Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 83[a]
A song, a psalm of Asaph.
83 O God, do not be silent.
Do not ignore us.[b] Do not be inactive, O God.
2 For look, your enemies are making a commotion;
those who hate you are hostile.[c]
3 They carefully plot[d] against your people,
and make plans to harm[e] the ones you cherish.[f]
4 They say, “Come on, let’s annihilate them so they are no longer a nation.[g]
Then the name of Israel will be remembered no more.”
5 Yes,[h] they devise a unified strategy;[i]
they form an alliance[j] against you.
6 It includes[k] the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,[l]
7 Gebal,[m] Ammon, and Amalek,
Philistia and the inhabitants of Tyre.
8 Even Assyria has allied with them,
lending its strength to the descendants of Lot.[n] (Selah)
9 Do to them as you did to Midian[o]—
as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.[p]
10 They were destroyed at Endor;[q]
their corpses were like manure[r] on the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,[s]
and all their rulers like Zebah and Zalmunna,[t]
12 who said,[u] “Let’s take over[v] the pastures of God.”
13 O my God, make them like dead thistles,[w]
like dead weeds blown away by[x] the wind.
14 Like the fire that burns down the forest,
or the flames that consume the mountainsides,[y]
15 chase them with your gale winds,
and terrify[z] them with your windstorm.
16 Cover[aa] their faces with shame,
so they might seek[ab] you,[ac] O Lord.
17 May they be humiliated and continually terrified.[ad]
May they die in shame.[ae]
18 Then they will know[af] that you alone are the Lord,[ag]
the Most High[ah] over all the earth.
Psalm 34[a]
By David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, causing the king to send him away.[b]
34 I will praise[c] the Lord at all times;
my mouth will continually praise him.[d]
2 I will boast[e] in the Lord;
let the oppressed hear and rejoice.[f]
3 Magnify the Lord with me.
Let us praise[g] his name together.
4 I sought the Lord’s help[h] and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Look to him and be radiant;
do not let your faces be ashamed.[i]
6 This oppressed man cried out and the Lord heard;
he saved him[j] from all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord camps around
the Lord’s[k] loyal followers[l] and delivers them.[m]
8 Taste[n] and see that the Lord is good.
How blessed[o] is the one[p] who takes shelter in him.[q]
9 Fear the Lord, you chosen people of his,[r]
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 Even young lions sometimes lack food and are hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 Come children. Listen to me.
I will teach you what it means to fear the Lord.[s]
12 Do you want to really live?[t]
Would you love to live a long, happy life?[u]
13 Then make sure you don’t speak evil words[v]
or use deceptive speech.[w]
14 Turn away from evil and do what is right.[x]
Strive for peace and promote it.[y]
15 The Lord pays attention to the godly
and hears their cry for help.[z]
16 But the Lord opposes evildoers
and wipes out all memory of them from the earth.[aa]
17 The godly[ab] cry out and the Lord hears;
he saves them from all their troubles.[ac]
18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
he delivers[ad] those who are discouraged.[ae]
19 The godly[af] face many dangers,[ag]
but the Lord saves[ah] them[ai] from each one of them.
20 He protects[aj] all his bones;[ak]
not one of them is broken.[al]
21 Evil people self-destruct;[am]
those who hate the godly are punished.[an]
22 The Lord rescues his servants;[ao]
all who take shelter in him escape punishment.[ap]
Psalm 85[a]
For the music director, written by the Korahites, a psalm.
85 O Lord, you showed favor to your land;
you restored the well-being of Jacob.[b]
2 You pardoned[c] the wrongdoing of your people;
you forgave[d] all their sin. (Selah)
3 You withdrew all your fury;
you turned back from your raging anger.[e]
4 Restore us, O God our deliverer.
Do not be displeased with us.[f]
5 Will you stay mad at us forever?
Will you remain angry throughout future generations?[g]
6 Will you not revive us once more?
Then your people will rejoice in you.
7 O Lord, show us your loyal love.
Bestow on us your deliverance.
8 I will listen to what God the Lord says.[h]
For he will make[i] peace with his people, his faithful followers.[j]
Yet they must not[k] return to their foolish ways.
9 Certainly his loyal followers will soon experience his deliverance;[l]
then his splendor will again appear in our land.[m]
10 Loyal love and faithfulness meet;[n]
deliverance and peace greet each other with a kiss.[o]
11 Faithfulness grows from the ground,
and deliverance looks down from the sky.[p]
12 Yes, the Lord will bestow his good blessings,[q]
and our land will yield[r] its crops.
13 Deliverance goes[s] before him,
and prepares[t] a pathway for him.[u]
Psalm 86[v]
A prayer of David.
86 Listen,[w] O Lord. Answer me.
For I am oppressed and needy.
2 Protect me,[x] for I am loyal.
You are my God; deliver your servant who trusts in you.
3 Have mercy on me,[y] O Lord,
for I cry out to you all day long.
4 Make your servant[z] glad,
for to you, O Lord, I pray.[aa]
5 Certainly,[ab] O Lord, you are kind[ac] and forgiving,
and show great faithfulness to all who cry out to you.
6 O Lord, hear my prayer.
Pay attention to my plea for mercy.
7 In my time of trouble I cry out to you,
for you will answer me.
8 None can compare to you among the gods, O Lord.
Your exploits are incomparable.[ad]
9 All the nations, whom you created,
will come and worship you,[ae] O Lord.
They will honor your name.
10 For you are great and do amazing things.
You alone are God.
11 O Lord, teach me how you want me to live.[af]
Then I will obey your commands.[ag]
Make me wholeheartedly committed to you.[ah]
12 O Lord, my God, I will give you thanks with my whole heart.
I will honor your name continually.[ai]
13 For you will extend your great loyal love to me,[aj]
and will deliver my life[ak] from the depths of Sheol.[al]
14 O God, arrogant men attack me;[am]
a gang[an] of ruthless men, who do not respect you, seek my life.[ao]
15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God.
You are patient[ap] and demonstrate great loyal love and faithfulness.[aq]
16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me.
Give your servant your strength.
Deliver this son of your female servant.[ar]
17 Show me evidence of your favor.[as]
Then those who hate me will see it and be ashamed,[at]
for you, O Lord, will help me and comfort me.[au]
The Lord Judges the House of Eli
27 Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘I plainly[a] revealed[b] myself to your ancestor’s house when they were slaves to the house of Pharaoh in Egypt.[c] 28 I chose[d] your ancestor[e] from all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifice on my altar, to burn incense, and to bear[f] the ephod before me. I gave to your ancestor’s house all the fire offerings made by the Israelites. 29 Why are you[g] scorning my sacrifice and my offering that I commanded for my dwelling place?[h] You have honored your sons more than you have me by having made yourselves fat from the best parts of all the offerings of my people Israel.’
30 “Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘I really did say[i] that your house and your ancestor’s house would serve[j] me forever.’ But now the Lord says, ‘May it never be![k] For I will honor those who honor me, but those who despise me will be cursed! 31 In fact, days are coming when I will remove your strength[l] and the strength[m] of your father’s house. There will not be an old man in your house! 32 You will see trouble in my dwelling place![n] Israel will experience blessings,[o] but there will not be an old man in your[p] house for all time.[q] 33 Any man of yours that I do not cut off from my altar, I will cause his[r] eyes to fail[s] and will cause him grief.[t] All those born to your family[u] will die by the sword of man.[v] 34 This will be a confirming sign for you that will be fulfilled through your two sons,[w] Hophni and Phinehas: in a single day they both will die! 35 Then I will raise up for myself a faithful priest. He will do what is in my heart and soul. I will build for him a lasting dynasty,[x] and he will serve my chosen one for all time.[y] 36 Everyone who remains in your house will come to bow before him for a little money[z] and for a scrap of bread. Each will say, “Assign me to a priestly task so I can eat a scrap of bread.”’”
22 “Men of Israel,[a] listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man clearly attested to you by God with powerful deeds,[b] wonders, and miraculous signs[c] that God performed among you through him, just as you yourselves know— 23 this man, who was handed over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed[d] by nailing him to a cross at the hands of Gentiles.[e] 24 But God raised him up,[f] having released[g] him from the pains[h] of death, because it was not possible for him to be held in its power.[i] 25 For David says about him,
‘I saw the Lord always in front of me,[j]
for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced;
my body[k] also will live in hope,
27 because you will not leave my soul in Hades,[l]
nor permit your Holy One to experience[m] decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will make me full of joy with your presence.’[n]
29 “Brothers,[o] I can speak confidently[p] to you about our forefather[q] David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 So then, because[r] he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants[s] on his throne,[t] 31 David by foreseeing this[u] spoke about the resurrection of the Christ,[v] that he was neither abandoned to Hades,[w] nor did his body[x] experience[y] decay.[z] 32 This Jesus God raised up, and we are all witnesses of it.[aa] 33 So then, exalted[ab] to the right hand[ac] of God, and having received[ad] the promise of the Holy Spirit[ae] from the Father, he has poured out[af] what you both see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says,
‘The Lord said to my lord,
“Sit[ag] at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies a footstool[ah] for your feet.”’[ai]
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt[aj] that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified[ak] both Lord[al] and Christ.”[am]
The Messiah: David’s Son and Lord
41 But[a] he said to them, “How is it that they say that the Christ[b] is David’s son?[c] 42 For David himself says in the book of Psalms,
‘The Lord said to my[d] lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
43 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’[e]
44 If David then calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?”[f]
Jesus Warns the Disciples against Pride
45 As[g] all the people were listening, Jesus[h] said to his disciples, 46 “Beware[i] of the experts in the law.[j] They[k] like walking around in long robes, and they love elaborate greetings[l] in the marketplaces[m] and the best seats[n] in the synagogues[o] and the places of honor at banquets. 47 They[p] devour[q] widows’ property,[r] and as a show make long prayers. They will receive a more severe punishment.”
The Widow’s Offering
21 Jesus[s] looked up[t] and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box.[u] 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.[v] 3 He[w] said, “I tell you the truth,[x] this poor widow has put in more than all of them.[y] 4 For they all offered their gifts out of their wealth.[z] But she, out of her poverty, put in everything she had to live on.”[aa]
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