Book of Common Prayer

The King of Glory and His Kingdom

A Psalm of David.

Praise to God in His Holiness and Majesty

A Psalm of David.

The Glory of the Lord in Creation

To the Chief Musician. ^[a]On the instrument of Gath. A Psalm of David.

The Blessedness of Dwelling in the House of God

To the Chief Musician. ^(A)On^[a] an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

Nehemiah Deals with Oppression

5 And there was a great ^(A)outcry of the people and their wives against their ^(B)Jewish brethren. ² For there were those who said, “We, our sons, and our daughters are many; therefore let us get grain, that we may eat and live.”

³ There were also some who said, “We have mortgaged our lands and vineyards and houses, that we might buy grain because of the famine.”

⁴ There were also those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our lands and vineyards. ⁵ Yet now ^(C)our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children; and indeed we ^(D)are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have been brought into slavery. It is not in our power to redeem them, for other men have our lands and vineyards.”

⁶ And I became very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. ⁷ After serious thought, I rebuked the nobles and rulers, and said to them, ^(E)“Each of you is ^[a]exacting usury from his brother.” So I ^[b]called a great assembly against them. ⁸ And I said to them, “According to our ability we have ^(F)redeemed our Jewish brethren who were sold to the nations. Now indeed, will you even sell your brethren? Or should they be sold to us?”

Then they were silenced and found nothing to say. ⁹ Then I said, “What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk ^(G)in the fear of our God ^(H)because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies? ¹⁰ I also, with my brethren and my servants, am lending them money and grain. Please, let us stop this ^[c]usury! ¹¹ Restore now to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, also a hundredth of the money and the grain, the new wine and the oil, that you have charged them.”

¹² So they said, “We will restore it, and will require nothing from them; we will do as you say.”

Then I called the priests, ^(I)and required an oath from them that they would do according to this promise. ¹³ Then ^(J)I shook out ^[d]the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out each man from his house, and from his property, who does not perform this promise. Even thus may he be shaken out and emptied.”

And all the assembly said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord. ^(K)Then the people did according to this promise.

The Generosity of Nehemiah

¹⁴ Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year ^(L)until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ^(M)ate the governor’s provisions. ¹⁵ But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people, and took from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver. Yes, even their servants bore rule over the people, but ^(N)I did not do so, because of the ^(O)fear of God. ¹⁶ Indeed, I also continued the ^(P)work on this wall, and ^[e]we did not buy any land. All my servants were gathered there for the work.

¹⁷ And ^(Q)at my table were one hundred and fifty Jews and rulers, besides those who came to us from the nations around us. ¹⁸ Now that ^(R)which was prepared daily was one ox and six choice sheep. Also fowl were prepared for me, and once every ten days an abundance of all kinds of wine. Yet in spite of this ^(S)I did not demand the governor’s provisions, because the bondage was heavy on this people.

^19 (T)Remember me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.

Ministering at Troas

⁷ Now on ^(A)the first day of the week, when the disciples came together ^(B)to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. ⁸ There were many lamps ^(C)in the upper room where ^[a]they were gathered together. ⁹ And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. ¹⁰ But Paul went down, ^(D)fell on him, and embracing him said, ^(E)“Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.” ¹¹ Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed. ¹² And they brought the young man in alive, and they were not a little comforted.

Do Not Worry^(A)

²² Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, ^(B)do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. ²³ Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and ^(C)God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? ²⁵ And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? ²⁶ If you then are not able to do the least, why ^[a]are you anxious for the rest? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even ^(D)Solomon in all his glory was not ^[b]arrayed like one of these. ²⁸ If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of ^(E)little faith?

²⁹ “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. ³⁰ For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father ^(F)knows that you need these things. ^31 (G)But seek ^[c]the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.