Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 16[a]
A prayer[b] of David.
16 Protect me, O God, for I have taken shelter in you.[c]
2 I say to the Lord, “You are the Lord,
my only source of well-being.”[d]
3 As for God’s chosen people who are in the land,
and the leading officials I admired so much[e]—
4 their troubles multiply;
they desire other gods.[f]
I will not pour out drink offerings of blood to their gods,[g]
nor will I make vows in the name of their gods.[h]
5 Lord, you give me stability and prosperity;[i]
you make my future secure.[j]
6 It is as if I have been given fertile fields
or received a beautiful tract of land.[k]
7 I will praise[l] the Lord who[m] guides[n] me;
yes, during the night I reflect and learn.[o]
8 I constantly trust in the Lord;[p]
because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 So my heart rejoices
and I am happy;[q]
my life is safe.[r]
10 You will not abandon me[s] to Sheol;[t]
you will not allow your faithful follower[u] to see[v] the Pit.[w]
11 You lead me in[x] the path of life.[y]
I experience absolute joy in your presence;[z]
you always give me sheer delight.[aa]
Psalm 17[ab]
A prayer of David.
17 Lord, consider my just cause.[ac]
Pay attention to my cry for help.
Listen to the prayer
I sincerely offer.[ad]
2 Make a just decision on my behalf.[ae]
Decide what is right.[af]
3 You have scrutinized my inner motives;[ag]
you have examined me during the night.[ah]
You have carefully evaluated me, but you find no sin.
I am determined I will say nothing sinful.[ai]
4 As for the actions of people[aj]—
just as you have commanded,
I have not followed in the footsteps of violent men.[ak]
5 I carefully obey your commands;[al]
I do not deviate from them.[am]
6 I call to you because you will answer me, O God.
Listen to me![an]
Hear what I say![ao]
7 Accomplish awesome, faithful deeds,[ap]
you who powerfully deliver those who look to you for protection from their enemies.[aq]
8 Protect me as you would protect the pupil of your eye.[ar]
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.[as]
9 Protect me from[at] the wicked men who attack[au] me,
my enemies who crowd around me for the kill.[av]
10 They are calloused;[aw]
they speak arrogantly.[ax]
11 They attack me, now they surround me;[ay]
they intend to throw me to the ground.[az]
12 He[ba] is like a lion[bb] that wants to tear its prey to bits,[bc]
like a young lion crouching[bd] in hidden places.
13 Rise up, Lord!
Confront him.[be] Knock him down.[bf]
Use your sword to rescue me from the wicked man.[bg]
14 Lord, use your power to deliver me from these murderers,[bh]
from the murderers of this world.[bi]
They enjoy prosperity;[bj]
you overwhelm them with the riches they desire.[bk]
They have many children,
and leave their wealth to their offspring.[bl]
15 As for me, because I am innocent I will see your face;[bm]
when I awake you will reveal yourself to me.[bn]
Psalm 22[a]
For the music director, according to the tune “Morning Doe”;[b] a psalm of David.
22 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?[c]
I groan in prayer, but help seems far away.[d]
2 My God, I cry out during the day,
but you do not answer,
and during the night my prayers do not let up.[e]
3 You are holy;
you sit as king receiving the praises of Israel.[f]
4 In you our ancestors[g] trusted;
they trusted in you[h] and you rescued them.
5 To you they cried out, and they were saved;
in you they trusted and they were not disappointed.[i]
6 But I[j] am a worm,[k] not a man;[l]
people insult me and despise me.[m]
7 All who see me taunt[n] me;
they mock me[o] and shake their heads.[p]
8 They say,[q]
“Commit yourself[r] to the Lord!
Let the Lord[s] rescue him!
Let the Lord[t] deliver him, for he delights in him.”[u]
9 Yes, you are the one who brought me out[v] from the womb
and made me feel secure on my mother’s breasts.
10 I have been dependent on you since birth;[w]
from the time I came out of my mother’s womb you have been my God.[x]
11 Do not remain far away from me,
for trouble is near and I have no one to help me.[y]
12 Many bulls[z] surround me;
powerful bulls of Bashan[aa] hem me in.
13 They[ab] open their mouths to devour me[ac]
like a roaring lion that rips its prey.[ad]
14 My strength drains away like water;[ae]
all my bones are dislocated.
My heart[af] is like wax;
it melts away inside me.
15 The roof of my mouth[ag] is as dry as a piece of pottery;
my tongue sticks to my gums.[ah]
You[ai] set me in the dust of death.[aj]
16 Yes,[ak] wild dogs surround me—
a gang of evil men crowd around me;
like a lion they pin my hands and feet.[al]
17 I can count[am] all my bones;
my enemies[an] are gloating over me in triumph.[ao]
18 They are dividing up my clothes among themselves;
they are rolling dice[ap] for my garments.
19 But you, O Lord, do not remain far away.
You are my source of strength.[aq] Hurry and help me![ar]
20 Deliver me[as] from the sword.
Save[at] my life[au] from the claws[av] of the wild dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lion,[aw]
and from the horns of the wild oxen.[ax]
You have answered me.[ay]
22 I will declare your name to my countrymen.[az]
In the middle of the assembly I will praise you.
23 You loyal followers of the Lord,[ba] praise him.
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him.
All you descendants of Israel, stand in awe of him.[bb]
24 For he did not despise or detest the suffering[bc] of the oppressed.[bd]
He did not ignore him;[be]
when he cried out to him, he responded.[bf]
25 You are the reason I offer praise[bg] in the great assembly;
I will fulfill my promises before the Lord’s loyal followers.[bh]
26 Let the oppressed eat and be filled.[bi]
Let those who seek his help praise the Lord.
May you[bj] live forever!
27 Let all the people of the earth acknowledge the Lord and turn to him.[bk]
Let all the nations[bl] worship you.[bm]
28 For the Lord is king[bn]
and rules over the nations.
29 All the thriving people[bo] of the earth will join the celebration and worship;[bp]
all those who are descending into the grave[bq] will bow before him,
including those who cannot preserve their lives.[br]
30 A whole generation[bs] will serve him;
they will tell the next generation about the Lord.[bt]
31 They will come and tell about his saving deeds;[bu]
they will tell a future generation what he has accomplished.[bv]
The Lord Commissions His Special Servant
42 [a] “Here is my servant whom I support,
my chosen one in whom I take pleasure.
I have placed my Spirit on him;
he will make just decrees[b] for the nations.[c]
2 He will not cry out or shout;
he will not publicize himself in the streets.[d]
3 A crushed reed he will not break,
a dim wick he will not extinguish;[e]
he will faithfully make just decrees.[f]
4 He will not grow dim or be crushed[g]
before establishing justice on the earth;
the coastlands[h] will wait in anticipation for his decrees.”[i]
5 This is what the true God,[j] the Lord, says—
the one who created the sky and stretched it out,
the one who fashioned the earth and everything that lives on it,[k]
the one who gives breath to the people on it,
and life to those who live on it:[l]
6 “I, the Lord, officially commission you;[m]
I take hold of your hand.
I protect you[n] and make you a covenant mediator for people,[o]
and a light[p] to the nations,[q]
7 to open blind eyes,[r]
to release prisoners[s] from dungeons,
those who live in darkness from prisons.
The Lord Intervenes
8 “I am the Lord! That is my name!
I will not share my glory with anyone else,
or the praise due me with idols.
9 Look, my earlier predictive oracles have come to pass;[t]
now I announce new events.
Before they begin to occur,
I reveal them to you.”[u]
10 Sing to the Lord a brand new song!
Praise him[v] from the horizon of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and everything that lives in it,[w]
you coastlands[x] and those who live there.
11 Let the wilderness and its cities shout out,
the towns where the nomads of Kedar live.
Let the residents of Sela shout joyfully;
let them shout loudly from the mountaintops.
12 Let them give the Lord the honor he deserves;[y]
let them praise his deeds in the coastlands.[z]
13 The Lord emerges like a hero,
like a warrior he inspires himself for battle;[aa]
he shouts, yes, he yells,
he shows his enemies his power.[ab]
14 “I have been inactive[ac] for a long time;
I kept quiet and held back.
Like a woman in labor I groan;
I pant and gasp.[ad]
15 I will make the trees on the mountains and hills wither up;[ae]
I will dry up all their vegetation.
I will turn streams into islands,[af]
and dry up pools of water.[ag]
16 I will lead the blind along an unfamiliar way;[ah]
I will guide them down paths they have never traveled.[ai]
I will turn the darkness in front of them into light,
and level out the rough ground.[aj]
This is what I will do for them.
I will not abandon them.
17 Those who trust in idols
will turn back and be utterly humiliated,[ak]
those who say to metal images, ‘You are our gods.’
Paul’s Relationship to the Divine Mystery
3 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus[a] for the sake of you Gentiles 2 if indeed[b] you have heard of the stewardship[c] of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that[d] by revelation the mystery[e] was made known to me, as I wrote before briefly.[f] 4 When reading this,[g] you will be able to[h] understand my insight into the mystery[i] of Christ 5 (which[j] was not disclosed to people[k] in former[l] generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by[m] the Spirit), 6 namely, that through the gospel[n] the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members[o] of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. 7 I became a servant of this gospel[p] according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by[q] the exercise of his power.[r] 8 To me—less than the least of all the saints[s]—this grace was given,[t] to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ 9 and to enlighten[u] everyone about God’s secret plan[v]—the mystery that has been hidden for ages[w] in God[x] who has created all things. 10 The purpose of this enlightenment is that[y] through the church the multifaceted wisdom[z] of God should now be disclosed to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly realms. 11 This was according to[aa] the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access[ab] to God[ac] by way of Christ’s[ad] faithfulness.[ae] 13 For this reason I ask you[af] not to lose heart because of what I am suffering for you,[ag] which[ah] is your glory.[ai]
The Call of Levi; Eating with Sinners
13 Jesus[a] went out again by the sea. The whole crowd came to him, and he taught them. 14 As he went along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax booth.[b] “Follow me,” he said to him. And he got up and followed him. 15 As Jesus[c] was having a meal[d] in Levi’s[e] home, many tax collectors[f] and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the experts in the law[g] and the Pharisees[h] saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”[i] 17 When Jesus heard this he said to them, “Those who are healthy don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do.[j] I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
The Superiority of the New
18 Now[k] John’s[l] disciples and the Pharisees[m] were fasting.[n] So[o] they came to Jesus[p] and said, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don’t fast?” 19 Jesus[q] said to them, “The wedding guests[r] cannot fast while the bridegroom[s] is with them, can they?[t] As long as they have the bridegroom with them they do not fast. 20 But the days are coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them,[u] and at that time[v] they will fast. 21 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear becomes worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins;[w] otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins will be destroyed. Instead new wine is poured into new wineskins.”[x]
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