Book of Common Prayer
ז Zayin
49 Remember your word to your servant;
you have given me hope through it.
50 This is my comfort in my affliction:(A)
Your promise has given me life.
51 The arrogant constantly ridicule me,
but I do not turn away from your instruction.(B)
52 Lord, I remember your judgments from long ago
and find comfort.
53 Fury seizes me(C) because of the wicked
who reject your instruction.(D)
54 Your statutes are the theme of my song
during my earthly life.[a]
55 Lord, I remember your name(E) in the night,(F)
and I obey your instruction.
56 This is my practice:
I obey your precepts.(G)
ח Cheth
57 The Lord is my portion;[b](H)
I have promised to keep your words.
58 I have sought your favor(I) with all my heart;
be gracious to me(J) according to your promise.
59 I thought about my ways(K)
and turned my steps back to your decrees.
60 I hurried, not hesitating
to keep your commands.
61 Though the ropes of the wicked(L)
were wrapped around me,
I did not forget your instruction.(M)
62 I rise at midnight to thank you(N)
for your righteous judgments.(O)
63 I am a friend to all who fear you,(P)
to those who keep your precepts.
64 Lord, the earth is filled with your faithful love;(Q)
teach me your statutes.(R)
ט Teth
65 Lord, you have treated your servant well,
just as you promised.
66 Teach me good judgment and discernment,(S)
for I rely on your commands.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,(T)
but now I keep your word.
68 You are good,(U) and you do what is good;(V)
teach me your statutes.
69 The arrogant have smeared me with lies,(W)
but I obey your precepts with all my heart.(X)
70 Their hearts are hard and insensitive,(Y)
but I delight in your instruction.(Z)
71 It was good for me to be afflicted(AA)
so that I could learn your statutes.
72 Instruction from your lips(AB) is better for me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
Psalm 49
Misplaced Trust in Wealth
For the choir director. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
1 Hear this, all you peoples;
listen, all who inhabit the world,(A)
2 both low and high,
rich and poor together.(B)
3 My mouth speaks wisdom;
my heart’s meditation brings understanding.(C)
4 I turn my ear to a proverb;
I explain my riddle with a lyre.(D)
5 Why should I fear in times of trouble?
The iniquity of my foes surrounds me.(E)
6 They trust in their wealth
and boast of their abundant riches.(F)
7 Yet these cannot redeem a person[a]
or pay his ransom to God(G)—
8 since the price of redeeming him is too costly,
one should forever stop trying[b](H)—
9 so that he may live forever
and not see the Pit.(I)
10 For one can see that the wise die;
the foolish and stupid also pass away.(J)
Then they leave their wealth to others.(K)
11 Their graves are their permanent homes,[c]
their dwellings from generation to generation,
though they have named estates after themselves.(L)
12 But despite his assets,[d] mankind will not last;
he is like the animals that perish.(M)
13 This is the way of those who are arrogant,
and of their followers,
who approve of their words.[e](N)Selah
14 Like sheep they are headed for Sheol;
Death will shepherd them.
The upright will rule over them in the morning,(O)
and their form will waste away in Sheol,[f]
far from their lofty abode.(P)
15 But God will redeem me
from the power of Sheol,
for he will take me.(Q)Selah
16 Do not be afraid when a person gets rich,
when the wealth[g] of his house increases.(R)
17 For when he dies, he will take nothing at all;
his wealth will not follow him down.(S)
18 Though he blesses himself during his lifetime—
and you are acclaimed when you do well for yourself(T)—
19 he will go to the generation of his ancestors;
they will never see the light.(U)
20 Mankind, with his assets
but without understanding,
is like the animals that perish.(V)
Psalm 53
A Portrait of Sinners
For the choir director: on Mahalath.(A) A Maskil of David.
1 The fool says in his heart, “There’s no God.”
They are corrupt, and they do vile deeds.
There is no one who does good.(B)
2 God looks down from heaven on the human race[a]
to see if there is one who is wise,
one who seeks God.(C)
3 All have turned away;
all alike have become corrupt.
There is no one who does good,
not even one.(D)
23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off the donkey and knelt down with her face to the ground and paid homage to David.(A) 24 She knelt at his feet and said, “The guilt is mine, my lord, but please let your servant speak to you directly. Listen to the words of your servant. 25 My lord should pay no attention to this worthless fool Nabal, for he lives up to his name:[a] His name means ‘stupid,’ and stupidity is all he knows.[b] I, your servant, didn’t see my lord’s young men whom you sent. 26 Now my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and as you yourself live—it is the Lord who kept you from participating in bloodshed and avenging yourself(B) by your own hand—may your enemies and those who intend to harm my lord be like Nabal.(C) 27 Let this gift(D) your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 Please forgive your servant’s offense,(E) for the Lord is certain to make a lasting dynasty for my lord(F) because he fights the Lord’s battles.(G) Throughout your life, may evil[c] not be found in you.(H)
29 “Someone is pursuing you and intends to take your life. My lord’s life is tucked safely in the place[d] where the Lord your God protects the living, but he is flinging away your enemies’ lives like stones from a sling.(I) 30 When the Lord does for my lord all the good he promised you and appoints you ruler over Israel,(J) 31 there will not be remorse or a troubled conscience for my lord because of needless bloodshed or my lord’s revenge. And when the Lord does good things for my lord, may you remember me your servant.”(K)
32 Then David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,(L) who sent you to meet me today! 33 May your discernment be blessed, and may you be blessed. Today you kept me from participating in bloodshed and avenging myself by my own hand.(M) 34 Otherwise, as surely as the Lord God of Israel lives, who prevented me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, Nabal wouldn’t have had any males[e] left by morning light.” 35 Then David accepted what she had brought him and said, “Go home in peace.(N) See, I have heard what you said and have granted your request.”(O)
36 Then Abigail went to Nabal, and there he was in his house, holding a feast fit for a king.(P) Nabal’s heart was cheerful,[f] and he was very drunk, so she didn’t say anything[g] to him(Q) until morning light.
37 In the morning when Nabal sobered up,[h] his wife told him about these events. His heart died[i] and he became a stone. 38 About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal dead.(R)
39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the Lord who championed my cause against Nabal’s insults(S) and restrained his servant from doing evil.(T) The Lord brought Nabal’s evil deeds back on his own head.”(U)
Then David sent messengers to speak to Abigail about marrying him. 40 When David’s servants came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, “David sent us to bring you to him as a wife.”
41 She stood up, paid homage with her face to the ground,(V) and said, “Here I am, your servant, a slave to wash the feet of my lord’s servants.”(W) 42 Then Abigail got up quickly, and with her five female servants accompanying her, rode on the donkey following David’s messengers.(X) And so she became his wife.
43 David also married Ahinoam of Jezreel,(Y) and the two of them became his wives. 44 But Saul gave his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Palti(Z) son of Laish, who was from Gallim.(AA)
19 Some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and when they won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead.(A) 20 After the disciples gathered around him, he got up and went into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.(B)
Church Planting
21 After they had preached the gospel in that town and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch,(C) 22 strengthening the[a] disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith(D) and by telling them, “It is necessary to go through many hardships(E) to enter the kingdom of God.” 23 When they had appointed elders(F) for them in every church and prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
24 They passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. 25 After they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. 26 From there they sailed back to Antioch where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.(G) 27 After they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported everything God had done with them(H) and that he had opened the door(I) of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they spent a considerable time with the disciples.
Wind and Waves Obey Jesus
35 On(A) that day, when evening had come, he told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.” 36 So they left the crowd and took him along since he was in the boat. And other boats were with him. 37 A great windstorm(B) arose, and the waves(C) were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 He was in the stern, sleeping(D) on the cushion. So they woke him up(E) and said to him, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?” (F)
39 He got up, rebuked(G) the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence!(H) Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 Then he said to them, “Why are you afraid?(I) Do you still have no faith?”
41 And they were terrified[a](J) and asked one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey(K) him!” (L)
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