Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 118[a]
118 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
and his loyal love endures.[b]
2 Let Israel say,
“Yes, his loyal love endures.”
3 Let the family[c] of Aaron say,
“Yes, his loyal love endures.”
4 Let the loyal followers of the Lord[d] say,
“Yes, his loyal love endures.”
5 In my distress[e] I cried out to the Lord.
The Lord answered me and put me in a wide open place.[f]
6 The Lord is on my side;[g] I am not afraid.
What can people do to me?[h]
7 The Lord is on my side[i] as my helper.[j]
I look in triumph on those who hate me.
8 It is better to take shelter[k] in the Lord
than to trust in people.
9 It is better to take shelter in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
10 All the nations surrounded me.[l]
Indeed, in the name of the Lord[m] I pushed them away.[n]
11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me.
Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.
12 They surrounded me like bees.
But they disappeared as quickly[o] as a fire among thorns.[p]
Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.
13 “You aggressively attacked me[q] and tried to knock me down,[r]
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord gives me strength and protects me;[s]
he has become my deliverer.”[t]
15 They celebrate deliverance in the tents of the godly.[u]
The Lord’s right hand conquers.[v]
16 The Lord’s right hand gives victory;[w]
the Lord’s right hand conquers.
17 I will not die, but live,
and I will proclaim what the Lord has done.[x]
18 The Lord severely[y] punished me,
but he did not hand me over to death.
19 Open for me the gates of the just king’s temple.[z]
I will enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the Lord’s gate—
the godly enter through it.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me,
and have become my deliverer.
22 The stone that the builders discarded[aa]
has become the cornerstone.[ab]
23 This is the Lord’s work.
We consider it amazing![ac]
24 This is the day the Lord has brought about.[ad]
We will be happy and rejoice in it.
25 Please, Lord, deliver!
Please, Lord, grant us success![ae]
26 May the one who comes in the name of the Lord[af] be blessed.
We will pronounce blessings on you[ag] in the Lord’s temple.[ah]
27 The Lord is God, and he has delivered us.[ai]
Tie the offering[aj] with ropes
to the horns of the altar.[ak]
28 You are my[al] God, and I will give you thanks.
You are my God and I will praise you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good
and his loyal love endures.[am]
Psalm 145[a]
A psalm of praise; by David.
145 I will extol you, my God, O King.
I will praise your name continually.[b]
2 Every day I will praise you.
I will praise your name continually.[c]
3 The Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise.
No one can fathom his greatness.[d]
4 One generation will praise your deeds to another,
and tell about your mighty acts.[e]
5 I will focus on your honor and majestic splendor,
and your amazing deeds.[f]
6 They will proclaim[g] the power of your awesome acts.
I will declare your great deeds.
7 They will talk about the fame of your great kindness,[h]
and sing about your justice.[i]
8 The Lord is merciful and compassionate;
he is patient[j] and demonstrates great loyal love.[k]
9 The Lord is good to all,
and has compassion on all he has made.[l]
10 All your works will give thanks to you, Lord.
Your loyal followers will praise you.
11 They will proclaim the splendor of your kingdom;
they will tell about your power,
12 so that mankind[m] might acknowledge your mighty acts,
and the majestic splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an eternal kingdom,[n]
and your dominion endures through all generations.
14 [o] The Lord supports all who fall,
and lifts up all who are bent over.[p]
15 Everything looks to you in anticipation,[q]
and you provide them with food on a regular basis.[r]
16 You open your hand,
and fill every living thing with the food it desires.[s]
17 The Lord is just in all his actions,[t]
and exhibits love in all he does.[u]
18 The Lord is near all who cry out to him,
all who cry out to him sincerely.[v]
19 He satisfies the desire[w] of his loyal followers;[x]
he hears their cry for help and delivers them.
20 The Lord protects all those who love him,
but he destroys all the wicked.
21 My mouth will praise the Lord.[y]
Let all who live[z] praise his holy name forever.
Warning Against Disregarding Wisdom
20 Wisdom[a] calls out[b] in the street,
she shouts loudly[c] in the plazas;[d]
21 at the head of the noisy streets[e] she calls,
in the entrances of the gates in the city[f] she utters her words:[g]
22 “How long will you simpletons[h] love naiveté?[i]
How long[j] have mockers[k] delighted in[l] mockery?[m]
And how long[n] will fools[o] hate knowledge?
23 You should respond to[p] my rebuke.[q]
Then[r] I would pour out[s] my thoughts[t] to you;
I would make[u] my words known to you.
24 However,[v] because[w] I called but you refused to listen,[x]
because[y] I stretched out my hand[z] but no one was paying attention,[aa]
25 and you neglected[ab] all my advice,
and did not comply[ac] with my rebuke,
26 so[ad] I myself will laugh[ae] when disaster strikes you,[af]
I will mock when what you dread[ag] comes,
27 when what you dread[ah] comes like a whirlwind,[ai]
and disaster strikes you[aj] like a devastating storm,[ak]
when distressing trouble[al] comes on you.
28 Then they will call to me, but I will not answer;
they will diligently seek[am] me, but they will not find me.
29 Because[an] they hated moral knowledge,[ao]
and did not choose to fear the Lord,[ap]
30 they did not comply with my advice,
they spurned[aq] all my rebuke.
31 Therefore[ar] they will eat from the fruit[as] of their way,[at]
and they will be stuffed full[au] of their own counsel.
32 For the waywardness[av] of the
simpletons will kill[aw] them,
and the careless ease[ax] of fools will destroy them.
33 But the one who listens[ay] to me will live in security,[az]
and will be at ease[ba] from the dread of harm.”
The Message of Reconciliation
11 Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord,[a] we try to persuade[b] people,[c] but we are well known[d] to God, and I hope we are well known to your consciences too. 12 We are not trying to commend[e] ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to be proud of us,[f] so that you may be able to answer those who take pride[g] in outward appearance[h] and not in what is in the heart. 13 For if we are out of our minds, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ[i] controls us, since we have concluded this, that Christ[j] died for all; therefore all have died. 15 And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised.[k] 16 So then from now on we acknowledge[l] no one from an outward human point of view.[m] Even though we have known Christ from such a human point of view,[n] now we do not know him in that way any longer. 17 So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away[o]—look, what is new[p] has come![q] 18 And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 19 In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s trespasses against them, and he has given us[r] the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making his plea[s] through us. We plead with you[t] on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God!” 21 God[u] made the one who did not know sin[v] to be sin for us, so that in him[w] we would become the righteousness of God.
The Request of James and John
35 Then[a] James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” 36 He said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37 They said to him, “Permit one of us to sit at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.” 38 But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I experience?”[b] 39 They said to him, “We are able.”[c] Then Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism I experience, 40 but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give. It is for those for whom it has been prepared.”[d]
41 Now[e] when the other ten[f] heard this,[g] they became angry with James and John. 42 Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions use their authority over them. 43 But it is not this way among you. Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave[h] of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom[i] for many.”
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