Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 16[a]
God the Supreme Good
1 A miktam[b] of David.
Protect me, O God,
for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
3 As for the saints[c] who are in the land,
they are the noble ones,
and in them there is all my delight.
4 Those who chase after other gods
only multiply their sorrows.
Never will I pour out libations of blood to them,
nor will I take up their names[d] on my lips.
5 O Lord, you are my allotted portion and my cup;[e]
you have made my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have established a pleasant site for me;
I have truly received a wonderful inheritance.
7 I bless the Lord who offers me counsel;
even during the night my heart instructs me.
8 I keep the Lord always before me,
for with him at my right hand
I will never fall.
9 [f]Therefore, my heart is glad
and my soul rejoices;
my body too is filled with confidence.
10 For you will not abandon me to the netherworld
or allow your Holy One[g] to suffer corruption.
11 You will show me the path to life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence
and everlasting delights at your right hand.
Psalm 17[h]
Prayer in Time of Persecution
1 A prayer of David.
Hear, O Lord, my call for justice;
give heed to my cry.
Listen to the prayer of my lips,
for they are free of deceit.
2 Let my vindication issue forth from you;
let your eyes discern what is right.
3 You have probed my heart[i]
and examined me throughout the night.
You have tested me
and found no malice in me,
for I have not sinned with my mouth.
4 Despite what other people do,
I have been guided by the word of your lips[j]
and refrained from their acts of violence.
5 My steps have held fast to your paths;
my feet have not wavered.
6 I call upon you, O God, for you will answer me.
Incline your ear to me and listen to my plea.
7 Show how wonderful is your kindness,[k]
you who save those who seek protection
by taking refuge at your right hand.
8 Guard me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings[l]
9 from the wicked who treat me with violence,
from deadly enemies who surround me.
10 There is no compassion in their hearts,[m]
and arrogance issues from their mouths.
11 They track me down and begin to close in,
watching for the chance to strike me down,
12 like a lion primed to attack it prey,
like a young lion lurking in hiding.
13 Rise up, O Lord, confront them, and cast them down;[n]
deliver me from the wicked by your sword.
14 With your hand, O Lord, snatch me from such people,
from the worldly whose reward is in this life.[o]
You satisfy the hunger of those you cherish;
their children have all they desire
and leave their wealth to their little ones.
15 But in my righteousness I will see your face;[p]
when I awaken, I will be blessed by beholding you.
Psalm 22[a]
Suffering and Triumph of the Messiah
1 For the director.[b] According to “The Deer of the Dawn.” A psalm of David.
2 [c]My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why have you paid no heed to my call for help,
to my cries of anguish?
3 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I am afforded no relief.[d]
4 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel.
5 Our ancestors placed their trust in you;
they trusted, and you gave them deliverance.
6 They cried out to you and were saved,
they trusted in you and were not put to shame.
7 But I am a worm and not human,[e]
scorned by people and despised by my kinsmen.
8 All who see me jeer at me;
they sneer in mockery and toss their heads:[f]
9 “He relied on the Lord;
let the Lord set him free.
Let the Lord deliver him,
if he loves him.”[g]
10 [h]Yet you brought me out of the womb
and made me feel secure
upon my mother’s breast.
11 I was entrusted to your care at my birth;
from my mother’s womb, you have been my God.
12 Do not remain aloof from me,
for trouble is near
and no one can help me.
13 [i]Many bulls[j] are encircling me;
fierce bulls of Bashan are closing in on me.
14 They open wide their mouths against me
like ravening and roaring lions.
15 My strength is trickling away like water,
and all my bones are dislocated.
My heart[k] has turned to wax
and melts within me.
16 My mouth is as dry as clayware,
and my tongue sticks to my jaw;[l]
you have laid me down in the dust of death.
17 A pack of dogs surrounds me;
a band of evildoers is closing in on me.
They have pierced my hands and my feet;[m]
18 I can count all my bones.[n]
They stare at me and gloat;
19 they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.[o]
20 [p]But you, O Lord, do not remain aloof from me.
O my Strength, come quickly to my aid.
21 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the grasp of the dogs.
22 Save me[q] from the lion’s mouth
and from the horns of wild oxen.
23 [r]I will proclaim your name to my family;
in the midst of the assembly I will praise you:[s]
24 “You who fear the Lord, praise him.
All you descendants of Jacob,[t] give him glory.
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel.
25 For he has not scorned or disregarded
the wretched man in his suffering;
he has not hidden his face[u] from him
but has heeded his call for help.”
26 I will offer my praise to you in the great assembly;
in the presence of those who fear him, I will fulfill my vows.[v]
27 [w]The poor[x] will eat and be filled;
those who seek the Lord will praise him:
“May your hearts live forever.”
28 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord.
All the families of the nations
will bow low before him.
29 For kingly power belongs to the Lord;
he is the ruler of all the nations.
30 All those who prosper on the earth will bow down before him;
all those who lie in the grave will kneel in homage.
31 [y]But I will live for the Lord,
and my descendants will serve him.
32 Future generations will be told about the Lord
so that they may proclaim to a people yet unborn
the deliverance he has accomplished.
Death and Resurrection of God’s Work[a]
Chapter 6
Widespread Perversion.[b]1 When men began to multiply upon the earth, and they began to have daughters, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married as many of them as they wanted. 3 The Lord therefore said, “My spirit will not remain in them forever, for they are flesh and the length of their lives will be one hundred and twenty years.”
4 There were giants upon the earth at this time, as well as afterward. They were the children of the sons of God who married the daughters of men. These were the heroes of times past, men of renown.
5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of men upon the earth was great, and that every plan that their hearts conceived was nothing but evil. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made man upon the earth and his heart was grieved. 7 The Lord said, “I will obliterate man, whom I created, from the earth. Together with man I will eliminate all the cattle and reptiles and the birds of the air, for I regret having made them.” 8 But Noah found favor with the Lord.
12 Take care, brethren, that none of you will ever have an evil and unbelieving heart that will cause you to forsake the living God. 13 Rather, encourage each other every day, as long as it is today, so that none of you will become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
14 For we will become partners with Christ only if we maintain firmly until the end the confidence we originally had, 15 as it is said,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts as at the rebellion.”
16 Who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Were they not all those whom Moses had led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angered for forty years? Was it not with those who had sinned and whose corpses lay in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would never enter into his rest, if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see clearly that they were unable to enter because of their refusal to believe.
The First Sign Worked by Jesus
Chapter 2
The Wedding Feast at Cana.[a] 1 On the third day, there was a wedding at Cana[b] in Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited. 3 When the wine was exhausted, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 Jesus responded, “Woman,[c] what concern is this to us? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Now standing nearby there were six stone water jars, of the type used for Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus instructed the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When they had filled them to the brim, 8 he ordered them, “Now draw some out and take it to the chief steward,” and they did so.
9 When the chief steward tasted the water that had become wine, he did not know where it came from, although the servants who had drawn the water knew. The chief steward called over the bridegroom 10 and said, “Everyone serves the choice wine first, and then an inferior vintage when the guests have been drinking for a while. However, you have saved the best wine until now.”[d]
11 Jesus performed this, the first of his signs,[e] at Cana in Galilee, thereby revealing his glory, and his disciples believed in him. 12 After this, he went down to Capernaum with his mother, his brethren,[f] and his disciples, and they remained there for a few days.
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