Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 38[a]
Prayer of an Afflicted Sinner
1 A psalm of David. For remembrance.
I
2 Lord, do not punish me in your anger;
in your wrath do not chastise me!(A)
3 Your arrows have sunk deep in me;(B)
your hand has come down upon me.
4 There is no wholesomeness in my flesh because of your anger;
there is no health in my bones because of my sin.(C)
5 My iniquities overwhelm me,
a burden too heavy for me.(D)
II
6 Foul and festering are my sores
because of my folly.
7 I am stooped and deeply bowed;(E)
every day I go about mourning.
8 My loins burn with fever;
there is no wholesomeness in my flesh.
9 I am numb and utterly crushed;
I wail with anguish of heart.(F)
10 My Lord, my deepest yearning is before you;
my groaning is not hidden from you.
11 My heart shudders, my strength forsakes me;
the very light of my eyes has failed.(G)
12 Friends and companions shun my disease;
my neighbors stand far off.
13 Those who seek my life lay snares for me;
they seek my misfortune, they speak of ruin;
they plot treachery every day.
III
14 But I am like the deaf, hearing nothing,
like the mute, I do not open my mouth,
15 I am even like someone who does not hear,
who has no answer ready.
16 Lord, it is for you that I wait;
O Lord, my God, you respond.(H)
17 For I have said that they would gloat over me,
exult over me if I stumble.
IV
18 I am very near to falling;
my wounds are with me always.
19 I acknowledge my guilt
and grieve over my sin.(I)
20 My enemies live and grow strong,
those who hate me grow numerous fraudulently,
21 Repaying me evil for good,
accusing me for pursuing good.(J)
22 Do not forsake me, O Lord;
my God, be not far from me!(K)
23 Come quickly to help me,(L)
my Lord and my salvation!
Daleth
25 My soul clings to the dust;(A)
give me life in accord with your word.
26 I disclosed my ways and you answered me;
teach me your statutes.
27 Make me understand the way of your precepts;
I will ponder your wondrous deeds.
28 My soul is depressed;
lift me up acccording to your word.
29 Lead me from the way of deceit;
favor me with your law.
30 The way of loyalty I have chosen;
I have kept your judgments.
31 I cling to your testimonies, Lord;
do not let me come to shame.
32 I will run the way of your commandments,
for you will broaden my heart.
He
33 Lord, teach me the way of your statutes;
I shall keep them with care.(B)
34 Give me understanding to keep your law,
to observe it with all my heart.
35 Lead me in the path of your commandments,(C)
for that is my delight.
36 Direct my heart toward your testimonies
and away from gain.
37 Avert my eyes from what is worthless;
by your way give me life.
38 For your servant, fulfill your promise
made to those who fear you.
39 Turn away from me the taunts I dread,
for your judgments are good.
40 See how I long for your precepts;
in your righteousness give me life.
Waw
41 Let your mercy come to me, Lord,
salvation in accord with your promise.
42 Let me answer my taunters with a word,
for I trust in your word.
43 Do not take the word of truth from my mouth,
for in your judgments is my hope.
44 I will keep your law always,
for all time and forever.
45 I will walk freely in an open space
because I cherish your precepts.
46 I will speak openly of your testimonies
without fear even before kings.
47 I delight in your commandments,
which I dearly love.
48 [a]I lift up my hands to your commandments;
I study your statutes, which I love.
God’s Fidelity and Love. 25 (A)When you have children and children’s children, and have grown old in the land, should you then act corruptly by fashioning an idol in the form of anything, and by this evil done in his sight provoke the Lord, your God, 26 I call heaven and earth this day to witness against you, that you shall all quickly perish from the land which you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You shall not live in it for any length of time but shall be utterly wiped out.(B) 27 The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and there shall remain but a handful of you among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. 28 There you shall serve gods that are works of human hands, of wood and stone, gods which can neither see nor hear, neither eat nor smell.(C) 29 Yet when you seek the Lord, your God, from there, you shall indeed find him if you search after him with all your heart and soul.(D) 30 In your distress, when all these things shall have come upon you, you shall finally return to the Lord, your God, and listen to his voice. 31 Since the Lord, your God, is a merciful God, he will not abandon or destroy you, nor forget the covenant with your ancestors that he swore to them.(E)
Paul’s Change of Plan. 23 (A)But I call upon God as witness, on my life, that it is to spare you that I have not yet gone to Corinth.[a] 24 Not that we lord it over your faith; rather, we work together for your joy, for you stand firm in the faith.
Chapter 2
1 For I decided not to come to you again in painful circumstances. 2 For if I inflict pain upon you, then who is there to cheer me except the one pained by me? 3 And I wrote as I did[b] so that when I came I might not be pained by those in whom I should have rejoiced, confident about all of you that my joy is that of all of you. 4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears, not that you might be pained but that you might know the abundant love I have for you.
The Offender.[c] 5 If anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure (not to exaggerate) to all of you. 6 This punishment by the majority is enough for such a person, 7 so that on the contrary you should forgive and encourage him instead, or else the person may be overwhelmed by excessive pain.(B) 8 Therefore, I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote, to know your proven character, whether you were obedient in everything.(C) 10 Whomever you forgive anything, so do I. For indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for you in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we might not be taken advantage of by Satan, for we are not unaware of his purposes.(D)
Paul’s Anxiety.[d] 12 When I went to Troas for the gospel of Christ, although a door was opened for me in the Lord,(E) 13 [e]I had no relief in my spirit because I did not find my brother Titus.(F) So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.
B. Paul’s Ministry[f]
Ministers of a New Covenant. 14 [g]But thanks be to God,[h] who always leads us in triumph in Christ[i] and manifests through us the odor of the knowledge of him[j] in every place. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ for God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,(G) 16 to the latter an odor of death that leads to death, to the former an odor of life that leads to life. Who is qualified[k] for this? 17 For we are not like the many who trade on the word of God; but as out of sincerity, indeed as from God and in the presence of God, we speak in Christ.(H)
The Parable of the Lost Son. 11 Then he said, “A man had two sons, 12 and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. 13 After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.(A) 14 When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. 15 So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. 16 And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. 17 Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. 18 I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’ 20 So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ 22 But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, 24 because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began. 25 Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. 26 He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. 27 The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28 He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. 30 But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ 31 He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. 32 But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”
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