Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 106(A)
2 Who can proclaim the mighty acts(E) of the Lord
or fully declare his praise?
3 Blessed are those who act justly,(F)
who always do what is right.(G)
4 Remember me,(H) Lord, when you show favor(I) to your people,
come to my aid(J) when you save them,
5 that I may enjoy the prosperity(K) of your chosen ones,(L)
that I may share in the joy(M) of your nation
and join your inheritance(N) in giving praise.
6 We have sinned,(O) even as our ancestors(P) did;
we have done wrong and acted wickedly.(Q)
7 When our ancestors were in Egypt,
they gave no thought(R) to your miracles;
they did not remember(S) your many kindnesses,
and they rebelled by the sea,(T) the Red Sea.[b]
8 Yet he saved them(U) for his name’s sake,(V)
to make his mighty power(W) known.
9 He rebuked(X) the Red Sea, and it dried up;(Y)
he led them through(Z) the depths as through a desert.
10 He saved them(AA) from the hand of the foe;(AB)
from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them.(AC)
11 The waters covered(AD) their adversaries;
not one of them survived.
12 Then they believed his promises
and sang his praise.(AE)
13 But they soon forgot(AF) what he had done
and did not wait for his plan to unfold.(AG)
14 In the desert(AH) they gave in to their craving;
in the wilderness(AI) they put God to the test.(AJ)
15 So he gave them(AK) what they asked for,
but sent a wasting disease(AL) among them.
16 In the camp they grew envious(AM) of Moses
and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the Lord.
17 The earth opened(AN) up and swallowed Dathan;(AO)
it buried the company of Abiram.(AP)
18 Fire blazed(AQ) among their followers;
a flame consumed the wicked.
19 At Horeb they made a calf(AR)
and worshiped an idol cast from metal.
20 They exchanged their glorious God(AS)
for an image of a bull, which eats grass.
21 They forgot the God(AT) who saved them,
who had done great things(AU) in Egypt,
22 miracles in the land of Ham(AV)
and awesome deeds(AW) by the Red Sea.
23 So he said he would destroy(AX) them—
had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach(AY) before him
to keep his wrath from destroying them.
24 Then they despised(AZ) the pleasant land;(BA)
they did not believe(BB) his promise.
25 They grumbled(BC) in their tents
and did not obey the Lord.
26 So he swore(BD) to them with uplifted hand
that he would make them fall in the wilderness,(BE)
27 make their descendants fall among the nations
and scatter(BF) them throughout the lands.
28 They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor(BG)
and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods;
29 they aroused the Lord’s anger(BH) by their wicked deeds,(BI)
and a plague(BJ) broke out among them.
30 But Phinehas(BK) stood up and intervened,
and the plague was checked.(BL)
31 This was credited to him(BM) as righteousness
for endless generations(BN) to come.
32 By the waters of Meribah(BO) they angered the Lord,
and trouble came to Moses because of them;
33 for they rebelled(BP) against the Spirit(BQ) of God,
and rash words came from Moses’ lips.[c](BR)
34 They did not destroy(BS) the peoples
as the Lord had commanded(BT) them,
35 but they mingled(BU) with the nations
and adopted their customs.
36 They worshiped their idols,(BV)
which became a snare(BW) to them.
37 They sacrificed their sons(BX)
and their daughters to false gods.(BY)
38 They shed innocent blood,
the blood of their sons(BZ) and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
and the land was desecrated by their blood.
39 They defiled themselves(CA) by what they did;
by their deeds they prostituted(CB) themselves.
40 Therefore the Lord was angry(CC) with his people
and abhorred his inheritance.(CD)
41 He gave them into the hands(CE) of the nations,
and their foes ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed(CF) them
and subjected them to their power.
43 Many times he delivered them,(CG)
but they were bent on rebellion(CH)
and they wasted away in their sin.
44 Yet he took note of their distress
when he heard their cry;(CI)
45 for their sake he remembered his covenant(CJ)
and out of his great love(CK) he relented.(CL)
46 He caused all who held them captive
to show them mercy.(CM)
47 Save us,(CN) Lord our God,
and gather us(CO) from the nations,
that we may give thanks(CP) to your holy name(CQ)
and glory in your praise.
48 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Let all the people say, “Amen!”(CR)
Praise the Lord.
Naomi Loses Her Husband and Sons
1 In the days when the judges ruled,[a](A) there was a famine in the land.(B) So a man from Bethlehem in Judah,(C) together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while(D) in the country of Moab.(E) 2 The man’s name was Elimelek,(F) his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion.(G) They were Ephrathites(H) from Bethlehem,(I) Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
3 Now Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 They married Moabite women,(J) one named Orpah and the other Ruth.(K) After they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion(L) also died,(M) and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
Naomi and Ruth Return to Bethlehem
6 When Naomi heard in Moab(N) that the Lord had come to the aid of his people(O) by providing food(P) for them, she and her daughters-in-law(Q) prepared to return home from there. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home.(R) May the Lord show you kindness,(S) as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands(T) and to me. 9 May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest(U) in the home of another husband.”
Then she kissed(V) them goodbye and they wept aloud(W) 10 and said to her, “We will go back with you to your people.”
11 But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands?(X) 12 Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons— 13 would you wait until they grew up?(Y) Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter(Z) for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!(AA)”
14 At this they wept(AB) aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law(AC) goodbye,(AD) but Ruth clung to her.(AE)
1 Paul, an apostle(A) of Christ Jesus by the will of God,(B) and Timothy(C) our brother,
To the church of God(D) in Corinth,(E) together with all his holy people throughout Achaia:(F)
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.(G)
Praise to the God of All Comfort
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,(H) the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us(I) in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ,(J) so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation;(K) if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings,(L) so also you share in our comfort.
8 We do not want you to be uninformed,(M) brothers and sisters,[a] about the troubles we experienced(N) in the province of Asia.(O) We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God,(P) who raises the dead.(Q) 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril,(R) and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope(S) that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers.(T) Then many will give thanks(U) on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount
5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
The Beatitudes(A)
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.(B)
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.(C)
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.(D)
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.(E)
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.(F)
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,(G)
for they will see God.(H)
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,(I)
for they will be called children of God.(J)
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,(K)
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.(L)
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you,(M) persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.(N) 12 Rejoice and be glad,(O) because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.(P)
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