Book of Common Prayer
A Petition to Be Saved from Death.
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the music director; according to Mahalath Leannoth. A [a]Maskil of Heman [b]the Ezrahite.
88 Lord, the (A)God of my salvation,
I have (B)cried out by day and in the night before You.
2 Let my prayer (C)come before You;
(D)Incline Your ear to my cry!
3 For my (E)soul has [c]had enough troubles,
And (F)my life has approached [d]Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who (G)go down to the pit;
I have become like a man (H)without strength,
5 [e]Abandoned (I)among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom You no longer remember,
And they are (J)cut off from Your hand.
6 You have put me in (K)the lowest pit,
In (L)dark places, in the (M)depths.
7 Your wrath (N)has rested upon me,
And You have afflicted me with (O)all Your waves. Selah
8 You have removed (P)my acquaintances far from me;
You have made me an [f](Q)object of loathing to them;
I am (R)shut up and cannot go out.
9 My (S)eye grows dim from misery;
I have (T)called upon You every day, Lord;
I have (U)spread out my [g]hands to You.
10 Will You perform wonders for the dead?
Or will (V)the departed spirits rise and praise You? Selah
11 Will Your graciousness be declared in the grave,
Your faithfulness in [h]Abaddon?
12 Will Your wonders be made known in the (W)darkness?
And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But I, Lord, have cried out (X)to You for help,
And (Y)in the morning my prayer comes before You.
14 Lord, why (Z)do You reject my soul?
Why do You (AA)hide Your face from me?
15 I was miserable and (AB)about to die from my youth on;
I suffer (AC)Your terrors; I grow weary.
16 Your (AD)burning anger has passed over me;
Your terrors have [i](AE)destroyed me.
17 They have (AF)surrounded me (AG)like water all day long;
They have (AH)encircled me altogether.
18 You have removed (AI)lover and friend far from me;
My acquaintances are in a hiding place.
Security of One Who Trusts in the Lord.
91 One who dwells in the (A)shelter of the Most High
Will lodge in the (B)shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My (C)refuge and my (D)fortress,
My God, in whom I (E)trust!”
3 For it is He who rescues you from the (F)net of the trapper
And from the deadly (G)plague.
4 He will (H)cover you with His pinions,
And (I)under His wings you may take refuge;
His (J)faithfulness is a (K)shield and wall.
5 You (L)will not be afraid of the (M)terror by night,
Or of the (N)arrow that flies by day;
6 Of the (O)plague that [a]stalks in darkness,
Or of the (P)destruction that devastates at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But (Q)it shall not approach you.
8 You will only look on with your eyes
And (R)see the retaliation against the wicked.
9 [b]For you have made the Lord, (S)my refuge,
The Most High, (T)your dwelling place.
10 (U)No evil will happen to you,
Nor will any plague come near your [c]tent.
11 For He will give (V)His angels orders concerning you,
To protect you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will (W)lift you up,
So that you do not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will (X)walk upon the lion and cobra,
You will trample the young lion and the [d]serpent.
14 “(Y)Because he has loved Me, I will save him;
I will (Z)set him securely on high, because he has (AA)known My name.
15 He will (AB)call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in [e]trouble;
I will rescue him and (AC)honor him.
16 I will satisfy him with [f]a (AD)long life,
And [g](AE)show him My salvation.”
Praise for the Lord’s Goodness.
A Psalm, a Song for the Sabbath day.
92 It is (AF)good to give thanks to the Lord
And to (AG)sing praises to Your name, Most High;
2 To (AH)declare Your goodness in the morning
And Your (AI)faithfulness by [h]night,
3 [i]With the (AJ)ten-stringed lute and [j]with the (AK)harp,
[k]With resounding music on the (AL)lyre.
4 For You, Lord, have made me joyful by [l]what You (AM)have done,
I will (AN)sing for joy over the (AO)works of Your hands.
5 How (AP)great are Your works, Lord!
Your [m](AQ)thoughts are very (AR)deep.
6 A (AS)stupid person has no knowledge,
Nor does a (AT)foolish person understand this:
7 When the wicked (AU)sprouted up like grass
And all (AV)who did injustice flourished,
It was only that they might be (AW)destroyed forevermore.
8 But You, Lord, are (AX)on high forever.
9 For, behold, Your enemies, Lord,
For, behold, (AY)Your enemies will perish;
All who do injustice will be (AZ)scattered.
10 But You have exalted my (BA)horn like that of the wild ox;
I have [n]been (BB)anointed with fresh oil.
11 And my eye has (BC)looked at my enemies,
My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me.
12 The (BD)righteous person will [o]flourish like the palm tree,
He will grow like a (BE)cedar in Lebanon.
13 (BF)Planted in the house of the Lord,
They will flourish (BG)in the courtyards of our God.
14 They will still [p](BH)yield fruit in advanced age;
They will be [q]full of sap and very green,
15 To [r]declare that (BI)the Lord is just;
He is my (BJ)rock, and there is (BK)no malice in Him.
Nathan Rebukes David
12 Then the Lord sent (A)Nathan to David. And (B)he came to him and [a]said,
“There were two men in a city, the one wealthy and the other poor.
2 The wealthy man had a great many flocks and herds.
3 But the poor man had nothing at all except (C)one little ewe lamb
Which he bought and nurtured;
And it grew up together with him and his children.
It would eat [b]scraps from him and drink from his cup and lie [c]in his lap,
And was like a daughter to him.
4 Now a visitor came to the wealthy man,
And he could not bring himself to take any animal from his own flock or his own herd,
To prepare for the traveler who had come to him;
So he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
5 Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this certainly [d](D)deserves to die! 6 So he must make restitution for the lamb (E)four times over, since he did this thing and [e]had no compassion.”
7 Nathan then said to David, “(F)You yourself are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘(G)It is I who anointed you as king over Israel, and it is I who rescued you from the hand of Saul. 8 I also gave you (H)your master’s house and put your master’s wives [f]into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you [g]many more things like these! 9 Why (I)have you despised the word of the Lord, by doing evil in His sight? (J)You have struck and killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, you (K)have taken his wife as your wife, and you have slaughtered him with the sword of the sons of Ammon. 10 Now then, (L)the sword shall never leave your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 This is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, I am going to raise up evil against you from your own household; (M)I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will sleep with your wives in [h]broad daylight. 12 Indeed, (N)you did it secretly, but (O)I will do this thing before all Israel, and [i]in open daylight.’” 13 Then David said to Nathan, “(P)I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has (Q)allowed your sin to pass; you shall not die. 14 However, since by this deed you have (R)shown utter disrespect for the [j]Lord, the child himself who is born to you shall certainly die.”
21 Now after these things were finished, Paul resolved in [a]the Spirit to (A)go to Jerusalem (B)after he had passed through (C)Macedonia and (D)Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, (E)I must also see Rome.” 22 And after he sent into (F)Macedonia two of (G)those who assisted him, (H)Timothy and (I)Erastus, he himself stayed in [b](J)Asia for a while.
23 About that time [c]a major disturbance occurred in regard to [d](K)the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of [e]Artemis, (L)was bringing [f]considerable [g]business to the craftsmen; 25 he gathered these men together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity [h]depends upon this business. 26 You see and hear that not only in (M)Ephesus, but in almost all of [i](N)Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that [j](O)gods made by hands are not gods at all. 27 Not only is there danger that this trade of ours will fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess [k]Artemis will be regarded as worthless, and that she whom all of [l](P)Asia and (Q)the [m]world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence.”
28 When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began shouting, saying, “Great is [n]Artemis of the (R)Ephesians!” 29 The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging along (S)Gaius and (T)Aristarchus, Paul’s (U)Macedonian traveling (V)companions. 30 And when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, (W)the disciples would not let him. 31 Also some of the [o]Asiarchs who were friends of his sent word to him and repeatedly urged him not to [p]venture into the theater. 32 (X)So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the [q]assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know [r]for what reason they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd [s]concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having (Y)motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the assembly. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single outcry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, “Great is [t]Artemis of the Ephesians!”
35 After quieting the crowd, the town clerk *said, “Men of (Z)Ephesus, what person is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great [u]Artemis and of the image which fell down from [v]the sky? 36 So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither (AA)temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are in session and [w](AB)proconsuls are available; have them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the [x]lawful [y]assembly. 40 For indeed, we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no real reason for it, and in this connection we will be unable to account for this disorderly gathering.” 41 After saying this he dismissed the [z]assembly.
All Things Possible
14 (A)And when they came back to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. 15 Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were (B)amazed and began running up to greet Him. 16 And He asked them, “What are you disputing with them?” 17 And one person from the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, because he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak; 18 and [a]whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes stiff. And I told Your disciples so that they would cast it out, but they could not do it.” 19 And He answered them and *said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!” 20 And they brought [b]the boy to Him. When he saw Him, the spirit immediately threw him into convulsions, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. 21 And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to kill him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” 23 But Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ (C)All things are possible for the one who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that (D)a crowd was [c]rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I [d]command you, come out of him and do not enter him [e]again!” 26 And after crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him, and he got up. 28 When He came (E)into the house, His disciples began asking Him privately, “Why is it that we could not cast it out?” 29 And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything except prayer.”
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