Book of Common Prayer
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)
18 “Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. You are to eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib,[a] as I commanded you, for you came out of Egypt in the month of Abib.(A)
19 “The firstborn(B) male from every womb belongs to me, including all your male[b][c] livestock, the firstborn of cattle or sheep. 20 You may redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a sheep, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck.(C) You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons. No one is to appear before me empty-handed.
21 “You are to labor six days but you must rest(D) on the seventh day; you must even rest during plowing and harvesting times.
22 “Observe the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering[d] at the turn of the agricultural year. 23 Three times a year(E) all your males are to appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. 24 For I will drive out nations(F) before you and enlarge your territory.(G) No one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord your God.
25 “Do not present[e] the blood for my sacrifice with anything leavened. The sacrifice of the Passover Festival must not remain until morning.(H)
26 “Bring the best firstfruits(I) of your land to the house of the Lord your God.
“You must not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
27 The Lord also said to Moses, “Write(J) down these words, for I have made a covenant with you and with Israel based on these words.”
28 Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did not eat food or drink water. He wrote the Ten Commandments,(K) the words of the covenant, on the tablets.
Moses’s Radiant Face
29 As Moses descended from Mount Sinai—with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands as he descended the mountain—he did not realize that the skin of his face shone as a result of his speaking with the Lord.[f](L) 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face shone!(M) They were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called out to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he commanded them to do everything the Lord had told him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever Moses went before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil until he came out. After he came out, he would tell the Israelites what he had been commanded,(N) 35 and the Israelites would see that Moses’s face[g] was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil over his face again until he went to speak with the Lord.
Anxiety in Athens
3 Therefore, when we could no longer stand it, we thought it was better to be left alone in Athens.(A) 2 And we sent Timothy,(B) our brother and God’s coworker[a] in the gospel of Christ,(C) to strengthen and encourage you concerning your faith, 3 so that no one will be shaken by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are appointed to this. 4 In fact, when we were with you, we told you in advance that we were going to experience affliction, and as you know, it happened. 5 For this reason, when I could no longer stand it, I also sent him to find out about your faith, fearing that the tempter had tempted you and that our labor might be for nothing.
Encouraged by Timothy
6 But now Timothy has come to us(D) from you and brought us good news about your faith and love. He reported that you always have good memories of us and that you long to see us, as we also long to see you.(E) 7 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and affliction, we were encouraged about you through your faith. 8 For now we live, if you stand firm(F) in the Lord. 9 How can we thank God for you in return for all the joy(G) we experience before our God because of you, 10 as we pray very earnestly night and day to see you face to face(H) and to complete what is lacking in your faith?(I)
Prayer for the Church
11 Now may our God and Father(J) himself, and our Lord Jesus,(K) direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love(L) for one another(M) and for everyone, just as we do for you. 13 May he make your hearts blameless(N) in holiness(O) before our God and Father at the coming(P) of our Lord(Q) Jesus with all his saints. Amen.[b]
Adultery Begins in the Heart
27 “You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery.[a](A) 28 But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.(B) 29 If your right eye causes you to sin,(C) gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.(D) 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
Divorce Practices Censured
31 “It was also said, Whoever divorces(E) his wife must give her a written notice of divorce.[b](F) 32 But I tell you, everyone who divorces his wife, except in a case of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.(G)
Tell the Truth
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors,You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord.[c](H) 34 But I tell you, don’t take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, because it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.(I) 36 Do not swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’ Anything more than this is from the evil one.(J)
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