Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 16[a]
God the Supreme Good
I
Keep me safe, O God;
in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord,
you are my Lord,
you are my only good.
3 As for the holy ones who are in the land,
they are noble,
in whom is all my delight.
4 [c]They multiply their sorrows
who court other gods.
Blood libations to them I will not pour out,
nor will I take their names upon my lips.
5 Lord, my allotted portion and my cup,
you have made my destiny secure.(B)
6 [d]Pleasant places were measured out for me;
fair to me indeed is my inheritance.
II
7 I bless the Lord who counsels me;
even at night my heart exhorts me.
8 I keep the Lord always before me;
with him at my right hand, I shall never be shaken.(C)
9 Therefore my heart is glad, my soul rejoices;
my body also dwells secure,
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
nor let your devout one see the pit.[e](D)
11 You will show me the path to life,
abounding joy in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
Psalm 17[f]
Prayer for Rescue from Persecutors
1 A prayer of David.
I
Hear, Lord, my plea for justice;
pay heed to my cry;
Listen to my prayer
from lips without guile.
2 From you let my vindication come;
your eyes see what is right.
3 You have tested my heart,
searched it in the night.(E)
You have tried me by fire,
but find no malice in me.
My mouth has not transgressed
4 as others often do.
As your lips have instructed me,
I have kept from the way of the lawless.
5 My steps have kept to your paths;
my feet have not faltered.(F)
II
6 I call upon you; answer me, O God.
Turn your ear to me; hear my speech.
7 Show your wonderful mercy,
you who deliver with your right arm
those who seek refuge from their foes.
8 [g]Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings
9 from the wicked who despoil me.(G)
III
My ravenous enemies press upon me;(H)
10 [h]they close their hearts,
they fill their mouths with proud roaring.
11 Their steps even now encircle me;
they watch closely, keeping low to the ground,
12 Like lions eager for prey,
like a young lion lurking in ambush.
13 Rise, O Lord, confront and cast them down;
rescue my soul from the wicked.
14 Slay them with your sword;
with your hand, Lord, slay them;
snatch them from the world in their prime.
Their bellies are being filled with your friends;
their children are satisfied too,
for they share what is left with their young.
15 I am just—let me see your face;
when I awake, let me be filled with your presence.(I)
Psalm 22[a]
The Prayer of an Innocent Person
1 For the leader; according to “The deer of the dawn.”[b] A psalm of David.
I
2 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why so far from my call for help,
from my cries of anguish?(A)
3 My God, I call by day, but you do not answer;
by night, but I have no relief.(B)
4 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the glory of Israel.(C)
5 In you our fathers trusted;
they trusted and you rescued them.
6 To you they cried out and they escaped;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.(D)
7 [c]But I am a worm, not a man,
scorned by men, despised by the people.(E)
8 All who see me mock me;
they curl their lips and jeer;
they shake their heads at me:(F)
9 “He relied on the Lord—let him deliver him;
if he loves him, let him rescue him.”(G)
10 For you drew me forth from the womb,
made me safe at my mother’s breasts.
11 Upon you I was thrust from the womb;
since my mother bore me you are my God.(H)
12 Do not stay far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is no one to help.(I)
II
13 Many bulls[d] surround me;
fierce bulls of Bashan encircle me.
14 They open their mouths against me,
lions that rend and roar.(J)
15 Like water my life drains away;
all my bones are disjointed.
My heart has become like wax,
it melts away within me.
16 As dry as a potsherd is my throat;
my tongue cleaves to my palate;
you lay me in the dust of death.[e]
17 Dogs surround me;
a pack of evildoers closes in on me.
They have pierced my hands and my feet
18 I can count all my bones.(K)
They stare at me and gloat;
19 they divide my garments among them;
for my clothing they cast lots.(L)
20 But you, Lord, do not stay far off;
my strength, come quickly to help me.
21 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my life from the grip of the dog.
22 Save me from the lion’s mouth,
my poor life from the horns of wild bulls.(M)
III
23 Then I will proclaim your name to my brethren;
in the assembly I will praise you:[f](N)
24 “You who fear the Lord, give praise!
All descendants of Jacob, give honor;
show reverence, all descendants of Israel!
25 For he has not spurned or disdained
the misery of this poor wretch,
Did not turn away[g] from me,
but heard me when I cried out.
26 I will offer praise in the great assembly;
my vows I will fulfill before those who fear him.
27 The poor[h] will eat their fill;
those who seek the Lord will offer praise.
May your hearts enjoy life forever!”(O)
IV
28 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord;
All the families of nations
will bow low before him.(P)
29 For kingship belongs to the Lord,
the ruler over the nations.(Q)
30 [i]All who sleep in the earth
will bow low before God;
All who have gone down into the dust
will kneel in homage.
31 And I will live for the Lord;
my descendants will serve you.
32 The generation to come will be told of the Lord,
that they may proclaim to a people yet unborn
the deliverance you have brought.(R)
8 Jerusalem has stumbled, Judah has fallen;
for their speech and deeds affront the Lord,
a provocation in the sight of his majesty.
9 Their very look bears witness against them;(A)
they boast of their sin like Sodom,(B)
They do not hide it.
Woe to them!
They deal out evil to themselves.
10 Happy the just, for it will go well with them,
the fruit of their works they will eat.
11 Woe to the wicked! It will go ill with them,
with the work of their hands they will be repaid.
12 My people—infants oppress them,
women rule over them!
My people, your leaders deceive you,(C)
they confuse the paths you should follow.
13 [a]The Lord rises to accuse,
stands to try his people.
14 The Lord enters into judgment
with the people’s elders and princes:
You, you who have devoured the vineyard;
the loot wrested from the poor is in your houses.
15 What do you mean by crushing my people,
and grinding down the faces of the poor?
says the Lord, the God of hosts.
III. Specific Exhortations
Chapter 4
General Exhortations. 1 Finally, brothers, we earnestly ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that, as you received from us how you should conduct yourselves to please God—and as you are conducting yourselves—you do so even more. 2 For you know what instructions[a] we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
Holiness in Sexual Conduct.[b] 3 This is the will of God, your holiness: that you refrain from immorality, 4 that each of you know how to acquire a wife for himself in holiness and honor, 5 not in lustful passion as do the Gentiles who do not know God;(A) 6 not to take advantage of or exploit a brother in this matter, for the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you before and solemnly affirmed. 7 For God did not call us to impurity but to holiness. 8 Therefore, whoever disregards this, disregards not a human being but God, who [also] gives his holy Spirit to you.(B)
Mutual Charity. 9 On the subject of mutual charity you have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.(C) 10 Indeed, you do this for all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Nevertheless we urge you, brothers, to progress even more,(D) 11 and to aspire to live a tranquil life, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your [own] hands, as we instructed you, 12 that you may conduct yourselves properly toward outsiders and not depend on anyone.
41 (A)Then he said to them, “How do they claim that the Messiah is the Son of David? 42 For David himself in the Book of Psalms says:(B)
‘The Lord said to my lord,
“Sit at my right hand
43 till I make your enemies your footstool.”’
44 Now if David calls him ‘lord,’ how can he be his son?”
Denunciation of the Scribes.(C) 45 Then, within the hearing of all the people, he said to [his] disciples, 46 “Be on guard against the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and love greetings in marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets.(D) 47 They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation.”
Chapter 21
The Poor Widow’s Contribution.[a] 1 (E)When he looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury 2 and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. 3 He said, “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; 4 for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.”
The Destruction of the Temple Foretold.(F)
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