Book of Common Prayer
33 He turns rivers into desert,
springs into thirsty ground,(A)
34 and fruitful land into salty wasteland,
because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.(B)
35 He turns a desert into a pool,
dry land into springs.(C)
36 He causes the hungry to settle there,
and they establish a city where they can live.(D)
37 They sow fields and plant vineyards
that yield a fruitful harvest.(E)
38 He blesses them, and they multiply greatly;(F)
he does not let their livestock decrease.(G)
39 When they are diminished and are humbled
by cruel oppression and sorrow,(H)
40 he pours contempt on nobles(I)
and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.(J)
41 But he lifts the needy out of their suffering(K)
and makes their families multiply like flocks.(L)
42 The upright see it and rejoice,(M)
and all injustice shuts its mouth.(N)
43 Let whoever is wise pay attention to these things
and consider the Lord’s acts of faithful love.(O)
Psalm 108
A Plea for Victory
A song. A psalm of David.
1 My heart is confident, God;
I will sing; I will sing praises
with the whole of my being.[a](P)
2 Wake up, harp and lyre!
I will wake up the dawn.(Q)
3 I will praise you, Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.(R)
4 For your faithful love is higher than the heavens,
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.(S)
5 God, be exalted above the heavens,(T)
and let your glory be over the whole earth.(U)
6 Save with your right hand and answer me
so that those you love may be rescued.(V)
7 God has spoken in his sanctuary:[b]
“I will celebrate!
I will divide up Shechem.(W)
I will apportion the Valley of Succoth.(X)
8 Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine,
and Ephraim is my helmet;(Y)
Judah is my scepter.(Z)
9 Moab is my washbasin;(AA)
I throw my sandal on Edom.(AB)
I shout in triumph over Philistia.”(AC)
Psalm 33
Praise to the Creator
1 Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones;
praise from the upright is beautiful.(A)
2 Praise the Lord with the lyre;
make music to him with a ten-stringed harp.(B)
3 Sing a new song to him;(C)
play skillfully on the strings, with a joyful shout.(D)
4 For the word of the Lord is right,
and all his work is trustworthy.(E)
5 He loves righteousness and justice;(F)
the earth is full of the Lord’s unfailing love.(G)
6 The heavens were made by the word of the Lord,(H)
and all the stars, by the breath of his mouth.(I)
7 He gathers the water of the sea into a heap;[a]
he puts the depths into storehouses.(J)
8 Let the whole earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.(K)
9 For he spoke, and it came into being;
he commanded, and it came into existence.(L)
10 The Lord frustrates the counsel of the nations;
he thwarts the plans of the peoples.(M)
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart from generation to generation.(N)
12 Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord—
the people he has chosen to be his own possession!(O)
13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
he observes everyone.(P)
14 He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth
from his dwelling place.(Q)
15 He forms the hearts of them all;
he considers all their works.(R)
16 A king is not saved by a large army;
a warrior will not be rescued by great strength.(S)
17 The horse is a false hope for safety;
it provides no escape by its great power.(T)
Final Judgment and Joyous Restoration
66 This is what the Lord says:
Heaven(A) is my throne,(B)
and earth is my footstool.(C)
Where could you possibly build a house for me?
And where would my resting place be?(D)
2 My hand made all these things,
and so they all came into being.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will look favorably on this kind of person:
one who is humble,(E) submissive[a] in spirit,(F)
and trembles at my word.
3 One person slaughters an ox, another kills a person;
one person sacrifices a lamb, another breaks a dog’s neck;
one person offers a grain offering, another offers pig’s blood;
one person offers incense, another praises an idol—
all these have chosen their ways
and delight in their abhorrent practices.(G)
4 So I will choose their punishment,
and I will bring on them what they dread
because I called and no one answered;
I spoke and they did not listen;
they did what was evil in my sight
and chose what I did not delight in.(H)
5 You who tremble at his word,(I)
hear the word of the Lord:(J)
“Your brothers who hate and exclude you
for my name’s sake have said,(K)
‘Let the Lord be glorified
so that we can see your joy!’
But they will be put to shame.”(L)
6 A sound of uproar from the city!
A voice from the temple—
the voice of the Lord,
paying back his enemies what they deserve!(M)
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.(A) 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and[a] we can take nothing out.(B) 8 If we have food and clothing,[b] we will be content with these. 9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root[c] of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith(C) and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Fight the Good Fight
11 But you, man of God, flee from these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love,(D) endurance,(E) and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight(F) of the faith. Take hold of eternal life(G) to which you were called and about which you have made a good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the presence of God, who gives life to all,(H) and of Christ Jesus, who gave a good confession before Pontius Pilate,(I) I charge you 14 to keep this command without fault or failure until the appearing(J) of our Lord(K) Jesus Christ. 15 God will bring this about in his own time.(L) He is the blessed and only(M) Sovereign, the King of kings,(N) and the Lord of lords,(O) 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light,(P) whom no one has seen or can see,(Q) to him be honor and eternal power.(R) Amen.(S)
Instructions to the Rich
17 Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant(T) or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God,[d] who richly provides us with all things(U) to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works,(V) to be generous and willing to share,(W) 19 storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the coming age,(X) so that they may take hold of what is truly life.
Guard the Heritage
20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you,(Y) avoiding(Z) irreverent and empty speech and contradictions from what is falsely called knowledge.(AA) 21 By professing it, some(AB) people have departed from the faith.(AC)
Grace be with you all.
The Question about the Messiah
35 While(A) Jesus was teaching in the temple, he asked,(B) “How can the scribes(C) say that the Messiah(D) is the son of David?(E) 36 David(F) himself says by the Holy Spirit: (G)
The Lord(H) declared to my Lord,
‘Sit at my right hand(I)
until I put your enemies under your feet.’[a](J)
37 David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How, then, can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.
Warning against the Scribes
38 He(K) also said in his teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes(L) and who want greetings in the marketplaces,(M) 39 the best seats(N) in the synagogues,(O) and the places of honor(P) at banquets.(Q) 40 They devour(R) widows’(S) houses and say long prayers(T) just for show. These will receive harsher judgment.”
The Widow’s Gift
41 Sitting(U) across from the temple treasury,(V) he watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich(W) people were putting in large sums. 42 Then a poor(X) widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. 43 Summoning his disciples,(Y) he said to them, “Truly I tell you,(Z) this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.(AA) 44 For they all gave out of their surplus,(AB) but she out of her poverty(AC) has put in everything she had(AD) —all she had to live on.”(AE)
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