Book of Common Prayer
The Lord, a Provider and the One Who Rescues Me.
A Psalm of David, when he pretended to be insane before [a]Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.
34 I will (A)bless the Lord at all times;
His (B)praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul will (C)make its boast in the Lord;
The (D)humble will hear it and rejoice.
3 (E)Exalt the Lord with me,
And let’s (F)exalt His name together.
4 I (G)sought the Lord and He answered me,
And (H)rescued me from all my fears.
5 They (I)looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will (J)never be ashamed.
6 This wretched man cried out, and (K)the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The (L)angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.
8 (M)Taste and see that the Lord is good;
How (N)blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
9 Fear the Lord, you (O)His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is (P)no lack of anything.
10 The young lions do without and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the Lord will (Q)not lack any good thing.
11 (R)Come, you children, listen to me;
(S)I will teach you (T)the fear of the Lord.
12 (U)Who is the person who desires life
And loves length of days, that he may (V)see good?
13 Keep (W)your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking (X)deceit.
14 (Y)Turn from evil and do good;
Seek peace and (Z)pursue it.
15 The (AA)eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,
And His ears are toward their cry for help.
16 The (AB)face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To (AC)eliminate the memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous (AD)cry out, and the Lord hears
And rescues them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord (AE)is near to the (AF)brokenhearted
And saves those who are [b](AG)crushed in spirit.
19 (AH)The (AI)afflictions of the righteous are many,
But the Lord (AJ)rescues him from them all.
20 He protects all his bones,
(AK)Not one of them is broken.
21 (AL)Evil will bring death to the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will suffer for their guilt.
22 The Lord (AM)redeems the souls of His servants,
And none of those who (AN)take refuge in Him will suffer for their guilt.
Praise to the Creator and Protector.
33 (A)Sing for joy in the Lord, you righteous ones;
Praise is (B)becoming to the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the (C)lyre;
Sing praises to Him with a (D)harp of ten strings.
3 Sing to Him a (E)new song;
Play skillfully with (F)a shout of joy.
4 For the word of the Lord (G)is right,
And all His work is done (H)in faithfulness.
5 He (I)loves righteousness and justice;
The (J)earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
6 By the (K)word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And (L)by the breath of His mouth (M)all their [a]lights.
7 He gathers the (N)waters of the sea together [b]as a heap;
He puts the depths in storehouses.
8 Let (O)all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world (P)stand in awe of Him.
9 For (Q)He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it [c]stood firm.
10 The Lord (R)nullifies the plan of nations;
He frustrates the plans of peoples.
11 The (S)plan of the Lord stands forever,
The (T)plans of His heart from generation to generation.
12 Blessed is the (U)nation whose God is the Lord,
The people He has (V)chosen for His own inheritance.
13 The Lord (W)looks from heaven;
He (X)sees all the sons of mankind;
14 From (Y)His dwelling place He looks out
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 He who (Z)fashions [d]the hearts of them all,
He who (AA)understands all their works.
16 (AB)The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not rescued by great strength.
17 A (AC)horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it rescue anyone by its great strength.
18 Behold, (AD)the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who (AE)wait for His faithfulness,
19 To (AF)rescue their soul from death
And to keep them alive (AG)in famine.
20 Our soul (AH)waits for the Lord;
He is our (AI)help and our shield.
21 For our (AJ)heart rejoices in Him,
Because we trust in His holy name.
22 Let Your favor, Lord, be upon us,
Just as we have waited for You.
Elijah Flees from Jezebel
19 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done, and [a](A)how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “(B)So may the gods do to me and more so, if by about this time tomorrow I do not make your [b]life like the [c]life of one of them.” 3 And he [d]was afraid, and got up and ran for his [e]life and came to (C)Beersheba, which belongs to Judah; and he left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree; and (D)he asked for himself to die, and said, “Enough! Now, Lord, take my [f]life, for I am no better than my fathers.” 5 Then he lay down and fell asleep under a broom tree; but behold, there was (E)an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat!” 6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a round loaf of bread baked on hot coals, and a pitcher of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 But the angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him, and said, “Arise, eat; because the journey is too long for you.” 8 So he arose and ate and drank, and he journeyed in the strength of that food for (F)forty days and forty nights to (G)Horeb, the mountain of God.
Unity of the Spirit
4 Therefore I, (A)the prisoner of the Lord, (B)urge you to (C)walk in a manner worthy of the (D)calling with which you have been (E)called, 2 with all (F)humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another (G)in love, 3 being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the (H)bond of peace. 4 There is (I)one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one (J)hope of your calling; 5 (K)one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all (L)who is over all and through all and in all.
7 But (M)to each one of us (N)grace was given (O)according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore [a]it says,
9 (Now this expression, “He (R)ascended,” what [b]does it mean except that He also [c]had descended into (S)the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended (T)far above all the heavens, so that He might (U)fill all things.) 11 And He (V)gave (W)some as apostles, some as prophets, some as (X)evangelists, some as [d]pastors and (Y)teachers, 12 (Z)for the equipping of the [e]saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of (AA)the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to (AB)the unity of the faith, and of the [f](AC)knowledge of the Son of God, to a (AD)mature man, to the measure of the stature [g]which belongs to the (AE)fullness of Christ. 14 [h]As a result, we are (AF)no longer to be children, (AG)tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of people, by (AH)craftiness [i]in (AI)deceitful scheming; 15 but [j]speaking the truth (AJ)in love, [k]we are to (AK)grow up in all aspects into Him who is the (AL)head, that is, Christ, 16 from whom (AM)the whole body, being fitted and held together [l]by what every joint supplies, according to the [m]proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself (AN)in love.
Five Thousand Men Fed
6 After these things (A)Jesus went away to the other side of (B)the Sea of Galilee (or (C)Tiberias). 2 A large crowd was following Him, because they were watching the [a](D)signs which He was performing on those who were sick. 3 But (E)Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. 4 Now (F)the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. 5 So Jesus, after raising His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, *said to (G)Philip, “Where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?” 6 But He was saying this only to (H)test him, for He Himself knew what He intended to do. 7 (I)Philip answered Him, “(J)Two hundred [b]denarii worth of bread is not enough for them, for each to receive just a little!” 8 One of His (K)disciples, (L)Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, *said to Him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two (M)fish; but what are these for so many people?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people recline to eat.” Now there was (N)plenty of grass in the place. So the men reclined, about [c](O)five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and (P)after giving thanks He distributed them to those who were reclining; likewise also of the (Q)fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, He *said to His (R)disciples, “Gather up the leftover pieces so that nothing will be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up, and filled twelve (S)baskets with pieces from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. 14 Therefore when the people saw the [d]sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the (T)Prophet who is to come into the world.”
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