Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 25[a]
By David.
25 O Lord, I come before you in prayer.[b]
2 My God, I trust in you.
Please do not let me be humiliated;
do not let my enemies triumphantly rejoice over me.
3 Certainly none who rely on you will be humiliated.
Those who deal in treachery will be thwarted[c] and humiliated.
4 Make me understand your ways, O Lord.
Teach me your paths.[d]
5 Guide me into your truth[e] and teach me.
For you are the God who delivers me;
on you I rely all day long.
6 Remember[f] your compassionate and faithful deeds, O Lord,
for you have always acted in this manner.[g]
7 Do not hold against me[h] the sins of my youth[i] or my rebellious acts.
Because you are faithful to me, extend to me your favor, O Lord.[j]
8 The Lord is both kind and fair;[k]
that is why he teaches sinners the right way to live.[l]
9 May he show[m] the humble what is right.[n]
May he teach[o] the humble his way.
10 The Lord always proves faithful and reliable[p]
to those who follow the demands of his covenant.[q]
11 For the sake of your reputation,[r] O Lord,
forgive my sin, because it is great.[s]
12 The Lord shows his faithful followers
the way they should live.[t]
13 They experience his favor;[u]
their descendants[v] inherit the land.[w]
14 The Lord’s loyal followers receive his guidance,[x]
and he reveals his covenantal demands to them.[y]
15 I continually look to the Lord for help,[z]
for he will free my feet from the enemy’s net.[aa]
16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me,
for I am alone[ab] and oppressed.
17 Deliver me from my distress;[ac]
rescue me from my suffering.[ad]
18 See my pain and suffering.
Forgive all my sins.[ae]
19 Watch my enemies, for they outnumber me;
they hate me and want to harm me.[af]
20 Protect me[ag] and deliver me!
Please do not let me be humiliated,
for I have taken shelter in you.
21 May integrity and godliness protect me,
for I rely on you.
22 O God, rescue[ah] Israel
from all their distress![ai]
Psalm 9[a]
For the music director, according to the alumoth-labben style;[b] a psalm of David.
9 I will thank the Lord with all my heart!
I will tell about all your amazing deeds.[c]
2 I will be happy and rejoice in you.
I will sing praises to you, O Most High.[d]
3 When my enemies turn back,
they trip and are defeated[e] before you.
4 For you defended my just cause;[f]
from your throne you pronounced a just decision.[g]
5 You terrified the nations with your battle cry.[h]
You destroyed the wicked;[i]
you permanently wiped out all memory of them.[j]
6 The enemy’s cities have been reduced to permanent ruins.[k]
You destroyed their cities;[l]
all memory of the enemies has perished.[m]
7 But the Lord[n] rules[o] forever;
he reigns in a just manner.[p]
8 He judges the world fairly;
he makes just legal decisions for the nations.[q]
9 Consequently[r] the Lord provides safety for the oppressed;[s]
he provides safety in times of trouble.[t]
10 Your loyal followers trust in you,[u]
for you, Lord, do not abandon those who seek your help.[v]
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who rules[w] in Zion.
Tell the nations what he has done.[x]
12 For the one who takes revenge against murderers took notice of the oppressed;[y]
he did not overlook[z] their cry for help[aa]
13 when they prayed:[ab]
“Have mercy on me,[ac] Lord!
See how I am oppressed by those who hate me,[ad]
O one who can snatch me away[ae] from the gates of death!
14 Then I will[af] tell about all your praiseworthy acts;[ag]
in the gates of Daughter Zion[ah] I will rejoice because of your deliverance.”[ai]
15 The nations fell[aj] into the pit they had made;
their feet were caught in the net they had hidden.[ak]
16 The Lord revealed himself;
he accomplished justice.
The wicked were ensnared by their own actions.[al] (Higgaion.[am] Selah)
17 The wicked are turned back and sent to Sheol;[an]
this is the destiny of[ao] all the nations that ignore[ap] God,
18 for the needy are not permanently ignored,[aq]
the hopes of the oppressed are not forever dashed.[ar]
19 Rise up, Lord![as]
Don’t let men be defiant.[at]
May the nations be judged in your presence.
20 Terrify them, Lord.[au]
Let the nations know they are mere mortals.[av] (Selah)
Psalm 15[a]
A psalm of David.
15 Lord, who may be a guest in your home?[b]
Who may live on your holy hill?[c]
2 Whoever lives a blameless life,[d]
does what is right,
and speaks honestly.[e]
3 He[f] does not slander,[g]
or do harm to others,[h]
or insult his neighbor.[i]
4 He despises a reprobate,[j]
but honors the Lord’s loyal followers.[k]
He makes firm commitments and does not renege on his promise.[l]
5 He does not charge interest when he lends his money.[m]
He does not take bribes to testify against the innocent.[n]
The one who lives like this[o] will never be shaken.
Job’s Reply to Zophar[a]
12 Then Job answered:
2 “Without a doubt you are the people,[b]
and wisdom will die with you.[c]
3 I also have understanding[d] as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.[e]
Who does not know such things as these?[f]
4 I am[g] a laughingstock[h] to my friends,[i]
I, who called on God and whom he answered[j]—
a righteous and blameless[k] man
is a laughingstock!
5 For calamity,[l] there is derision
(according to the ideas of the fortunate[m])—
a fate[n] for those whose feet slip.
6 But[o] the tents of robbers are peaceful,
and those who provoke God are confident[p]—
who carry their god in their hands.[q]
13 “With God[a] are wisdom and power;
counsel and understanding are his.[b]
14 If[c] he tears down, it cannot be rebuilt;
if he imprisons a person, there is no escape.[d]
15 If he holds back the waters, then they dry up;[e]
if he releases them,[f] they destroy[g] the land.
16 With him are strength and prudence;[h]
both the one who goes astray[i]
and the one who misleads are his.
17 He[j] leads[k] counselors away stripped[l]
and makes judges[m] into fools.[n]
18 He loosens[o] the bonds[p] of kings
and binds a loincloth[q] around their waist.
19 He leads priests away stripped[r]
and overthrows[s] the potentates.[t]
20 He deprives the trusted advisers[u] of speech[v]
and takes away the discernment[w] of elders.
21 He pours contempt on noblemen
and disarms[x] the powerful.[y]
22 He reveals the deep things of darkness,
and brings deep shadows[z] into the light.
23 He makes nations great,[aa] and destroys them;
he extends the boundaries of nations
and disperses[ab] them.[ac]
24 He deprives the leaders of the earth[ad]
of their understanding;[ae]
he makes them wander
in a trackless desert waste.[af]
25 They grope about in darkness[ag] without light;
he makes them stagger[ah] like drunkards.
Activity in the Church at Antioch
19 Now those who had been scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen[a] went as far as[b] Phoenicia,[c] Cyprus,[d] and Antioch,[e] speaking the message[f] to no one but Jews. 20 But there were some men from Cyprus[g] and Cyrene[h] among them who came[i] to Antioch[j] and began to speak to the Greeks[k] too, proclaiming the good news of the Lord Jesus. 21 The[l] hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed[m] turned[n] to the Lord. 22 A report[o] about them came to the attention[p] of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas[q] to Antioch.[r] 23 When[s] he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain true[t] to the Lord with devoted hearts,[u] 24 because he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and a significant number of people[v] were brought to the Lord. 25 Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch.[w] So[x] for a whole year Barnabas and Saul[y] met with the church and taught a significant number of people.[z] Now it was in Antioch[aa] that the disciples were first called Christians.[ab]
Famine Relief for Judea
27 At that time[ac] some[ad] prophets[ae] came down[af] from Jerusalem to Antioch.[ag] 28 One of them, named Agabus, got up[ah] and predicted[ai] by the Spirit that a severe[aj] famine[ak] was about to come over the whole inhabited world.[al] (This[am] took place during the reign of Claudius.)[an] 29 So the disciples, each in accordance with his financial ability,[ao] decided[ap] to send relief[aq] to the brothers living in Judea. 30 They did so,[ar] sending their financial aid[as] to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
Where Jesus Came From and Where He is Going
21 Then Jesus[a] said to them again,[b] “I am going away, and you will look for me[c] but will die in your sin.[d] Where I am going you cannot come.” 22 So the Jewish leaders[e] began to say,[f] “Perhaps he is going to kill himself, because he says, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’” 23 Jesus replied,[g] “You people[h] are from below; I am from above. You people are from this world; I am not from this world. 24 Thus I told you[i] that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am he,[j] you will die in your sins.”
25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus replied,[k] “What I have told you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge[l] about you, but the Father[m] who sent me is truthful,[n] and the things I have heard from him I speak to the world.”[o] 27 (They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father.)[p]
28 Then Jesus said,[q] “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he,[r] and I do nothing on my own initiative,[s] but I speak just what the Father taught me.[t] 29 And the one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone,[u] because I always do those things that please him.” 30 While he was saying these things, many people[v] believed in him.
Abraham’s Children and the Devil’s Children
31 Then Jesus said to those Judeans[w] who had believed him, “If you continue to follow my teaching,[x] you are really[y] my disciples 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”[z]
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