Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 95[a]
95 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord.
Let us shout out praises to our Protector who delivers us.[b]
2 Let us enter his presence[c] with thanksgiving.
Let us shout out to him in celebration.[d]
3 For the Lord is a great God,
a great king who is superior to[e] all gods.
4 The depths of the earth are in his hand,[f]
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it.
His hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us bow down and worship.[g]
Let us kneel before the Lord, our Creator.
7 For he is our God;
we are the people of his pasture,
the sheep he owns.[h]
Today, if only you would obey him.[i]
8 He says,[j] “Do not be stubborn like they were at Meribah,[k]
like they were that day at Massah[l] in the wilderness,[m]
9 where your ancestors challenged my authority,[n]
and tried my patience, even though they had seen my work.
10 For forty years I was continually disgusted[o] with that generation,
and I said, ‘These people desire to go astray;[p]
they do not obey my commands.’[q]
11 So I made a vow in my anger,
‘They will never enter into the resting place I had set aside for them.’”[r]
Psalm 32[a]
By David; a well-written song.[b]
32 How blessed[c] is the one whose rebellious acts are forgiven,[d]
whose sin is pardoned.[e]
2 How blessed is the one[f] whose wrongdoing the Lord does not punish,[g]
in whose spirit there is no deceit.[h]
3 When I refused to confess my sin,[i]
my whole body wasted away,[j]
while I groaned in pain all day long.
4 For day and night you tormented me;[k]
you tried to destroy me[l] in the intense heat[m] of summer.[n] (Selah)
5 Then I confessed my sin;
I no longer covered up my wrongdoing.
I said, “I will confess[o] my rebellious acts to the Lord.”
And then you forgave my sins.[p] (Selah)
6 For this reason every one of your faithful followers[q] should pray to you
while there is a window of opportunity.[r]
Certainly[s] when the surging water[t] rises,
it will not reach them.[u]
7 You are my hiding place;
you protect me from distress.
You surround me with shouts of joy from those celebrating deliverance.[v] (Selah)
8 I will instruct and teach you[w] about how you should live.[x]
I will advise you as I look you in the eye.[y]
9 Do not be[z] like an unintelligent horse or mule,[aa]
which will not obey you
unless they are controlled by a bridle and bit.[ab]
10 An evil person suffers much pain,[ac]
but the Lord’s faithfulness overwhelms the one who trusts in him.[ad]
11 Rejoice in the Lord and be happy, you who are godly!
Shout for joy, all you who are morally upright![ae]
Psalm 143[a]
A psalm of David.
143 O Lord, hear my prayer.
Pay attention to my plea for help.
Because of your faithfulness and justice, answer me.
2 Do not sit in judgment on[b] your servant,
for no one alive is innocent before you.[c]
3 Certainly[d] my enemies[e] chase me.
They smash me into the ground.[f]
They force me to live[g] in dark regions,[h]
like those who have been dead for ages.
4 My strength leaves me;[i]
I am absolutely shocked.[j]
5 I recall the old days.[k]
I meditate on all you have done;
I reflect on your accomplishments.[l]
6 I spread my hands out to you in prayer;[m]
my soul thirsts for you in a parched[n] land.[o] (Selah)
7 Answer me quickly, Lord.
My strength is fading.[p]
Do not reject me,[q]
or I will join[r] those descending into the grave.[s]
8 May I hear about your loyal love in the morning,[t]
for I trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,[u]
because I long for you.[v]
9 Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord.
I run to you for protection.[w]
10 Teach me to do what pleases you,[x]
for you are my God.
May your kind presence[y]
lead me[z] into a level land.[aa]
11 O Lord, for the sake of your reputation,[ab] revive me.[ac]
Because of your justice, rescue me from trouble.[ad]
12 As a demonstration of your loyal love,[ae] destroy my enemies.
Annihilate[af] all who threaten my life,[ag]
for I am your servant.
Psalm 102[a]
The prayer of an oppressed man, as he grows faint and pours out his lament before the Lord.
102 O Lord, hear my prayer.
Pay attention to my cry for help.[b]
2 Do not ignore me in my time of trouble.[c]
Listen to me.[d]
When I call out to you, quickly answer me.
3 For my days go up in smoke,[e]
and my bones are charred as in a fireplace.[f]
4 My heart is parched[g] and withered like grass,
for I am unable[h] to eat food.[i]
5 Because of the anxiety that makes me groan,
my bones protrude from my skin.[j]
6 I am like an owl[k] in the wilderness;
I am like a screech owl[l] among the ruins.[m]
7 I stay awake;[n]
I am like a solitary bird on a roof.
8 All day long my enemies taunt me;
those who mock me use my name in their curses.[o]
9 For I eat ashes as if they were bread,[p]
and mix my drink with my tears,[q]
10 because of your anger and raging fury.
Indeed,[r] you pick me up and throw me away.
11 My days are coming to an end,[s]
and I am withered like grass.
12 But you, O Lord, rule forever,[t]
and your reputation endures.[u]
13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion.[v]
For it is time to have mercy on her,
for the appointed time has come.
14 Indeed,[w] your servants take delight in her stones,
and feel compassion for[x] the dust of her ruins.[y]
15 The nations will respect the reputation of the Lord,[z]
and all the kings of the earth will respect[aa] his splendor,
16 when the Lord rebuilds Zion,
and reveals his splendor,
17 when he responds to the prayer of the destitute,[ab]
and does not reject[ac] their request.[ad]
18 The account of his intervention[ae] will be recorded for future generations;
people yet to be born[af] will praise the Lord.
19 For he will look down from his sanctuary above;[ag]
from heaven the Lord will look toward earth,[ah]
20 in order to hear the painful cries of the prisoners,
and to set free those condemned to die,[ai]
21 so they may proclaim the name of the Lord in Zion,
and praise him[aj] in Jerusalem,
22 when the nations gather together,
and the kingdoms pay tribute to the Lord.[ak]
23 He has taken away my strength in the middle of life;[al]
he has cut short my days.
24 I say, “O my God, please do not take me away in the middle of my life.[am]
You endure through all generations.[an]
25 In earlier times you established the earth;
the skies are your handiwork.
26 They will perish,
but you will endure.[ao]
They will wear out like a garment;
like clothes you will remove them and they will disappear.[ap]
27 But you remain;[aq]
your years do not come to an end.
28 The children of your servants will settle down here,
and their descendants[ar] will live securely in your presence.”[as]
Psalm 130[a]
A song of ascents.[b]
130 From the deep water[c] I cry out to you, O Lord.
2 O Lord, listen to me.[d]
Pay attention to[e] my plea for mercy.
3 If you, O Lord, were to keep track of[f] sins,
O Lord, who could stand before you?[g]
4 But[h] you are willing to forgive,[i]
so that you might[j] be honored.[k]
5 I rely on[l] the Lord.
I rely on him with my whole being;[m]
I wait for his assuring word.[n]
6 I yearn for the Lord,[o]
more than watchmen do for the morning,
yes, more than watchmen do for the morning.[p]
7 O Israel, hope in the Lord,
for the Lord exhibits loyal love,[q]
and is more than willing to deliver.[r]
8 He will deliver[s] Israel
from all their sins.[t]
The People of Nineveh Respond to Jonah’s Warning
3 The Lord’s message came to Jonah a second time, 2 “Go immediately[a] to Nineveh, that large city,[b] and proclaim to[c] it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah went immediately to Nineveh, in keeping with the Lord’s message. Now Nineveh was an enormous city[d]—it required three days to walk through it![e] 4 Jonah began to enter the city by going one day’s walk, announcing, “At the end of forty days,[f] Nineveh will be overthrown!”[g]
5 The people[h] of Nineveh believed in God,[i] and they declared a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.[j] 6 When the news[k] reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth, and sat on ashes. 7 He issued a proclamation and said,[l] “In Nineveh, by the decree of the king and his nobles: No human or animal, cattle or sheep, is to taste anything; they must not eat and they must not drink water. 8 Every person and animal must put on sackcloth and must cry earnestly[m] to God, and everyone[n] must turn from their[o] evil way of living[p] and from the violence that they do.[q] 9 Who knows?[r] Perhaps God might be willing to change his mind and relent[s] and turn from his fierce anger[t] so that we might not die.”[u] 10 When God saw their actions—that they turned from their evil way of living.[v]—God relented concerning the judgment[w] he had threatened them with[x] and did not destroy them.[y]
Jonah Responds to God’s Kindness
4 This displeased Jonah terribly[z] and he became very angry.[aa] 2 He prayed to the Lord and said, “Oh, Lord, this is just what I thought[ab] would happen[ac] when I was in my own country.[ad] This is what I tried to prevent[ae] by attempting to escape to Tarshish,[af] because I knew[ag] that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger[ah] and abounding[ai] in mercy, and one who relents concerning threatened judgment.[aj] 3 So now, Lord, kill me instead,[ak] because I would rather die than live!”[al] 4 The Lord said, “Are you really so very[am] angry?”[an]
5 Jonah left the city and sat down east[ao] of it.[ap] He made a shelter for himself there and sat down under it in the shade to see what would happen to the city.[aq] 6 The Lord God appointed[ar] a little plant[as] and caused it to grow up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to rescue[at] him from his misery.[au] Now Jonah was very delighted[av] about the little plant.
7 So God sent[aw] a worm at dawn the next day, and it attacked the little plant so that it dried up. 8 When the sun began to shine, God sent[ax] a hot[ay] east wind. So the sun beat down[az] on Jonah’s head, and he grew faint. So he despaired of life[ba] and said, “I would rather die than live!”[bb]
9 God said to Jonah, “Are you really so very angry[bc] about the little plant?” And he said, “I am as angry[bd] as I could possibly be!”[be] 10 The Lord said, “You were upset[bf] about this little[bg] plant, something for which you did not work, nor did you do anything to make it grow. It grew up overnight and died the next day.[bh] 11 Should I[bi] not be more[bj] concerned[bk] about Nineveh, this enormous city?[bl] There are more than 120,000 people in it who do not know right from wrong,[bm] as well as many animals.”[bn]
The Lord’s Discipline
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,[a] we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, 2 keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For[b] the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.[c] 3 Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up. 4 You have not yet resisted to the point of bloodshed[d] in your struggle against sin. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons?
“My son, do not scorn[e] the Lord’s discipline
or give up when he corrects[f] you.
6 “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son he accepts.”[g]
7 Endure your suffering[h] as discipline;[i] God is treating you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? 8 But if you do not experience discipline,[j] something all sons[k] have shared in, then you are illegitimate and are not sons. 9 Besides, we have experienced discipline from[l] our earthly fathers[m] and we respected them; shall we not submit ourselves all the more to the Father of spirits and receive life?[n] 10 For they disciplined us for a little while as seemed good to them, but he does so for our benefit, that we may share his holiness. 11 Now all discipline seems painful at the time, not joyful.[o] But later it produces the fruit of peace and righteousness[p] for those trained by it. 12 Therefore, strengthen[q] your listless hands and your weak knees,[r] 13 and make straight paths for your feet,[s] so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but be healed.
Do Not Reject God’s Warning
14 Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness,[t] for without it no one will see the Lord.
The Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector
9 Jesus[a] also told this parable to some who were confident that they were righteous and looked down[b] on everyone else. 10 “Two men went up[c] to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee[d] and the other a tax collector.[e] 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this:[f] ‘God, I thank[g] you that I am not like other people:[h] extortionists,[i] unrighteous people,[j] adulterers—or even like this tax collector.[k] 12 I fast twice[l] a week; I give a tenth[m] of everything I get.’ 13 The tax collector, however, stood[n] far off and would not even look up[o] to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful[p] to me, sinner that I am!’[q] 14 I tell you that this man went down to his home justified[r] rather than the Pharisee.[s] For everyone who exalts[t] himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
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