Book of Common Prayer
V
33 [a]God changed rivers into desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,(A)
34 Fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the wickedness of its people.(B)
35 He changed the desert into pools of water,
arid land into springs of water,(C)
36 And settled the hungry there;
they built a city to live in.(D)
37 They sowed fields and planted vineyards,
brought in an abundant harvest.(E)
38 (F)God blessed them, and they increased greatly,
and their livestock did not decrease.(G)
39 But he poured out contempt on princes,
made them wander trackless wastes,
40 Where they were diminished and brought low
through misery and cruel oppression.
41 While he released the poor man from affliction,
and increased their families like flocks.(H)
42 The upright saw this and rejoiced;(I)
all wickedness shut its mouth.
43 Whoever is wise will take note of these things,(J)
and ponder the merciful deeds of the Lord.
Psalm 108[b]
Prayer for Victory
1 A song; a psalm of David.
I
2 My heart is steadfast, God;(K)
my heart is steadfast.
Let me sing and chant praise.
3 Awake, lyre and harp!
I will wake the dawn.(L)
4 I will praise you among the peoples, Lord;
I will chant your praise among the nations.(M)
5 For your mercy is greater than the heavens;
your faithfulness, to the skies.(N)
II
6 Appear on high over the heavens, God;
your glory above all the earth.
7 Help with your right hand and answer us
that your loved ones may escape.
8 God speaks in his holiness:[c](O)
“I will exult, I will apportion Shechem;
the valley of Succoth I will measure out.
9 Gilead is mine, mine is Manasseh;
Ephraim is the helmet for my head,
Judah, my scepter.
10 Moab is my washbowl;
upon Edom I cast my sandal;(P)
I will shout in triumph over Philistia.”
11 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me into Edom?
12 Was it not you who rejected us, God?
Do you no longer march with our armies?(Q)
13 Give us aid against the foe;
worthless is human help.
Psalm 33[a]
Praise of God’s Power and Providence
I
1 Rejoice, you righteous, in the Lord;
praise from the upright is fitting.(A)
2 Give thanks to the Lord on the harp;
on the ten-stringed lyre offer praise.(B)
3 Sing to him a new song;
skillfully play with joyful chant.
4 For the Lord’s word is upright;
all his works are trustworthy.
5 He loves justice and right.
The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord.(C)
II
6 By the Lord’s word the heavens were made;
by the breath of his mouth all their host.[b](D)
7 [c]He gathered the waters of the sea as a mound;
he sets the deep into storage vaults.(E)
III
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all who dwell in the world show him reverence.
9 For he spoke, and it came to be,
commanded, and it stood in place.(F)
10 The Lord foils the plan of nations,
frustrates the designs of peoples.
11 But the plan of the Lord stands forever,
the designs of his heart through all generations.(G)
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people chosen as his inheritance.(H)
IV
13 From heaven the Lord looks down
and observes the children of Adam,(I)
14 From his dwelling place he surveys
all who dwell on earth.
15 The One who fashioned together their hearts
is the One who knows all their works.
V
16 A king is not saved by a great army,
nor a warrior delivered by great strength.
17 Useless is the horse for safety;
despite its great strength, it cannot be saved.
18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear him,
upon those who count on his mercy,
19 To deliver their soul from death,
and to keep them alive through famine.
VI
20 Our soul waits for the Lord,
he is our help and shield.(J)
21 For in him our hearts rejoice;
in his holy name we trust.
22 May your mercy, Lord, be upon us;
as we put our hope in you.
II. The Call and Commission of Moses
The Burning Bush. 23 A long time passed, during which the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their bondage and cried out, and from their bondage their cry for help went up to God.(A) 24 God heard their moaning and God was mindful of his covenant(B) with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 25 God saw the Israelites, and God knew….[a]
Chapter 3
1 [b]Meanwhile Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock beyond the wilderness, he came to the mountain of God, Horeb.[c] 2 There the angel of the Lord[d] appeared to him as fire flaming out of a bush.(C) When he looked, although the bush was on fire, it was not being consumed. 3 So Moses decided, “I must turn aside to look at this remarkable sight. Why does the bush not burn up?” 4 When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to look, God called out to him from the bush: Moses! Moses! He answered, “Here I am.” 5 God said: Do not come near! Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.(D) 6 I am the God of your father,[e] he continued, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.(E) Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
The Call and Commission of Moses. 7 But the Lord said: I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry against their taskmasters, so I know well what they are suffering. 8 Therefore I have come down[f] to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them up from that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Hivites and the Jebusites.(F) 9 Now indeed the outcry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen how the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 Now, go! I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I[g] that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 God answered: I will be with you; and this will be your sign[h] that I have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will serve God at this mountain. 13 “But,” said Moses to God, “if I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what do I tell them?” 14 God replied to Moses: I am who I am.[i] Then he added: This is what you will tell the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.
15 God spoke further to Moses: This is what you will say to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.
This is my name forever;(G)
this is my title for all generations.
Chapter 13[a]
1 If I speak in human and angelic tongues[b] but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.(A) 2 And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.(B) 3 If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.(C)
4 [c]Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated,(D) 5 it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,(E) 6 it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.(F)
8 [d]Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing. 9 For we know partially and we prophesy partially, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. 12 At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.(G) 13 [e]So faith, hope, love remain, these three;(H) but the greatest of these is love.
14 When they came to the disciples,(A) they saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them. 15 Immediately on seeing him, the whole crowd was utterly amazed. They ran up to him and greeted him. 16 He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” 17 Someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I have brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit. 18 Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so.” 19 He said to them in reply, “O faithless generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring him to me.” 20 They brought the boy to him. And when he saw him, the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions. As he fell to the ground, he began to roll around and foam at the mouth. 21 Then he questioned his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” He replied, “Since childhood. 22 It has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 Jesus said to him, “‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.” 24 Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!” 25 Jesus, on seeing a crowd rapidly gathering, rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it, “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you: come out of him and never enter him again!” 26 Shouting and throwing the boy into convulsions, it came out. He became like a corpse, which caused many to say, “He is dead!” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up. 28 When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private, “Why could we not drive it out?” 29 [a]He said to them, “This kind can only come out through prayer.”
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.