Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 25[a]
By David.
25 O Lord, I come before you in prayer.[b]
2 My God, I trust in you.
Please do not let me be humiliated;
do not let my enemies triumphantly rejoice over me.
3 Certainly none who rely on you will be humiliated.
Those who deal in treachery will be thwarted[c] and humiliated.
4 Make me understand your ways, O Lord.
Teach me your paths.[d]
5 Guide me into your truth[e] and teach me.
For you are the God who delivers me;
on you I rely all day long.
6 Remember[f] your compassionate and faithful deeds, O Lord,
for you have always acted in this manner.[g]
7 Do not hold against me[h] the sins of my youth[i] or my rebellious acts.
Because you are faithful to me, extend to me your favor, O Lord.[j]
8 The Lord is both kind and fair;[k]
that is why he teaches sinners the right way to live.[l]
9 May he show[m] the humble what is right.[n]
May he teach[o] the humble his way.
10 The Lord always proves faithful and reliable[p]
to those who follow the demands of his covenant.[q]
11 For the sake of your reputation,[r] O Lord,
forgive my sin, because it is great.[s]
12 The Lord shows his faithful followers
the way they should live.[t]
13 They experience his favor;[u]
their descendants[v] inherit the land.[w]
14 The Lord’s loyal followers receive his guidance,[x]
and he reveals his covenantal demands to them.[y]
15 I continually look to the Lord for help,[z]
for he will free my feet from the enemy’s net.[aa]
16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me,
for I am alone[ab] and oppressed.
17 Deliver me from my distress;[ac]
rescue me from my suffering.[ad]
18 See my pain and suffering.
Forgive all my sins.[ae]
19 Watch my enemies, for they outnumber me;
they hate me and want to harm me.[af]
20 Protect me[ag] and deliver me!
Please do not let me be humiliated,
for I have taken shelter in you.
21 May integrity and godliness protect me,
for I rely on you.
22 O God, rescue[ah] Israel
from all their distress![ai]
Psalm 9[a]
For the music director, according to the alumoth-labben style;[b] a psalm of David.
9 I will thank the Lord with all my heart!
I will tell about all your amazing deeds.[c]
2 I will be happy and rejoice in you.
I will sing praises to you, O Most High.[d]
3 When my enemies turn back,
they trip and are defeated[e] before you.
4 For you defended my just cause;[f]
from your throne you pronounced a just decision.[g]
5 You terrified the nations with your battle cry.[h]
You destroyed the wicked;[i]
you permanently wiped out all memory of them.[j]
6 The enemy’s cities have been reduced to permanent ruins.[k]
You destroyed their cities;[l]
all memory of the enemies has perished.[m]
7 But the Lord[n] rules[o] forever;
he reigns in a just manner.[p]
8 He judges the world fairly;
he makes just legal decisions for the nations.[q]
9 Consequently[r] the Lord provides safety for the oppressed;[s]
he provides safety in times of trouble.[t]
10 Your loyal followers trust in you,[u]
for you, Lord, do not abandon those who seek your help.[v]
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who rules[w] in Zion.
Tell the nations what he has done.[x]
12 For the one who takes revenge against murderers took notice of the oppressed;[y]
he did not overlook[z] their cry for help[aa]
13 when they prayed:[ab]
“Have mercy on me,[ac] Lord!
See how I am oppressed by those who hate me,[ad]
O one who can snatch me away[ae] from the gates of death!
14 Then I will[af] tell about all your praiseworthy acts;[ag]
in the gates of Daughter Zion[ah] I will rejoice because of your deliverance.”[ai]
15 The nations fell[aj] into the pit they had made;
their feet were caught in the net they had hidden.[ak]
16 The Lord revealed himself;
he accomplished justice.
The wicked were ensnared by their own actions.[al] (Higgaion.[am] Selah)
17 The wicked are turned back and sent to Sheol;[an]
this is the destiny of[ao] all the nations that ignore[ap] God,
18 for the needy are not permanently ignored,[aq]
the hopes of the oppressed are not forever dashed.[ar]
19 Rise up, Lord![as]
Don’t let men be defiant.[at]
May the nations be judged in your presence.
20 Terrify them, Lord.[au]
Let the nations know they are mere mortals.[av] (Selah)
Psalm 15[a]
A psalm of David.
15 Lord, who may be a guest in your home?[b]
Who may live on your holy hill?[c]
2 Whoever lives a blameless life,[d]
does what is right,
and speaks honestly.[e]
3 He[f] does not slander,[g]
or do harm to others,[h]
or insult his neighbor.[i]
4 He despises a reprobate,[j]
but honors the Lord’s loyal followers.[k]
He makes firm commitments and does not renege on his promise.[l]
5 He does not charge interest when he lends his money.[m]
He does not take bribes to testify against the innocent.[n]
The one who lives like this[o] will never be shaken.
Symbolic Visions of Judgment
7 The Sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw[a] him making locusts just as the crops planted late[b] were beginning to sprout. (The crops planted late sprout after the royal harvest.[c]) 2 When they had completely consumed the earth’s vegetation, I said,
3 The Lord decided not to do this.[g] “It will not happen,” the Lord said.
4 The Sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw[h] the Sovereign Lord summoning a shower of fire.[i] It consumed the great deep and devoured the fields. 5 I said,
6 The Lord decided not to do this.[l] The Sovereign Lord said, “This will not happen either.”
7 He showed me this: I saw[m] the Lord[n] standing by a tin[o] wall holding tin in his hand. 8 The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Amos?” I said, “Tin.” The Lord then said,
The Prologue
1 The revelation of Jesus Christ,[a] which God gave him to show his servants[b] what must happen very soon.[c] He made it clear[d] by sending his angel to his servant[e] John, 2 who then[f] testified to everything that he saw concerning the word of God and the testimony about[g] Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this[h] prophecy aloud,[i] and blessed are[j] those who hear and obey[k] the things written in it, because the time is near![l]
4 From John,[m] to the seven churches that are in the province of Asia:[n] Grace and peace to you[o] from “he who is,”[p] and who was, and who is still to come,[q] and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ—the faithful[r] witness,[s] the firstborn from among the dead, the ruler over the kings of the earth. To the one who loves us and has set us free[t] from our sins at the cost of[u] his own blood 6 and has appointed[v] us as a kingdom,[w] as priests[x] serving his God and Father—to him be the glory and the power for ever and ever![y] Amen.
7 (Look! He is returning with the clouds,[z]
and every eye will see him,
even[aa] those who pierced him,[ab]
and all the tribes[ac] on the earth will mourn because[ad] of him.
This will certainly come to pass![ae] Amen.)[af]
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,”[ag] says the Lord God—the one who is, and who was, and who is still to come—the All-Powerful![ah]
Marriage and the Resurrection
23 The same day Sadducees[a] (who say there is no resurrection)[b] came to him and asked him,[c] 24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and father children[d] for his brother.’[e] 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children he left his wife to his brother. 26 The second did the same, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last[f] of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.”[g] 29 Jesus[h] answered them, “You are deceived,[i] because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels[j] in heaven. 31 Now as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God,[k] 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?[l] He is not the God of the dead but of the living!”[m] 33 When the crowds heard this, they were amazed at his teaching.
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