Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 25
Dependence on the Lord
Davidic.
1 Lord,[a] I turn to You.[b](A)
2 My God, I trust in You.
Do not let me be disgraced;(B)
do not let my enemies gloat over me.(C)
3 No one who waits for You
will be disgraced;(D)
those who act treacherously without cause
will be disgraced.(E)
4 Make Your ways known to me, Lord;
teach me Your paths.(F)
5 Guide me in Your truth and teach me,(G)
for You are the God of my salvation;(H)
I wait for You all day long.(I)
6 Remember, Lord, Your compassion
and Your faithful love,
for they have existed from antiquity.[c](J)
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth(K)
or my acts of rebellion;(L)
in keeping with Your faithful love, remember me
because of Your goodness, Lord.(M)
8 The Lord is good and upright;(N)
therefore He shows sinners the way.(O)
9 He leads the humble in what is right(P)
and teaches them His way.(Q)
10 All the Lord’s ways show faithful love and truth
to those who keep His covenant and decrees.(R)
11 Because of Your name, Yahweh,
forgive my sin, for it is great.(S)
12 Who is the man who fears the Lord?(T)
He will show him the way he should choose.(U)
13 He will live a good life,
and his descendants will inherit the land.[d](V)
14 The secret counsel of the Lord
is for those who fear Him,
and He reveals His covenant to them.(W)
15 My eyes are always on the Lord,
for He will pull my feet out of the net.(X)
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am alone and afflicted.(Y)
17 The distresses of my heart increase;[e](Z)
bring me out of my sufferings.(AA)
18 Consider my affliction and trouble,(AB)
and take away all my sins.(AC)
19 Consider my enemies; they are numerous,(AD)
and they hate me violently.(AE)
20 Guard me and deliver me;(AF)
do not let me be put to shame,
for I take refuge in You.(AG)
21 May integrity and what is right
watch over me,
for I wait for You.(AH)
22 God, redeem Israel, from all its distresses.(AI)
Psalm 9
Celebration of God’s Justice
For the choir director: according to Muth-labben.[a] A Davidic psalm.
1 I will thank Yahweh with all my heart;
I will declare all Your wonderful works.(A)
2 I will rejoice and boast about You;(B)
I will sing about Your name, Most High.(C)
3 When my enemies retreat,
they stumble and perish before You.(D)
4 For You have upheld my just cause;[b](E)
You are seated on Your throne as a righteous judge.(F)
5 You have rebuked the nations:(G)
You have destroyed the wicked;(H)
You have erased their name forever and ever.(I)
6 The enemy has come to eternal ruin;
You have uprooted the cities,
and the very memory of them has perished.(J)
7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever;(K)
He has established His throne for judgment.(L)
8 He judges the world with righteousness;
He executes judgment on the nations with fairness.(M)
9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a refuge in times of trouble.(N)
10 Those who know Your name trust in You
because You have not abandoned
those who seek You, Yahweh.(O)
11 Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Zion;(P)
proclaim His deeds among the nations.(Q)
12 For the One who seeks an accounting
for bloodshed remembers them;(R)
He does not forget the cry of the afflicted.(S)
13 Be gracious to me, Lord;
consider my affliction at the hands of those who hate me.(T)
Lift me up from the gates of death,(U)
14 so that I may declare all Your praises.
I will rejoice in Your salvation(V)
within the gates of Daughter Zion.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they made;
their foot is caught in the net they have concealed.(W)
16 The Lord has revealed Himself;
He has executed justice,(X)
striking down[c] the wicked[d]
by the work of their hands.(Y)
Psalm 15
A Description of the Godly
A Davidic psalm.
2 The one who lives honestly, practices righteousness,
and acknowledges the truth in his heart(C)—
3 who does not slander with his tongue,(D)
who does not harm his friend
or discredit his neighbor,(E)
4 who despises the one rejected by the Lord[a]
but honors those who fear the Lord,(F)
who keeps his word whatever the cost,(G)
5 who does not lend his money at interest(H)
or take a bribe against the innocent(I)—
the one who does these things will never be moved.(J)
Job’s Reply to Zophar
12 Then Job answered:
2 No doubt you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you!
3 But I also have a mind;
I am not inferior to you.
Who doesn’t know the things you are talking about?[a](A)
4 I am a laughingstock to my[b] friends,
by calling on God, who answers me.[c]
The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.(B)
5 The one who is at ease(C) holds calamity in contempt
and thinks it is prepared for those whose feet are slipping.
6 The tents of robbers are safe,(D)
and those who provoke God are secure;
God’s power provides this.[d](E)
13 Wisdom and strength belong to God;
counsel and understanding are His.(A)
14 Whatever He tears down cannot be rebuilt;
whoever He imprisons cannot be released.(B)
15 When He withholds the waters, everything dries up,
and when He releases them, they destroy the land.(C)
16 True wisdom and power belong to Him.
The deceived and the deceiver are His.
17 He leads counselors away barefoot
and makes judges go mad.(D)
18 He releases the bonds[a] put on by kings(E)
and fastens a belt around their waists.
19 He leads priests away barefoot
and overthrows established leaders.(F)
20 He deprives trusted advisers of speech
and takes away the elders’ good judgment.
21 He pours out contempt on nobles
and disarms[b] the strong.
22 He reveals mysteries from the darkness
and brings the deepest darkness into the light.(G)
23 He makes nations great, then destroys them;
He enlarges nations,(H) then leads them away.
24 He deprives the world’s leaders of reason,
and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.(I)
25 They grope around in darkness without light;
He makes them stagger like drunken men.(J)
The Church in Antioch
19 Those who had been scattered as a result of the persecution that started because of Stephen made their way as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch,(A) speaking the message to no one except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, Cypriot and Cyrenian men, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Hellenists,[a][b] proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus.(B) 21 The Lord’s hand was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.(C) 22 Then the report about them was heard by the church that was at Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to travel[c] as far as Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged all of them to remain true to the Lord with a firm resolve of the heart,(D) 24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit(E) and of faith. And large numbers of people were added(F) to the Lord. 25 Then he[d] went to Tarsus to search for Saul, 26 and when he found him he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught large numbers. The disciples(G) were first called Christians at Antioch.(H)
Famine Relief
27 In those days some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.(I) 28 Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine throughout the Roman world.[e] This took place during the time of Claudius.[f](J) 29 So each of the disciples, according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brothers who lived in Judea.(K) 30 They did this, sending it to the elders(L) by means of Barnabas and Saul.
Jesus Predicts His Departure
21 Then He said to them again, “I’m going away;(A) you will look for Me, and you will die in your sin.(B) Where I’m going, you cannot come.”(C)
22 So the Jews said again, “He won’t kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I’m going, you cannot come’(D)?”
23 “You are from below,” He told them, “I am from above.(E) You are of this world;(F) I am not of this world.(G) 24 Therefore I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am He,[a] you will die in your sins.”
25 “Who are You?” they questioned.
“Precisely what I’ve been telling you from the very beginning,” Jesus told them. 26 “I have many things to say and to judge about you, but the One who sent Me(H) is true, and what I have heard from Him—these things I tell the world.”(I)
27 They did not know He was speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man,(J) then you will know that I am(K) He, and that I do nothing on My own.(L) But just as the Father taught Me, I say these things. 29 The One who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone,(M) because I always do what pleases Him.”
Truth and Freedom
30 As He was saying these things, many believed in Him. 31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word,[b](N) you really are My disciples. 32 You will know the truth,(O) and the truth will set you free.”
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