Book of Common Prayer
33
He turns rivers into a wilderness,
And springs of water into a thirsty ground;(A)
34
A productive land into a [barren] salt waste,
Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.(B)
35
He turns a wilderness into a pool of water
And a dry land into springs of water;(C)
36
And there He has the hungry dwell,
So that they may establish an inhabited city,
37
And sow fields and plant vineyards,
And produce an abundant harvest.
38
Also He blesses them so that they multiply greatly,
And He does not let [the number of] their cattle decrease.
39
When they are diminished and bowed down (humbled)
Through oppression, misery, and sorrow,
40
He pours contempt on princes
And makes them wander in a pathless wasteland.
41
Yet He sets the needy securely on high, away from affliction,
And makes their families like a flock.
42
The upright see it and rejoice;
But all unrighteousness shuts its mouth.
43
Who is wise? Let him observe and heed these things;
And [thoughtfully] consider the lovingkindness of the Lord.
Praise and Supplication to God for Victory.
A Song. A Psalm of David.
108 O God, my heart is steadfast [with confident faith];
I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my soul.
2
Awake, harp and lyre;
I will awaken the dawn!
3
I will praise and give thanks to You, O Lord, among the people;
And I will sing praises to You among the nations.
4
For Your lovingkindness is great and higher than the heavens;
Your truth reaches to the skies.(D)
5
Be exalted [in majesty], O God, above the heavens,
And Your glory above all the earth.
6
That Your beloved [ones] may be rescued,
Save with Your right hand, and answer me!
7
God has spoken in His [a]holiness:
“I will rejoice, I will portion out Shechem [as I divide Canaan among My people],
And measure out the Valley of Succoth.
8
“Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is the helmet of My head [My stronghold, My defense];
Judah is My [b]scepter.(E)
9
“Moab is My washbowl;
Over Edom I will throw My shoe [to show Edom is Mine];
Over Philistia I will shout [in triumph].”
10
Who will bring me into the fortified city [of Petra]?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11
Have You not rejected us, O God?
And will You not go out, O God, with our armies?
12
Give us help against the adversary,
For deliverance by man is in vain [a worthless hope].
13
[c]With God we will do valiantly,
For it is He who will trample down our enemies.(F)
Praise to the Creator and Preserver.
33 Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones;
Praise is becoming and appropriate for those who are upright [in heart—those with moral integrity and godly character].
2
Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
Sing praises to Him with the harp of ten strings.
3
Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully [on the strings] with a loud and joyful sound.
4
For the word of the Lord is right;
And all His work is done in faithfulness.
5
He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.
6
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made,
And all their host by the breath of His mouth.(A)
7
He gathers the waters of the sea together as in a wineskin;
He puts the deeps in storehouses.
8
Let all the earth fear and worship the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
9
For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.
10
The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations;
He makes the thoughts and plans of the people ineffective.
11
The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The thoughts and plans of His heart through all generations.
12
Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the nation whose God is the Lord,
The people whom He has chosen as His own inheritance.(B)
13
The Lord looks [down] from heaven;
He sees all the sons of man;
14
From His dwelling place He looks closely
Upon all the inhabitants of the earth—
15
He who fashions the hearts of them all,
Who considers and understands all that they do.
16
The king is not saved by the great size of his army;
A warrior is not rescued by his great strength.
17
A horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.
18
Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear Him [and worship Him with awe-inspired reverence and obedience],
On those who hope [confidently] in His compassion and lovingkindness,
19
To rescue their lives from death
And keep them alive in famine.
20
We wait [expectantly] for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
21
For in Him our heart rejoices,
Because we trust [lean on, rely on, and are confident] in His holy name.
22
Let Your [steadfast] lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us,
In proportion as we have [a]hoped in You.
God is the Loving Father of His People
11 When Israel was a child [a young nation], I loved him,
And I called My son out of Egypt.(A)
2
The more they [the prophets] called them [to repentance and obedience],
The more they went away from them;
They kept sacrificing to the Baals
And burning incense to the carved images.
3
Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk,
Taking them in My arms [nurturing the young nation];
But they did not know that I healed them.
4
I led them gently with cords of a man, with bonds of love [guiding them],
And I was to them as one who lifts up and eases the yoke [of the law] over their jaws;
And I bent down to them and fed them.
5
They will not return to the land of Egypt,
But Assyria will be their king [bringing them into captivity]
Because they refused to return to Me.
6
The sword will whirl against and fall on their cities,
And will demolish the bars of their gates and fortifications
And will consume them because of their counsels.
7
My people are bent on turning from Me;
Though the prophets call them to the One on high,
None at all exalts Him.
8
How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I surrender you, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like [a]Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within Me;
All My compassions are kindled together [for My nation of Israel].(B)
9
I will not execute the fierceness of My anger;
I will not return to Ephraim to destroy him again.
For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst [who will not revoke My covenant],
And I will not come in wrath or enter the city [in judgment].
17 “Then it happened when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple [enclosure], that I fell into a trance (vision); 18 and I saw Him saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know [without any doubt] that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed in You [and Your message of salvation]. 20 And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing nearby approving and consenting [to his death], and guarding the coats of those who were killing him.’ 21 And the Lord said to me, ‘Go, I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
22 They listened to Paul until [he made] this [last] statement, but now they raised their voices and shouted, “Away with such a man from the earth! He is not fit to live!” 23 And as they were shouting and throwing off their coats [getting ready to stone Paul] and tossing dust into the air [expressing their anger], 24 the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, stating that he was to be [a]interrogated with a whip in order to learn why the people were shouting against him that way. 25 But when they had stretched him out [b]with the leather straps [in preparation for the whip], Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it legal for you to whip a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned [without a trial]?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and said to him, “What are you about to do? This man is a [c]Roman!” 27 So the commander came and asked Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The commander replied, “I [d]purchased this citizenship [of mine] for a large sum of money [so how did you acquire yours?].” Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.” 29 So those who were about to interrogate him by torture immediately let him go; and the commander was also afraid when he realized that Paul was a Roman and he had put him in chains.
27 “But I say to you who hear [Me and pay attention to My words]: [a]Love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies, [make it a practice to] do good to those who hate you, 28 bless and show kindness to those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 Whoever [b]strikes you on the cheek, offer him the other one also [simply ignore insignificant insults or losses and do not bother to retaliate—maintain your dignity]. Whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.(A) 30 Give to everyone who asks of you. [c]Whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. 31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. 32 If you [only] love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend [money] to those from whom you expect to receive [it back], what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to receive back the same amount. 35 But love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies, and do good, and lend, [d]expecting nothing in return; for your reward will be great (rich, abundant), and you will be sons of the Most High; because He Himself is kind and gracious and good to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Be merciful (responsive, compassionate, tender) just as your [heavenly] Father is merciful.
37 “[e]Do not judge [others self-righteously], and you will not be judged; do not condemn [others when you are guilty and unrepentant], and you will not be condemned [for your hypocrisy]; pardon [others when they truly repent and change], and you will be pardoned [when you truly repent and change].(B) 38 Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over [with no space left for more]. For with the standard of measurement you use [when you do good to others], it will be measured to you in return.”
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.