Book of Common Prayer
Cast Your Burden on the Lord
To the choirmaster: with (A)stringed instruments. A Maskil[a] of David.
55 (B)Give ear to my prayer, O God,
and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
2 Attend to me, and answer me;
I am restless (C)in my complaint and I (D)moan,
3 because of the noise of the enemy,
because of the oppression of the wicked.
For they (E)drop trouble upon me,
and in anger they bear a grudge against me.
4 My heart is in anguish within me;
(F)the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and trembling come upon me,
and (G)horror (H)overwhelms me.
6 And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;
7 (I)yes, I would wander far away;
I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
8 I would hurry to find a shelter
from (J)the raging wind and tempest.”
9 Destroy, O Lord, (K)divide their tongues;
for I see (L)violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around it
on its walls,
and (M)iniquity and trouble are within it;
11 ruin is in its midst;
(N)oppression and fraud
do not depart from its marketplace.
12 For it is not an enemy who taunts me—
then I could bear it;
it is not an adversary who (O)deals insolently with me—
then I could hide from him.
13 (P)But it is you, a man, my equal,
my companion, my familiar friend.
14 We used to take sweet counsel together;
within God's house we walked in (Q)the throng.
15 Let death steal over them;
let them go down to Sheol (R)alive;
for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.
16 But I call to God,
and the Lord will save me.
17 (S)Evening and (T)morning and at (U)noon
I (V)utter my complaint and moan,
and he hears my voice.
18 He redeems my soul in safety
from the battle that I wage,
for (W)many are arrayed against me.
19 God will give ear and humble them,
he who is (X)enthroned from of old, Selah
because they do not (Y)change
and do not fear God.
20 My companion[b] (Z)stretched out his hand against his friends;
he violated his covenant.
21 His (AA)speech was (AB)smooth as butter,
yet war was in his heart;
his words were softer than oil,
yet they were (AC)drawn swords.
Give Thanks to the Lord
Of David.
138 (A)I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before (B)the gods I sing your praise;
2 I bow down (C)toward your (D)holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word.[a]
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
my strength of soul you increased.[b]
4 (E)All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of your mouth,
5 and they shall sing of (F)the ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 (G)For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
but the haughty he knows from afar.
7 (H)Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you (I)preserve my life;
you (J)stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and your (K)right hand delivers me.
8 The Lord will (L)fulfill his purpose for me;
(M)your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
Do not forsake (N)the work of your hands.
Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
139 O Lord, you have (O)searched me and known me!
2 You (P)know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you (Q)discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, (R)you know it altogether.
5 You (S)hem me in, behind and before,
and (T)lay your hand upon me.
6 (U)Such knowledge is (V)too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 (W)Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where (X)shall I flee from your presence?
8 (Y)If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
(Z)If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall (AA)lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, (AB)“Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 (AC)even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
13 For you (AD)formed my inward parts;
you (AE)knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[c]
(AF)Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 (AG)My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in (AH)the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your (AI)book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are your (AJ)thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 (AK)If I would count them, they are more than (AL)the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
19 Oh that you would (AM)slay the wicked, O God!
O (AN)men of blood, (AO)depart from me!
20 They (AP)speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies (AQ)take your name in vain.[d]
21 (AR)Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not (AS)loathe those who (AT)rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
2 [a] And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: (A)“You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, 3 the great (B)trials that your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. 4 But to this day (C)the Lord has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear. 5 (D)I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet. 6 (E)You have not eaten bread, and you have not drunk wine or strong drink, that you may know that I am the Lord your God. 7 And when you came to this place, (F)Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan came out against us to battle, but we defeated them. 8 We took their land and (G)gave it for an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites. 9 (H)Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper[b] in all that you do.
10 “You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God: the heads of your tribes,[c] your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel, 11 your little ones, your wives, and the (I)sojourner who is in your camp, from (J)the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water, 12 so that you may enter into the (K)sworn covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God is making with you today, 13 that he may (L)establish you today as his people, and that (M)he may be your God, as he promised you, and (N)as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 14 It is not with you alone (O)that I am making this sworn covenant, 15 but with whoever is standing here with us today before the Lord our God, (P)and with whoever is not here with us today.
The Collection for Christians in Jerusalem
9 Now (A)it is superfluous for me to write to you about (B)the ministry for the saints, 2 for I know your readiness, (C)of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready (D)since last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them. 3 But (E)I am sending[a] the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, (F)as I said you would be. 4 Otherwise, if some Macedonians (G)come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated—to say nothing of you—for being so confident. 5 So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the (H)gift[b] you have promised, so that it may be ready (I)as a willing gift, (J)not as an exaction.[c]
The Cheerful Giver
6 The point is this: (K)whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully[d] will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, (L)not reluctantly or under compulsion, for (M)God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And (N)God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency[e] in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 9 As it is written,
(O)“He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.”
10 He who supplies (P)seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and (Q)increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 (R)You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which (S)through us will produce thanksgiving to God. 12 For the ministry of this service is not only supplying (T)the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. 13 By their approval of this service, (U)they[f] will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your (V)confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, 14 while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. 15 (W)Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
Let the Children Come to Me
15 (A)Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they (B)rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to him, saying, (C)“Let the children come to me, and (D)do not hinder them, (E)for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 17 (F)Truly, I say to you, whoever does not (G)receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
The Rich Ruler
18 (H)And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to (I)inherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: (J)‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” 21 And he said, (K)“All these I have kept from my youth.” 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. (L)Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have (M)treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 23 (N)But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, (O)“How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter (P)the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter (Q)the kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But he said, (R)“What is impossible with man is possible with God.” 28 And Peter said, “See, (S)we have left our homes and followed you.” 29 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, (T)there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers[a] or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive (U)many times more (V)in this time, and in (W)the age to come eternal life.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.