Book of Common Prayer
33 He turned[a] streams into a desert,
springs of water into arid land,
34 and a fruitful land into a barren place,[b]
because of the sin of its inhabitants.
35 As for his people,[c] he turned[d] a desert into a pool of water,
and a dry land into springs of water.
36 He allowed the hungry to settle there,
and they established a city in which to live.
37 They cultivated[e] fields,
and planted vineyards,
which yielded a harvest of fruit.[f]
38 He blessed[g] them so that they became very numerous.
He would not allow their cattle to decrease in number.[h]
39 As for their enemies,[i] they decreased in number and were beaten down,
because of painful distress[j] and suffering.
40 He would pour[k] contempt upon princes,
and he made them wander in a wasteland with no road.
41 Yet he protected[l] the needy from oppression,
and cared for his families like a flock of sheep.
42 When the godly see this, they rejoice,
and every sinner[m] shuts his mouth.
43 Whoever is wise, let him take note of these things.
Let them consider the Lord’s acts of loyal love.
Psalm 108[n]
A song, a psalm of David.
108 I am determined,[o] O God.
I will sing and praise you with my whole heart.[p]
2 Awake, O stringed instrument and harp.
I will wake up at dawn.[q]
3 I will give you thanks before the nations, O Lord.
I will sing praises to you before foreigners.[r]
4 For your loyal love extends beyond the sky,[s]
and your faithfulness reaches the clouds.
5 Rise up[t] above the sky, O God.
May your splendor cover the whole earth.[u]
6 Deliver by your power[v] and answer me,
so that the ones you love may be safe.[w]
7 God has spoken in his sanctuary:[x]
“I will triumph! I will parcel out Shechem;
the Valley of Sukkoth I will measure off.[y]
8 Gilead belongs to me,
as does Manasseh.[z]
Ephraim is my helmet,[aa]
Judah my royal scepter.[ab]
9 Moab is my washbasin.[ac]
I will make Edom serve me.[ad]
I will shout in triumph over Philistia.”
10 Who will lead me into the fortified city?
Who will bring me to Edom?[ae]
11 Have you not rejected us, O God?
O God, you do not go into battle with our armies.
12 Give us help against the enemy,
for any help men might offer is futile.[af]
13 By God’s power we will conquer;[ag]
he will trample down[ah] our enemies.
Psalm 33[a]
33 You godly ones, shout for joy because of the Lord!
It is appropriate for the morally upright to offer him praise.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the harp.
Sing to him to the accompaniment of a ten-stringed instrument.
3 Sing to him a new song.[b]
Play skillfully as you shout out your praises to him.[c]
4 For the Lord’s decrees[d] are just,[e]
and everything he does is fair.[f]
5 He promotes[g] equity and justice;
the Lord’s faithfulness extends throughout the earth.[h]
6 By the Lord’s decree[i] the heavens were made,
and by the breath[j] of his mouth all the starry hosts.
7 He piles up the water of the sea;[k]
he puts the oceans[l] in storehouses.
8 Let the whole earth fear[m] the Lord.
Let all who live in the world stand in awe of him.
9 For he spoke, and it[n] came into existence.
He issued the decree,[o] and it stood firm.
10 The Lord frustrates[p] the decisions of the nations;
he nullifies the plans[q] of the peoples.
11 The Lord’s decisions stand forever;
his plans abide throughout the ages.[r]
12 How blessed[s] is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen to be his special possession.[t]
13 The Lord watches[u] from heaven;
he sees all people.[v]
14 From the place where he lives he looks carefully
at all the earth’s inhabitants.
15 He is the one who forms every human heart,[w]
and takes note of all their actions.
16 No king is delivered by his vast army;
a warrior is not saved by his great might.
17 A horse disappoints those who trust in it for victory;[x]
despite its great strength, it cannot deliver.
18 Look, the Lord takes notice of his loyal followers,[y]
those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness[z]
19 by saving their lives from death[aa]
and sustaining them during times of famine.[ab]
20 We[ac] wait for the Lord;
he is our deliverer[ad] and shield.[ae]
21 For our hearts rejoice in him,
for we trust in his holy name.
22 May we experience your faithfulness, O Lord,[af]
for[ag] we wait for you.
Reversal of the Exodus: Return to Egypt and Exile in Assyria
11 “When Israel was a young man, I loved him like a son,[a]
and I summoned my son[b] out of Egypt.
2 But the more I summoned[c] them,
the farther they departed from me.[d]
They sacrificed to the Baal idols
and burned incense to images.
3 Yet it was I who led[e] Ephraim;
I took them by the arm,
but they did not acknowledge
that I had healed them.[f]
4 I drew them with leather cords,[g]
with straps of hide;[h]
I lifted the yoke[i] from their neck,[j]
and gently fed them.[k]
5 They will return to Egypt![l]
Assyria will rule over them[m]
because they refuse to repent![n]
6 A sword will flash in their cities,
it will destroy the bars of their city gates,
and will devour them in their fortresses.
7 My people are obsessed[o] with turning away from me;[p]
they call to Baal,[q] but he will never exalt them!
The Divine Dilemma: Judgment or Mercy?
8 “How can I give you up,[r] O Ephraim?
How can I surrender you, O Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboyim?
I have had a change of heart.[s]
All my tender compassions are aroused.[t]
9 I cannot carry out[u] my fierce anger!
I cannot totally destroy Ephraim!
Because I am God, and not man—the Holy One among you—
I will not come in wrath!
17 When[a] I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance[b] 18 and saw the Lord[c] saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 I replied,[d] ‘Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat those in the various synagogues[e] who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of your witness[f] Stephen was shed,[g] I myself was standing nearby, approving,[h] and guarding the cloaks[i] of those who were killing him.’[j] 21 Then[k] he said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
The Roman Commander Questions Paul
22 The crowd[l] was listening to him until he said this.[m] Then[n] they raised their voices and shouted,[o] “Away with this man[p] from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!”[q] 23 While they were screaming[r] and throwing off their cloaks[s] and tossing dust[t] in the air, 24 the commanding officer[u] ordered Paul[v] to be brought back into the barracks.[w] He told them[x] to interrogate Paul[y] by beating him with a lash[z] so that he could find out the reason the crowd[aa] was shouting at Paul[ab] in this way. 25 When they had stretched him out for the lash,[ac] Paul said to the centurion[ad] standing nearby, “Is it legal for you to lash a man who is a Roman citizen[ae] without a proper trial?”[af] 26 When the centurion[ag] heard this,[ah] he went to the commanding officer[ai] and reported it,[aj] saying, “What are you about to do?[ak] For this man is a Roman citizen.”[al] 27 So the commanding officer[am] came and asked[an] Paul,[ao] “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”[ap] He replied,[aq] “Yes.” 28 The commanding officer[ar] answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.”[as] “But I was even[at] born a citizen,”[au] Paul replied.[av] 29 Then those who were about to interrogate him stayed away[aw] from him, and the commanding officer[ax] was frightened when he realized that Paul[ay] was[az] a Roman citizen[ba] and that he had had him tied up.[bb]
27 “But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies,[a] do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat[b] you. 29 To the person who strikes you on the cheek,[c] offer the other as well,[d] and from the person who takes away your coat,[e] do not withhold your tunic[f] either.[g] 30 Give to everyone who asks you,[h] and do not ask for your possessions[i] back[j] from the person who takes them away. 31 Treat others[k] in the same way that you would want them to treat you.[l]
32 “If[m] you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners[n] love those who love them.[o] 33 And[p] if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even[q] sinners[r] do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to be repaid,[s] what credit is that to you? Even sinners[t] lend to sinners, so that they may be repaid in full.[u] 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back.[v] Then[w] your reward will be great, and you will be sons[x] of the Most High,[y] because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people.[z] 36 Be merciful,[aa] just as your Father is merciful.
Do Not Judge Others
37 “Do[ab] not judge,[ac] and you will not be judged;[ad] do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive,[ae] and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you: A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over,[af] will be poured[ag] into your lap. For the measure you use will be the measure you receive.”[ah]
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