Book of Common Prayer
A Davidic Psalm: As a Reminder.
The Outcast Cries Out
38 Lord! Do not rebuke me in your anger;
do not correct me in your wrath,
2 because your arrows have sunk deep into me,
and your hand has come down hard on me.
3 My body is unhealthy due to your anger,
and my bones have no rest due to my sin.
4 My iniquities loom over my head;
like a cumbersome burden, they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds have putrefied and festered
because of my foolishness.
6 I am bent over and walk about greatly bowed down;
all day long I go around mourning.
7 My insides[a] are burning
and my body is unhealthy.
8 I am weak and utterly crushed;
I cry out in distress because of my heart’s anguish.
9 Lord, all my longings are before you,
and my groaning is not hidden from you.
10 My heart pounds,
my strength fails me,
even the gleam in my eye is gone.
11 As for my friends and my neighbors,
they stand aloof from my distress;
even my close relatives stand at a distance.
12 Those who seek my life lay snares for me;
those who seek to do me harm brag all day long about their wicked planning.
13 I am like the deaf, who cannot hear,
and like the mute, who cannot open his mouth.
14 Indeed, I have become like a man who hears nothing,
and in whose mouth there is no rebuke.
15 Because I have placed my hope in you, Lord,
you will answer, Lord, my God.
16 For I said, “Do not let them gloat over me,
as they congratulate themselves when my foot slips.”
17 Indeed, I am being set up for a fall,
and I am continuously reminded of my pain.
18 I confess my iniquity,
and my sin troubles me.
19 But my enemies are alive and well;[b]
those who hate me[c] for no reason are numerous.[d]
20 They[e] reward my good with evil,
opposing me because I seek to do good.[f]
21 Don’t forsake me, Lord.
My God, do not be so distant from me.
22 Come quickly and help me,
Lord, my deliverer.
Daleth
Strength Comes from the Word
25 My soul clings to the dust;
revive me according to your word.
26 I have talked about my ways,
and you have answered me;
Teach me your statutes.
27 Help me understand how your precepts function,[a]
and I will meditate on your wondrous acts.
28 I weep because of sorrow;
fortify me according to your word.
29 Remove false paths from me;
and graciously give me your instruction.[b]
30 I have chosen the faithful way;
I have firmly placed your ordinances before me.[c]
31 I cling to your decrees;
Lord, do not put me to shame.
32 I eagerly race along the way of your commands,
for you enable me to do so.[d]
He
Instructed by the Word
33 Teach me, Lord, about the way of your statutes,
and I will observe them without fail.[e]
34 Give me understanding
and I will observe your instruction.[f]
I will keep it with all of my heart.
35 Help me live my life by your commands,
because my joy is in them.
36 Turn my heart to your decrees
and away from unjust gain.
37 Turn my eyes away from gazing at worthless things,
and revive me by your ways.
38 Confirm your promise to your servant,
which is for those who fear you.
39 Turn away the shame that I dread,
because your ordinances are good.
40 Look, I long for your precepts;
revive me through your righteousness.
Vav
A Song of Praise
41 May your gracious love come to me, Lord,
your salvation, just as you said.
42 Then I can answer the one who insults me,
for I place my trust in your word.
43 Never take your truthful words from me,
For I wait for[g] your ordinances.
44 Then I will always keep your Law,
forever and ever,
45 I will walk in liberty,
for I seek your precepts.
46 Then I will speak of your decrees before kings
and not be ashamed.
47 I will take delight in your commands,
which I love.
48 I will lift up my hands to your commands,
which I love,
and I will meditate on your statutes.
David and Jonathan’s Discussion
20 David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and said, “What have I done? What is my crime, and how have I wronged your father so that he’s determined to kill me?[a]
2 Jonathan[b] told him, “Far from it! You won’t die. Look, my father never does anything, great or small, without telling me;[c] so why should my father hide this thing from me? It’s not like that!”
3 David again took an oath: “Your father certainly knows that I’ve found favor with you, and so he told himself,[d] ‘Jonathan must not know this so he won’t be upset.’ But as certainly as the Lord is alive and living, and as certainly as I’m alive and living, too, there is only a step between me and death.”
4 Jonathan told David, “Whatever you say, I’ll do.”
5 David told Jonathan, “Look, the New Moon is tomorrow, and I’m expected to sit down with the king to eat. Let me go so I can hide in the field until the evening of the day after tomorrow.[e] 6 If your father actually notices that I’m not there,[f] then you are to say, ‘David urgently requested that I allow him to run to his hometown of Bethlehem because the yearly sacrifice for the entire family was taking place there.’ 7 If he says, ‘Good,’ then your servant will be safe.[g] But if he actually gets angry, you will know that his intentions are evil.[h] 8 Now, show gracious kindness to your servant because you have entered into a sacred covenant[i] with your servant. If there is iniquity in me, then kill me yourself—why should you bring me to your father?”
9 “Nonsense!” Jonathan replied. “If I actually knew that my father intended evil against you, wouldn’t I tell you about it?”
10 Then David told Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?”
David and Jonathan Make a Covenant
11 Then Jonathan told David, “Come, let’s go into the field.” So the two of them went into the field. 12 Jonathan told David, “The Lord God of Israel is my witness[j] that I’ll carefully question my father by tomorrow or the next day. And if the response[k] is favorable for David, will I not then send word[l] to you and let you know?[m] 13 But if my father intends to harm you, may the Lord strike me dead[n] if I don’t let you know and send you away so you may go safely. May the Lord be with you as he has been with my father. 14 If I remain alive, don’t fail to show me the Lord’s gracious love so that I don’t die. 15 And don’t stop showing your gracious love to my family forever, not even when the Lord eliminates each of David’s enemies from the surface of the earth.” 16 Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David: “May the Lord punish any violation of this covenant by the hand of David’s enemies.”[o] 17 Jonathan made David vow again out of his love for him, because he loved him as himself.
Jonathan’s Signal to David
18 Jonathan told him, “Tomorrow is the New Moon, and you will be missed because your seat is empty. 19 On the third day go down quickly and come to the place where you hid earlier.[p] Remain beside the rock at Ezel. 20 I’ll shoot three arrows to the side of the rock[q] as though I were shooting at a target. 21 Then I’ll send a servant,[r] saying,[s] ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I specifically say to the servant,[t] ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,’ then come out because it’s safe for you, and, as surely as the Lord lives, there is no danger.[u] 22 But if I say this to the young man: ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the Lord has sent you away. 23 As for the matter about which you and I spoke, remember that[v] the Lord is a witness[w] between us forever.”
18 When morning came, there was a great commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 Herod searched for him but didn’t find him, so he questioned the guards and ordered them to be executed. Then he left Judea, went down to Caesarea, and stayed there for a while.
The Death of Herod
20 Now Herod had been in a violent quarrel with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they came to him as a group. After they had won over Blastus, who oversaw security[a] for the king’s sleeping quarters, they asked for a peace agreement because their country depended on the king’s country for food. 21 Therefore, at a set time Herod put on his royal robes, sat down on the royal seat, and made a speech to them. 22 The people kept shouting, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man!” 23 Immediately the angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not give glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died. 24 But the word of God continued to grow and spread.
25 When Barnabas and Saul had fulfilled their mission, they returned from[b] Jerusalem, bringing with them John (who was also called Mark).
Jesus Calls Matthew(A)
13 Jesus[a] went out again beside the sea. The whole crowd kept coming to him, and he kept teaching them. 14 As he was walking along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax collector’s desk. Jesus[b] told him, “Follow me!” So Levi[c] got up and followed him.
15 Later, he was having dinner at Levi’s[d] house. Many tax collectors and sinners were also eating with Jesus and his disciples, because there were many who were following him. 16 When the scribes and the Pharisees saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat and drink[e] with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 When Jesus heard that, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a physician, but sick ones do. I did not come to call righteous people, but sinners.”
A Question about Fasting(B)
18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees would fast regularly. Some people[f] came and asked Jesus,[g] “Why do John’s disciples and the Pharisees’ disciples fast, but your disciples don’t fast?”
19 Jesus replied, “The wedding guests[h] can’t fast while the groom is with them, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they can’t fast. 20 But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.”
The Unshrunk Cloth(C)
21 “No one patches an old garment with a piece of unshrunk cloth. If he does, the patch pulls away from it—the new from the old—and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will make the skins burst, and both the wine and the skins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured[i] into fresh wineskins.”
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.