Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 106
Israel’s Unfaithfulness to God
1 Hallelujah!
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his faithful love endures forever.(A)
2 Who can declare the Lord’s mighty acts
or proclaim all the praise due him?(B)
3 How happy are those who uphold justice,
who practice righteousness at all times.(C)
4 Remember me, Lord,
when you show favor to your people.(D)
Come to me with your salvation
5 so that I may enjoy the prosperity
of your chosen ones,
rejoice in the joy of your nation,
and boast about your heritage.(E)
6 Both we and our ancestors have sinned;
we have done wrong and have acted wickedly.(F)
7 Our ancestors in Egypt did not grasp
the significance of your wondrous works
or remember your many acts of faithful love;
instead, they rebelled by the sea—the Red Sea.(G)
8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
to make his power known.(H)
9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;
he led them through the depths as through a desert.(I)
10 He saved them from the power of the adversary;
he redeemed them from the power of the enemy.(J)
11 Water covered their foes;
not one of them remained.(K)
12 Then they believed his promises
and sang his praise.(L)
13 They soon forgot his works
and would not wait for his counsel.(M)
14 They were seized with craving in the wilderness
and tested God in the desert.(N)
15 He gave them what they asked for,
but sent a wasting disease among them.(O)
16 In the camp they were envious of Moses
and of Aaron, the Lord’s holy one.(P)
17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;
it covered the assembly of Abiram.(Q)
18 Fire blazed throughout their assembly;
flames consumed the wicked.(R)
19 At Horeb they made a calf
and worshiped the cast metal image.(S)
20 They exchanged their glory[a][b]
for the image of a grass-eating ox.(T)
21 They forgot God their Savior,
who did great things in Egypt,(U)
22 wondrous works in the land of Ham,[c]
awe-inspiring acts at the Red Sea.(V)
23 So he said he would have destroyed them—
if Moses his chosen one
had not stood before him in the breach
to turn his wrath away from destroying them.(W)
24 They despised the pleasant land
and did not believe his promise.(X)
25 They grumbled in their tents
and did not listen to the Lord.(Y)
26 So he raised his hand against them with an oath
that he would make them fall in the desert(Z)
27 and would disperse their descendants[d]
among the nations,
scattering them throughout the lands.(AA)
28 They aligned themselves with Baal of Peor
and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods.[e](AB)
29 They angered the Lord with their deeds,
and a plague broke out against them.(AC)
30 But Phinehas stood up and intervened,
and the plague was stopped.(AD)
31 It was credited to him as righteousness
throughout all generations to come.(AE)
32 They angered the Lord at the Waters of Meribah,
and Moses suffered[f] because of them,(AF)
33 for they embittered his spirit,[g]
and he spoke rashly with his lips.(AG)
34 They did not destroy the peoples
as the Lord had commanded them(AH)
35 but mingled with the nations
and adopted their ways.(AI)
36 They served their idols,
which became a snare to them.(AJ)
37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.(AK)
38 They shed innocent blood—
the blood of their sons and daughters
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
so the land became polluted with blood.(AL)
39 They defiled themselves by their actions
and prostituted themselves by their deeds.(AM)
40 Therefore the Lord’s anger burned against his people,
and he abhorred his own inheritance.(AN)
41 He handed them over to the nations;
those who hated them ruled over them.(AO)
42 Their enemies oppressed them,
and they were subdued under their power.(AP)
43 He rescued them many times,
but they continued to rebel deliberately
and were beaten down by their iniquity.(AQ)
44 When he heard their cry,
he took note of their distress,(AR)
45 remembered his covenant with them,
and relented according to the abundance
of his faithful love.(AS)
46 He caused them to be pitied
before all their captors.(AT)
47 Save us, Lord our God,
and gather us from the nations,
so that we may give thanks to your holy name
and rejoice in your praise.(AU)
Naomi’s Family in Moab
1 During the time[a] of the judges,(A) there was a famine in the land.(B) A man left Bethlehem(C) in Judah with his wife and two sons to stay in the territory of Moab for a while. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife’s name was Naomi.[b] The names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites(D) from Bethlehem in Judah. They entered the fields of Moab and settled there. 3 Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 Her sons took Moabite women as their wives: one was named Orpah and the second was named Ruth. After they lived in Moab about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two children and without her husband.
Ruth’s Loyalty to Naomi
6 She and her daughters-in-law set out to return from the territory of Moab, because she had heard in Moab that the Lord had paid attention to his people’s need by providing them food.(E) 7 She left the place where she had been living, accompanied by her two daughters-in-law, and traveled along the road leading back to the land of Judah.
8 Naomi said to them, “Each of you go back to your mother’s home.(F) May the Lord show kindness to you as you have shown to the dead and to me. 9 May the Lord grant each of you rest(G) in the house of a new husband.” She kissed them, and they wept loudly.
10 They said to her, “We insist on returning with you to your people.”
11 But Naomi replied, “Return home, my daughters. Why do you want to go with me? Am I able to have any more sons who could become your husbands?(H) 12 Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons, 13 would you be willing to wait for them to grow up? Would you restrain yourselves from remarrying?[c] No, my daughters, my life is much too bitter for you to share,[d] because the Lord’s hand has turned against me.”(I) 14 Again they wept loudly, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
Greeting
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will,(A) and Timothy(B) our[a] brother:
To the church of God at Corinth,(C) with all the saints who are throughout Achaia.(D)
2 Grace to you and peace(E) from God our Father(F) and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The God of Comfort
3 Blessed be(G) the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies(H) and the God of all comfort.(I) 4 He comforts us in all our affliction,[b] so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as the sufferings(J) of Christ(K) overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.(L) 6 If we are afflicted,(M) it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings that we suffer.(N) 7 And our hope(O) for you is firm, because we know that as you share(P) in the sufferings, so you will also share in the comfort.
8 We don’t want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our affliction that took place in Asia.(Q) We were completely overwhelmed—beyond our strength(R)—so that we even despaired(S) of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God(T) who raises(U) the dead. 10 He has delivered(V) us from such a terrible death,(W) and he will deliver us. We have put our hope in him that he will deliver us again 11 while you join in helping us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our[c] behalf for the gift that came to us through the prayers of many.
The Sermon on the Mount
5 When he saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain,(A) and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then[a] he began to teach them, saying:(B)
The Beatitudes
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,(C)
for the kingdom of heaven(D) is theirs.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,(E)
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the humble,(F)
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,(G)
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.(H)
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.(I)
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.(J)
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for the kingdom of heaven(K) is theirs.
11 “You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. 12 Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted(L) the prophets who were before you.(M)
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