Book of Common Prayer
Thanksgiving for Rescue from Death.
A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. A Psalm of David.
30 I will (A)exalt You, Lord, for You have (B)lifted me up,
And have not let my (C)enemies rejoice over me.
2 Lord my God,
I (D)cried to You for help, and You (E)healed me.
3 Lord, You have (F)brought up my soul from [a]Sheol;
You have kept me alive, [b]that I would not (G)go down to the pit.
4 (H)Sing praise to the Lord, you (I)His godly ones,
And (J)praise the mention of His holiness.
5 For (K)His anger is but for a moment,
His (L)favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may (M)last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.
6 Now as for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I will (N)never be moved.”
7 Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain to stand strong;
You (O)hid Your face, I was dismayed.
8 To You, Lord, I called,
And to the Lord I pleaded for compassion:
9 “What gain is there in my blood, if I (P)go down to the pit?
Will the (Q)dust praise You? Will it declare Your faithfulness?
Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.
A Psalm of David. A [a]Maskil.
32 (A)How blessed is he whose wrongdoing is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is a person whose guilt the Lord (B)does not take into account,
And in whose spirit there is (C)no deceit!
3 When (D)I kept silent about my sin, (E)my [b]body wasted away
Through my [c](F)groaning all day long.
4 For day and night (G)Your hand was heavy upon me;
My [d](H)vitality failed as with the dry heat of summer. Selah
5 I (I)acknowledged my sin to You,
And I (J)did not hide my guilt;
I said, “(K)I will confess my wrongdoings to the Lord”;
And You (L)forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You [e](M)in a time when You may be found;
Certainly (N)in a flood of great waters, they will not reach him.
7 You are (O)my hiding place; You (P)keep me from trouble;
You surround me with [f](Q)songs of deliverance. Selah
8 I will (R)instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will advise you (S)with My eye upon you.
9 Do not be (T)like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.
10 The (U)sorrows of the wicked are many,
But (V)the one who trusts in the Lord, goodness will surround him.
11 Be (W)glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are (X)upright in heart.
BOOK 2
Thirsting for God in Trouble and Exile.
For the music director. A [a]Maskil of the sons of Korah.
42 As the deer [b]pants for the water brooks,
So my soul [c](A)pants for You, God.
2 My soul (B)thirsts for God, for the (C)living God;
When shall I come and [d](D)appear before God?
3 My (E)tears have been my food day and night,
While they (F)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
4 I remember these things and (G)pour out my soul within me.
For I (H)used to go over with the multitude and walk them to the house of God,
With a voice of (I)joy and thanksgiving, a multitude celebrating a festival.
5 (J)Why are you [e](K)in despair, my soul?
And why are you (L)restless within me?
(M)Wait for God, for I will [f]again praise [g]Him
For the [h](N)help of His [i]presence, my God.
6 My soul is [j]in despair within me;
Therefore I (O)remember You from (P)the land of the Jordan
And the [k]peaks of (Q)Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
All Your (R)breakers and Your waves have passed over me.
8 The Lord will (S)send His goodness in the daytime;
And His song will be with me (T)in the night,
A prayer to (U)the God of my life.
9 I will say to God (V)my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go about (W)mourning [l]because of the (X)oppression of the enemy?”
10 As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries taunt me,
While they (Y)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
11 (Z)Why are you [m]in despair, my soul?
And why are you restless within me?
Wait for God, for I will again praise [n]Him
For the [o]help of His presence, my God.
Prayer for Help.
43 (AA)Vindicate me, God, and (AB)plead my case against an ungodly nation;
[p]Save me from (AC)the deceitful and unjust person!
2 For You are the (AD)God of my strength; why have You (AE)rejected me?
Why do I go about (AF)mourning [q]because of the oppression of the enemy?
Daniel in the Lions’ Den
16 Then the king gave orders, and Daniel was brought in and (A)thrown into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “[a](B)Your God whom you continually serve will Himself rescue you.” 17 And a (C)stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles, so that nothing would be changed regarding Daniel. 18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night (D)fasting, and no entertainment was brought before him; and his (E)sleep fled from him.
19 Then the king got up at dawn, at the break of day, and went in a hurry to the lions’ den. 20 And when he had come near the den to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. The king began speaking and said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has (F)your God, whom you continually serve, been (G)able to rescue you from the lions?” 21 Then Daniel spoke [b]to the king, “(H)O king, live forever! 22 My God (I)sent His angel and (J)shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, since [c]I was found innocent before Him; and also [d]toward you, O king, I have committed no crime.” 23 Then the king was very glad and gave orders for Daniel to be lifted up out of the den. So Daniel was lifted up out of the den, and (K)no injury whatever was found on him, because he had (L)trusted in his God. 24 The king then gave orders, and they brought those men who had [e]maliciously accused Daniel, and they (M)threw them, their (N)children, and their wives into the lions’ den; and they had not reached the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
25 Then Darius the king wrote to all the (O)peoples, nations, and populations of all [f]languages who were living in all the land: “(P)May your [g]peace be great! 26 [h]I (Q)issue a decree that in all the realm of my kingdom people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel;
For He is the (R)living God and (S)enduring forever,
And (T)His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed,
And His dominion will be [i]forever.
27 He rescues, saves, and performs (U)signs and miracles
In heaven and on earth,
He who has also rescued Daniel from the [j]power of the lions.”
28 So this (V)Daniel enjoyed success in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of (W)Cyrus the Persian.
A Good Report
1 (A)The elder to the beloved (B)Gaius, whom I (C)love in truth.
2 Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. 3 For I (D)was overjoyed when (E)brothers came and testified to your truth, that is, how you (F)are walking in truth. 4 I have no greater joy than [a]this, to hear of (G)my children (H)walking in the truth.
5 Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the (I)brothers and sisters, and [b]especially when they are (J)strangers; 6 and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to [c](K)send them on their way in a manner (L)worthy of God. 7 For they went out for the sake of (M)the Name, (N)accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to [d]support such people, so that we may [e]prove to be fellow workers [f]with the truth.
9 I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to (O)be first among them, does not accept [g]what we say. 10 For this reason, (P)if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with malicious words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not (Q)receive the (R)brothers either, and he forbids those who want to do so and (S)puts them out of the church.
11 Beloved, (T)do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. (U)The one who does what is good is of God; (V)the one who does what is evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius (W)has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we testify too, and (X)you know that our testimony is true.
13 (Y)I had many things to write to you, but I do not want to write to you with pen and ink; 14 but I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak [h]face to face.
15 (Z)Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends (AA)by name.
Call of Levi (Matthew)
27 (A)After that He went out and looked at a tax collector named [a](B)Levi sitting in the tax office, and He said to him, “Follow Me.” 28 And he (C)left everything behind, and got up and began following Him.
29 And (D)Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a large crowd of (E)tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them. 30 (F)The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling to His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and [b]sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered and said to them, “(G)It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners.”
33 And they said to Him, “(H)The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers, the disciples of the Pharisees also do [c]the same, but Yours eat and drink.” 34 And Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the [d]attendants of the groom fast while the groom is with them, can you? 35 (I)But the days will come; and when the groom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.” 36 And He was also telling them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the patch from the new garment will not match the old. 37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one, after drinking old wine wants new; for he says, ‘The old is fine.’”
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