Book of Common Prayer
A Petition to Be Saved from Death.
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the music director; according to Mahalath Leannoth. A [a]Maskil of Heman [b]the Ezrahite.
88 Lord, the (A)God of my salvation,
I have (B)cried out by day and in the night before You.
2 Let my prayer (C)come before You;
(D)Incline Your ear to my cry!
3 For my (E)soul has [c]had enough troubles,
And (F)my life has approached [d]Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who (G)go down to the pit;
I have become like a man (H)without strength,
5 [e]Abandoned (I)among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom You no longer remember,
And they are (J)cut off from Your hand.
6 You have put me in (K)the lowest pit,
In (L)dark places, in the (M)depths.
7 Your wrath (N)has rested upon me,
And You have afflicted me with (O)all Your waves. Selah
8 You have removed (P)my acquaintances far from me;
You have made me an [f](Q)object of loathing to them;
I am (R)shut up and cannot go out.
9 My (S)eye grows dim from misery;
I have (T)called upon You every day, Lord;
I have (U)spread out my [g]hands to You.
10 Will You perform wonders for the dead?
Or will (V)the departed spirits rise and praise You? Selah
11 Will Your graciousness be declared in the grave,
Your faithfulness in [h]Abaddon?
12 Will Your wonders be made known in the (W)darkness?
And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But I, Lord, have cried out (X)to You for help,
And (Y)in the morning my prayer comes before You.
14 Lord, why (Z)do You reject my soul?
Why do You (AA)hide Your face from me?
15 I was miserable and (AB)about to die from my youth on;
I suffer (AC)Your terrors; I grow weary.
16 Your (AD)burning anger has passed over me;
Your terrors have [i](AE)destroyed me.
17 They have (AF)surrounded me (AG)like water all day long;
They have (AH)encircled me altogether.
18 You have removed (AI)lover and friend far from me;
My acquaintances are in a hiding place.
Security of One Who Trusts in the Lord.
91 One who dwells in the (A)shelter of the Most High
Will lodge in the (B)shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My (C)refuge and my (D)fortress,
My God, in whom I (E)trust!”
3 For it is He who rescues you from the (F)net of the trapper
And from the deadly (G)plague.
4 He will (H)cover you with His pinions,
And (I)under His wings you may take refuge;
His (J)faithfulness is a (K)shield and wall.
5 You (L)will not be afraid of the (M)terror by night,
Or of the (N)arrow that flies by day;
6 Of the (O)plague that [a]stalks in darkness,
Or of the (P)destruction that devastates at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But (Q)it shall not approach you.
8 You will only look on with your eyes
And (R)see the retaliation against the wicked.
9 [b]For you have made the Lord, (S)my refuge,
The Most High, (T)your dwelling place.
10 (U)No evil will happen to you,
Nor will any plague come near your [c]tent.
11 For He will give (V)His angels orders concerning you,
To protect you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will (W)lift you up,
So that you do not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will (X)walk upon the lion and cobra,
You will trample the young lion and the [d]serpent.
14 “(Y)Because he has loved Me, I will save him;
I will (Z)set him securely on high, because he has (AA)known My name.
15 He will (AB)call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in [e]trouble;
I will rescue him and (AC)honor him.
16 I will satisfy him with [f]a (AD)long life,
And [g](AE)show him My salvation.”
Praise for the Lord’s Goodness.
A Psalm, a Song for the Sabbath day.
92 It is (AF)good to give thanks to the Lord
And to (AG)sing praises to Your name, Most High;
2 To (AH)declare Your goodness in the morning
And Your (AI)faithfulness by [h]night,
3 [i]With the (AJ)ten-stringed lute and [j]with the (AK)harp,
[k]With resounding music on the (AL)lyre.
4 For You, Lord, have made me joyful by [l]what You (AM)have done,
I will (AN)sing for joy over the (AO)works of Your hands.
5 How (AP)great are Your works, Lord!
Your [m](AQ)thoughts are very (AR)deep.
6 A (AS)stupid person has no knowledge,
Nor does a (AT)foolish person understand this:
7 When the wicked (AU)sprouted up like grass
And all (AV)who did injustice flourished,
It was only that they might be (AW)destroyed forevermore.
8 But You, Lord, are (AX)on high forever.
9 For, behold, Your enemies, Lord,
For, behold, (AY)Your enemies will perish;
All who do injustice will be (AZ)scattered.
10 But You have exalted my (BA)horn like that of the wild ox;
I have [n]been (BB)anointed with fresh oil.
11 And my eye has (BC)looked at my enemies,
My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me.
12 The (BD)righteous person will [o]flourish like the palm tree,
He will grow like a (BE)cedar in Lebanon.
13 (BF)Planted in the house of the Lord,
They will flourish (BG)in the courtyards of our God.
14 They will still [p](BH)yield fruit in advanced age;
They will be [q]full of sap and very green,
15 To [r]declare that (BI)the Lord is just;
He is my (BJ)rock, and there is (BK)no malice in Him.
17 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and he saw the [a]company of Jehu as he came, and he said, “I see a [b]company.” And [c]Joram said, “Take a horseman and send him to meet them and have him [d]ask, ‘Is your intention peace?’” 18 So a horseman went to meet him and said, “This is what the king says: ‘Is your intention peace?’” But Jehu said, “[e](A)How is peace any business of yours? Turn and follow me.” And the watchman [f]reported, “The messenger came to them, but he did not return.” 19 Then he sent a second horseman, and he came to them and said, “This is what the king says: ‘Is your intention peace?’” And Jehu [g]answered, “[h]How is peace any business of yours? Turn and follow me.” 20 And the watchman [i]reported, “He came up to them, but he did not return; and (B)the [j]driving is like the driving of (C)Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously.”
21 Then [k]Joram said, “[l]Get ready.” And they [m]made his chariot ready. (D)Then [n]Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu and found him on the [o](E)property of Naboth the Jezreelite. 22 When [p]Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is your intention peace, Jehu?” And he [q]answered, “What ‘peace,’ (F)so long as your mother Jezebel’s acts of prostitution and witchcraft are so many?” 23 So [r]Joram [s]turned back and fled, and he said to Ahaziah, “(G)There is treachery, Ahaziah!” 24 Then (H)Jehu [t]drew his bow with his full strength and [u]shot [v]Joram between his arms; and the arrow went [w]through his heart, and he sank in his chariot. 25 And Jehu said to Bidkar his officer, “Pick him up and (I)throw him on the [x]property of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember, when [y]you and I were riding together after his father Ahab, that the (J)Lord brought this (K)pronouncement against him: 26 ‘(L)I have certainly seen yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,’ declares the Lord, ‘and (M)I will repay you on this [z]property,’ declares the Lord. Now then, pick him up and throw him on the [aa]property, in accordance with the word of the Lord.”
Jehu Assassinates Ahaziah
27 (N)When Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by way of the garden house. But Jehu pursued him and said, “[ab]Shoot him too, in the chariot.” So they shot him at the ascent of Gur, which is at (O)Ibleam. But he fled to Megiddo and died there. 28 (P)Then his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his grave with his fathers in the city of David.
29 Now in (Q)the eleventh year of Joram, the son of Ahab, Ahaziah became king over Judah.
30 When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard about it, and (R)she put makeup on her eyes and adorned her head, and looked down through the window. 31 As Jehu entered the gate, she said, “(S)Is your intention peace, Zimri, his master’s murderer?” 32 Then he raised his face toward the window and said, “Who is with me, who?” And two or three officials looked down at him.
Jezebel Is Killed
33 Then he said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses, and he trampled her underfoot. 34 When he came in, he ate and drank; and he said, “See now to (T)this cursed woman and bury her, for (U)she is a king’s daughter.” 35 So they went to bury her, but they found nothing of her except the skull, the feet, and the palms of her hands. 36 Therefore they returned and informed him. And he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘(V)On the [ac]property of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; 37 and (W)the corpse of Jezebel will be like dung on the face of the field in the [ad]property of Jezreel, so they cannot say, “This is Jezebel.”’”
Teaching on Marriage
7 Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is (A)good for a man [a]not to touch a woman. 2 But because of sexual immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. 3 The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise the wife also to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise the husband also does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 [b](B)Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and [c]come together again so that (C)Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 But this I say by way of concession, (D)not of command. 7 [d]Yet I wish that all [e]men were (E)even as I myself am. However, (F)each has his own gift from God, one in this way, and another in that.
8 But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is (G)good for them if they remain (H)even as I. 9 But if they do not have self-control, (I)let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
7 “And when you are praying, do not use thoughtless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their (A)many words. 8 So do not be like them; for (B)your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
The Lord’s Prayer
9 “(C)Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father, who is in heaven,
[a]Hallowed be Your name.
10 [b](D)Your kingdom come.
(E)Your will be done,
[c]On earth as it is in heaven.
11 (F)Give us this day [d]our daily bread.
12 And (G)forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation, but (H)deliver us from [e](I)evil.[f]’
14 (J)For if you forgive other people for their [g]offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But (K)if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive your [h]offenses.
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