Book of Common Prayer
33 He turns rivers into desert,
springs into thirsty ground,(A)
34 and fruitful land into salty wasteland,
because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.(B)
35 He turns a desert into a pool,
dry land into springs.(C)
36 He causes the hungry to settle there,
and they establish a city where they can live.(D)
37 They sow fields and plant vineyards
that yield a fruitful harvest.(E)
38 He blesses them, and they multiply greatly;(F)
he does not let their livestock decrease.(G)
39 When they are diminished and are humbled
by cruel oppression and sorrow,(H)
40 he pours contempt on nobles(I)
and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.(J)
41 But he lifts the needy out of their suffering(K)
and makes their families multiply like flocks.(L)
42 The upright see it and rejoice,(M)
and all injustice shuts its mouth.(N)
43 Let whoever is wise pay attention to these things
and consider the Lord’s acts of faithful love.(O)
Psalm 108
A Plea for Victory
A song. A psalm of David.
1 My heart is confident, God;
I will sing; I will sing praises
with the whole of my being.[a](P)
2 Wake up, harp and lyre!
I will wake up the dawn.(Q)
3 I will praise you, Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.(R)
4 For your faithful love is higher than the heavens,
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.(S)
5 God, be exalted above the heavens,(T)
and let your glory be over the whole earth.(U)
6 Save with your right hand and answer me
so that those you love may be rescued.(V)
7 God has spoken in his sanctuary:[b]
“I will celebrate!
I will divide up Shechem.(W)
I will apportion the Valley of Succoth.(X)
8 Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine,
and Ephraim is my helmet;(Y)
Judah is my scepter.(Z)
9 Moab is my washbasin;(AA)
I throw my sandal on Edom.(AB)
I shout in triumph over Philistia.”(AC)
Psalm 33
Praise to the Creator
1 Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones;
praise from the upright is beautiful.(A)
2 Praise the Lord with the lyre;
make music to him with a ten-stringed harp.(B)
3 Sing a new song to him;(C)
play skillfully on the strings, with a joyful shout.(D)
4 For the word of the Lord is right,
and all his work is trustworthy.(E)
5 He loves righteousness and justice;(F)
the earth is full of the Lord’s unfailing love.(G)
6 The heavens were made by the word of the Lord,(H)
and all the stars, by the breath of his mouth.(I)
7 He gathers the water of the sea into a heap;[a]
he puts the depths into storehouses.(J)
8 Let the whole earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.(K)
9 For he spoke, and it came into being;
he commanded, and it came into existence.(L)
10 The Lord frustrates the counsel of the nations;
he thwarts the plans of the peoples.(M)
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart from generation to generation.(N)
12 Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord—
the people he has chosen to be his own possession!(O)
13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
he observes everyone.(P)
14 He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth
from his dwelling place.(Q)
15 He forms the hearts of them all;
he considers all their works.(R)
16 A king is not saved by a large army;
a warrior will not be rescued by great strength.(S)
17 The horse is a false hope for safety;
it provides no escape by its great power.(T)
The Lord’s Love for Israel
11 When Israel was a child, I loved him,(A)
and out of Egypt I called my son.(B)
2 Israel called to the Egyptians(C)
even as Israel was leaving them.[a]
They kept sacrificing to the Baals(D)
and burning offerings to idols.(E)
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,(F)
taking them[b] by the hand,[c](G)
but they never knew that I healed them.(H)
4 I led them with human cords,
with ropes of love.(I)
To them I was like one
who eases the yoke from their jaws;(J)
I bent down to give them food.(K)
5 Israel will not return to the land of Egypt
and Assyria will be his king,(L)
because they refused to repent.(M)
6 A sword will whirl through his cities;(N)
it will destroy and devour the bars of his gates,[d](O)
because of their schemes.(P)
7 My people are bent on turning from me.(Q)
Though they call to him on high,
he will not exalt them at all.
8 How can I give you up, Ephraim?(R)
How can I surrender you, Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?(S)
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?(T)
I have had a change of heart;
my compassion is stirred!
9 I will not vent the full fury of my anger;(U)
I will not turn back to destroy Ephraim.(V)
For I am God and not man,
the Holy One among you;(W)
I will not come in rage.[e]
17 “After I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance(A) 18 and saw him telling me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’
19 “But I said, ‘Lord, they know that in synagogue after synagogue I had those who believed in you imprisoned and beaten.(B) 20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I stood there giving approval[a] and guarding the clothes of those who killed him.’(C)
21 “He said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”(D)
Paul’s Roman Protection
22 They listened to him up to this point. Then they raised their voices, shouting, “Wipe this man off the face of the earth! He should not be allowed to live!” (E)
23 As they were yelling and flinging aside their garments and throwing dust into the air,(F) 24 the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, directing that he be interrogated with the scourge to discover the reason they were shouting against him like this. 25 As they stretched him out for the lash, Paul said to the centurion standing by, “Is it legal for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and is uncondemned?” (G)
26 When the centurion heard this, he went and reported to the commander, saying, “What are you going to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.”
27 The commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”
“Yes,” he said.
28 The commander replied, “I bought this citizenship for a large amount of money.”
“But I was born a citizen,” Paul said.
29 So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately. The commander too was alarmed when he realized Paul was a Roman citizen and he had bound him.(H)
Love Your Enemies
27 “But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.(A) 29 If anyone hits you on the cheek,(B) offer the other also. And if anyone takes away your coat, don’t hold back your shirt either. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and from someone who takes your things, don’t ask for them back. 31 Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them.(C) 32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.(D) 33 If you do what is good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you?(E) Even sinners lend to sinners to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High.(F) For he is gracious to the ungrateful and evil. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.(G)
Do Not Judge
37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged.(H) Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.(I) 38 Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over—will be poured into your lap.(J) For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”(K)
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