Book of Common Prayer
Prayer of a Suffering Penitent.
A Psalm of David, for a memorial.
38 Lord, (A)do not rebuke me in Your wrath,
And do not punish me in Your burning anger.
2 For Your (B)arrows have sunk deep into me,
And (C)Your hand has pressed down on me.
3 There is (D)no healthy part in my flesh (E)because of Your indignation;
There is no health (F)in my bones because of my sin.
4 For my (G)guilty deeds have gone over my head;
Like a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
5 My [a]wounds grow foul and fester
Because of (H)my foolishness.
6 I am bent over and (I)greatly bowed down;
I (J)go in mourning all day long.
7 For my [b]sides are filled with (K)burning,
And there is (L)no healthy part in my flesh.
8 I feel (M)faint and [c]badly crushed;
I [d](N)groan because of the [e]agitation of my heart.
9 Lord, all (O)my desire is [f]before You;
And my (P)sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart throbs, (Q)my strength fails me;
And the (R)light of my eyes, even [g]that [h]has gone from me.
11 My [i](S)loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;
And my kinsmen (T)stand far away.
12 Those who (U)seek my life (V)lay snares for me;
And those who (W)seek to injure me have [j]threatened destruction,
And they (X)plot deception all day long.
13 But I, like a person who is deaf, do not hear;
And I am like a (Y)person who cannot speak, who does not open his mouth.
14 Yes, I am like a person who does not hear,
And in whose mouth are no arguments.
15 For (Z)I wait for You, Lord;
You (AA)will answer, Lord my God.
16 For I said, “May they not rejoice over me,
Who, when my foot slips, (AB)would exalt themselves over me.”
17 For I am (AC)ready to fall,
And (AD)my [k]sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I (AE)admit my guilt;
I am full of (AF)anxiety because of my sin.
19 But my (AG)enemies are vigorous and [l]strong,
And those who wrongfully (AH)hate me are many.
20 And those who (AI)repay evil for good,
They (AJ)become my enemies, because I follow what is good.
21 Do not abandon me, Lord;
My God, (AK)do not be far from me!
22 (AL)Hurry to help me,
Lord, (AM)my salvation!
Daleth
25 My (A)soul clings to the dust;
(B)Revive me (C)according to Your word.
26 I have told of my ways, and You have answered me;
(D)Teach me Your statutes.
27 Make me understand the way of Your precepts,
And I will (E)meditate on Your wonders.
28 My (F)soul [a]weeps because of grief;
(G)Strengthen me according to Your word.
29 Remove the false way from me,
And graciously grant me Your Law.
30 I have chosen the faithful way;
I have [b]placed Your judgments before me.
31 I (H)cling to Your testimonies;
Lord, do not put me to shame!
32 I shall run the way of Your commandments,
For You will (I)enlarge my heart.
He
33 (J)Teach me, the way of Your statutes, Lord,
And I shall comply with it to the end.
34 (K)Give me understanding, so that I may (L)comply with Your Law
And keep it (M)with all my heart.
35 Make me walk in the (N)path of Your commandments,
For I (O)delight in it.
36 (P)Incline my heart to Your testimonies,
And not to (Q)dishonest gain.
37 Turn my (R)eyes away from looking at what is worthless,
And (S)revive me in Your ways.
38 (T)Establish Your [c]word to Your servant
[d]As that which produces reverence for You.
39 (U)Take away my disgrace which I dread,
For Your judgments are good.
40 Behold, I (V)long for Your precepts;
Revive me through Your righteousness.
Vav
41 May Your (W)favor also come to me, Lord,
Your salvation (X)according to Your [e]word;
42 So that I will have an (Y)answer for one who (Z)taunts me,
For I trust in Your word.
43 And do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
For I [f](AA)wait for Your judgments.
44 So I will (AB)keep Your Law continually,
Forever and ever.
45 And I will (AC)walk [g]at liberty,
For I (AD)seek Your precepts.
46 I will also speak of Your testimonies (AE)before kings
And shall not be ashamed.
47 I will (AF)delight in Your commandments,
Which I (AG)love.
48 And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments,
Which I (AH)love;
And I will (AI)meditate on Your statutes.
Basket of Fruit and Israel’s Captivity
8 This is what the Lord [a]God showed me, and behold, there was a basket of summer fruit. 2 And He said, “What do you see, Amos?” And (A)I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, “The (B)end has come for My people Israel. I will not [b](C)spare them any longer. 3 [c]The (D)songs of the palace will turn to (E)wailing on that day,” declares the Lord God. “The (F)corpses will be many; in every place [d]they will throw them out. [e]Hush!”
4 Hear this, you who [f](G)trample the needy, to put an end to the humble of the land, 5 saying,
“When will the (H)new moon [g]be over,
So that we may sell grain;
And the (I)Sabbath, so that we may open the wheat market,
To make the [h]ephah smaller and the [i]shekel bigger,
And to (J)cheat with dishonest scales,
6 So as to (K)buy the helpless for [j]money,
And the needy for a pair of sandals,
And that we may sell the refuse of the wheat?”
7 The Lord has (L)sworn by the (M)pride of Jacob,
“Indeed, I will (N)never forget any of their deeds.
8 Because of this will the land not (O)quake,
And everyone who lives in it (P)mourn?
Indeed, all of it will (Q)rise up like the Nile,
And it will be tossed about
And subside like the Nile of Egypt.
9 And it will come about on that day,” declares the Lord God,
“That I will make the (R)sun go down at noon,
And (S)make the earth dark in [k]broad daylight.
10 Then I will (T)turn your festivals into mourning,
And all your songs into songs of mourning;
And I will put (U)sackcloth around everyone’s waist,
And [l]baldness on every head.
And I will make it (V)like a time of mourning for an only son,
And the end of it will be like a bitter day.
11 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord God,
“When I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread or a thirst for water,
But rather (W)for hearing the words of the Lord.
12 People will stagger from sea to sea
And from the north even to the east;
They will roam about to (X)seek the word of the Lord,
But they will not find it.
13 On that day the beautiful (Y)virgins
And the young men will (Z)faint from thirst.
14 As for those who swear by the [m](AA)guilt of Samaria,
And say, ‘As your god lives, (AB)Dan,’
And, ‘As the way of (AC)Beersheba lives,’
They will fall and (AD)not rise again.”
17 When I saw Him, I (A)fell at His feet like a dead man. And He (B)placed His right hand on me, saying, “(C)Do not be afraid; (D)I am the first and the last, 18 and the (E)living One; and I [a](F)was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have (G)the keys of death and of Hades. 19 Therefore (H)write (I)the things which you have seen, [b]and the things which are, and the things which will take place (J)after these things. 20 As for the (K)mystery of the (L)seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the (M)seven golden lampstands: the (N)seven stars are the angels of (O)the seven churches, and the seven (P)lampstands are the seven churches.
Message to Ephesus
2 “To the angel of the church in (Q)Ephesus write:
The One who holds (R)the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks [c](S)among the seven golden lampstands, says this:
2 ‘(T)I know your deeds and your labor and [d]perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people, and you have (U)put those who call themselves (V)apostles to the test, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have [e]perseverance and have endured (W)on account of My name, and have not become weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have (X)left your first love. 5 Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and (Y)repent, and (Z)do the [f]deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and I will remove your (AA)lampstand from its place—unless you repent. 6 But you have this, that you hate the deeds of the (AB)Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 (AC)The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (AD)To the one who overcomes, I will grant to eat from (AE)the tree of life, which is in the (AF)Paradise of God.’
Hypocrisy Exposed
23 (A)Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 saying: “(B)The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses. 3 Therefore, whatever they tell you, do and [a]comply with it all, but do not do [b]as they do; for they say things and do not do them. 4 And (C)they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as their finger. 5 And they do all their deeds (D)to be noticed by other people; for they (E)broaden their [c]phylacteries and lengthen (F)the tassels of their garments. 6 And they (G)love the place of honor at banquets, and the seats of honor in the synagogues, 7 and personal greetings in the marketplaces, and being called [d](H)Rabbi by the people. 8 But as for you, (I)do not be called [e](J)Rabbi; for only One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. 9 And do not call anyone on earth your father; for only (K)One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 And do not be called [f]leaders; for only One is your Leader, that is, Christ. 11 (L)But the greatest of you shall be your servant. 12 (M)Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
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