Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 30[a]
A psalm, a song used at the dedication of the temple;[b] by David.
30 I will praise you, O Lord, for you lifted me up,[c]
and did not allow my enemies to gloat[d] over me.
2 O Lord my God,
I cried out to you and you healed me.[e]
3 O Lord, you pulled me[f] up from Sheol;
you rescued me from among those descending into the grave.[g]
4 Sing to the Lord, you faithful followers[h] of his;
give thanks to his holy name.[i]
5 For his anger lasts only a brief moment,
and his good favor restores one’s life.[j]
One may experience sorrow during the night,
but joy arrives in the morning.[k]
6 In my self-confidence I said,
“I will never be shaken.”[l]
7 O Lord, in your good favor you made me secure.[m]
Then you rejected me[n] and I was terrified.
8 To you, O Lord, I cried out;
I begged the Lord for mercy:[o]
9 “What[p] profit is there in taking my life,[q]
in my descending into the Pit?[r]
Can the dust of the grave[s] praise you?
Can it declare your loyalty?[t]
10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me.
O Lord, deliver me.”[u]
11 Then you turned my lament into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and covered me with joy.[v]
12 So now[w] my heart[x] will sing to you and not be silent;
O Lord my God, I will always[y] give thanks to you.
Psalm 32[a]
By David; a well-written song.[b]
32 How blessed[c] is the one whose rebellious acts are forgiven,[d]
whose sin is pardoned.[e]
2 How blessed is the one[f] whose wrongdoing the Lord does not punish,[g]
in whose spirit there is no deceit.[h]
3 When I refused to confess my sin,[i]
my whole body wasted away,[j]
while I groaned in pain all day long.
4 For day and night you tormented me;[k]
you tried to destroy me[l] in the intense heat[m] of summer.[n] (Selah)
5 Then I confessed my sin;
I no longer covered up my wrongdoing.
I said, “I will confess[o] my rebellious acts to the Lord.”
And then you forgave my sins.[p] (Selah)
6 For this reason every one of your faithful followers[q] should pray to you
while there is a window of opportunity.[r]
Certainly[s] when the surging water[t] rises,
it will not reach them.[u]
7 You are my hiding place;
you protect me from distress.
You surround me with shouts of joy from those celebrating deliverance.[v] (Selah)
8 I will instruct and teach you[w] about how you should live.[x]
I will advise you as I look you in the eye.[y]
9 Do not be[z] like an unintelligent horse or mule,[aa]
which will not obey you
unless they are controlled by a bridle and bit.[ab]
10 An evil person suffers much pain,[ac]
but the Lord’s faithfulness overwhelms the one who trusts in him.[ad]
11 Rejoice in the Lord and be happy, you who are godly!
Shout for joy, all you who are morally upright![ae]
Book 2 (Psalms 42-72)
Psalm 42[a]
For the music director, a well-written song[b] by the Korahites.
42 As a deer[c] longs[d] for streams of water,
so I long[e] for you, O God!
2 I thirst[f] for God,
for the living God.
I say,[g] “When will I be able to go and appear in God’s presence?”[h]
3 I cannot eat; I weep day and night.[i]
All day long they say to me,[j] “Where is your God?”
4 I will remember and weep.[k]
For I was once walking along with the great throng to the temple of God,
shouting and giving thanks along with the crowd as we celebrated the holy festival.[l]
5 Why are you depressed,[m] O my soul?[n]
Why are you upset?[o]
Wait[p] for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.[q]
6 I am depressed,[r]
so I will pray to you while in the region of the upper Jordan,[s]
from Hermon,[t] from Mount Mizar.[u]
7 One deep stream calls out to another[v] at the sound of your waterfalls;[w]
all your billows and waves overwhelm me.[x]
8 By day the Lord decrees his loyal love,[y]
and by night he gives me a song,[z]
a prayer[aa] to the God of my life.
9 I will pray[ab] to God, my high ridge:[ac]
“Why do you ignore[ad] me?
Why must I walk around mourning[ae]
because my enemies oppress me?”
10 My enemies’ taunts cut me to the bone,[af]
as they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”[ag]
11 Why are you depressed,[ah] O my soul?[ai]
Why are you upset?[aj]
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.[ak]
Psalm 43[al]
43 Vindicate me, O God!
Fight for me[am] against an ungodly nation.
Deliver me[an] from deceitful and evil men.[ao]
2 For you are the God who shelters me.[ap]
Why do you reject me?[aq]
Why must I walk around[ar] mourning[as]
because my enemies oppress me?
3 Reveal[at] your light[au] and your faithfulness.
They will lead me;[av]
they will escort[aw] me back to your holy hill,[ax]
and to the place where you live.[ay]
4 Then I will go[az] to the altar of God,
to the God who gives me ecstatic joy,[ba]
so that I may express my thanks to you,[bb] O God, my God, with a harp.
5 Why are you depressed,[bc] O my soul?[bd]
Why are you upset?[be]
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.[bf]
15 Through patience[a] a ruler can be persuaded,[b]
and a soft tongue[c] can break a bone.[d]
16 You have found[e] honey—eat only what is sufficient for you,
lest you become stuffed with[f] it and vomit it up.[g]
17 Don’t set foot too frequently[h] in your neighbor’s house,
lest he become weary[i] of you and hate you.
18 Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow,[j]
so is the one who testifies against[k] his neighbor as a false witness.[l]
19 Like a bad tooth or a foot out of joint,[m]
so is confidence[n] in an unfaithful person at the time of trouble.[o]
20 Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day,[p]
or like vinegar poured on soda,[q]
so is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.[r]
21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat,
and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,
22 for you will heap coals of fire on his head,[s]
and the Lord will reward you.[t]
23 The north wind[u] brings forth rain,
and a gossiping tongue[v] brings forth[w] an angry look.[x]
24 It is better to live on a corner of the housetop
than in a house in company with a quarrelsome wife.[y]
25 Like cold water to a weary person,[z]
so is good news from a distant land.[aa]
26 Like a muddied[ab] spring and a polluted[ac] well,
so is a righteous person who gives way[ad] before the wicked.
27 It is not good[ae] to eat too much honey,
nor is it honorable for people to seek their own glory.[af]
28 Like a city that is broken down and without a wall,
so is a person who cannot control his temper.[ag]
6 Now godliness combined with contentment brings great profit. 7 For we have brought nothing into this world and so[a] we cannot take a single thing out either. 8 But if we have food and shelter, we will be satisfied with that.[b] 9 Those who long to be rich, however, stumble into temptation and a trap and many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root[c] of all evils.[d] Some people in reaching for it have strayed from the faith and stabbed themselves with many pains.
11 But you, as a person dedicated to God,[e] keep away from all that.[f] Instead pursue righteousness, godliness, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness. 12 Compete well[g] for the faith and lay hold of that eternal life you were called for and made your good confession[h] for[i] in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you[j] before God who gives life to all things and Christ Jesus who made his good confession[k] before Pontius Pilate, 14 to obey[l] this command[m] without fault or failure until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ 15 —whose appearing[n] the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, will reveal at the right time. 16 He alone possesses immortality and lives in unapproachable light, whom no human has ever seen or is able to see. To him be honor and eternal power! Amen.
17 Command those who are rich in this world’s goods[o] not to be haughty or to set their hope on riches, which are uncertain,[p] but on God who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment. 18 Tell them to do good,[q] to be rich in good deeds, to be generous givers, sharing with others.[r] 19 In this way they will save up[s] a treasure for themselves as a firm foundation[t] for the future and so lay hold of[u] what is truly life.
Conclusion
20 O Timothy, protect what has been entrusted to you. Avoid[v] the profane chatter and absurdities[w] of so-called “knowledge.”[x] 21 By professing it, some have strayed from the faith.[y] Grace be with you all.[z]
Explanation for the Disciples
36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel[a] in the field.” 37 He[b] answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world and the good seed are the people[c] of the kingdom. The poisonous weeds[d] are the people[e] of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 As[f] the poisonous weeds[g] are collected and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers.[h] 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace,[i] where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.[j] The one who has ears had better listen![k]
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