Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 38[a]
Prayer of a Sinner in Great Peril
1 A psalm of David. For remembrance.[b]
2 O Lord, do not punish me in your anger
or chastise me in your wrath.
3 For your arrows[c] have pierced me deeply,
and your hand has come down upon me.
4 No portion of my body[d] has been unscathed
as a result of your anger;
my bones have become weak
as a result of my sins.
5 My iniquities tower far above my head;[e]
they are a burden too heavy to bear.
6 My wounds are fetid and fester
because of my folly.
7 I am bowed down and bent over,
as I spend each day in sorrow.
8 My loins are filled with searing pain;
no part of my body[f] is unafflicted.
9 I am numb and completely crushed,
and I groan in anguish of heart.[g]
10 O Lord, all my longing is known to you,
and my sighs are not hidden from you.
11 My heart throbs, and my strength is spent;
even the light has faded from my eyes.
12 My friends and companions stay away from my affliction,
and my neighbors keep their distance.
13 Those who seek my life set traps;
those who wish me harm threaten violence
and plot treachery all day long.[h]
14 [i]But I am like a man who cannot hear,
like one who cannot open his mouth.
15 I am like one who hears nothing
and has no answer to offer.
16 I place my hope in you, O Lord;
you, O Lord, my God, will answer for me.
17 For I prayed, “Never let them gloat over me
or exult should my foot slip.”
18 I am at the point of exhaustion,
and my grief is with me constantly.
19 I acknowledge my iniquity,
and I sincerely grieve for my sin.
20 [j]Numerous and strong are my enemies without cause;
many are those who hate me without good reason.[k]
21 Those who repay my good deeds with evil
oppose me because I follow a path of righteousness.
22 Do not abandon me, O Lord;
my God, do not remain far from me.
23 Come quickly to my aid,
O Lord, my Savior.
25 [a]My soul lies prostrate in the dust;[b]
revive me in accordance with your word.
26 I proclaim my ways and you answer me;
teach me your decrees.
27 Help me to understand the way of your commandments,
and I will meditate on your wonders.
28 My soul is wasting away in sorrow;
renew my strength in accordance with your word.
29 Keep me from the way of falsehood,
and let me live according to your law.
30 [c]I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
I have set your judgments before me.
31 I cling to your statutes, O Lord;
do not allow me to be put to shame.
32 I run in the way of your precepts,
for you have set my heart free.
He
33 [d]Teach me, O Lord, the way of your decrees,
and I will follow it to the end.[e]
34 Give me understanding, and I will observe your law
and obey it with all my heart.[f]
35 Guide me in the way of your precepts,
for in them is my delight.
36 Dispose my heart to follow your statutes
and to flee selfish gain.
37 Turn my eyes away from what is unimportant,
and let me live in your way.
38 Fulfill your word to your servant,
so that you may be feared.[g]
39 Let me escape the disgrace that I dread,
for your judgments are good.
40 See, I long for your commandments;
in your righteousness preserve my life.
Waw
41 [h]Let your kindness[i] descend on me, O Lord,
your salvation in accord with your promise.
42 Then I will respond to those who insult me,
because I trust in your word.
43 Do not remove from my mouth the word of truth,[j]
for I place my hope in your judgment.
44 I will keep your law continually,
forever and ever.
45 I will walk in complete freedom
because I have sought your commands.[k]
46 I will speak of your statutes in the presence of kings
and will not be ashamed.
47 Your precepts fill me with delight
because I love them.
48 I lift up my hands[l] to your precepts, which I love,
and I meditate on your decrees.
Zayin
The Book of Immanuel
Chapter 6
Isaiah’s Call.[a] 1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 In attendance above him were seraphim.[b] Each of them had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with the third pair they flew. 3 And they called out to one another,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.
The entire earth is filled with his glory.”
4 The voices of those who called out shook the thresholds, and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 Then I said,
“Woe is me! I am doomed.
For I am a man of unclean lips,
and I live among a people of unclean lips,
yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding in his hand a burning coal that he had removed from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said,
“Now that this has touched your lips,
your guilt has been removed
and your sin has been blotted out.”
8 I then heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me!” 9 Then he replied: Go forth and tell this people:
No matter how carefully you listen,
you will not understand.
You will continue to look,
but you will not comprehend.
10 Make the minds of this people dull;
stop up their ears
and close their eyes.
Otherwise their eyes will see,
their ears will hear,
their hearts will understand,
and they will change their ways
and be healed.
11 Then I asked, “How long, O Lord?” He replied:
Until the cities lie in ruins
and become deserted,
until the houses are unoccupied
and the land lies completely desolate,
12 until the Lord drives the people far away
and the country will be totally abandoned.
13 Even if a tenth of the people remain there,
that area too will be destroyed,
like a terebinth or an oak
whose stump remains when it is felled;
the holy seed is its stump.
Salutation[a]
Chapter 1
Address and Greeting. 1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the Church of Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Perseverance in Faith[b]
A Word of Praise. Brethren, we must always give thanks to God for you, and it is only right that we do so. For your faith grows ever more, and the love that all of you have for one another continues to increase. 4 Therefore, we boast incessantly of you to the Churches of God for your steadfastness and faith despite all the persecutions and tribulations that you have had to endure.Judgment and the Coming of the Lord. 5 All this is proof of God’s just judgment, and it shows that you are worthy of the kingdom of God, for the sake of which you are suffering. 6 It is only just that God will repay with suffering those who make you suffer 7 and grant relief to you who are suffering, and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels.
8 He will come in blazing fire to inflict punishment on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, excluded from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power 10 on that Day when he comes to be glorified by his holy ones and to be adored by all believers, among whom you will be present since you believed the testimony we offered to you.
11 Prayer for the Community. Therefore, we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call and by his power bring to fulfillment every good resolve and every work of faith. 12 In this way, the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.[c]
Chapter 8
Jesus, Savior of Sinners
A Woman Caught in Adultery.[a] [7:53Then each of them returned home. 1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At daybreak he entered the temple courts, and all the people gathered around him. He sat down and began to teach them.
3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought in a woman who had been caught in adultery. Forcing her to stand in their midst, 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of adultery.[b] 5 Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women.[c] What do you have to say?”
6 They asked him this question as a test so that they could bring a charge against him. Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they continued to persist in their question, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”[d] 8 Then he again bent down and wrote on the ground.
9 When they heard his response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders, until Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She replied, “No one, sir.” “Neither do I condemn you,” Jesus said. “Go on your way, and sin no more.”]
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