Book of Common Prayer
Confidence in Yahweh
A miktam[a] of David.[b]
16 Protect me, O God,
for I take refuge in you.
2 Oh my soul you have said[c] to Yahweh, “You are my Lord.
I have no good apart from you.”
3 With regard to the saints who are in the land,
they are the noble ones in whom is all my desire.
4 Those who hurry after[d] another god increase their sorrows.
I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
nor take up their names on my lips.
5 Yahweh is the portion which is my share and my cup.
You hold my lot.
6 The measuring lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.
Yes, my inheritance is delightful for me.
7 I will bless Yahweh who advises me;
yes, at night my innermost being[e] instructs me.
8 I have set Yahweh before me always.
Because he is at my right hand I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices.
Yes, my body will dwell in safety,
10 for you will not abandon my soul to Sheol;
you will not give your faithful one to see the grave.
11 You will make known to me the path of life.
In your presence is fullness of joy.
At your right hand are pleasures forever.
Prayer for Vindication and Protection
A prayer of David.[f]
17 O Yahweh, hear a just cause.
Hear my cry; heed my prayer
I make without deceitful lips.
2 Let my vindication come forth from you;
let your eyes see fairness.
3 You have tried my heart;
you have examined me by night;
you have tested me; you found nothing.
I have decided that my mouth will not transgress.
4 As for the works of humankind,
by the word of your lips,
I have kept from the ways of the violent.
5 I have held my steps in your path
My feet will not slip.
6 As for me, I have called on you
because you will answer me, O God.
Incline your ear to me.
Hear my words.[g]
7 Show wondrously your acts of loyal love,
O Savior of those who take refuge
at your right hand[h]
from those who rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the apple of your eye.[i]
Hide me in the shadow of your wings
9 from the presence[j] of the wicked who destroy me,
those enemies against my life,
they that surround me.
10 They have shut off their calloused[k] heart;
with their mouth they speak arrogantly.
11 Now they surround us at our every step.
They intend[l]
to pin[m] me to the ground.
12 He is like[n] a lion; he longs to tear apart,
and like a strong lion crouching in hiding places.
13 Rise up, O Yahweh, confront him.[o]
Make him bow down.
Rescue with your sword my life from the wicked,
14 from men by your hand, O Yahweh, from men of this world.
Their share is in this life,[p] and you fill their stomach with your treasure.
They are satisfied with children.
They bequeath their excess to their children.
15 By contrast, I in righteousness shall see your face.
Upon awakening I will be satisfied seeing your form.
Suffering and Waiting for Deliverance
For the music director; according to The Doe of the Dawn. A psalm of David.[a]
22 My God, my God why have you forsaken me?
Why are you far from helping me, far from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I call by day and you do not answer,
and by night but I have no rest.[b]
3 Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 Our ancestors[c] trusted you;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 They cried to you and were saved;
they trusted you and were not ashamed.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by humankind and despised by people.
7 All who see me mock me.
They open wide their lips;
they shake the head, saying:
8 “He trusts Yahweh.[d] Let him rescue him.
Let him deliver him because he delights in him.”
9 Yet you took me from the belly;
you made me trust while on my mother’s breasts.
10 On you I was cast from the womb.
From my mother’s belly you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me
because trouble is near;
because there is no helper.
12 Many bulls have encircled me;
mighty bulls of Bashan have surrounded me.
13 They open their mouth against me
like a lion tearing and roaring.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax;
it is melted within me.[e]
15 My strength is dry like a potsherd,
and my tongue is sticking to my jaws;
and you have placed me in the dust of death.
16 Because dogs have surrounded me;
a gang of evildoers has encircled me.
Like the lion[f] they are at my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones;
they gaze, they look at me.
18 They divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.[g]
19 But you, O Yahweh, do not remain distant.
O my help, hasten to help me.
20 Rescue my life from the sword,
my only life from the power of the dogs.[h]
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion,
and from the horns of the wild oxen answer me.
22 I will tell your name to my brothers;
inside the assembly I will praise you.
23 You who revere Yahweh, praise him!
Glorify him, all you seed of Jacob,
and be in awe of him, all you seed of Israel,
24 because he has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted,
and has not hid his face from him;
but he listened to him when he cried for help.
25 From you is my praise.
In the great assembly,
I will pay my vows before those who revere him.
26 The afflicted will eat and will be satisfied.
Those who seek him will praise Yahweh.
May your[i] heart live forever.
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to Yahweh.
All the families of the nations
will worship before you.
28 Because the kingship belongs to Yahweh,
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the healthy ones[j] of the earth will eat and worship.
Before him all of those descending into the dust will kneel,
even he who cannot keep his soul alive.
30 Descendants[k] will serve him.
Regarding the Lord, it will be told to the next generation.
31 They will come and tell his saving[l] deeds
to a people yet to be born, that he has done it.
Wisdom Calls
8 Does not wisdom call,
and understanding raise its voice?
2 Atop the heights[a] beside the road,
at the crossroads she stands.
3 Beside gates, before towns,
at the entrance of doors, she cries out:
4 “To you, O people,[b] I call,
and my cry is to the children of humankind.
5 Learn prudence, O simple ones;
fools, learn intelligence.[c]
6 Listen! For noble things I will speak,
and upright things from the opening of my lips.
7 My mouth will utter truth,
and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
8 All sayings of my mouth are in righteousness;
none of them are twisted and crooked.
9 All of them are straight to him who understands,
and upright to those who find knowledge.
10 Take my teaching and not silver;
may you choose knowledge rather than choice gold.
11 For wisdom is better than jewels,
and all desires shall not compare with her.
12 I, wisdom, live with prudence,
and I find knowledge and discretion.
13 The fear of Yahweh is hatred of evil,
pride, and arrogance and an evil way.
And I hate a mouth of perversity.
14 Advice and sound judgment[d] are mine;
I am understanding, strength is mine.[e]
15 By me kings reign,
and rulers decree righteousness.
16 By me rulers rule,
and nobles—all judges of righteousness.
17 I love those who love me,[f]
and those who seek me diligently shall find me.
18 Fortune and glory are with me,
enduring wealth and righteousness.
19 My fruit is better than gold,[g] even refined gold,
and my yield than choice silver.
20 In the way of righteousness I walk,
in the midst of paths of justice,
21 in order to endow those who love me with wealth,
and I will fill their treasuries.
Greeting
1 The elder, to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth—and not I alone, but also all those who know the truth— 2 because of the truth that resides in us and will be with us forever[a]. 3 Grace, mercy, peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Son of the Father in truth and love.
4 I was very glad[b] because I found some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us[c].
Watch Out for False Teachers
5 And now I ask you, lady (not as if I were writing a new commandment to you, but one that we have had from the beginning), that we should love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. 7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess Jesus Christ[d] coming in the flesh. This person is the deceiver and the antichrist! 8 Watch yourselves that you do not lose what we have worked for, but receive a full reward.
9 Everyone who goes too far and does not remain in the teaching of Christ does not have God. The one who remains in the teaching—this person has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house and do not speak a greeting to him, 11 because the one who speaks a greeting to him shares in his evil deeds.
Conclusion and Final Greeting
12 Although[e] I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so by means of paper and ink, but I hope to be with you and to speak face to face[f], so that your[g] joy may be complete. 13 The children of your elect sister greet you.
Plucking Grain on the Sabbath
12 At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. And his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck off heads of grain and eat them.[a] 2 But when[b] the Pharisees saw it,[c] they said to him, “Behold, your disciples are doing what it is not permitted to do on the Sabbath!” 3 So he said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those with him, 4 how he entered into the house of God and ate the bread of the presentation, which it was not permitted for him or for those with him to eat, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple violate the sanctity of the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here! 7 And if you had known what it means,[d] ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
A Man with a Withered Hand Healed
9 And going on from there he came into their synagogue. 10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand, and they asked him, saying, “Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath?” in order that they could accuse him. 11 But he said to them, “What man will there be among you who will have one sheep and if this one fell into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it[e] out? 12 Then to what degree is a man worth more than a sheep? So then, it is permitted to do good on the Sabbath.”
13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand,” and he stretched it[f] out, and it was restored as healthy as the other one. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted[g] against him in order that they could destroy him.
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software