Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 16
Confidence in the Lord
A Miktam of David.(A)
1 Protect me, God, for I take refuge in you.(B)
2 I[a] said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have nothing good besides you.”[b](C)
3 As for the holy people who are in the land,(D)
they are the noble ones.
All my delight is in them.
4 The sorrows of those who take another god
for themselves will multiply;
I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
and I will not speak their names with my lips.(E)
5 Lord, you are my portion[c]
and my cup of blessing;
you hold my future.(F)
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me
in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.(G)
7 I will bless the Lord who counsels me(H)—
even at night when my thoughts trouble me.[d](I)
8 I always let the Lord guide me.[e]
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.(J)
9 Therefore my heart is glad
and my whole being rejoices;
my body also rests securely.(K)
10 For you will not abandon me to Sheol;(L)
you will not allow your faithful one to see decay.(M)
11 You reveal the path of life to me;
in your presence is abundant joy;(N)
at your right hand are eternal pleasures.(O)
Psalm 17
A Prayer for Protection
A prayer of David.
1 Lord, hear a just cause;(P)
pay attention to my cry;
listen to my prayer—
from lips free of deceit.(Q)
2 Let my vindication come from you,
for you see what is right.(R)
3 You have tested my heart;(S)
you have examined me at night.
You have tried me and found nothing evil;(T)
I have determined that my mouth will not sin.[f]
4 Concerning what people do:
by the words from your lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent.(U)
5 My steps are on your paths;
my feet have not slipped.(V)
6 I call on you, God,
because you will answer me;(W)
listen closely to me; hear what I say.
7 Display the wonders of your faithful love,(X)
Savior of all who seek refuge(Y)
from those who rebel against your right hand.[g]
8 Protect me as the pupil of your eye;(Z)
hide me in the shadow of your wings(AA)
9 from[h] the wicked who treat me violently,[i]
my deadly enemies who surround me.(AB)
10 They are uncaring;[j](AC)
their mouths speak arrogantly.(AD)
11 They advance against me;[k] now they surround me.(AE)
They are determined[l]
to throw me to the ground.(AF)
12 They are[m] like a lion eager to tear,
like a young lion lurking in ambush.(AG)
13 Rise up, Lord!
Confront him; bring him down.(AH)
With your sword, save me from the wicked.(AI)
14 With your hand, Lord, save me from men,
from men of the world
whose portion is in this life:
You fill their bellies with what you have in store;
their sons are satisfied,
and they leave their surplus to their children.(AJ)
Psalm 22
From Suffering to Praise
For the choir director: according to “The Deer of the Dawn.” A psalm of David.
1 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?(A)
Why are you so far from my deliverance(B)
and from my words of groaning?(C)
2 My God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
by night, yet I have no rest.(D)
3 But you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.(E)
4 Our ancestors trusted in you;
they trusted, and you rescued them.(F)
5 They cried to you and were set free;
they trusted in you and were not disgraced.(G)
6 But I am a worm and not a man,(H)
scorned by mankind and despised by people.(I)
7 Everyone who sees me mocks me;
they sneer[a] and shake their heads:(J)
8 “He relies on[b] the Lord;
let him save him;
let the Lord[c] rescue him,
since he takes pleasure in him.”(K)
9 It was you who brought me out of the womb,
making me secure at my mother’s breast.(L)
10 I was given over to you at birth;[d]
you have been my God from my mother’s womb.(M)
11 Don’t be far from me, because distress is near
and there’s no one to help.(N)
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong ones of Bashan encircle me.(O)
13 They open their mouths against me—
lions, mauling and roaring.(P)
14 I am poured out like water,(Q)
and all my bones are disjointed;(R)
my heart is like wax,
melting within me.(S)
15 My strength is dried up like baked clay;(T)
my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.(U)
You put me into the dust of death.(V)
16 For dogs have surrounded me;(W)
a gang of evildoers has closed in on me;
they pierced[e] my hands and my feet.(X)
17 I can count all my bones;
people[f] look and stare at me.(Y)
18 They divided my garments among themselves,
and they cast lots for my clothing.(Z)
19 But you, Lord, don’t be far away.(AA)
My strength, come quickly to help me.(AB)
20 Rescue my life from the sword,(AC)
my only life[g] from the power of these dogs.
21 Save me from the lion’s mouth,(AD)
from the horns of wild oxen.
You answered me![h]
22 I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters;
I will praise you in the assembly.(AE)
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!(AF)
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
All you descendants of Israel, revere him!(AG)
24 For he has not despised or abhorred
the torment of the oppressed.(AH)
He did not hide his face from him(AI)
but listened when he cried to him for help.(AJ)
25 I will give praise in the great assembly
because of you;(AK)
I will fulfill my vows
before those who fear you.[i](AL)
26 The humble will eat and be satisfied;(AM)
those who seek the Lord will praise him.
May your hearts live forever!(AN)
27 All the ends of the earth will remember
and turn to the Lord.
All the families of the nations
will bow down before you,(AO)
28 for kingship belongs to the Lord;
he rules the nations.(AP)
29 All who prosper on earth will eat and bow down;
all those who go down to the dust
will kneel before him—
even the one who cannot preserve his life.(AQ)
30 Their descendants will serve him;
the next generation will be told about the Lord.(AR)
31 They will come and declare his righteousness;
to a people yet to be born
they will declare what he has done.(AS)
Wisdom’s Appeal
8 Doesn’t wisdom(A) call out?
Doesn’t understanding make her voice heard?
2 At the heights overlooking the road,
at the crossroads, she takes her stand.
3 Beside the gates(B) leading into the city,
at the main entrance, she cries out:
4 “People, I call out to you;
my cry is to the children of Adam.
5 Learn to be shrewd, you who are inexperienced;
develop common sense, you who are foolish.
6 Listen, for I speak of noble things,
and what my lips say is right.
7 For my mouth tells the truth,(C)
and wickedness is detestable to my lips.
8 All the words from my mouth are righteous;
none of them are deceptive or perverse.(D)
9 All of them are clear to the perceptive,(E)
and right to those who discover knowledge.
10 Accept my instruction instead of silver,
and knowledge rather than pure gold.(F)
11 For wisdom is better than jewels,(G)
and nothing desirable can equal it.(H)
12 I, wisdom, share a home with shrewdness
and have knowledge and discretion.(I)
13 To fear the Lord is to hate evil.(J)
I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct,
and perverse speech.
14 I possess good advice and sound wisdom;[a]
I have understanding and strength.(K)
15 It is by me that kings reign(L)
and rulers enact just law;
16 by me, princes lead,
as do nobles and all righteous judges.[b]
17 I love those who love me,(M)
and those who search for me find me.(N)
18 With me are riches and honor,(O)
lasting wealth and righteousness.(P)
19 My fruit is better than solid gold,
and my harvest than pure silver.(Q)
20 I walk in the ways of righteousness,
along the paths of justice,
21 giving wealth as an inheritance to those who love me,
and filling their treasuries.
Greeting
1 The elder:
To the elect(A) lady and her children, whom I love in the truth—and not only I, but also all who know the truth(B)— 2 because of the truth that remains in us(C) and will be with us forever.
3 Grace, mercy, and peace(D) will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son(E) of the Father, in truth and love.(F)
Truth and Deception
4 I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth,(G) in keeping with a command we have received from the Father. 5 So now I ask you, dear lady—not as if I were writing you a new command, but one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another.(H) 6 This is love:(I) that we walk according to his commands.(J) This is the command as you have heard it from the beginning: that you walk in love.[a]
7 Many deceivers have gone out into the world; they do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh.(K) This is the deceiver and the antichrist.(L) 8 Watch yourselves so that you don’t lose what we[b] have worked for, but that you may receive a full reward.(M) 9 Anyone who does not remain in Christ’s teaching(N) but goes beyond it does not have God.(O) The one who remains(P) in that teaching, this one has both the Father(Q) and the Son.(R) 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive(S) him into your home, and do not greet him; 11 for the one who greets him shares(T) in his evil works.(U)
Farewell
12 Though I have many things to write to you,(V) I don’t want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come to you and talk face to face so that our joy(W) may be complete.
13 The children of your elect sister send you greetings.
Lord of the Sabbath
12 At that time Jesus passed through the grainfields on the Sabbath.(A) His disciples(B) were hungry and began to pick and eat some heads of grain. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “See, your disciples are doing what is not lawful(C) to do on the Sabbath.”
3 He said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry: 4 how he entered the house of God, and they ate[a] the bread of the Presence—which is not lawful for him or for those with him to eat, but only for the priests?(D) 5 Or haven’t you read in the law that on Sabbath days the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent?(E) 6 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.(F) 7 If you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice,[b](G) you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”(H)
The Man with the Shriveled Hand
9 Moving on from there, he entered their synagogue.(I) 10 There he saw a man who had a shriveled hand, and in order to accuse him they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” (J)
11 He replied to them, “Who among you, if he had a sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, wouldn’t take hold of it and lift it out?(K) 12 A person is worth far more than a sheep; (L) so it is lawful to do what is good on the Sabbath.”
13 Then he told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored,(M) as good as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted against him, how they might kill him.(N)
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