Book of Common Prayer
Praise to the Lord, and Warning against Unbelief.
95 O come, let us (A)sing for joy to the Lord,
Let us shout joyfully to (B)the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us (C)come before His presence (D)with [a]thanksgiving,
Let us shout joyfully to Him (E)with [b]psalms.
3 For the Lord is a (F)great God
And a great King (G)above all gods,
4 In whose hand are the (H)depths of the earth,
The peaks of the mountains are His also.
5 [c]The sea is His, for it was He (I)who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us (J)worship and bow down,
Let us (K)kneel before the Lord our (L)Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And (M)we are the people of His [d](N)pasture and the sheep of His hand.
(O)Today, [e]if you would hear His voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts, as at [f](P)Meribah,
As in the day of [g](Q)Massah in the wilderness,
9 “When your fathers (R)tested Me,
They tried Me, though they had seen My work.
10 “For (S)forty years I loathed that generation,
And said they are a people who err in their heart,
And they do not know My ways.
11 “Therefore I (T)swore in My anger,
Truly they shall not enter into My (U)rest.”
A Psalm of Complaint and of Praise.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
31 (A)In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge;
Let me never (B)be ashamed;
(C)In Your righteousness deliver me.
2 (D)Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly;
Be to me a (E)rock of [a]strength,
A stronghold to save me.
3 For You are my [b]rock and (F)my fortress;
For (G)Your name’s sake You will lead me and guide me.
4 You will (H)pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my (I)strength.
5 (J)Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have (K)ransomed me, O Lord, (L)God of [c]truth.
6 I hate those who (M)regard [d]vain idols,
But I (N)trust in the Lord.
7 I will (O)rejoice and be glad in Your lovingkindness,
Because You have (P)seen my affliction;
You have known the troubles of my soul,
8 And You have not (Q)given me over into the hand of the enemy;
You have set my feet in a large place.
9 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for (R)I am in distress;
My (S)eye is wasted away from grief, (T)my soul and my body also.
10 For my life is spent with (U)sorrow
And my years with sighing;
My (V)strength has failed because of my iniquity,
And (W)my [e]body has wasted away.
11 Because of all my adversaries, I have become a (X)reproach,
Especially to my (Y)neighbors,
And an object of dread to my acquaintances;
Those who see me in the street flee from me.
12 I am (Z)forgotten as a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
13 For I have heard the [f](AA)slander of many,
(AB)Terror is on every side;
While they (AC)took counsel together against me,
They (AD)schemed to take away my life.
14 But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord,
I say, “(AE)You are my God.”
15 My (AF)times are in Your hand;
(AG)Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.
16 Make Your (AH)face to shine upon Your servant;
(AI)Save me in Your lovingkindness.
17 Let me not be (AJ)put to shame, O Lord, for I call upon You;
Let the (AK)wicked be put to shame, let them (AL)be silent in [g]Sheol.
18 Let the (AM)lying lips be mute,
Which (AN)speak arrogantly against the righteous
With pride and contempt.
19 How great is Your (AO)goodness,
Which You have stored up for those who fear You,
Which You have wrought for those who (AP)take refuge in You,
(AQ)Before the sons of men!
20 You hide them in the (AR)secret place of Your presence from the (AS)conspiracies of man;
You keep them secretly in a [h]shelter from the (AT)strife of tongues.
21 (AU)Blessed be the Lord,
For He has made (AV)marvelous His lovingkindness to me in a besieged (AW)city.
22 As for me, (AX)I said in my alarm,
“I am (AY)cut off from before Your eyes”;
Nevertheless You (AZ)heard the voice of my supplications
When I cried to You.
Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.
A Psalm of David.
35 Contend, O Lord, with those who (A)contend with me;
Fight against those who (B)fight against me.
2 Take hold of [a](C)buckler and shield
And rise up for (D)my help.
3 Draw also the spear and [b]the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me;
Say to my soul, “I am (E)your salvation.”
4 Let those be (F)ashamed and dishonored who seek my [c]life;
Let those be (G)turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.
5 Let them be (H)like chaff before the wind,
With the angel of the Lord driving them on.
6 Let their way be dark and (I)slippery,
With the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
7 For (J)without cause they (K)hid their net for me;
Without cause they dug a [d]pit for my soul.
8 Let (L)destruction come upon him unawares,
And (M)let the net which he hid catch himself;
Into that very (N)destruction let him fall.
9 And my soul shall (O)rejoice in the Lord;
It shall (P)exult in His salvation.
10 All my (Q)bones will say, “Lord, (R)who is like You,
Who delivers the afflicted from him (S)who is too strong for him,
And (T)the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?”
11 (U)Malicious witnesses rise up;
They ask me of things that I do not know.
12 They (V)repay me evil for good,
To the bereavement of my soul.
13 But as for me, (W)when they were sick, my (X)clothing was sackcloth;
I (Y)humbled my soul with fasting,
And my (Z)prayer kept returning to my bosom.
14 I went about as though it were my friend or brother;
I (AA)bowed down [e]mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother.
15 But (AB)at my [f]stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together;
The [g](AC)smiters whom I did not know gathered together against me,
They [h](AD)slandered me without ceasing.
16 Like godless jesters at a feast,
They (AE)gnashed at me with their teeth.
17 Lord, (AF)how long will You look on?
Rescue my soul (AG)from their ravages,
My (AH)only life from the lions.
18 I will (AI)give You thanks in the great congregation;
I will (AJ)praise You among a mighty throng.
19 (AK)Do not let those who are wrongfully (AL)my enemies rejoice over me;
Nor let those (AM)who hate me without cause [i](AN)wink maliciously.
20 For they do not speak peace,
But they devise (AO)deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
21 They (AP)opened their mouth wide against me;
They said, “(AQ)Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!”
22 (AR)You have seen it, O Lord, (AS)do not keep silent;
O Lord, (AT)do not be far from me.
23 (AU)Stir up Yourself, and awake to my right
And to my cause, my God and my Lord.
24 (AV)Judge me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness,
And (AW)do not let them rejoice over me.
25 Do not let them say in their heart, “(AX)Aha, our desire!”
Do not let them say, “We have (AY)swallowed him up!”
26 Let (AZ)those be ashamed and humiliated altogether who rejoice at my distress;
Let those be (BA)clothed with shame and dishonor who (BB)magnify themselves over me.
God Deals Justly with Individuals
18 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “(A)What do you mean by using this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying,
3 As I live,” declares the Lord [b]God, “you are surely not going to use this proverb in Israel anymore. 4 Behold, (C)all [c]souls are Mine; the [d]soul of the father as well as the [e]soul of the son is Mine. The [f]soul who (D)sins will die.
25 Yet you say, ‘(A)The way of the Lord is not right.’ Hear now, O house of Israel! Is (B)My way not right? Is it not your ways that are not right? 26 When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity and dies because of it, for his iniquity which he has committed he will die. 27 Again, when a wicked man turns away (C)from his wickedness which he has committed and practices justice and righteousness, he will save his life. 28 Because he considered and turned away from all his transgressions which he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 29 But the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ Are My ways not right, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are not right?
30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each according to his conduct,” declares the Lord God. “(D)Repent and turn away from all your transgressions, so that iniquity may not become a stumbling block to you. 31 (E)Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed and make yourselves a (F)new heart and a new spirit! For why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have (G)no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord God. “Therefore, repent and live.”
Think of Excellence
4 Therefore, my beloved brethren [a]whom I (A)long to see, my joy and crown, in this way (B)stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.
2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to [b](C)live in harmony in the Lord. 3 Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my (D)fellow workers, whose (E)names are in the book of life.
4 (F)Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. (G)The Lord is [c]near. 6 (H)Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by (I)prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And (J)the peace of God, which surpasses all [d]comprehension, will (K)guard your hearts and your (L)minds in (M)Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, (N)whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is [e]lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, [f]dwell on these things. 9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen (O)in me, practice these things, and (P)the God of peace will be with you.
9 (A)I ask on their behalf; (B)I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom (C)You have given Me; for (D)they are Yours; 10 and (E)all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11 I am no longer in the world; and yet (F)they themselves are in the world, and (G)I come to You. (H)Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name (I)which You have given Me, that (J)they may be one even as We are. 12 While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name (K)which You have given Me; and I guarded them and (L)not one of them perished but (M)the [a]son of perdition, so that the (N)Scripture would be fulfilled.
The Disciples in the World
13 But now (O)I come to You; and (P)these things I speak in the world so that they may have My (Q)joy made full in themselves. 14 I have given them Your word; and (R)the world has hated them, because (S)they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them [b]from [c](T)the evil one. 16 (U)They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 (V)Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. 18 As (W)You sent Me into the world, (X)I also have sent them into the world. 19 For their sakes I (Y)sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be (Z)sanctified (AA)in truth.
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