Book of Common Prayer
Let Us Kneel Before Yahweh Our Maker
95 Oh come, let us (A)sing for joy to Yahweh,
Let us make a loud shout to (B)the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us (C)come before His presence (D)with [a]thanksgiving,
Let us make a loud shout to Him (E)with songs of praise.
3 For Yahweh is a (F)great God
And a great King (G)above all gods,
4 In whose hand are the (H)depths of the earth,
The peaks of the mountains are His also.
5 [b]The sea is His, for it was He (I)who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us (J)worship and bow down,
Let us (K)kneel before Yahweh our (L)Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And (M)we are the people of His (N)pasture and the sheep of His hand.
(O)Today, [c]if you hear His voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts, as at [d](P)Meribah,
As in the day of [e](Q)Massah in the wilderness,
9 “When your fathers (R)tried Me,
They tested Me, though they had seen My work.
10 For (S)forty years I loathed that generation,
And said they are a people who wander in their heart,
And they do not know My ways.
11 Therefore I (T)swore in My anger,
They shall never enter into My (U)rest.”
Save Me, O God
For the choir director. According to [a]Shoshannim. Of David.
69 Save me, O God,
For the (A)waters have [b]threatened my life.
2 I have sunk in deep (B)clay, and there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and a [c](C)flood overflows me.
3 I am (D)weary with my calling out; my throat is parched;
My (E)eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 Those (F)who hate me without cause are more than the hairs of my head;
Those who would [d]destroy me (G)are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies;
(H)What I did not steal, I then have to restore.
5 O God, it is You who knows (I)my folly,
And [e](J)all my guilt is not hidden from You.
6 May those who hope for You not (K)be ashamed through me, O Lord Yahweh of hosts;
May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,
7 Because (L)for Your sake I have borne reproach;
(M)Dishonor has covered my face.
8 I have become (N)estranged [f]from my brothers
And a foreigner to my mother’s sons.
9 For (O)zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And (P)the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept (Q)in my soul with fasting,
It became my reproach.
11 When I made (R)sackcloth my clothing,
I became (S)a byword to them.
12 Those who (T)dwell at the gate moan about me,
And I am (U)the drunkards’ songs.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Yahweh, (V)at an acceptable time;
O God, in the (W)abundance of Your lovingkindness,
Answer me with the truth of Your salvation.
14 Deliver me from the (X)mire and do not let me sink;
May I be (Y)delivered from [g]my foes and from the [h](Z)deep waters.
15 May the [i](AA)flood of water not overflow me
Nor the deep swallow me up,
Nor the (AB)pit shut its mouth on me.
16 Answer me, O Yahweh, for (AC)Your lovingkindness is good;
(AD)According to the abundance of Your compassion, (AE)turn to me,
17 And (AF)do not hide Your face from Your slave,
For I am (AG)in distress; answer me quickly.
18 Oh draw near to my soul and (AH)redeem it;
(AI)Ransom me because of my enemies!
19 You know my (AJ)reproach and my shame and my dishonor;
All my adversaries are [j]before You.
20 Reproach has (AK)broken my heart and I am so sick.
And (AL)I hoped for sympathy, but there was none,
And for (AM)comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me [k](AN)gall [l]for my food
And for my thirst they (AO)gave me vinegar to drink.
22 May (AP)their table before them become a snare;
And [m](AQ)when they are in peace, may it become a trap.
23 May their (AR)eyes darken so that they cannot see,
And make their (AS)loins quake continually.
24 (AT)Pour out Your indignation on them,
And may Your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their [n](AU)camp be desolate;
May none dwell in their tents.
26 For they have (AV)persecuted him whom (AW)You Yourself have struck down,
And they recount the pain of those whom (AX)You have [o]wounded.
27 Add (AY)iniquity to their iniquity,
And (AZ)may they not come into (BA)Your righteousness.
28 May they be (BB)blotted out of the (BC)book of life
And may they not be [p](BD)recorded with the righteous.
29 But I am (BE)afflicted and in pain;
[q]May Your salvation, O God, (BF)set me securely on high.
30 I will (BG)praise the name of God with song
And (BH)magnify Him with (BI)thanksgiving.
31 And this will (BJ)please Yahweh better than an ox
Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.
32 The (BK)humble [r]see it and are glad;
You who seek God, (BL)let your heart [s]revive.
33 For (BM)Yahweh hears the needy
And (BN)does not despise His who are prisoners.
BOOK 3
The Nearness of God Is My Good
A Psalm of Asaph.
73 Surely God is (A)good to Israel,
To those who are (B)pure in heart!
2 But as for me, (C)my feet had almost stumbled,
My steps [a]had almost slipped.
3 For I was (D)envious of the boastful,
I saw the (E)peace of the wicked.
4 For there are no pains in their death,
And their [b]body is fat.
5 They are (F)not [c]in trouble as other [d]men,
And they are not (G)stricken along with the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore lofty pride is (H)their necklace;
The (I)garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye [e]bulges from (J)fatness;
The delusions of their heart overflow.
8 They (K)scoff and [f]wickedly speak of oppression;
They (L)speak from on high.
9 They have (M)set their mouth [g]against the heavens,
And their tongue goes through the earth.
10 Therefore [h]his people return here, to his place,
And waters of (N)fullness are [i]drunk by them.
11 They say, “(O)How does God know?
And is there knowledge with the Most High?”
12 Behold, (P)these are the wicked;
And always (Q)at ease, they have increased in wealth.
13 Surely (R)in vain I have [j]kept my heart pure
And (S)washed my hands in innocence;
14 For I have been stricken (T)all day long
And [k](U)reproved every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will recount thus,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the (V)generation of Your children.
16 When I (W)gave thought to know this,
It was trouble in my sight
17 Until I came into the [l](X)sanctuary of God;
Then I understood their (Y)end.
18 Surely You set them in (Z)slippery places;
You cause them to fall to [m](AA)destruction.
19 How they become (AB)desolate in a moment!
They are completely swept away by (AC)terrors!
20 Like a (AD)dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when (AE)aroused, You will (AF)despise their [n]form.
21 When my (AG)heart was embittered
And I was (AH)pierced [o]within,
22 Then I was (AI)senseless and ignorant;
I was like [p]an (AJ)animal [q]before You.
23 Nevertheless (AK)I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 With Your counsel You will (AL)lead me,
And afterward (AM)take me [r]in glory.
25 (AN)Whom have I in heaven but You?
And [s]besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My (AO)flesh and my heart fail,
But God is the rock of my heart and my (AP)portion forever.
27 For, behold, (AQ)those who are far from You will (AR)perish;
You have [t]destroyed everyone who [u](AS)is unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, (AT)the nearness of God is my good;
I have set Lord Yahweh as my (AU)refuge,
That I may (AV)recount all Your works.
Jerusalem Refuses to Repent
5 “(A)Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
And see now and know,
And seek in her open squares,
If you can (B)find a man,
(C)If there is one who does justice, who seeks faithfulness,
Then I will pardon her.
2 And (D)if they say, ‘As Yahweh lives,’
Then they swear to a lie.”
3 O Yahweh, do not (E)Your eyes look for faithfulness?
You have (F)struck them,
But they did not [a]weaken;
You have consumed them,
But they (G)refused to receive discipline.
They have (H)made their faces stronger than rock;
They have refused to [b]repent.
4 Then I said, “They are only the poor;
They are foolish;
For they (I)do not know the way of Yahweh
Or the legal judgment of their God.
5 Let me go to the great
And let me speak to them,
For (J)they know the way of Yahweh
And the legal judgment of their God.”
But they too, altogether, have (K)broken the yoke
And torn apart the bonds.
6 Therefore (L)a lion from the forest will strike them down;
A (M)wolf of the deserts will devastate them;
A (N)leopard is watching their cities.
Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces
Because their (O)transgressions are many;
Their acts of faithlessness are mighty.
7 “Why should I pardon you?
Your sons have forsaken Me
And (P)sworn by those who are (Q)not gods.
I had satisfied them to the full,
Then they (R)committed adultery
And trooped to the harlot’s house.
8 They were well-fed lusty horses,
Each one neighing after his (S)neighbor’s wife.
9 Shall I not punish [c]these people,” declares Yahweh,
“And on a nation such as this
(T)Shall I not avenge Myself?
25 For indeed circumcision is of value if you (A)practice [a]the Law, but if you are a transgressor [b]of the Law, (B)your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 (C)So if (D)the [c]uncircumcised man (E)observes the righteous requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? 27 And (F)he who is physically uncircumcised, if he [d]fulfills the Law, will he not (G)judge you who, through the letter of the Law and circumcision, are a transgressor [e]of the Law? 28 For (H)he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 29 But (I)he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and (J)circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the (K)Spirit, not by the letter; (L)and his praise is not from men, but from God.
There Is None Righteous
3 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Great in every respect. First of all, that (M)they were entrusted with the (N)oracles of God. 3 What then? If (O)some [f]did not believe, does their [g]unbelief abolish the faithfulness of God? 4 (P)May it never be! Rather, let God be true and every man (Q)a liar, as it is written,
5 But if our unrighteousness [i](S)demonstrates the righteousness of God, (T)what shall we say? Is the God who inflicts wrath unrighteous? ((U)I am speaking in human terms.) 6 (V)May it never be! For otherwise, how will (W)God judge the world? 7 But if through my lie (X)the truth of God abounded to His glory, (Y)why am I also still being judged as a sinner? 8 And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “(Z)Let us do evil that good may come”? [j]Their condemnation is just.
9 What then? (AA)Are we [k]better? Not at all; for we have already charged that both (AB)Jews and (AC)Greeks are (AD)all under sin; 10 as it is written,
“(AE)There is none righteous, not even one;
11 There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become worthless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
13 “(AF)Their throat is an open tomb,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“(AG)The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “(AH)Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
15 “(AI)Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17 And the path of peace they have not known.”
18 “(AJ)There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
30 “(A)I can do nothing from Myself. As I hear, I judge; and (B)My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will, but (C)the will of Him who sent Me.
31 “(D)If I alone bear witness about Myself, My witness is not [a]true. 32 There is (E)another who bears witness about Me, and I know that the witness which He gives about Me is true.
Witnesses to Jesus: The Father and the Scriptures
33 You have sent to John, and he (F)has borne witness to the truth. 34 But (G)the witness I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was (H)the lamp that was burning and shining and you (I)were willing to rejoice for [b]a while in his light. 36 But the witness I have is greater than the witness of John; for (J)the works which the Father has given Me (K)to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness about Me, that the Father (L)has sent Me. 37 And the Father who sent Me, (M)He has borne witness about Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. 38 And you do not have (N)His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He (O)sent. 39 [c](P)You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is (Q)these that bear witness about Me; 40 and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. 41 (R)I do not receive glory from men; 42 but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. 43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; (S)if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you (T)receive [d]glory from one another and you do not seek (U)the [e]glory that is from (V)the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; the one who accuses you is (W)Moses, in whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for (X)he wrote about Me. 47 But (Y)if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
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