Book of Common Prayer
A song. A psalm by the descendants of Korah. According to Machalath Leannoth. An instruction[a] by Heman the Ezrahite.
A Cry for Help
88 Lord, God of my salvation,
by day and by night I cry out before you.
2 Let my prayer come before you;
listen[b] to my cry.
3 For my life is filled with troubles
as I approach Sheol.[c]
4 I am considered as one of those descending into the Pit,[d]
like a mighty man without strength,
5 released to remain[e] with the dead,
lying in a grave like a corpse,
remembered no longer,
and cut off from your power.
6 You have assigned me to the lowest part of the Pit,[f]
to the darkest depths.
7 Your anger lies heavily upon me;
you pound[g] me with all your waves.
8 You caused my acquaintances to shun me;[h]
you make me extremely abhorrent to them.
Restrained, I am unable to go out.
9 My eyes languish on account of my affliction;
all day long I call out to you, Lord,
I spread out my hands to you.
10 Can you perform wonders for the dead?
Can departed spirits stand up to praise you?
11 Can your gracious love be declared in the grave
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?[i]
12 Can your awesome deeds be known in darkness
or your righteousness in the land of oblivion?
13 As for me, I cry out to you Lord,
and in the morning my prayer greets you.
14 Why, Lord, have you rejected me?
Why have you hidden your face from me?
15 Since my youth I have been oppressed
and in danger of death.
I bear your dread
and am overwhelmed.
16 Your burning anger overwhelms me;
your terrors destroy me.
17 Like waters, they engulf me all day long;
they surround me on all sides.
18 You caused my friend and neighbor to shun me;[j]
and my acquaintances are confused.[k]
A Davidic Psalm[a]
God is My Refuge
91 The one who lives in the shelter of the Most High,
who rests in the shadow of the Almighty,
2 will say to the Lord,
“You are my refuge, my fortress,
and my God in whom I trust!”
3 He will surely deliver you from the hunter’s snare
and from the destructive plague.
4 With his feathers he will cover you,
under his wings you will find safety.
His truth is your shield and armor.
5 You need not fear terror that stalks[b] in the night,
the arrow that flies in the day,
6 plague that strikes in the darkness,
or calamity that destroys at noon.
7 If a thousand fall at your side
or ten thousand at your right hand,
it will not overcome you.
8 Only observe[c] it with your eyes,
and you will see how the wicked are paid back.
9 “Lord, you are my refuge!”
Because you chose the Most High as your dwelling place,
10 no evil will fall upon you,
and no affliction will approach your tent,
11 for he will command his angels
to protect you in all your ways.
12 With their hands they will lift you up
so you will not trip over a stone.
13 You will stomp on lions and snakes;
you will trample young lions and serpents.
The Lord Speaks
14 Because he has focused his love on me,
I will deliver him.
I will protect him[d]
because he knows my name.
15 When he calls out to me,
I will answer him.
I will be with him in his[e] distress.
I will deliver him,
and I will honor him.
16 I will satisfy him with long life;
I will show him my deliverance.
A Psalm. A song for the Sabbath Day
Praise and Thanksgiving to God
92 It is good to give thanks to the Lord
and to sing praise to your name, Most High;
2 to proclaim your gracious love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,
3 accompanied by a ten-stringed instrument and a lyre,
and the contemplative sound of a harp.
4 Because you made me glad
with your awesome deeds, Lord,
I will sing for joy at the works of your hands.
5 How great are your works, Lord!
Your thoughts are unfathomable.[f]
6 A stupid man doesn’t know,
and a fool can’t comprehend this:
7 Though the wicked sprout like grass;
and all who practice iniquity flourish,
it is they who will be eternally destroyed.
8 But you are exalted forever, Lord.
9 Look at your enemies, Lord!
Look at your enemies, for they are destroyed;
everyone who practices iniquity will be scattered.[g]
10 You’ve grown my strength[h] like the horn of a wild ox;
I was anointed with fresh oil.
11 My eyes gloated over those who lie in wait for me;[i]
when those of evil intent attack me, my ears will hear.
12 The righteous will flourish like palm trees;
they will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Planted in the Lord’s Temple,
they will flourish in the courtyard of our God.
14 They will still bear fruit even in old age;[j]
they will be luxuriant and green.
15 They will proclaim: “The Lord is upright;
my rock, in whom there is no injustice.”
Abimelech Attempts to Become King
9 Then Jerubbaal’s son Abimelech went to his mother’s relatives in Shechem. He spoke to the entire family of his mother’s father, telling them, 2 “Ask all the “lords”[a] of Shechem, ‘What’s better for you? That 70 men, each of them Jerubbaal’s sons, rule over you? Or that one man rule over you?’ Keep in mind that I’m like your own close relative.”[b]
3 So his mother’s relatives spoke all of this on his behalf in the presence[c] of all the “lords” of Shechem. Since they were inclined to follow Abimelech, they said, “He’s our relative!” 4 and they gave him 70 silver coins from the temple that they had built to[d] Baal-berith. Abimelech hired some worthless and useless men, who followed him 5 to his father’s house in Ophrah. There he murdered his own brothers, Jerubbaal’s sons—all 70 of them—in one place.[e] But Jerubbaal’s youngest son Jotham survived by hiding himself.
6 All the men from Shechem and Beth-millo[f] gathered together and set up Abimelech as king near the pillar erected[g] in Shechem. 7 When Jotham was informed about this, he went out, took his stand on top of Mount Gerizim, and cried out loudly, “Listen to me, you “lords” of Shechem, and God will listen to you.
“So they told the olive tree,
‘Reign over us!’
9 But the olive tree asked them,
‘Should I stop producing my rich oils
by which both God and men are honored
and go take dominion over trees?’
10 “So the trees told the fig tree,
‘Hey you! Come and reign over us!’
11 But the fig tree asked them,
‘Should I leave my sweet, good fruit
and go take dominion over trees?’
12 “So the trees told the grape vine,
‘Hey you! Come and reign over us!’
13 But the grape vine asked them,
‘Should I leave my new wine,
which cheers God and man,
and go take dominion over trees?’
14 “So all the trees told the bramble bush,
‘Hey you! Come and reign over us!’
15 Then the bramble bush replied to the trees,
‘If you really are consecrating[j] me to rule you,
come and put your confidence in my shade;
but if not, may fire spring out from the bramble bush
and burn up the cedars[k] of Lebanon…’
16 “Now then, if you have been acting in good faith and integrity by making a king out of Abimelech, if you have treated Jerubbaal and his household appropriately by acting toward him as he deserved[l]—
19 So if you’ve acted in good faith and integrity toward Jerubbaal and his household today, then you’re welcome to[a] Abimelech, and he’s welcome to[b] you… 20 But if not, may fire spring out from Abimelech and consume the “lords” of Shechem and Beth-millo, and may fire spring out from the “lords” of Shechem and Beth-millo to consume Abimelech.” 21 Then Jotham escaped by running away. He went to Beer and remained there because of his brother Abimelech.
13 Now when the Jewish leaders[a] saw the boldness of Peter and John and found out that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and realized that they had been with Jesus. 14 And seeing the man who was healed standing with them, they could not say anything against them. 15 So they ordered them to leave the Council[b] and began to discuss the matter among themselves. 16 They said, “What should we do with these men? For it’s obvious to everybody living in Jerusalem that an unmistakable sign has been done by them, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to keep it from spreading any further among the people, let us warn them never again to speak to anyone in this name.”
18 So they called Peter and John[c] back in and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “You must decide whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than God, 20 for we cannot stop talking about what we’ve seen and heard.”
21 So they threatened Peter and John[d] even more and then let them go. They couldn’t find any way to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened, 22 since the man on whom this sign of healing had been performed was more than 40 years old.
The Believers Pray for Boldness
23 After they were released, Peter and John[e] went to their fellow believers[f] and told them everything the high priests and the elders had said. 24 When they heard this, they all raised their voices to God and said, “Master, you made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. 25 You said by the Holy Spirit through the voice of our ancestor, your servant David,
‘Why do the unbelievers[g] rage,
and the people devise useless plots?
26 The kings of the earth take their stand,
and rulers meet together against the Lord[h]
and against his Messiah.’[i]
27 For in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate actually met together with unbelievers[j] and the people of Israel to oppose your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, 28 to carry out everything that your hand and will had predetermined to take place. 29 Lord, pay attention to their threats now, and allow your servants to speak your word boldly 30 as you stretch out your hand to heal and to perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 When they had prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken, and all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak messages from[k] God boldly.
Jesus Changes Water into Wine
2 On the third day of that week[a] there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother told him, “They don’t have any more wine.”
4 “How does that concern us, dear lady?”[b] Jesus asked her. “My time hasn’t come yet.”
5 His mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Now standing there were six stone water jars used for the Jewish rites of purification, each one holding from two to three measures.[c] 7 Jesus told the servants,[d] “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. 8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the man in charge of the banquet.” So they did.
9 When the man in charge of the banquet tasted the water that had become wine (without knowing where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew), he[e] called for the bridegroom 10 and told him, “Everyone serves the best wine first, and the cheap kind when people[f] are drunk. But you have kept the best wine until now!” 11 Jesus did this, the first[g] of his signs, in Cana of Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.
12 After this, Jesus[h] went down to Capernaum—he, his mother, his brothers, and his disciples—and they remained there for a few days.
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