Book of Common Prayer
Prayer in Time of Chastening
A Psalm of David. (A)To bring to remembrance.
38 O Lord, do not (B)rebuke me in Your wrath,
Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!
2 For Your arrows pierce me deeply,
And Your hand presses me down.
3 There is no soundness in my flesh
Because of Your anger,
Nor any health in my bones
Because of my sin.
4 For my iniquities have gone over my head;
Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds are foul and festering
Because of my foolishness.
6 I am [a]troubled, I am bowed down greatly;
I go mourning all the day long.
7 For my loins are full of inflammation,
And there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am feeble and severely broken;
I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.
9 Lord, all my desire is before You;
And my sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart pants, my strength fails me;
As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.
11 My loved ones and my friends (C)stand aloof from my plague,
And my relatives stand afar off.
12 Those also who seek my life lay snares for me;
Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction,
And plan deception all the day long.
13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;
And I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.
14 Thus I am like a man who does not hear,
And in whose mouth is no response.
15 For [b]in You, O Lord, (D)I hope;
You will [c]hear, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, “Hear me, lest they rejoice over me,
Lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me.”
17 (E)For I am ready to fall,
And my sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I will (F)declare my iniquity;
I will be (G)in [d]anguish over my sin.
19 But my enemies are vigorous, and they are strong;
And those who hate me wrongfully have multiplied.
20 Those also (H)who render evil for good,
They are my adversaries, because I follow what is good.
21 Do not forsake me, O Lord;
O my God, (I)be not far from me!
22 Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation!
ד DALETH
25 (A)My soul clings to the dust;
(B)Revive me according to Your word.
26 I have declared my ways, and You answered me;
(C)Teach me Your statutes.
27 Make me understand the way of Your precepts;
So (D)shall I meditate on Your wonderful works.
28 (E)My soul [a]melts from [b]heaviness;
Strengthen me according to Your word.
29 Remove from me the way of lying,
And grant me Your law graciously.
30 I have chosen the way of truth;
Your judgments I have laid before me.
31 I cling to Your testimonies;
O Lord, do not put me to shame!
32 I will run the course of Your commandments,
For You shall (F)enlarge my heart.
ה HE
33 (G)Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
And I shall keep it to the end.
34 (H)Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law;
Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
35 Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
For I delight in it.
36 [c]Incline my heart to Your testimonies,
And not to (I)covetousness.
37 (J)Turn[d] away my eyes from (K)looking at worthless things,
And revive me in [e]Your way.
38 (L)Establish Your word to Your servant,
Who is devoted to fearing You.
39 Turn away my reproach which I dread,
For Your judgments are good.
40 Behold, I long for Your precepts;
Revive me in Your righteousness.
ו WAW
41 Let Your mercies come also to me, O Lord—
Your salvation according to Your word.
42 So shall I have an answer for him who [f]reproaches me,
For I trust in Your word.
43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
For I have hoped in Your ordinances.
44 So shall I keep Your law continually,
Forever and ever.
45 And I will walk [g]at (M)liberty,
For I seek Your precepts.
46 (N)I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings,
And will not be ashamed.
47 And I will delight myself in Your commandments,
Which I love.
48 My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments,
Which I love,
And I will meditate on Your statutes.
Noah and His Sons
18 Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (A)And Ham was the father of Canaan. 19 (B)These three were the sons of Noah, (C)and from these the whole earth was populated.
20 And Noah began to be (D)a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. 21 Then he drank of the wine (E)and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23 (F)But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were [a]turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.
24 So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. 25 Then he said:
26 And he said:
(I)“Blessed be the Lord,
The God of Shem,
And may Canaan be his servant.
27 May God (J)enlarge Japheth,
(K)And may he dwell in the tents of Shem;
And may Canaan be his servant.”
28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. 29 So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died.
The Peril of Not Progressing
6 Therefore, (A)leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to [a]perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from (B)dead works and of faith toward God, 2 (C)of the doctrine of baptisms, (D)of laying on of hands, (E)of resurrection of the dead, (F)and of eternal judgment. 3 And this [b]we will do if God permits.
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted (G)the heavenly gift, and (H)have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 [c]if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, (I)since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, (J)receives blessing from God; 8 (K)but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.
A Better Estimate
9 But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. 10 For (L)God is not unjust to forget (M)your work and [d]labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have (N)ministered to the saints, and do minister. 11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence (O)to the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 that you do not become [e]sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience (P)inherit the promises.
John the Baptist Exalts Christ
22 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them (A)and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near (B)Salim, because there was much water there. (C)And they came and were baptized. 24 For (D)John had not yet been thrown into prison.
25 Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, (E)to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all (F)are coming to Him!”
27 John answered and said, (G)“A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, (H)‘I am not the Christ,’ but, (I)‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29 (J)He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but (K)the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 (L)He must increase, but I must decrease. 31 (M)He who comes from above (N)is above all; (O)he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. (P)He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 And (Q)what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. 33 He who has received His testimony (R)has certified that God is true. 34 (S)For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit (T)by measure. 35 (U)The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. 36 (V)He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the (W)wrath of God abides on him.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.