Book of Common Prayer
Joy Comes with the Morning
A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of (A)the temple.
30 I will (B)extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up
and have not let my foes (C)rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I (D)cried to you for help,
and you have (E)healed me.
3 O Lord, you have brought up my soul from (F)Sheol;
you restored me to life from among those who (G)go down to the pit.[a]
4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you (H)his saints,
and (I)give thanks to his holy name.[b]
5 (J)For his anger is but for a moment,
and (K)his favor is for a lifetime.[c]
(L)Weeping may tarry for the night,
but (M)joy comes with the morning.
6 As for me, I said in my (N)prosperity,
“I shall never be (O)moved.”
7 By your favor, O Lord,
you made my (P)mountain stand strong;
you (Q)hid your face;
I was (R)dismayed.
Blessed Are the Forgiven
A Maskil[a] of David.
32 (A)Blessed is the one whose (B)transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord (C)counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit (D)there is no deceit.
3 For when I kept silent, my (E)bones wasted away
through my (F)groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your (G)hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up[b] as by the heat of summer. Selah
5 I (H)acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I (I)will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore let everyone who is (J)godly
offer prayer to you at a time when you (K)may be found;
surely in the rush of (L)great waters,
they shall not reach him.
7 You are a (M)hiding place for me;
you preserve me from (N)trouble;
you surround me with (O)shouts of deliverance. Selah
Book Two
Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?
To the choirmaster. A Maskil[a] of (A)the Sons of Korah.
42 (B)As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
2 (C)My soul thirsts for God,
for (D)the living God.
When shall I come and (E)appear before God?[b]
3 (F)My tears have been my food
day and night,
(G)while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember,
as I (H)pour out my soul:
(I)how I would go (J)with the throng
and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
(K)a multitude keeping festival.
5 (L)Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you (M)in turmoil within me?
(N)Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation[c] 6 and my God.
My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I (O)remember you
(P)from the land of Jordan and of (Q)Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
at the roar of your waterfalls;
(R)all your breakers and your (S)waves
have gone over me.
8 By day the Lord (T)commands his steadfast love,
and at (U)night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God, (V)my rock:
“Why have you forgotten me?
(W)Why do I go mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 As with a deadly wound in my bones,
my adversaries taunt me,
(X)while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 (Y)Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
Send Out Your Light and Your Truth
43 (Z)Vindicate me, O God, and (AA)defend my cause
against an ungodly people,
from (AB)the deceitful and unjust man
deliver me!
2 For you are (AC)the God in whom I take refuge;
why have you (AD)rejected me?
Why do I (AE)go about mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?
16 Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared[a] to Daniel, “May (A)your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” 17 (B)And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, (C)and the king sealed it (D)with his own signet and with the signet of his (E)lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. 18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; (F)no diversions were brought to him, and (G)sleep fled from him.
19 Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. 20 As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of (H)the living God, (I)has your God, whom you serve continually, (J)been able to deliver you from the lions?” 21 Then Daniel said to the king, (K)“O king, live forever! 22 My God (L)sent his angel (M)and shut the lions' mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless (N)before him; (O)and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” 23 Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and (P)no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. 24 And the king commanded, and (Q)those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.
25 Then King Darius wrote to all (R)the peoples, nations, and languages (S)that dwell in all the earth: (T)“Peace be multiplied to you. 26 (U)I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion (V)people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel,
for (W)he is (X)the living God,
enduring forever;
his kingdom shall never be destroyed,
(Y)and his dominion shall be (Z)to the end.
27 He delivers and rescues;
he works (AA)signs and wonders
in heaven and on earth,
he who has (AB)saved Daniel
from the power of the lions.”
28 So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and (AC)the reign of (AD)Cyrus the Persian.
Greeting
1 (A)The elder to the beloved Gaius, (B)whom I love in truth.
2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. 3 For (C)I rejoiced greatly when the brothers[a] came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that (D)my children are walking in the truth.
Support and Opposition
5 Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for (E)these brothers, (F)strangers as they are, 6 who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner (G)worthy of God. 7 For they have gone out for the sake of (H)the name, (I)accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.
9 I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. 10 So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.
11 Beloved, (J)do not imitate evil but imitate good. (K)Whoever does good is from God; (L)whoever does evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius (M)has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and (N)you know that our testimony is true.
Final Greetings
13 (O)I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.
15 Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, (P)each by name.
Jesus Calls Levi
27 (A)After this he went out and saw (B)a tax collector named (C)Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And (D)leaving everything, he rose and followed him.
29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company (E)of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and (F)their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, (G)“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 (H)I have not come to call the righteous (I)but sinners (J)to repentance.”
A Question About Fasting
33 And they said to him, (K)“The disciples of John (L)fast often and (M)offer prayers, (N)and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” 34 And Jesus said to them, (O)“Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 (P)The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and (Q)then they will fast in those days.” 36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old (R)wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”[a]
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.