Book of Common Prayer
Thanksgiving for Rescue from Death.
A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. A Psalm of David.
30 I will (A)exalt You, Lord, for You have (B)lifted me up,
And have not let my (C)enemies rejoice over me.
2 Lord my God,
I (D)cried to You for help, and You (E)healed me.
3 Lord, You have (F)brought up my soul from [a]Sheol;
You have kept me alive, [b]that I would not (G)go down to the pit.
4 (H)Sing praise to the Lord, you (I)His godly ones,
And (J)praise the mention of His holiness.
5 For (K)His anger is but for a moment,
His (L)favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may (M)last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.
6 Now as for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I will (N)never be moved.”
7 Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain to stand strong;
You (O)hid Your face, I was dismayed.
8 To You, Lord, I called,
And to the Lord I pleaded for compassion:
9 “What gain is there in my blood, if I (P)go down to the pit?
Will the (Q)dust praise You? Will it declare Your faithfulness?
Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.
A Psalm of David. A [a]Maskil.
32 (A)How blessed is he whose wrongdoing is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is a person whose guilt the Lord (B)does not take into account,
And in whose spirit there is (C)no deceit!
3 When (D)I kept silent about my sin, (E)my [b]body wasted away
Through my [c](F)groaning all day long.
4 For day and night (G)Your hand was heavy upon me;
My [d](H)vitality failed as with the dry heat of summer. Selah
5 I (I)acknowledged my sin to You,
And I (J)did not hide my guilt;
I said, “(K)I will confess my wrongdoings to the Lord”;
And You (L)forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You [e](M)in a time when You may be found;
Certainly (N)in a flood of great waters, they will not reach him.
7 You are (O)my hiding place; You (P)keep me from trouble;
You surround me with [f](Q)songs of deliverance. Selah
8 I will (R)instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will advise you (S)with My eye upon you.
9 Do not be (T)like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.
10 The (U)sorrows of the wicked are many,
But (V)the one who trusts in the Lord, goodness will surround him.
11 Be (W)glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are (X)upright in heart.
BOOK 2
Thirsting for God in Trouble and Exile.
For the music director. A [a]Maskil of the sons of Korah.
42 As the deer [b]pants for the water brooks,
So my soul [c](A)pants for You, God.
2 My soul (B)thirsts for God, for the (C)living God;
When shall I come and [d](D)appear before God?
3 My (E)tears have been my food day and night,
While they (F)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
4 I remember these things and (G)pour out my soul within me.
For I (H)used to go over with the multitude and walk them to the house of God,
With a voice of (I)joy and thanksgiving, a multitude celebrating a festival.
5 (J)Why are you [e](K)in despair, my soul?
And why are you (L)restless within me?
(M)Wait for God, for I will [f]again praise [g]Him
For the [h](N)help of His [i]presence, my God.
6 My soul is [j]in despair within me;
Therefore I (O)remember You from (P)the land of the Jordan
And the [k]peaks of (Q)Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
All Your (R)breakers and Your waves have passed over me.
8 The Lord will (S)send His goodness in the daytime;
And His song will be with me (T)in the night,
A prayer to (U)the God of my life.
9 I will say to God (V)my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go about (W)mourning [l]because of the (X)oppression of the enemy?”
10 As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries taunt me,
While they (Y)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
11 (Z)Why are you [m]in despair, my soul?
And why are you restless within me?
Wait for God, for I will again praise [n]Him
For the [o]help of His presence, my God.
Prayer for Help.
43 (AA)Vindicate me, God, and (AB)plead my case against an ungodly nation;
[p]Save me from (AC)the deceitful and unjust person!
2 For You are the (AD)God of my strength; why have You (AE)rejected me?
Why do I go about (AF)mourning [q]because of the oppression of the enemy?
The Builders Encouraged
2 On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came by (A)Haggai the prophet, saying, 2 “Speak now to (B)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, (C)governor of Judah, and to (D)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the (E)remnant of the people, saying, 3 ‘Who is (F)left among you who saw this [a]temple in its (G)former glory? And how do you see it now? [b]Does it not seem to you like nothing [c]in comparison? 4 But now [d](H)take courage, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord, ‘take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work; for (I)I am with you,’ declares the Lord of armies. 5 ‘As for the [e](J)promise which I [f]made you when you came out of Egypt, [g]My (K)Spirit remains in your midst; (L)do not fear!’ 6 For this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘(M)Once more [h]in a (N)little while, I am going to (O)shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. 7 I will shake (P)all the nations; and [i]they will come with the (Q)wealth of all nations, and I will (R)fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of armies. 8 ‘The (S)silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the Lord of armies. 9 ‘The latter (T)glory of this house will be greater than the (U)former,’ says the Lord of armies, ‘and in this place I will give (V)peace,’ declares the Lord of armies.”
Message to Sardis
3 “To the angel of the church in (A)Sardis write:
He who has [a](B)the seven spirits of God and (C)the seven stars, says this: ‘(D)I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, and yet you are (E)dead. 2 Be constantly alert, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. 3 So (F)remember [b]what you have received and heard; and [c]keep it, and (G)repent. Then if you are not alert, (H)I will come (I)like a thief, and you will not know at (J)what hour I will come to you. 4 But you have a few [d](K)people in (L)Sardis who have not (M)soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me (N)in white, for they are worthy. 5 (O)The one who overcomes will be clothed the same way, in (P)white garments; and I will not (Q)erase his name from the book of life, and (R)I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 6 (S)The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
Signs of Christ’s Return
24 (A)Jesus (B)left the temple area and was going on His way [a]when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. 2 But He responded and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, (C)not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”
3 And as He was sitting on (D)the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of (E)Your coming, and of the [b]end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “(F)See to it that no one [c]misleads you. 5 For (G)many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the [d]Christ,’ and they will [e]mislead many people. 6 And you will be hearing of (H)wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7 For (I)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be (J)famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 (K)But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.
9 “(L)Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and (M)you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 10 And at that time many will [f](N)fall away, and they will [g]betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many (O)false prophets will rise up and [h]mislead many people. 12 And because lawlessness is increased, [i]most people’s love will become cold. 13 (P)But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. 14 This (Q)gospel of the kingdom (R)shall be preached in the whole [j](S)world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
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