Book of Common Prayer
Prayer in Time of Discipline.
A Psalm of David; to bring to remembrance.
38 O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath,
Nor discipline me in Your burning anger.
2
For Your arrows have sunk into me and penetrate deeply,
And Your hand has pressed down on me and greatly disciplined me.
3
There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation;
There is no health in my bones because of my sin.
4
For my iniquities have gone over my head [like the waves of a flood];
As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
5
My wounds are loathsome and foul
Because of my foolishness.
6
I am bent over and greatly bowed down;
I go about mourning all day long.
7
For my sides are filled with burning,
And there is no health in my flesh.
8
I am numb and greatly bruised [deadly cold and completely worn out];
I groan because of the disquiet and moaning of my heart.
9
Lord, all my desire is before You;
And my sighing is not hidden from You.
10
My heart throbs violently, my strength fails me;
And as for the light of my eyes, even that has also gone from me.
11
My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;
And my neighbors stand far away.(A)
12
Those who seek my life lay snares for me,
And those who seek to injure me threaten mischievous things and destruction;
They devise treachery all the day long.
13
But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;
I am like a mute man who does not open his mouth.
14
Yes, I am like a man who does not hear,
In whose mouth are no arguments.
15
For in You, O Lord, I hope;
You will answer, O Lord my God.
16
For I pray, “May they not rejoice over me,
Who, when my foot slips, would boast against me.”
17
For I am ready to fall;
My sorrow is continually before me.
18
For I do confess my guilt and iniquity;
I am filled with anxiety because of my sin.(B)
19
But my [numerous] enemies are vigorous and strong,
And those who hate me without cause are many.
20
They repay evil for good, they attack and try to kill me,
Because I follow what is good.
21
Do not abandon me, O Lord;
O my God, do not be far from me.
22
Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my Salvation.
Daleth.
25
My earthly life clings to the dust;
Revive and refresh me according to Your word.(A)
26
I have told of my ways, and You have answered me;
Teach me Your statutes.
27
Make me understand the way of Your precepts,
So that I will meditate (focus my thoughts) on Your wonderful works.(B)
28
My soul dissolves because of grief;
Renew and strengthen me according to [the promises of] Your word.
29
Remove from me the way of falsehood and unfaithfulness,
And graciously grant me Your law.
30
I have chosen the faithful way;
I have placed Your ordinances before me.
31
I cling tightly to Your testimonies;
O Lord, do not put me to shame!
32
I will run the way of Your commandments [with purpose],
For You will give me a heart that is willing.
He.
33
Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
And I will [steadfastly] observe it to the end.
34
Give me understanding [a teachable heart and the ability to learn], that I may keep Your law;
And observe it with all my heart.(C)
35
Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
For I delight in it.
36
Incline my heart to Your testimonies
And not to dishonest gain and envy.(D)
37
Turn my eyes away from vanity [all those worldly, meaningless things that distract—let Your priorities be mine],
And restore me [with renewed energy] in Your ways.
38
Establish Your word and confirm Your promise to Your servant,
As that which produces [awe-inspired] reverence for You.(E)
39
Turn away my reproach which I dread,
For Your ordinances are good.
40
I long for Your precepts;
Renew me through Your righteousness.
Vav.
41
May Your lovingkindness also come to me, O Lord,
Your salvation according to Your promise;
42
So I will have an answer for the one who taunts me,
For I trust [completely] in Your word [and its reliability].
43
And do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
For I wait for Your ordinances.
44
I will keep Your law continually,
Forever and ever [writing Your precepts on my heart].
45
And I will walk at liberty,
For I seek and deeply long for Your precepts.
46
I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings
And shall not be ashamed.(F)
47
For I shall delight in Your commandments,
Which I love.
48
And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments,
Which I love;
And I will meditate on Your statutes.
18 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem and Ham and Japheth. Ham would become the father of Canaan. 19 These are the three sons of Noah, and from these [men] the whole earth was populated and scattered with inhabitants.
20 And Noah began to farm and cultivate the ground and he planted a vineyard. 21 He drank some of the wine and became drunk, and he was uncovered and lay exposed inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw [by accident] the nakedness of his father, and [to his father’s shame] told his two brothers outside. 23 So Shem and Japheth took a robe and put it on both their shoulders, and walked backwards and covered the nakedness of their father; their faces were turned away so that they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine [induced stupor], he knew what his younger son [Ham] had done to him. 25 So he said,
26 He also said,
“Blessed be the Lord,
The God of [b]Shem;
And let Canaan be his servant.
27
“May God enlarge [the land of] Japheth,
And [c]let [d]him dwell in the tents of Shem;
And let Canaan be his servant.”
28 Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood. 29 So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died.
The Peril of Falling Away
6 Therefore let us get past the elementary stage in the teachings about the Christ, advancing on to maturity and perfection and spiritual completeness, [doing this] without laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of teaching about washings (ritual purifications), the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. [These are all important matters in which you should have been proficient long ago.] 3 And we will do this [that is, proceed to maturity], if God permits. 4 For [it is impossible to restore to repentance] those who have once been enlightened [spiritually] and who have [a]tasted and consciously experienced the heavenly gift and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted and consciously experienced the good word of God and the powers of the age (world) to come, 6 [b]and then have fallen away—it is impossible to bring them back again to repentance, since they again nail the Son of God on the cross [for as far as they are concerned, they are treating the death of Christ as if they were not saved by it], and are holding Him up again to public disgrace. 7 For soil that drinks the rain which often falls on it and produces crops useful to those for whose benefit it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God; 8 but if it persistently produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.(A)
Better Things for You
9 But, beloved, even though we speak to you in this way, [c]we are convinced of better things concerning you, and of things that accompany salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown for His name in ministering to [the needs of] the saints (God’s people), as you do. 11 And we desire for each one of you to show the same diligence [all the way through] so as to realize and enjoy the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you will not be [spiritually] sluggish, but [will instead be] imitators of those who through faith [lean on God with absolute trust and confidence in Him and in His power] and by patient endurance [even when suffering] are [now] inheriting the promises.
John’s Last Testimony
22 After these things Jesus and His disciples went into the land of Judea, and there He spent time with them and baptized.(A) 23 Now John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was an abundance of water there; and people were coming and were being baptized— 24 for John had not yet been thrown into prison.
25 Therefore there arose a controversy between John’s disciples and a Jew in regard to [a]purification (ceremonial washing). 26 So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi (Teacher), the Man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan [at the Jordan River crossing]—and to whom you have testified—look, He is baptizing too, and everyone is going to Him!” 27 John replied, “A man can receive nothing [he can claim nothing at all] unless it has been granted to him from heaven [for there is no other source than the sovereign will of God]. 28 You yourselves are my witnesses that I stated, ‘I am not the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed),’ but, ‘I have [only] been sent ahead of Him [as His appointed forerunner and messenger to announce and proclaim His coming].’(B) 29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens to him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this pleasure and joy of mine is now complete.(C) 30 He must increase [in prominence], but I must decrease.(D)
31 “He who comes from [heaven] above is above all others; he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks [about things] of the earth [his viewpoint and experience are earthly]. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 What He has [actually] seen and heard, of that He testifies; and yet no one accepts His testimony [as true]. 33 Whoever receives His testimony has set his seal [of approval] to this: God is true [and he knows that God cannot lie]. 34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God [proclaiming the Father’s own message]; for God gives the [gift of the] Spirit without measure [generously and boundlessly]!(E) 35 The Father loves the Son and has given and entrusted all things into His hand.(F) 36 He who believes and trusts in the Son and accepts Him [as Savior] has eternal life [that is, already possesses it]; but he who does not believe the Son and chooses to reject Him, [disobeying Him and denying Him as Savior] will not see [eternal] life, but [instead] the wrath of God hangs over him continually.”(G)
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