Book of Common Prayer
V
33 [a]God changed rivers into desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,(A)
34 Fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the wickedness of its people.(B)
35 He changed the desert into pools of water,
arid land into springs of water,(C)
36 And settled the hungry there;
they built a city to live in.(D)
37 They sowed fields and planted vineyards,
brought in an abundant harvest.(E)
38 (F)God blessed them, and they increased greatly,
and their livestock did not decrease.(G)
39 But he poured out contempt on princes,
made them wander trackless wastes,
40 Where they were diminished and brought low
through misery and cruel oppression.
41 While he released the poor man from affliction,
and increased their families like flocks.(H)
42 The upright saw this and rejoiced;(I)
all wickedness shut its mouth.
43 Whoever is wise will take note of these things,(J)
and ponder the merciful deeds of the Lord.
Psalm 108[b]
Prayer for Victory
1 A song; a psalm of David.
I
2 My heart is steadfast, God;(K)
my heart is steadfast.
Let me sing and chant praise.
3 Awake, lyre and harp!
I will wake the dawn.(L)
4 I will praise you among the peoples, Lord;
I will chant your praise among the nations.(M)
5 For your mercy is greater than the heavens;
your faithfulness, to the skies.(N)
II
6 Appear on high over the heavens, God;
your glory above all the earth.
7 Help with your right hand and answer us
that your loved ones may escape.
8 God speaks in his holiness:[c](O)
“I will exult, I will apportion Shechem;
the valley of Succoth I will measure out.
9 Gilead is mine, mine is Manasseh;
Ephraim is the helmet for my head,
Judah, my scepter.
10 Moab is my washbowl;
upon Edom I cast my sandal;(P)
I will shout in triumph over Philistia.”
11 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me into Edom?
12 Was it not you who rejected us, God?
Do you no longer march with our armies?(Q)
13 Give us aid against the foe;
worthless is human help.
Psalm 33[a]
Praise of God’s Power and Providence
I
1 Rejoice, you righteous, in the Lord;
praise from the upright is fitting.(A)
2 Give thanks to the Lord on the harp;
on the ten-stringed lyre offer praise.(B)
3 Sing to him a new song;
skillfully play with joyful chant.
4 For the Lord’s word is upright;
all his works are trustworthy.
5 He loves justice and right.
The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord.(C)
II
6 By the Lord’s word the heavens were made;
by the breath of his mouth all their host.[b](D)
7 [c]He gathered the waters of the sea as a mound;
he sets the deep into storage vaults.(E)
III
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all who dwell in the world show him reverence.
9 For he spoke, and it came to be,
commanded, and it stood in place.(F)
10 The Lord foils the plan of nations,
frustrates the designs of peoples.
11 But the plan of the Lord stands forever,
the designs of his heart through all generations.(G)
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people chosen as his inheritance.(H)
IV
13 From heaven the Lord looks down
and observes the children of Adam,(I)
14 From his dwelling place he surveys
all who dwell on earth.
15 The One who fashioned together their hearts
is the One who knows all their works.
V
16 A king is not saved by a great army,
nor a warrior delivered by great strength.
17 Useless is the horse for safety;
despite its great strength, it cannot be saved.
18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear him,
upon those who count on his mercy,
19 To deliver their soul from death,
and to keep them alive through famine.
VI
20 Our soul waits for the Lord,
he is our help and shield.(J)
21 For in him our hearts rejoice;
in his holy name we trust.
22 May your mercy, Lord, be upon us;
as we put our hope in you.
Chapter 11
The Disappointment of a Parent
1 [a]When Israel was a child I loved him,(A)
out of Egypt[b] I called my son.(B)
2 The more I called them,
the farther they went from me,
Sacrificing to the Baals
and burning incense to idols.
3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
who took them in my arms;(C)
but they did not know that I cared for them.
4 I drew them with human cords,
with bands of love;[c]
I fostered them like those
who raise an infant to their cheeks;
I bent down to feed them.(D)
5 He shall return to the land of Egypt,(E)
Assyria shall be his king,
because they have refused to repent.
6 The sword shall rage in his cities:
it shall destroy his diviners,
and devour them because of their schemings.
7 My people have their mind set on apostasy;
though they call on God in unison,
he shall not raise them up.
But Love Is Stronger and Restores
8 How could I give you up, Ephraim,
or deliver you up, Israel?
How could I treat you as Admah,
or make you like Zeboiim?[d](F)
My heart is overwhelmed,
my pity is stirred.
9 I will not give vent to my blazing anger,
I will not destroy Ephraim again;
For I am God and not a man,(G)
the Holy One present among you;
I will not come in wrath.
17 “After I had returned to Jerusalem and while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry, leave Jerusalem at once, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 But I replied, ‘Lord, they themselves know that from synagogue to synagogue I used to imprison and beat those who believed in you.(A) 20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I myself stood by giving my approval and keeping guard over the cloaks of his murderers.’(B) 21 Then he said to me,(C) ‘Go, I shall send you far away to the Gentiles.’”[a]
Paul Imprisoned. 22 (D)They listened to him until he said this, but then they raised their voices and shouted, “Take such a one as this away from the earth. It is not right that he should live.”[b] 23 And as they were yelling and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the cohort commander ordered him to be brought into the compound and gave instruction that he be interrogated under the lash to determine the reason why they were making such an outcry against him. 25 (E)But when they had stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion on duty, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and has not been tried?”[c] 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the cohort commander and reported it, saying, “What are you going to do? This man is a Roman citizen.” 27 Then the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes,” he answered. 28 The commander replied, “I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money.” Paul said, “But I was born one.” 29 At once those who were going to interrogate him backed away from him, and the commander became alarmed when he realized that he was a Roman citizen and that he had had him bound.
27 (A)“But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,(B) 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.(C) 29 To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.(D) 32 For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit [is] that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount.(E) 35 But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.(F) 36 Be merciful, just as [also] your Father is merciful.
Judging Others.[a] 37 (G)“Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.(H) 38 Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”(I)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.