Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 40[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
40 I relied completely[b] on the Lord,
and he turned toward me
and heard my cry for help.
2 He lifted me out of the watery pit,[c]
out of the slimy mud.[d]
He placed my feet on a rock
and gave me secure footing.[e]
3 He gave me reason to sing a new song,[f]
praising our God.[g]
May many see what God has done,
so that they might swear allegiance to him and trust in the Lord.[h]
4 How blessed[i] is the one[j] who trusts in the Lord[k]
and does not seek help from[l] the proud or from liars.[m]
5 O Lord, my God, you have accomplished many things;
you have done amazing things and carried out your purposes for us.[n]
No one can thwart you.[o]
I want to declare your deeds and talk about them,
but they are too numerous to recount.[p]
6 Receiving sacrifices and offerings are not your primary concern.[q]
You make that quite clear to me.[r]
You do not ask for burnt sacrifices and sin offerings.
7 Then I say,
“Look, I come!
What is written in the scroll pertains to me.[s]
8 I want to do what pleases you,[t] my God.
Your law dominates my thoughts.”[u]
9 I have told the great assembly[v] about your justice.[w]
Look, I spare no words.[x]
O Lord, you know this is true.
10 I have not failed to tell about your justice;[y]
I spoke about your reliability and deliverance.
I have not neglected to tell the great assembly about your loyal love and faithfulness.[z]
11 O Lord, you do not withhold[aa] your compassion from me.
May your loyal love and faithfulness continually protect me![ab]
12 For innumerable dangers[ac] surround me.
My sins overtake me
so I am unable to see;
they outnumber the hairs of my head
so my strength fails me.[ad]
13 Please be willing, O Lord, to rescue me!
O Lord, hurry and help me![ae]
14 May those who are trying to snatch away my life
be totally embarrassed and ashamed.[af]
May those who want to harm me
be turned back and ashamed.[ag]
15 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
be humiliated[ah] and disgraced.[ai]
16 May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you.
May those who love to experience[aj] your deliverance say continually,[ak]
“May the Lord be praised!”[al]
17 I am oppressed and needy.[am]
May the Lord pay attention to me.[an]
You are my helper and my deliverer.
O my God, do not delay.
Psalm 54[a]
For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song[b] by David. It was written when the Ziphites came and informed Saul: “David is hiding with us.”[c]
54 O God, deliver me by your name.[d]
Vindicate me[e] by your power.
2 O God, listen to my prayer.
Pay attention to what I say.[f]
3 For foreigners[g] attack me;[h]
ruthless men, who do not respect God, seek my life.[i] (Selah)
4 Look, God is my deliverer.[j]
The Lord is among those who support me.[k]
5 May those who wait to ambush me[l] be repaid for their evil.[m]
As a demonstration of your faithfulness,[n] destroy them.
6 With a freewill offering I will sacrifice[o] to you.
I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good.
7 Surely[p] he rescues me from all trouble,[q]
and I triumph over my enemies.[r]
Psalm 51[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David, written when Nathan the prophet confronted him after David’s affair with Bathsheba.[b]
51 Have mercy on me, O God, because of[c] your loyal love.
Because of[d] your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts.[e]
2 Wash away my wrongdoing.[f]
Cleanse me of my sin.[g]
3 For I am aware of[h] my rebellious acts;
I am forever conscious of my sin.[i]
4 Against you—you above all[j]—I have sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.
So[k] you are just when you confront me;[l]
you are right when you condemn me.[m]
5 Look, I was guilty of sin from birth,
a sinner the moment my mother conceived me.[n]
6 Look,[o] you desire[p] integrity in the inner man;[q]
you want me to possess wisdom.[r]
7 Cleanse me[s] with hyssop[t] and I will be pure;[u]
wash me[v] and I will be whiter than snow.[w]
8 Grant me the ultimate joy of being forgiven.[x]
May the bones[y] you crushed rejoice.[z]
9 Hide your face[aa] from my sins.
Wipe away[ab] all my guilt.
10 Create for me a pure heart, O God.[ac]
Renew a resolute spirit within me.[ad]
11 Do not reject me.[ae]
Do not take your holy Spirit[af] away from me.[ag]
12 Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance.
Sustain me by giving me the desire to obey.[ah]
13 Then I will teach[ai] rebels your merciful ways,[aj]
and sinners will turn[ak] to you.
14 Rescue me from the guilt of murder,[al] O God, the God who delivers me.
Then my tongue will shout for joy because of your righteousness.[am]
15 O Lord, give me the words.[an]
Then my mouth will praise you.[ao]
16 Certainly[ap] you do not want a sacrifice, or else I would offer it;[aq]
you do not desire a burnt sacrifice.[ar]
17 The sacrifice God desires is a humble spirit[as]—
O God, a humble and repentant heart[at] you will not reject.[au]
18 Because you favor Zion, do what is good for her.[av]
Fortify[aw] the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will accept[ax] the proper sacrifices, burnt sacrifices and whole offerings;
then bulls will be sacrificed[ay] on your altar.[az]
50 This is what the Lord says:
“Where is your mother’s divorce certificate
by which I divorced her?
Or to which of my creditors did I sell you?[a]
Look, you were sold because of your sins;[b]
because of your rebellious acts I divorced your mother.[c]
2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?
Why does no one respond when I call?[d]
Is my hand too weak[e] to deliver[f] you?
Do I lack the power to rescue you?
Look, with a mere shout[g] I can dry up the sea;
I can turn streams into a desert,
so the fish rot away and die
from lack of water.[h]
3 I can clothe the sky in darkness;
I can cover it with sackcloth.”
The Servant Perseveres
4 The Sovereign Lord has given me the capacity to be his spokesman,[i]
so that I know how to help the weary.[j]
He wakes me up every morning;
he makes me alert so I can listen attentively as disciples do.[k]
5 The Sovereign Lord has spoken to me clearly;[l]
I have not rebelled,
I have not turned back.
6 I offered my back to those who attacked,[m]
my jaws to those who tore out my beard;
I did not hide my face
from insults and spitting.
7 But the Sovereign Lord helps me,
so I am not humiliated.
For that reason I am steadfastly resolved;[n]
I know I will not be put to shame.
8 The one who vindicates me is close by.
Who dares to argue with me? Let us confront each other![o]
Who is my accuser?[p] Let him challenge me![q]
9 Look, the Sovereign Lord helps me.
Who dares to condemn me?
Look, all of them will wear out like clothes;
a moth will eat away at them.
10 Who among you fears the Lord?
Who obeys[r] his servant?
Whoever walks in deep darkness,[s]
without light,
should trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on his God.
11 Look, all of you who start a fire
and who equip yourselves with[t] flaming arrows,[u]
walk[v] in the light[w] of the fire you started
and among the flaming arrows you ignited![x]
This is what you will receive from me:[y]
you will lie down in a place of pain.[z]
Inheritance Comes from Promises and not Law
15 Brothers and sisters,[a] I offer an example from everyday life:[b] When a covenant[c] has been ratified,[d] even though it is only a human contract, no one can set it aside or add anything to it. 16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his descendant.[e] Scripture[f] does not say, “and to the descendants,”[g] referring to many, but “and to your descendant,”[h] referring to one, who is Christ. 17 What I am saying is this: The law that came 430 years later does not cancel a covenant previously ratified by God,[i] so as to invalidate the promise. 18 For if the inheritance is based on the law, it is no longer based on the promise, but God graciously gave[j] it to Abraham through the promise.
19 Why then was the law given?[k] It was added[l] because of transgressions,[m] until the arrival of the descendant[n] to whom the promise had been made. It was administered[o] through angels by an intermediary.[p] 20 Now an intermediary is not for one party alone, but God is one.[q] 21 Is the law therefore opposed to the promises of God?[r] Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.[s] 22 But the scripture imprisoned[t] everything under sin so that the promise could be given—because of the faithfulness[u] of Jesus Christ—to those who believe.
47 When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea and he was alone on the land. 48 He[a] saw them straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. As the night was ending,[b] he came to them walking on the sea,[c] for[d] he wanted to pass by them.[e] 49 When they saw him walking on the water[f] they thought he was a ghost. They[g] cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them:[h] “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” 51 Then he went up with them into the boat, and the wind ceased. They were completely astonished, 52 because they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
Healing the Sick
53 After they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret[i] and anchored there. 54 As they got out of the boat, people immediately recognized Jesus.[j] 55 They ran through that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever he was rumored to be.[k] 56 And wherever he would go—into villages, towns, or countryside—they would place the sick in the marketplaces,[l] and would ask him if[m] they could just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.
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