Book of Common Prayer
Let Us Kneel Before Yahweh Our Maker
95 Oh come, let us (A)sing for joy to Yahweh,
Let us make a loud shout to (B)the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us (C)come before His presence (D)with [a]thanksgiving,
Let us make a loud shout to Him (E)with songs of praise.
3 For Yahweh is a (F)great God
And a great King (G)above all gods,
4 In whose hand are the (H)depths of the earth,
The peaks of the mountains are His also.
5 [b]The sea is His, for it was He (I)who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us (J)worship and bow down,
Let us (K)kneel before Yahweh our (L)Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And (M)we are the people of His (N)pasture and the sheep of His hand.
(O)Today, [c]if you hear His voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts, as at [d](P)Meribah,
As in the day of [e](Q)Massah in the wilderness,
9 “When your fathers (R)tried Me,
They tested Me, though they had seen My work.
10 For (S)forty years I loathed that generation,
And said they are a people who wander in their heart,
And they do not know My ways.
11 Therefore I (T)swore in My anger,
They shall never enter into My (U)rest.”
Save Me, O God
For the choir director. According to [a]Shoshannim. Of David.
69 Save me, O God,
For the (A)waters have [b]threatened my life.
2 I have sunk in deep (B)clay, and there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and a [c](C)flood overflows me.
3 I am (D)weary with my calling out; my throat is parched;
My (E)eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 Those (F)who hate me without cause are more than the hairs of my head;
Those who would [d]destroy me (G)are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies;
(H)What I did not steal, I then have to restore.
5 O God, it is You who knows (I)my folly,
And [e](J)all my guilt is not hidden from You.
6 May those who hope for You not (K)be ashamed through me, O Lord Yahweh of hosts;
May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,
7 Because (L)for Your sake I have borne reproach;
(M)Dishonor has covered my face.
8 I have become (N)estranged [f]from my brothers
And a foreigner to my mother’s sons.
9 For (O)zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And (P)the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept (Q)in my soul with fasting,
It became my reproach.
11 When I made (R)sackcloth my clothing,
I became (S)a byword to them.
12 Those who (T)dwell at the gate moan about me,
And I am (U)the drunkards’ songs.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Yahweh, (V)at an acceptable time;
O God, in the (W)abundance of Your lovingkindness,
Answer me with the truth of Your salvation.
14 Deliver me from the (X)mire and do not let me sink;
May I be (Y)delivered from [g]my foes and from the [h](Z)deep waters.
15 May the [i](AA)flood of water not overflow me
Nor the deep swallow me up,
Nor the (AB)pit shut its mouth on me.
16 Answer me, O Yahweh, for (AC)Your lovingkindness is good;
(AD)According to the abundance of Your compassion, (AE)turn to me,
17 And (AF)do not hide Your face from Your slave,
For I am (AG)in distress; answer me quickly.
18 Oh draw near to my soul and (AH)redeem it;
(AI)Ransom me because of my enemies!
19 You know my (AJ)reproach and my shame and my dishonor;
All my adversaries are [j]before You.
20 Reproach has (AK)broken my heart and I am so sick.
And (AL)I hoped for sympathy, but there was none,
And for (AM)comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me [k](AN)gall [l]for my food
And for my thirst they (AO)gave me vinegar to drink.
22 May (AP)their table before them become a snare;
And [m](AQ)when they are in peace, may it become a trap.
23 May their (AR)eyes darken so that they cannot see,
And make their (AS)loins quake continually.
24 (AT)Pour out Your indignation on them,
And may Your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their [n](AU)camp be desolate;
May none dwell in their tents.
26 For they have (AV)persecuted him whom (AW)You Yourself have struck down,
And they recount the pain of those whom (AX)You have [o]wounded.
27 Add (AY)iniquity to their iniquity,
And (AZ)may they not come into (BA)Your righteousness.
28 May they be (BB)blotted out of the (BC)book of life
And may they not be [p](BD)recorded with the righteous.
29 But I am (BE)afflicted and in pain;
[q]May Your salvation, O God, (BF)set me securely on high.
30 I will (BG)praise the name of God with song
And (BH)magnify Him with (BI)thanksgiving.
31 And this will (BJ)please Yahweh better than an ox
Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.
32 The (BK)humble [r]see it and are glad;
You who seek God, (BL)let your heart [s]revive.
33 For (BM)Yahweh hears the needy
And (BN)does not despise His who are prisoners.
BOOK 3
The Nearness of God Is My Good
A Psalm of Asaph.
73 Surely God is (A)good to Israel,
To those who are (B)pure in heart!
2 But as for me, (C)my feet had almost stumbled,
My steps [a]had almost slipped.
3 For I was (D)envious of the boastful,
I saw the (E)peace of the wicked.
4 For there are no pains in their death,
And their [b]body is fat.
5 They are (F)not [c]in trouble as other [d]men,
And they are not (G)stricken along with the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore lofty pride is (H)their necklace;
The (I)garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye [e]bulges from (J)fatness;
The delusions of their heart overflow.
8 They (K)scoff and [f]wickedly speak of oppression;
They (L)speak from on high.
9 They have (M)set their mouth [g]against the heavens,
And their tongue goes through the earth.
10 Therefore [h]his people return here, to his place,
And waters of (N)fullness are [i]drunk by them.
11 They say, “(O)How does God know?
And is there knowledge with the Most High?”
12 Behold, (P)these are the wicked;
And always (Q)at ease, they have increased in wealth.
13 Surely (R)in vain I have [j]kept my heart pure
And (S)washed my hands in innocence;
14 For I have been stricken (T)all day long
And [k](U)reproved every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will recount thus,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the (V)generation of Your children.
16 When I (W)gave thought to know this,
It was trouble in my sight
17 Until I came into the [l](X)sanctuary of God;
Then I understood their (Y)end.
18 Surely You set them in (Z)slippery places;
You cause them to fall to [m](AA)destruction.
19 How they become (AB)desolate in a moment!
They are completely swept away by (AC)terrors!
20 Like a (AD)dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when (AE)aroused, You will (AF)despise their [n]form.
21 When my (AG)heart was embittered
And I was (AH)pierced [o]within,
22 Then I was (AI)senseless and ignorant;
I was like [p]an (AJ)animal [q]before You.
23 Nevertheless (AK)I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 With Your counsel You will (AL)lead me,
And afterward (AM)take me [r]in glory.
25 (AN)Whom have I in heaven but You?
And [s]besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My (AO)flesh and my heart fail,
But God is the rock of my heart and my (AP)portion forever.
27 For, behold, (AQ)those who are far from You will (AR)perish;
You have [t]destroyed everyone who [u](AS)is unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, (AT)the nearness of God is my good;
I have set Lord Yahweh as my (AU)refuge,
That I may (AV)recount all Your works.
The Brothers Return to Egypt
43 (A)Now the famine was heavy in the land. 2 And it happened when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.” 3 Judah spoke to him, however, saying, “(B)The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 5 But if you do not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’” 6 Then Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly [a]by telling the man whether you still had another brother?” 7 But they said, “The man questioned particularly about us and our kin, saying, ‘(C)Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ So we told him concerning these things. Could we possibly have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” 8 Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, (D)that we may live and not die, we as well as you and our little ones. 9 (E)I myself will be the guarantee for him; from my hand you may require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then [b]I shall bear the sin before you all my days. 10 For if we had not delayed, surely by now we could have returned twice.”
11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your [c]bags, and bring them down to the man (F)as a present, a little [d](G)balm and a little honey, [e]aromatic gum and [f]myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 Now take double the money in your hand, and take back in your hand (H)the money that was put back in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was a mistake. 13 And take your brother also, and arise, return to the man; 14 and may [g](I)God Almighty (J)grant you compassion before the man, so that he will release to you (K)your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, (L)if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.” 15 So the men took (M)this present, and they took double the money in their hand, and Benjamin; and they arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
Concerning Marriage and Singleness
7 Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is (A)good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 But because of sexual immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. 3 The husband must [a]fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 (B)Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and [b]come together again so that (C)Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 But this I say as a concession, (D)not as a command. 7 [c]Yet I wish that all men were (E)even as I myself am. However, (F)each man has his own gift from God, one this way, and another that.
8 But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is (G)good for them if they remain (H)even as I. 9 But if they do not have self-control, (I)let them marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
Jesus Calms a Storm
35 (A)And on that day, when evening came, He *said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 [a]And leaving the crowd, they *took Him along with them (B)in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. 37 And a great windstorm *arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat so that the boat was already filling up. 38 And Jesus Himself was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion; and they *got Him up and *said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 39 And He woke up and (C)rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still.” And the wind died down and [b]it became [c]perfectly calm. 40 And He said to them, “Why are you so cowardly? (D)Do you still have no faith?” 41 And they became [d]very afraid and were saying to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
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