Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 95
Worship and Warning
1 Come, let’s shout joyfully to the Lord,
shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation!(A)
2 Let’s enter his presence with thanksgiving;
let’s shout triumphantly to him in song.(B)
3 For the Lord is a great God,
a great King above all gods.(C)
4 The depths of the earth are in his hand,
and the mountain peaks are his.(D)
5 The sea is his; he made it.
His hands formed the dry land.(E)
6 Come, let’s worship and bow down;
let’s kneel before the Lord our Maker.(F)
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
the sheep under his care.[a](G)
Today, if you hear his voice:(H)
8 Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the wilderness(I)
9 where your ancestors tested me;
they tried me, though they had seen what I did.(J)
10 For forty years I was disgusted with that generation;
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray;
they do not know my ways.”(K)
11 So I swore in my anger,
“They will not enter my rest.”(L)
Psalm 40
Thanksgiving and a Cry for Help
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 I waited patiently for the Lord,
and he turned to me and heard my cry for help.(A)
2 He brought me up from a desolate[a] pit,
out of the muddy clay,(B)
and set my feet on a rock,
making my steps secure.(C)
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.(D)
Many will see and fear,
and they will trust in the Lord.(E)
4 How happy is anyone
who has put his trust in the Lord
and has not turned to the proud
or to those who run after lies!(F)
5 Lord my God, you have done many things—
your wondrous works and your plans for us;
none can compare with you.
If I were to report and speak of them,
they are more than can be told.(G)
6 You do not delight in sacrifice and offering;
you open my ears to listen.[b]
You do not ask for a whole burnt offering or a sin offering.(H)
7 Then I said, “See, I have come;
in the scroll it is written about me.(I)
8 I delight to do your will, my God,(J)
and your instruction is deep within me.”(K)
9 I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;
see, I do not keep my mouth closed[c]—
as you know, Lord.(L)
10 I did not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I spoke about your faithfulness and salvation;
I did not conceal your constant love and truth
from the great assembly.(M)
11 Lord, you do not[d] withhold your compassion from me.
Your constant love and truth will always guard me.(N)
12 For troubles without number have surrounded me;
my iniquities have overtaken me; I am unable to see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my courage leaves me.(O)
13 Lord, be pleased to rescue me;
hurry to help me, Lord.(P)
Psalm 54
Prayer for Deliverance
For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David. When the Ziphites went and said to Saul, “Is David not hiding among us?” (A)
1 God, save me by your name,
and vindicate me by your might!(B)
2 God, hear my prayer;
listen to the words from my mouth.(C)
3 For strangers rise up against me,
and violent men intend to kill me.
They do not let God guide them.[a](D)Selah
Psalm 51
A Prayer for Restoration
For the choir director. A psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him after he had gone to Bathsheba.(A)
1 Be gracious to me, God,
according to your faithful love;
according to your abundant compassion,
blot out my rebellion.(B)
2 Completely wash away my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.(C)
3 For I am conscious of my rebellion,
and my sin is always before me.(D)
4 Against you—you alone—I have sinned
and done this evil in your sight.(E)
So you are right when you pass sentence;
you are blameless when you judge.(F)
5 Indeed, I was guilty when I was born;
I was sinful when my mother conceived me.(G)
6 Surely you desire integrity in the inner self,
and you teach me wisdom deep within.(H)
7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.(I)
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.(J)
9 Turn your face away[a] from my sins
and blot out all my guilt.(K)
10 God, create a clean heart for me
and renew a steadfast[b] spirit within me.(L)
11 Do not banish me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.(M)
12 Restore the joy of your salvation to me,
and sustain me by giving me a willing spirit.(N)
13 Then I will teach the rebellious your ways,
and sinners will return to you.(O)
14 Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God(P)—
God of my salvation—
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.(Q)
15 Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.(R)
16 You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it;
you are not pleased with a burnt offering.(S)
17 The sacrifice pleasing to God is[c] a broken spirit.
You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God.(T)
Joseph Interprets Two Prisoners’ Dreams
40 After this, the king of Egypt’s cupbearer(A) and baker offended their master, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guards(B) in the prison where Joseph was confined. 4 The captain of the guards assigned Joseph to them as their personal attendant, and they were in custody for some time.[a]
5 The king of Egypt’s cupbearer and baker, who were confined in the prison, each had a dream. Both had a dream on the same night, and each dream had its own meaning. 6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they looked distraught. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?” (C)
8 “We had dreams,” they said to him, “but there is no one to interpret them.”
Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”(D)
9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph: “In my dream there was a vine in front of me. 10 On the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms came out and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”
12 “This is its interpretation,”(E) Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days. 13 In just three days Pharaoh will lift up your head(F) and restore you to your position. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand the way you used to when you were his cupbearer. 14 But when all goes well for you, remember that I was with you. Please show kindness to me by mentioning me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this prison. 15 For I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews,(G) and even here I have done nothing that they should put me in the dungeon.”[b](H)
16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was positive, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream. Three baskets of white bread were on my head. 17 In the top basket were all sorts of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”
18 “This is its interpretation,” Joseph replied. “The three baskets are three days. 19 In just three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from off you—and hang you on a tree.[c] Then the birds will eat the flesh from your body.”[d]
20 On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he gave a feast for all his servants. He elevated[e] the chief cupbearer and the chief baker among his servants.(I) 21 Pharaoh restored the chief cupbearer to his position as cupbearer, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. 22 But Pharaoh hanged[f] the chief baker, just as Joseph had explained to them. 23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.(J)
16 Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple(A) and that the Spirit of God lives in you?(B) 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him;(C) for God’s temple is holy,(D) and that is what you are.
The Folly of Human Wisdom
18 Let no one deceive(E) himself. If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age,(F) let him become a fool(G) so that he can become wise.(H) 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness(I) with God, since it is written,(J) He catches the wise in their craftiness;[a](K) 20 and again, The Lord knows that the reasonings(L) of the wise are futile.[b](M) 21 So let no one boast in human leaders, for everything is yours(N)— 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas(O) or the world or life(P) or death(Q) or things present or things to come(R)—everything is yours, 23 and you belong to Christ,(S) and Christ belongs to God.
The Call of Levi
13 Jesus(A) went out again beside the sea. The whole crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching(B) them. 14 Then, passing by, he saw Levi(C) the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office,(D) and he said to him, “Follow me,”(E) and he got up and followed(F) him.
15 While he was reclining at the table in Levi’s house, many tax collectors(G) and sinners(H) were eating[a] with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who were following him. 16 When the scribes(I) who were Pharisees[b](J) saw that he was eating(K) with sinners(L) and tax collectors,(M) they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat[c] with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 When Jesus heard this, he told them, “It is not those who are well who need(N) a doctor,(O) but those who are sick.(P) I didn’t come to call the righteous,(Q) but sinners.”(R)
A Question about Fasting
18 Now(S) John’s(T) disciples(U) and the Pharisees[d](V) were fasting.(W) People came and asked him, “Why do John’s disciples and the Pharisees’ disciples fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
19 Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot fast while the groom(X) is with them, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they cannot fast. 20 But the time[e] will come(Y) when the groom will be taken away from them,(Z) and then they will fast(AA) on that day. 21 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new patch pulls away from the old cloth,(AB) and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine(AC) into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst(AD) the skins, and the wine is lost as well as the skins. No, new wine is put into fresh wineskins.”
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