Book of Common Prayer
Song of Trust and Security in God
A Miktam of David.
16 Preserve me, O God, for in thee I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “Thou art my Lord;
I have no good apart from thee.”[a]
3 As for the saints in the land, they are the noble,
in whom is all my delight.
4 Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows;[b]
their libations of blood I will not pour out
or take their names upon my lips.
5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
thou holdest my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
yea, I have a goodly heritage.
7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I keep the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my body also dwells secure.
10 For thou dost not give me up to Sheol,
or let thy godly one see the Pit.
11 Thou dost show me the path of life;
in thy presence there is fulness of joy,
in thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.
Prayer for Deliverance from Persecutors
A Prayer of David.
17 Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry!
Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
2 From thee let my vindication come!
Let thy eyes see the right!
3 If thou triest my heart, if thou visitest me by night,
if thou testest me, thou wilt find no wickedness in me;
my mouth does not transgress.
4 With regard to the works of men, by the word of thy lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent.
5 My steps have held fast to thy paths,
my feet have not slipped.
6 I call upon thee, for thou wilt answer me, O God;
incline thy ear to me, hear my words.
7 Wondrously show thy steadfast love,
O savior of those who seek refuge
from their adversaries at thy right hand.
8 Keep me as the apple of the eye;
hide me in the shadow of thy wings,
9 from the wicked who despoil me,
my deadly enemies who surround me.
10 They close their hearts to pity;
with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
11 They track me down; now they surround me;
they set their eyes to cast me to the ground.
12 They are like a lion eager to tear,
as a young lion lurking in ambush.
13 Arise, O Lord! confront them, overthrow them!
Deliver my life from the wicked by thy sword,
14 from men by thy hand, O Lord,
from men whose portion in life is of the world.
May their belly be filled with what thou hast stored up for them;
may their children have more than enough;
may they leave something over to their babes.
15 As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness;
when I awake, I shall be satisfied with beholding thy form.
Plea for Deliverance from Suffering and Hostility
To the choirmaster: according to The Hind of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.
22 [a]My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Why art thou so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but thou dost not answer;
and by night, but find no rest.
3 Yet thou art holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 In thee our fathers trusted;
they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
5 To thee they cried, and were saved;
in thee they trusted, and were not disappointed.
6 But I am a worm, and no man;
scorned by men, and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock at me,
they make mouths at me, they wag their heads;
8 “He committed his cause to the Lord; let him deliver him,
let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”
9 Yet thou art he who took me from the womb;
thou didst keep me safe upon my mother’s breasts.
10 Upon thee was I cast from my birth,
and since my mother bore me thou hast been my God.
11 Be not far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is none to help.
12 Many bulls encompass me,
strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13 they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax,
it is melted within my breast;
15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue cleaves to my jaws;
thou dost lay me in the dust of death.
16 Yea, dogs are round about me;
a company of evildoers encircle me;
they have pierced[b] my hands and feet—
17 I can count all my bones—
they stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my garments among them,
and for my raiment they cast lots.
19 But thou, O Lord, be not far off!
O thou my help, hasten to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my life[c] from the power of the dog!
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion,
my afflicted soul[d] from the horns of the wild oxen!
22 I will tell of thy name to my brethren;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise thee:
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
all you sons of Jacob, glorify him,
and stand in awe of him, all you sons of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or abhorred
the affliction of the afflicted;
and he has not hid his face from him,
but has heard, when he cried to him.
25 From thee comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
26 The afflicted[e] shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord!
May your hearts live for ever!
27 All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before him.[f]
28 For dominion belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
29 Yea, to him[g] shall all the proud of the earth bow down;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
and he who cannot keep himself alive.
30 Posterity shall serve him;
men shall tell of the Lord to the coming generation,
31 and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
that he has wrought it.
8 For Jerusalem has stumbled,
and Judah has fallen;
because their speech and their deeds are against the Lord,
defying his glorious presence.
9 Their partiality witnesses against them;
they proclaim their sin like Sodom,
they do not hide it.
Woe to them!
For they have brought evil upon themselves.
10 Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them,
for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.
11 Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him,
for what his hands have done shall be done to him.
12 My people—children are their oppressors,
and women rule over them.
O my people, your leaders mislead you,
and confuse the course of your paths.
13 The Lord has taken his place to contend,
he stands to judge his people.[a]
14 The Lord enters into judgment
with the elders and princes of his people:
“It is you who have devoured the vineyard,
the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
15 What do you mean by crushing my people,
by grinding the face of the poor?”
says the Lord God of hosts.
A Life Pleasing to God
4 Finally, brethren, we beseech and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification:[a] that you abstain from immorality;[b] 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like heathen who do not know God; 6 that no man transgress, and wrong his brother in this matter,[c] because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we solemnly forewarned you. 7 For God has not called us for uncleanness, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
9 But concerning love of the brethren you have no need to have any one write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another; 10 and indeed you do love all the brethren throughout Macedo′nia. But we exhort you, brethren, to do so more and more, 11 to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we charged you;[d] 12 so that you may command the respect of outsiders, and be dependent on nobody.
The Question about David’s Son
41 But he said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is David’s son? 42 For David himself says in the Book of Psalms,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit at my right hand,
43 till I make thy enemies a stool for thy feet.’
44 David thus calls him Lord; so how is he his son?”
Jesus Denounces the Scribes
45 And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes, who like to go about in long robes, and love salutations in the market places and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, 47 who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
The Widow’s Offering
21 He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury; 2 and he saw a poor widow put in two copper coins. 3 And he said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; 4 for they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all the living that she had.”
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.