Book of Common Prayer
Zayin
49 Remember your word to your servant
by which you give me hope.
50 This is my comfort in affliction,
your promise that gives me life.
51 Though the arrogant utterly scorn me,
I do not turn from your law.
52 When I recite your judgments of old
I am comforted, Lord.
53 Rage seizes me because of the wicked;
they forsake your law.
54 Your statutes become my songs
wherever I make my home.
55 Even at night I remember your name
in observance of your law, Lord.
56 This is my good fortune,
for I have kept your precepts.
Heth
57 My portion is the Lord;
I promise to observe your words.
58 I entreat you with all my heart:
have mercy on me in accord with your promise.
59 I have examined my ways
and turned my steps to your testimonies.
60 I am prompt, I do not hesitate
in observing your commandments.
61 Though the snares of the wicked surround me,
your law I do not forget.
62 At midnight I rise to praise you
because of your righteous judgments.
63 I am the friend of all who fear you,
of all who observe your precepts.
64 The earth, Lord, is filled with your mercy;(A)
teach me your statutes.
Teth
65 You have treated your servant well,
according to your word, O Lord.
66 Teach me wisdom and knowledge,
for in your commandments I trust.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I hold to your promise.
68 You are good and do what is good;
teach me your statutes.
69 The arrogant smear me with lies,
but I keep your precepts with all my heart.
70 Their hearts are gross and fat;(B)
as for me, your law is my delight.
71 It was good for me to be afflicted,
in order to learn your statutes.
72 The law of your mouth is more precious to me
than heaps of silver and gold.
Psalm 49[a]
Confidence in God Rather than in Riches
1 For the leader. A psalm of the Korahites.[b]
2 Hear this, all you peoples!
Give ear, all who inhabit the world,
3 You of lowly birth or high estate,
rich and poor together.
4 My mouth shall speak words of wisdom,
my heart shall offer insights.(A)
5 I will turn my ear to a riddle,[c]
expound my question on a lyre.
I
6 Why should I fear in evil days,
with the iniquity of my assailants surrounding me,
7 Of those who trust in their wealth
and boast of their abundant riches?(B)
8 [d]No man can ransom even a brother,
or pay to God his own ransom.(C)
9 The redemption of his soul is costly;
and he will pass away forever.
10 Will he live on forever, then,
and never see the Pit of Corruption?
11 Indeed, he will see that the wise die,
and the fool will perish together with the senseless,(D)
and they leave their wealth to others.(E)
12 Their tombs are their homes forever,
their dwellings through all generations,
“They named countries after themselves”
13 —but man does not abide in splendor.
He is like the beasts—they perish.(F)
II
14 This is the way of those who trust in themselves,
and the end of those who take pleasure in their own mouth.
Selah
15 Like a herd of sheep they will be put into Sheol,
and Death will shepherd them.
Straight to the grave they descend,
where their form will waste away,
Sheol will be their palace.
16 But God will redeem my life,
will take me[e] from the hand of Sheol.(G)
Selah
17 Do not fear when a man becomes rich,
when the wealth of his house grows great.
18 At his death he will not take along anything,
his glory will not go down after him.(H)
19 During his life his soul uttered blessings;
“They will praise you, for you do well for yourself.”
20 But he will join the company of his fathers,
never again to see the light.(I)
21 In his prime, man does not understand.
He is like the beasts—they perish.
Psalm 53[a]
A Lament over Widespread Corruption
1 For the leader; according to Mahalath. A maskil of David.
I
2 The fool says in his heart,(A)
“There is no God.”(B)
They act corruptly and practice injustice;
there is none that does good.
3 God looks out from the heavens
upon the children of Adam,(C)
To see if there is a discerning person(D)
who is seeking God.
4 All have gone astray;
each one is altogether perverse.
There is not one who does what is good, not even one.(E)
II
5 (F)Do they not know better, those who do evil,
who feed upon my people as they feed upon bread?(G)
Have they not called upon God?
6 They are going to fear his name with great fear,
though they had not feared it before.
For God will scatter the bones
of those encamped against you.
They will surely be put to shame,
for God has rejected them.
III
7 Who will bring forth from Zion
the salvation of Israel?
When God reverses the captivity of his people
Jacob will rejoice and Israel will be glad.(H)
Chapter 3
No One Can Determine the Right Time to Act
1 [a]There is an appointed time for everything,
and a time for every affair under the heavens.
2 A time to give birth, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to tear down, and a time to build.
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
5 A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them;
a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.
6 A time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away.
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to be silent, and a time to speak.
8 A time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war, and a time of peace.
9 (A)What profit have workers from their toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to mortals to be busied about. 11 (B)God has made everything appropriate to its time, but has put the timeless[b] into their hearts so they cannot find out, from beginning to end, the work which God has done. 12 (C)I recognized that there is nothing better than to rejoice and to do well during life. 13 Moreover, that all can eat and drink and enjoy the good of all their toil—this is a gift of God. 14 I recognized that whatever God does will endure forever; there is no adding to it, or taking from it. Thus has God done that he may be revered. 15 [c](D)What now is has already been; what is to be, already is: God retrieves what has gone by.
11 (A)And when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong.[a] 12 For, until some people came from James,[b] he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to draw back and separated himself, because he was afraid of the circumcised.(B) 13 And the rest of the Jews[c] [also] acted hypocritically along with him, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.(C) 14 But when I saw that they were not on the right road in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of all,(D) “If you, though a Jew, are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”[d]
Faith and Works.[e] 15 We, who are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles, 16 (E)[yet] who know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.[f] 17 But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves are found to be sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin?[g] Of course not! 18 But if I am building up again those things that I tore down, then I show myself to be a transgressor.[h] 19 For through the law I died to the law,[i] that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ;(F) 20 yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me.(G) 21 I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.(H)
Chapter 14
Herod’s Opinion of Jesus. 1 [a](A)At that time Herod the tetrarch[b](B) heard of the reputation of Jesus(C) 2 and said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.”
The Death of John the Baptist. 3 (D)Now Herod had arrested John, bound [him], and put him in prison on account of Herodias,[c] the wife of his brother Philip, 4 (E)for John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 (F)Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people, for they regarded him as a prophet. 6 But at a birthday celebration for Herod, the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guests and delighted Herod 7 so much that he swore to give her whatever she might ask for. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9 The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests who were present, he ordered that it be given, 10 and he had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. 12 His disciples came and took away the corpse and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.
The Return of the Twelve and the Feeding of the Five Thousand.[d]
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