Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 101
The Good Ruler
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By David. A psalm.
The Righteousness of the Lord
1 I will sing about your mercy and justice.
To you, O Lord, I will make music.
The Righteousness of the King
2 I will act wisely, following the way that is honest.
When will you come to me?
Within my palace I will conduct myself with integrity.[a]
Righteousness in His Court
3 I will not tolerate an evil[b] cause in my sight.
I hate unfaithfulness and apostasy.[c]
It will not stick to me.
4 A perverted heart shall be kept far from me.
I will not acknowledge evil.
5 I will silence anyone who slanders his neighbor in secret.
I cannot tolerate anyone who has arrogant eyes and a proud heart.
6 My eyes will watch for the faithful in the land,
so that they can be seated with me.
Those who walk in the way of integrity will serve as my ministers.
7 Anyone who practices deceit will not sit inside my palace.
Anyone who is a liar will not stand in my sight.
8 Every morning I will silence all the wicked in the land,
in order to cut off every evildoer from the city of the Lord.
Psalm 109
Deceitful Men Have Opened Their Mouths
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For the choir director. By David. A psalm.
The Problem and the Prayer
1 O God whom I praise, do not be silent,
2 because they have opened wicked, deceitful mouths against me.
They have spoken against me with lying tongues.
3 They surround me with hateful words.
They attack me without cause.
4 In return for my love they accuse me,
but I am a man of prayer.[a]
5 They repay me with evil for good,
with hatred for my love.
The Curse
6 Appoint an evil one to testify against him,
and let an accuser[b] stand at his right hand.
7 When he is tried, let him be found guilty,
and let his prayer be sin.
8 Let his days be few.
Let another take his office.
9 Let his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow.
10 Let his children always wander and beg.
Let them seek food far from their ruined homes.[c]
11 Let a creditor confiscate all he has.
Let strangers plunder everything he worked for.
12 Let there be no one to extend mercy to him.
Let there be no one to show favor to his fatherless children.
13 Let his descendants be cut off.
In the next generation let their name be blotted out.
14 Let the guilt of his fathers be remembered before the Lord.
Let the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
15 Let their sins remain before the Lord continually,
and let the memory of these people be cut off from the earth.
16 Because he did not remember to show mercy,
but he pursued the poor man and the needy
and the brokenhearted to put them to death.
17 Since he loved cursing, so let it fall on him.
He found no pleasure in blessing, so let it be far from him.
18 Since he wore cursing as his clothing,
let it enter into his stomach like water
and into his bones like oil.
19 Let it be like a garment wrapped around him,
like a belt tied around him forever.
20 May the Lord do all this to my accusers
and to those who speak evil against my life.
Prayer for Help
21 But you, Lord God, deal with me for the sake of your name.
Because of the goodness of your mercy, deliver me.
22 For I am poor and needy,
and my heart is wounded[d] within me.
23 Like a shadow after it lengthens, I go away.
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees give way from fasting,
and my flesh has become lean, without fat.
25 But I—I am scorned by them.
They see me. They shake their heads.
26 Help me, O Lord my God.
Save me according to your mercy.
27 Let them know that this is your hand.
You, O Lord, have done it.
28 They may curse, but you will bless.
They rose up, but they will be put to shame.
Then your servant will rejoice.
29 My accusers will be dressed with disgrace.
Their shame will wrap around them like a robe.
Closing Praise
30 With my mouth I will keep on thanking the Lord.
In the midst of many people I will praise him.
Ayin: It Is Time to Act
121 I have carried out what is just and right.
Do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Guarantee good for your servant.
Do not let the arrogant oppress me.
123 My eyes wear out,
as I watch for your salvation and your righteousness.
124 Deal with your servant according to your mercy,
and teach me your statutes.
125 I am your servant. Give me discernment,
so that I may know your testimonies.
126 Lord, it is time to do something!
They have broken your laws.
127 Because I love your commandments more than gold,
more than pure gold,
128 because I value everything in all your precepts,
I hate every wrong road.
Pe: Streams of Tears
129 Your testimonies are wonders.
That is why my soul guards them.
130 The doorway to your words lets in light.
It gives understanding to the inexperienced.
131 I open wide my mouth and I gasp,
because I long for your commandments.
132 Turn to me and give me grace.
This is your judgment for those who love your name.[a]
133 Keep my footsteps steady by your sayings,
and do not let any evil rule over me.
134 Redeem me from oppressive people,
and I will keep your precepts.
135 Make your face shine on your servant,
and teach me your statutes.
136 Streams of water run down from my eyes,
because they do not keep your laws.
Tsadhe: My Zeal for the Word
137 You are righteous, O Lord,
and your judgments are right.
138 You have commanded your testimonies.
They are righteous and very trustworthy.
139 My zeal wears me out,
because my foes forget your words.
140 Your saying has been thoroughly refined,
and your servant loves it.
141 I am insignificant and despised,
but I do not forget your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is righteous forever,
and your law is truth.
143 Distress and anguish have found me,
but your commandments are my delights.
144 Your testimonies are right forever.
Give me understanding, and I will live.
15 Manoah then said to the Angel of the Lord, “May we persuade you to stay, so that we may prepare a young goat for you?”
16 But the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Even if you keep me here, I will not eat any of your food, but if you make a burnt offering, offer it up to the Lord.” (Manoah did not yet know that he was the Angel of the Lord.)
17 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that we can honor you when your words come true?”
18 The Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask about my name? It is wonderful.”[a]
19 Manoah took the young goat and the grain offering, and he offered them on the rock to the Lord, who did something wonderful as Manoah and his wife were watching. 20 As the flame rose from the altar toward the sky, the Angel of the Lord ascended upward from the altar in the flame. Manoah and his wife were watching, and they fell facedown to the ground. 21 The Angel of the Lord did not appear to Manoah and his wife again, but now Manoah knew that he was the Angel of the Lord.
22 Manoah said to his wife, “We will certainly die, because we have seen God.”
23 But his wife said to him, “If the Lord wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, and he would not have shown us all these things, nor would he have let us hear this message at this time.”
24 The woman gave birth to a son, and she named him Samson. The boy grew, and the Lord blessed him.
Choosing the Seven
6 In those days, as the number of disciples was increasing, a complaint arose from the Greek-speaking Jews against the Hebrew-speaking Jews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
2 So the Twelve called together the whole group of disciples and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers, carefully select from among you seven men with good reputations, who are full of the Holy[a] Spirit and wisdom. We will put them in charge of this service. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
5 This proposal pleased the entire group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas, a proselyte from Antioch.
6 They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 The word of God kept on spreading, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly. Also a large group of priests became obedient to the faith.
Stephen Is Arrested
8 Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. 9 Some men who were from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia) rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they were unable to stand up against the wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking.
11 Then they secretly induced some men to say, “We heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” 12 They stirred up the people, the elders, and the experts in the law. They came, dragged Stephen away, and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13 They presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops making threats against this holy place and the law. 14 In fact, we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs Moses handed down to us.”
15 All those who were sitting in the Sanhedrin were looking intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
The Samaritan Woman
4 Jesus[a] found out that the Pharisees had heard he was making and baptizing more disciples than John, 2 though it was not Jesus himself who was baptizing but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea and went back again to Galilee.
4 He had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the piece of land Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there. Then Jesus, being tired from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.[b]
7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (His disciples had gone into town to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
11 “Sir,” she said, “you don’t even have a bucket, and the well is deep. So where do you get this living water? 12 You are not greater than our father Jacob, are you? He gave us this well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his animals.”
13 Jesus answered her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I will give him will never be thirsty ever again. Rather, the water I will give him will become in him a spring of water, bubbling up to eternal life.”
15 “Sir, give me this water,” the woman said to him, “so I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16 Jesus told her, “Go, call your husband, and come back here.”
17 “I have no husband,” the woman answered.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say, ‘I have no husband.’ 18 In fact, you have had five husbands, and the man you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.”
19 “Sir,” the woman replied, “I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews insist that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will not worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. 23 But a time is coming and now is here when the real worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for those are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (the one called Christ). “When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Jesus said to her, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.