless for [j]money
And the needy for a pair of sandals,
And that we may sell the refuse of the wheat?”
7 The Lord has (L)sworn by the (M)pride of Jacob,
“Indeed, I will (N)never forget any of their deeds.
8 “Because of this will not the land (O)quake
And everyone who dwells in it (P)mourn?
Indeed, all of it will (Q)rise up like the Nile,
And it will be tossed about
And subside like the Nile of Egypt.
9 “It will come about in that day,” declares the Lord God,
“That I will make the (R)sun go down at noon
And (S)make the earth dark in [k]broad daylight.
10 “Then I will (T)turn your festivals into mourning
And all your songs into [l]lamentation;
And I will bring (U)sackcloth on everyone’s loins
And baldness on every head.
And I will make it (V)like a time of mourning for an only son,
And the end of it will be like a bitter day.
11 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord God,
“When I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water,
But rather (W)for hearing the words of the Lord.
12 “People will stagger from sea to sea
And from the north even to the east;
They will go to and fro to (X)seek the word of the Lord,
But they will not find it.
13 “In that day the beautiful (Y)virgins
And the young men will (Z)faint from thirst.
14 “As for those who swear by the [m](AA)guilt of Samaria,
Who say, ‘As your god lives, O (AB)Dan,’
And, ‘As the way of (AC)Beersheba lives,’
They will fall and (AD)not rise again.”
17 When I saw Him, I (A)fell at His feet like a dead man. And He (B)placed His right hand on me, saying, “(C)Do not be afraid; (D)I am the first and the last, 18 and the (E)living One; and I [a](F)was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have (G)the keys of death and of Hades. 19 Therefore (H)write (I)the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place (J)after these things. 20 As for the (K)mystery of the (L)seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the (M)seven golden lampstands: the (N)seven stars are the angels of (O)the seven churches, and the seven (P)lampstands are the seven churches.
Message to Ephesus
2 “To the angel of the church in (Q)Ephesus write:
The One who holds (R)the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks [b](S)among the seven golden lampstands, says this:
2 ‘(T)I know your deeds and your toil and [c]perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you (U)put to the test those who call themselves (V)apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have [d]perseverance and have endured (W)for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have (X)left your first love. 5 Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and (Y)repent and (Z)do the [e]deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your (AA)lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. 6 Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the (AB)Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 (AC)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (AD)To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of (AE)the tree of life which is in the (AF)Paradise of God.’
Pharisaism Exposed
23 (A)Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 saying: “(B)The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. 4 (C)They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. 5 But they do all their deeds (D)to be noticed by men; for they (E)broaden their [a]phylacteries and lengthen (F)the tassels of their garments. 6 They (G)love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called (H)Rabbi by men. 8 But (I)do not be called (J)Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for (K)One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 Do not be called [b]leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. 11 (L)But the greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 (M)Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
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