Book of Common Prayer
A Petition to Be Saved from Death.
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the music director; according to Mahalath Leannoth. A [a]Maskil of Heman [b]the Ezrahite.
88 Lord, the (A)God of my salvation,
I have (B)cried out by day and in the night before You.
2 Let my prayer (C)come before You;
(D)Incline Your ear to my cry!
3 For my (E)soul has [c]had enough troubles,
And (F)my life has approached [d]Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who (G)go down to the pit;
I have become like a man (H)without strength,
5 [e]Abandoned (I)among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom You no longer remember,
And they are (J)cut off from Your hand.
6 You have put me in (K)the lowest pit,
In (L)dark places, in the (M)depths.
7 Your wrath (N)has rested upon me,
And You have afflicted me with (O)all Your waves. Selah
8 You have removed (P)my acquaintances far from me;
You have made me an [f](Q)object of loathing to them;
I am (R)shut up and cannot go out.
9 My (S)eye grows dim from misery;
I have (T)called upon You every day, Lord;
I have (U)spread out my [g]hands to You.
10 Will You perform wonders for the dead?
Or will (V)the departed spirits rise and praise You? Selah
11 Will Your graciousness be declared in the grave,
Your faithfulness in [h]Abaddon?
12 Will Your wonders be made known in the (W)darkness?
And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But I, Lord, have cried out (X)to You for help,
And (Y)in the morning my prayer comes before You.
14 Lord, why (Z)do You reject my soul?
Why do You (AA)hide Your face from me?
15 I was miserable and (AB)about to die from my youth on;
I suffer (AC)Your terrors; I grow weary.
16 Your (AD)burning anger has passed over me;
Your terrors have [i](AE)destroyed me.
17 They have (AF)surrounded me (AG)like water all day long;
They have (AH)encircled me altogether.
18 You have removed (AI)lover and friend far from me;
My acquaintances are in a hiding place.
Security of One Who Trusts in the Lord.
91 One who dwells in the (A)shelter of the Most High
Will lodge in the (B)shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My (C)refuge and my (D)fortress,
My God, in whom I (E)trust!”
3 For it is He who rescues you from the (F)net of the trapper
And from the deadly (G)plague.
4 He will (H)cover you with His pinions,
And (I)under His wings you may take refuge;
His (J)faithfulness is a (K)shield and wall.
5 You (L)will not be afraid of the (M)terror by night,
Or of the (N)arrow that flies by day;
6 Of the (O)plague that [a]stalks in darkness,
Or of the (P)destruction that devastates at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But (Q)it shall not approach you.
8 You will only look on with your eyes
And (R)see the retaliation against the wicked.
9 [b]For you have made the Lord, (S)my refuge,
The Most High, (T)your dwelling place.
10 (U)No evil will happen to you,
Nor will any plague come near your [c]tent.
11 For He will give (V)His angels orders concerning you,
To protect you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will (W)lift you up,
So that you do not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will (X)walk upon the lion and cobra,
You will trample the young lion and the [d]serpent.
14 “(Y)Because he has loved Me, I will save him;
I will (Z)set him securely on high, because he has (AA)known My name.
15 He will (AB)call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in [e]trouble;
I will rescue him and (AC)honor him.
16 I will satisfy him with [f]a (AD)long life,
And [g](AE)show him My salvation.”
Praise for the Lord’s Goodness.
A Psalm, a Song for the Sabbath day.
92 It is (AF)good to give thanks to the Lord
And to (AG)sing praises to Your name, Most High;
2 To (AH)declare Your goodness in the morning
And Your (AI)faithfulness by [h]night,
3 [i]With the (AJ)ten-stringed lute and [j]with the (AK)harp,
[k]With resounding music on the (AL)lyre.
4 For You, Lord, have made me joyful by [l]what You (AM)have done,
I will (AN)sing for joy over the (AO)works of Your hands.
5 How (AP)great are Your works, Lord!
Your [m](AQ)thoughts are very (AR)deep.
6 A (AS)stupid person has no knowledge,
Nor does a (AT)foolish person understand this:
7 When the wicked (AU)sprouted up like grass
And all (AV)who did injustice flourished,
It was only that they might be (AW)destroyed forevermore.
8 But You, Lord, are (AX)on high forever.
9 For, behold, Your enemies, Lord,
For, behold, (AY)Your enemies will perish;
All who do injustice will be (AZ)scattered.
10 But You have exalted my (BA)horn like that of the wild ox;
I have [n]been (BB)anointed with fresh oil.
11 And my eye has (BC)looked at my enemies,
My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me.
12 The (BD)righteous person will [o]flourish like the palm tree,
He will grow like a (BE)cedar in Lebanon.
13 (BF)Planted in the house of the Lord,
They will flourish (BG)in the courtyards of our God.
14 They will still [p](BH)yield fruit in advanced age;
They will be [q]full of sap and very green,
15 To [r]declare that (BI)the Lord is just;
He is my (BJ)rock, and there is (BK)no malice in Him.
Mordecai Promoted
8 On that day King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, (A)the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther; and Mordecai came before the king, because Esther had disclosed (B)what he was to her. 2 Then (C)the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken away from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
3 Then Esther spoke again [a]to the king, fell at his feet, wept, and pleaded for his compassion to avert the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite and his plot which he had devised against the Jews. 4 And (D)the king extended the golden scepter to Esther. So Esther got up and stood before the king. 5 Then she said, “(E)If it pleases the king and if I have found favor before him, and the matter seems proper to the king and I am pleasing in his sight, let it be written to revoke the (F)letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to eliminate the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces. 6 For (G)how can I endure to see the disaster which will happen to my people, and how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?” 7 So King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, (H)I have given the house of Haman to Esther, and they have hanged him on the wooden gallows because he had reached out with his hand against the Jews.
The King’s Decree Avenges the Jews
8 Now you write to the Jews [b]as you see fit, in the king’s name, and (I)seal it with the king’s signet ring; for a decree which is written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s signet ring (J)may not be revoked.”
15 Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king (A)in a royal robe of violet and white, with a large crown of gold and (B)a garment of fine linen and purple; and (C)the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. 16 For the Jews there was (D)light, joy, jubilation, and honor. 17 In each and every province and in each and every city, wherever the king’s commandment and his decree arrived, there was joy and jubilation for the Jews, a feast and a [a](E)holiday. And (F)many among the peoples of the land [b]became Jews, because the dread of the Jews had fallen on them.
21 Now after these things were finished, Paul resolved in [a]the Spirit to (A)go to Jerusalem (B)after he had passed through (C)Macedonia and (D)Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, (E)I must also see Rome.” 22 And after he sent into (F)Macedonia two of (G)those who assisted him, (H)Timothy and (I)Erastus, he himself stayed in [b](J)Asia for a while.
23 About that time [c]a major disturbance occurred in regard to [d](K)the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of [e]Artemis, (L)was bringing [f]considerable [g]business to the craftsmen; 25 he gathered these men together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity [h]depends upon this business. 26 You see and hear that not only in (M)Ephesus, but in almost all of [i](N)Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that [j](O)gods made by hands are not gods at all. 27 Not only is there danger that this trade of ours will fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess [k]Artemis will be regarded as worthless, and that she whom all of [l](P)Asia and (Q)the [m]world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence.”
28 When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began shouting, saying, “Great is [n]Artemis of the (R)Ephesians!” 29 The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging along (S)Gaius and (T)Aristarchus, Paul’s (U)Macedonian traveling (V)companions. 30 And when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, (W)the disciples would not let him. 31 Also some of the [o]Asiarchs who were friends of his sent word to him and repeatedly urged him not to [p]venture into the theater. 32 (X)So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the [q]assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know [r]for what reason they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd [s]concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having (Y)motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the assembly. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single outcry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, “Great is [t]Artemis of the Ephesians!”
35 After quieting the crowd, the town clerk *said, “Men of (Z)Ephesus, what person is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great [u]Artemis and of the image which fell down from [v]the sky? 36 So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither (AA)temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are in session and [w](AB)proconsuls are available; have them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the [x]lawful [y]assembly. 40 For indeed, we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no real reason for it, and in this connection we will be unable to account for this disorderly gathering.” 41 After saying this he dismissed the [z]assembly.
31 And (A)He came down to (B)Capernaum, a city of Galilee; and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; 32 and (C)they were amazed at His teaching, because (D)His [a]message was delivered with authority. 33 In the synagogue there was a man [b]possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Leave us alone! [c](E)What business do You have with us, Jesus [d]of (F)Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—(G)the Holy One of God!” 35 But Jesus (H)rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, it came out of him without doing him any harm. 36 And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another, saying, “What is [e]this message? For (I)with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37 And (J)the news about Him was spreading into every locality of the surrounding region.
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