Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 16
Confidence in the Lord
A Davidic Miktam.(A)
1 Protect me, God, for I take refuge in You.(B)
2 I[a] said to Yahweh, “You are my Lord;
I have nothing good besides You.”[b](C)
3 As for the holy people who are in the land,(D)
they are the noble ones.
All my delight is in them.
4 The sorrows of those who take another god
for themselves will multiply;
I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
and I will not speak their names with my lips.(E)
5 Lord, You are my portion[c]
and my cup of blessing;
You hold my future.(F)
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me
in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.(G)
7 I will praise the Lord who counsels me(H)—
even at night my conscience instructs me.(I)
8 I keep the Lord in mind[d] always.
Because He is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.(J)
9 Therefore my heart is glad
and my spirit rejoices;
my body also rests securely.(K)
10 For You will not abandon me to Sheol;(L)
You will not allow Your Faithful One to see decay.(M)
11 You reveal the path of life to me;
in Your presence is abundant joy;(N)
in Your right hand are eternal pleasures.(O)
Psalm 17
A Prayer for Protection
A Davidic prayer.
1 Lord, hear a just cause;(P)
pay attention to my cry;
listen to my prayer—
from lips free of deceit.(Q)
2 Let my vindication come from You,
for You see what is right.(R)
3 You have tested my heart;(S)
You have examined me at night.
You have tried me and found nothing evil;(T)
I have determined that my mouth will not sin.[e]
4 Concerning what people do:
by the word of Your lips[f]
I have avoided the ways of the violent.(U)
5 My steps are on Your paths;
my feet have not slipped.(V)
6 I call on You, God,
because You will answer me;(W)
listen closely to me; hear what I say.
7 Display the wonders of Your faithful love,(X)
Savior of all who seek refuge(Y)
from those who rebel against Your right hand.[g]
8 Protect me as the pupil of Your eye;(Z)
hide me in the shadow of Your wings(AA)
9 from[h] the wicked who treat me violently,[i]
my deadly enemies who surround me.(AB)
10 They have become hardened;[j](AC)
their mouths speak arrogantly.(AD)
11 They advance against me;[k] now they surround me.(AE)
They are determined[l]
to throw me to the ground.(AF)
12 They are[m] like a lion eager to tear,
like a young lion lurking in ambush.(AG)
13 Rise up, Lord!
Confront him; bring him down.(AH)
With Your sword, save me from the wicked.(AI)
14 With Your hand, Lord, save me from men,
from men of the world
whose portion is in this life:
You fill their bellies with what You have in store;
their sons are satisfied,
and they leave their surplus to their children.(AJ)
Psalm 22
From Suffering to Praise
For the choir director: according to “The Deer of the Dawn.”[a] A Davidic psalm.
1 My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?(A)
Why are You so far from my deliverance(B)
and from my words of groaning?[b](C)
2 My God, I cry by day, but You do not answer,
by night, yet I have no rest.(D)
3 But You are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.(E)
4 Our fathers trusted in You;
they trusted, and You rescued them.(F)
5 They cried to You and were set free;
they trusted in You and were not disgraced.(G)
6 But I am a worm and not a man,(H)
scorned by men and despised by people.(I)
7 Everyone who sees me mocks me;
they sneer[c] and shake their heads:(J)
8 “He relies on[d] the Lord;
let Him rescue him;
let the Lord[e] deliver him,
since He takes pleasure in him.”(K)
9 You took me from the womb,
making me secure while at my mother’s breast.(L)
10 I was given over to You at birth;[f]
You have been my God from my mother’s womb.(M)
11 Do not be far from me, because distress is near
and there is no one to help.(N)
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong ones of Bashan encircle me.(O)
13 They open their mouths against me—
lions, mauling and roaring.(P)
14 I am poured out like water,(Q)
and all my bones are disjointed;(R)
my heart is like wax,
melting within me.(S)
15 My strength is dried up like baked clay;(T)
my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.(U)
You put me into the dust of death.(V)
16 For dogs have surrounded me;(W)
a gang of evildoers has closed in on me;
they pierced[g] my hands and my feet.(X)
17 I can count all my bones;
people[h] look and stare at me.(Y)
18 They divided my garments among themselves,
and they cast lots for my clothing.(Z)
19 But You, Lord, don’t be far away.(AA)
My strength, come quickly to help me.(AB)
20 Deliver my life from the sword,(AC)
my only life[i] from the power of these dogs.
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion!(AD)
You have rescued[j] me
from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will proclaim Your name to my brothers;
I will praise You in the congregation.(AE)
23 You who fear Yahweh, praise Him!(AF)
All you descendants of Jacob, honor Him!
All you descendants of Israel, revere Him!(AG)
24 For He has not despised or detested
the torment of the afflicted.(AH)
He did not hide His face from him(AI)
but listened when he cried to Him for help.(AJ)
25 I will give praise[k] in the great congregation
because of You;(AK)
I will fulfill my vows
before those who fear You.[l](AL)
26 The humble[m] will eat and be satisfied;(AM)
those who seek the Lord will praise Him.
May your hearts live forever!(AN)
27 All the ends of the earth will remember
and turn to the Lord.
All the families of the nations
will bow down before You,(AO)
28 for kingship belongs to the Lord;
He rules over the nations.(AP)
29 All who prosper on earth will eat and bow down;
all those who go down to the dust
will kneel before Him—
even the one who cannot preserve his life.(AQ)
30 Their descendants will serve Him;
the next generation will be told about the Lord.(AR)
31 They will come and tell a people yet to be born
about His righteousness—
what He has done.(AS)
8 For Jerusalem has stumbled
and Judah has fallen
because they have spoken and acted against the Lord,(A)
defying His glorious presence.(B)
9 The look on their faces testifies against them,
and like Sodom,(C) they flaunt their sin.
They do not conceal it.
Woe to them,
for they have brought evil on themselves.(D)
10 Tell the righteous that it will go well for them,
for they will eat the fruit of their labor.
11 Woe to the wicked—it will go badly for them,
for what they have done will be done to them.
12 Youths oppress My people,(E)
and women rule over them.
My people, your leaders mislead you;
they confuse the direction of your paths.(F)
13 The Lord rises to argue the case
and stands to judge the people.(G)
14 The Lord brings this charge
against the elders and leaders of His people:(H)
“You have devastated the vineyard.
The plunder from the poor is in your houses.(I)
15 Why do you crush My people
and grind the faces of the poor?”
This is the declaration
of the Lord God of Hosts.
The Call to Sanctification
4 Finally then, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus, that as you have received from us how you must walk and please God—as you are doing[a]—do so even more. 2 For you know what commands we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
3 For this is God’s will,(A) your sanctification:(B) that you abstain(C) from sexual immorality, 4 so that each of you knows how to control his own body[b] in sanctification and honor, 5 not with lustful desires,(D) like the Gentiles who don’t know God. 6 This means one must not transgress against and defraud(E) his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger of all these offenses,[c] as we also previously told and warned you. 7 For God has not called us to impurity(F) but to sanctification. 8 Therefore, the person who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who also gives you His Holy Spirit.(G)
Loving and Working
9 About brotherly love: You don’t need me to write you because you yourselves are taught by God(H) to love one another.(I) 10 In fact, you are doing this toward all the brothers in the entire region of Macedonia.(J) But we encourage you, brothers, to do so even more, 11 to seek to lead a quiet life,(K) to mind your own business,[d] and to work(L) with your own hands, as we commanded you, 12 so that you may walk properly[e](M) in the presence of outsiders[f] and not be dependent on anyone.[g](N)
The Question about the Messiah
41 Then(A) He said to them, “How can they say that the Messiah is the Son of David?(B) 42 For David himself says in the Book of Psalms:(C)
The Lord declared to my Lord,
‘Sit at My right hand
43 until I make Your enemies Your footstool.’(D)[a]
44 David calls Him ‘Lord’; how then can the Messiah be his Son?”(E)
Warning against the Scribes
45 While(F) all the people were listening, He said to His disciples, 46 “Beware(G) of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes and who love greetings in the marketplaces, the front seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets.(H) 47 They devour widows’ houses and say long prayers just for show. These will receive greater punishment.”[b]
The Widow’s Gift
21 He(I) looked up and saw the rich dropping their offerings into the temple treasury.(J) 2 He also saw a poor widow dropping in two tiny coins.[c](K) 3 “I tell you the truth,” He said. “This poor widow has put in more than all of them.(L) 4 For all these people have put in gifts out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”
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