Book of Common Prayer
33 He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,(A)
34 a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.(B)
35 He turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.(C)
36 And there he lets the hungry live,
and they establish a town to live in;
37 they sow fields and plant vineyards
and get a fruitful yield.(D)
38 By his blessing they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their cattle decrease.(E)
39 When they are diminished and brought low
through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,(F)
40 he pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes,(G)
41 but he raises up the needy out of distress
and makes their families like flocks.(H)
42 The upright see it and are glad,
and all wickedness stops its mouth.(I)
43 Let those who are wise pay attention to these things
and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.(J)
Psalm 108
Praise and Prayer for Victory
A Song. A Psalm of David.
1 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;[a]
I will sing and make melody.
Awake, my soul
2 Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn.(L)
3 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples,
and I will sing praises to you among the nations.
4 For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens,
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.(M)
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
and let your glory be over all the earth.
6 Give victory with your right hand, and answer me,
so that those whom you love may be rescued.(N)
7 God has promised in his sanctuary:[c]
“With exultation I will divide up Shechem
and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet;
Judah is my scepter.(O)
9 Moab is my washbasin;
on Edom I hurl my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
10 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Have you not rejected us, O God?
You do not go out, O God, with our armies.(P)
12 O grant us help against the foe,
for human help is worthless.
13 With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.
Psalm 33
The Greatness and Goodness of God
1 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous.
Praise befits the upright.(A)
2 Praise the Lord with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.(B)
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.(C)
4 For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in faithfulness.(D)
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.(E)
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made
and all their host by the breath of his mouth.(F)
7 He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;
he put the deeps in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him,(G)
9 for he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.(H)
10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.(I)
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the thoughts of his heart to all generations.(J)
12 Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.(K)
13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees all humankind.(L)
14 From where he sits enthroned he watches
all the inhabitants of the earth—
15 he who fashions the hearts of them all
and observes all their deeds.(M)
16 A king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.(N)
17 The war horse is a vain hope for victory,
and by its great might it cannot save.(O)
18 Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,(P)
19 to deliver their soul from death
and to keep them alive in famine.(Q)
20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and shield.
21 Our heart is glad in him
because we trust in his holy name.(R)
22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.
The Worship God Demands
66 Thus says the Lord:
Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool;
so what kind of house could you build for me,
what sort of place for me to rest?(A)
2 All these things my hand has made,
so all these things are mine,[a]
says the Lord.
But this is the one to whom I will look,
to the humble and contrite in spirit
who trembles at my word.(B)
3 Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who kills a human,
whoever sacrifices a lamb like one who breaks a dog’s neck,
whoever presents a grain offering like one who offers pig’s blood,
whoever makes a memorial offering of frankincense like one who blesses an idol.
Just as these have chosen their own ways
and in their abominations they take delight,(C)
4 so I will choose their punishments
and bring upon them what they fear,
because, when I called, no one answered,
when I spoke, they did not listen,
but they did what was evil in my sight
and chose what did not please me.(D)
The Lord Vindicates Zion
5 Hear the word of the Lord,
you who tremble at his word:
Your own people who hate you
and reject you for my name’s sake
have said, “Let the Lord be glorified,
so that we may see your joy,”
but it is they who shall be put to shame.(E)
6 Listen, a roar from the city!
A voice from the temple!
The voice of the Lord,
dealing retribution to his enemies!(F)
6 Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment,(A) 7 for we brought nothing into the world, so that[a] we can take nothing out of it, 8 but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. 9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.(B) 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.
The Good Fight of Faith
11 But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and for which you made[b] the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.(C) 13 In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you(D) 14 to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ,(E) 15 which he will bring about at the right time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.(F) 16 It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.(G)
17 As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches but rather on God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.(H) 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share,(I) 19 thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.
Personal Instructions and Benediction
20 Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the profane chatter and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge;(J) 21 by professing it some have missed the mark as regards the faith.
Grace be with you.[c]
The Question about David’s Son
35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah[a] is the son of David?(A) 36 David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’(B)
37 “David himself calls him Lord, so how can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.(C)
Jesus Denounces the Scribes
38 As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces(D) 39 and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! 40 They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
The Widow’s Offering
41 He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums.(E) 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. 43 Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury.(F) 44 For all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.