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.
A World Renewed
17 [a]See, I am creating new heavens
and a new earth;
The former things shall not be remembered
nor come to mind.(A)
18 Instead, shout for joy and be glad forever
in what I am creating.
Indeed, I am creating Jerusalem to be a joy
and its people to be a delight;
19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and exult in my people.
No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there,
or the sound of crying;
20 No longer shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
nor anyone who does not live a full lifetime;
One who dies at a hundred years shall be considered a youth,
and one who falls short of a hundred shall be thought accursed.(B)
21 They shall build houses and live in them,
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit;
22 They shall not build and others live there;
they shall not plant and others eat.
As the years of a tree, so the years of my people;
and my chosen ones shall long enjoy
the work of their hands.
23 They shall not toil in vain,
nor beget children for sudden destruction;
For they shall be a people blessed by the Lord
and their descendants with them.
24 Before they call, I will answer;
while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
25 [b]The wolf and the lamb shall pasture together,
and the lion shall eat hay like the ox—
but the serpent’s food shall be dust.(C)
None shall harm or destroy
on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.
14 Blessed are they who wash their robes so as to have the right to the tree of life and enter the city[a] through its gates.(A) 15 Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the unchaste, the murderers, the idol-worshipers, and all who love and practice deceit.(B)
16 “I, Jesus, sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the root and offspring of David,[b] the bright morning star.”(C)
17 The Spirit and the bride[c] say, “Come.” Let the hearer say, “Come.” Let the one who thirsts come forward, and the one who wants it receive the gift of life-giving water.(D)
18 I warn everyone who hears the prophetic words in this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if anyone takes away from the words in this prophetic book, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city described in this book.(E)
20 [d](F)The one who gives this testimony says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.
21 (A)Then Peter approaching asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 [a]Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. 23 (B)That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. 24 [b]When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. 25 Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. 26 [c]At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’ 27 Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. 28 When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount.[d] He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ 29 Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30 But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt. 31 Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. 32 His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. 33 (C)Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ 34 Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt.[e] 35 [f](D)So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”
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.