Book of Common Prayer
Thanksgiving for Answered Prayer
A psalm; a song for the dedication of the house.[a] Of David.[b]
30 I will exalt you, O Yahweh,
because you have drawn me up,
and have not made my enemies rejoice over me.
2 O Yahweh, my God,
I cried for help to you,
and you healed me.
3 O Yahweh, you have brought my life up from Sheol.
You preserved me alive
from among those going down [c] to the pit.
4 Sing praises to Yahweh, you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy fame.[d]
5 For there is a moment in his anger;
there is a lifetime in his favor.
Weeping lodges for the evening,
but in the morning comes rejoicing.
6 But as for me, I had said in my prosperity,
“I shall not be moved ever.”
7 O Yahweh, by your favor
you caused my strong mountain to stand.
You hid your face. I was bewildered.
8 To you, O Yahweh, I called,
and to the Lord I pleaded for grace saying,
9 “What gain is there in my death,[e]
in my going down into the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10 “O Yahweh, hear and be gracious to me.
O Yahweh, be my helper.”
11 You have turned my wailing into my dancing.
You have removed my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy
12 so that I[f] may sing praises to you
and not be quiet.
O Yahweh, my God,
I will give thanks to you forever.
Thanksgiving for Forgiveness of Sins
Of David. A maskil.[a]
32 Happy is he whose transgression is taken away,
whose sin is covered.
2 Happy is a person to whom Yahweh does not impute iniquity
and in whose spirit there is not deceit.
3 When I kept silent, my bones were worn out
due to my groaning all the day.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me.
My vigor was changed into the dry heat of summer. Selah
5 I made known my sin to you, and my iniquity I did not cover.
I said, “I will confess concerning my transgressions to Yahweh,”
and you took away the guilt of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
at the time for finding you.
Surely at the flood of many waters they will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place;
from trouble you preserve me.
With cries of deliverance you surround me. Selah
8 I[b] will instruct you and teach you
in the way that you should go.
I will advise you with my eye upon you.
9 Do not be like a horse or like a mule, without understanding;
that needs his tackle—bridle and rein—for restraint
or he would not come near you.
10 Many are the pains of the wicked,
but for the one who trusts Yahweh
loyal love surrounds him.
11 Be glad in Yahweh and rejoice, you righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright of heart.
Hope in God in the Midst of Despair
For the music director. A maskil of the sons of Korah.[a]
42 As a deer longs for streams of water,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?[b]
3 My tears have been my food day and night,
while they say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
4 These I remember and I pour out my soul within me:
that I would go with the multitude;
I led them in procession to the house[c] of God,
with a voice of rejoicing and thanksgiving,
a crowd celebrating a festival.
5 Why are you in despair,[d] O my soul,
and disturbed within me?
Hope in God, because I will again praise him,
for the salvation of his presence.
6 O my God, within me my soul is in despair;[e]
therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan
and the heights of Hermon, from the mountain of Mizar.
7 Deep is calling to deep
at[f] the thunder of your waterfalls.
All your breakers and your waves
have passed over me.
8 By day Yahweh commands his loyal love,
and in the night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God, my rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I walk about mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 As with a shattering in my bones
my oppressors taunt me,
while they say to me all day,[g]
“Where is your God?”
11 Why are you in despair,[h] O my soul?
And why are you disturbed within me?
Hope in God, because I shall again praise him,
my salvation[i] and my God.
A Prayer for Rescue
43 Judge me, O God, and plead my case
against[j] an unfaithful[k] nation.
From a man of deceit and wickedness rescue me,
2 because you are the God of my refuge.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?
3 Send your light and your truth;
they shall lead[l] me.
They shall bring me to your holy mountain[m]
and to your dwelling places.
4 Then[n] I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my surpassing joy,[o]
and I will praise you with lyre,
O God, my God.
5 Why are you in despair,[p] O my soul?
And why are you disturbed within me?
Hope in God, because I will again praise him,
my salvation[q] and my God.
15 With patience[a] a ruler may be persuaded,
and a soft tongue will break a bone.[b]
16 If you find honey, eat what is sufficient for you,
lest you have your fill of it and vomit it out.
17 Make your foot scarce in the house of your neighbor,
lest he become weary of you and hate you.
18 Like a club and sword and a sharp arrow
is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor.
19 A bad tooth and a lame foot
is the trust of a faithless person in a time[c] of trouble.
20 Like one who removes a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar on natron,[d]
is he who sings songs to a heavy heart.
21 If your enemy is hungry, feed him bread,
and if thirsty, let him drink water.
22 For coals of fire you will heap upon his head,
and Yahweh will reward you.
23 The wind of the north produces rain,
and a backbiting tongue, angry faces.
24 Better to live upon the corner of a roof
than with a woman[e] of contention and in a shared house.
25 Like cold water[f] upon a weary soul,[g]
so too is good news from a distant place.
26 Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain
is the righteous who gives way before the wicked.
27 To eat much honey is not good,
nor is seeking one’s honor[h] honorable.
28 A breached city where there is no wall
is like a man who has no[i] self-control for his spirit.
6 But godliness with contentment is a great means of gain. 7 For we have brought nothing into the world, so that neither can we bring anything out. 8 But if we[a] have food and clothing, with these things we will be content. 9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and a trap and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge those people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all evil, by which some, because they[b] desire it, have gone astray from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains.
Renewed Charge to Timothy
11 But you, O man of God, flee from these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patient endurance, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I command you, in the sight of God who gives life to all things and Christ Jesus who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you observe the commandment without fault, irreproachable until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will make known in his own time, the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of those who reign as kings and Lord of those who rule as lords, 16 the one who alone possesses immortality, who lives in unapproachable light, whom no human being has seen nor is able to see, to whom be honor and eternal power. Amen.
Instructions to the Rich
17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be proud and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of riches, but in God, who provides us all things richly for enjoyment, 18 to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, sharing freely, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the future, in order that they may take hold of what is truly life.
Final Charge and Benediction
20 O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Turn away from pointless empty talk and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge, 21 which some, by[c] professing it, have deviated concerning the faith. Grace be with you all.
The Parable of the Weeds Interpreted
36 Then he left the crowds and[a] came into the house, and his disciples came to him saying, “Explain the parable of the darnel in the field to us.” 37 So he answered and[b] said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 and the field is the world. And the good seed—these are the sons of the kingdom, but the darnel are the sons of the evil one. 39 And the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Thus just as the darnel is gathered and burned[c] with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all the causes of sin and those who do lawless deeds, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace.[d] In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth! 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.[e] The one who has ears, let him hear!
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