Book of Common Prayer
33 He (A)turns rivers into a wilderness,
And the watersprings into dry ground;
34 A (B)fruitful land into [a]barrenness,
For the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
35 (C)He turns a wilderness into pools of water,
And dry land into watersprings.
36 There He makes the hungry dwell,
That they may establish a city for a dwelling place,
37 And sow fields and plant vineyards,
That they may yield a fruitful harvest.
38 (D)He also blesses them, and they multiply greatly;
And He does not let their cattle (E)decrease.
39 When they are (F)diminished and brought low
Through oppression, affliction, and sorrow,
40 (G)He pours contempt on princes,
And causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way;
41 (H)Yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction,
And (I)makes their families like a flock.
42 (J)The righteous see it and rejoice,
And all (K)iniquity stops its mouth.
43 (L)Whoever is wise will observe these things,
And they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.
Assurance of God’s Victory over Enemies(M)
A Song. A Psalm of David.
108 O (N)God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.
2 (O)Awake, lute and harp!
I will awaken the dawn.
3 I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples,
And I will sing praises to You among the nations.
4 For Your mercy is great above the [b]heavens,
And Your truth reaches to the clouds.
5 (P)Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
And Your glory above all the earth;
6 (Q)That Your beloved may be delivered,
Save with Your right hand, and [c]hear me.
7 God has spoken in His holiness:
“I will rejoice;
I will divide Shechem
And measure out the Valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is Mine; Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is the [d]helmet for My head;
(R)Judah is My lawgiver.
9 Moab is My washpot;
Over Edom I will cast My shoe;
Over Philistia I will triumph.”
10 (S)Who will bring me into the strong city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Is it not You, O God, who cast us off?
And You, O God, who did not go out with our armies?
12 Give us help from trouble,
For the help of man is useless.
13 (T)Through God we will do valiantly,
For it is He who shall tread down our enemies.
The Sovereignty of the Lord in Creation and History
33 Rejoice (A)in the Lord, O you righteous!
For praise from the upright is beautiful.
2 Praise the Lord with the harp;
[a]Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
3 Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
4 For the word of the Lord is right,
And all His work is done in truth.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
6 (B)By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And all the (C)host of them (D)by the breath of His mouth.
7 (E)He gathers the waters of the sea together [b]as a heap;
He lays up the deep in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
9 For (F)He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.
10 (G)The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.
11 (H)The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The plans of His heart to all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
The people He has (I)chosen as His own inheritance.
13 (J)The Lord looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men.
14 From the place of His dwelling He looks
On all the inhabitants of the earth;
15 He fashions their hearts individually;
(K)He [c]considers all their works.
16 (L)No king is saved by the multitude of an army;
A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
17 (M)A horse is a [d]vain hope for safety;
Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.
18 (N)Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy,
19 To deliver their soul from death,
And (O)to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him,
Because we have trusted in His holy name.
22 Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us,
Just as we hope in You.
15 (A)Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came, saying, 16 “Tomorrow about this time (B)I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, (C)and you shall anoint him [a]commander over My people Israel, that he may save My people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have (D)looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me.”
17 So when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, (E)“There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall reign over My people.” 18 Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, “Please tell me, where is the seer’s house?”
19 Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and tomorrow I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart. 20 But as for (F)your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not be anxious about them, for they have been found. And [b]on whom (G)is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on all your father’s house?”
21 And Saul answered and said, (H)“Am I not a Benjamite, of the (I)smallest of the tribes of Israel, and (J)my family the least of all the families of the [c]tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?”
22 Now Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall, and had them sit in the place of honor among those who were invited; there were about thirty persons. 23 And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Set it apart.’ ” 24 So the cook took up (K)the thigh with its upper part and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here it is, what was kept back. It was set apart for you. Eat; for until this time it has been kept for you, since I said I invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
25 When they had come down from the high place into the city, [d]Samuel spoke with Saul on (L)the top of the house. 26 They arose early; and it was about the dawning of the day that Samuel called to Saul on the top of the house, saying, “Get up, that I may send you on your way.” And Saul arose, and both of them went outside, he and Samuel.
Saul Anointed King
27 As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us.” And he went on. “But you stand here [e]awhile, that I may announce to you the word of God.”
Samuel Anoints Saul
10 Then (M)Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, (N)and kissed him and said: “Is it not because (O)the Lord has anointed you commander over (P)His [f]inheritance?
30 (A)“And when forty years had passed, an Angel [a]of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. 31 When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him, 32 saying, (B)‘I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and dared not look. 33 (C)‘Then the Lord said to him, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. 34 I have surely (D)seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will (E)send you to Egypt.” ’
35 “This Moses whom they rejected, saying, (F)‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer (G)by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 (H)He brought them out, after he had (I)shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, (J)and in the Red Sea, (K)and in the wilderness forty years.
Israel Rebels Against God
37 “This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, (L)‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. (M)Him[b] you shall hear.’
38 (N)“This is he who was in the [c]congregation in the wilderness with (O)the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, (P)the one who received the living (Q)oracles[d] to give to us, 39 whom our fathers (R)would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, 40 (S)saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 41 (T)And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and (U)rejoiced in the works of their own hands. 42 Then (V)God turned and gave them up to worship (W)the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets:
The Prayer in the Garden(A)
39 (B)Coming out, (C)He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. 40 (D)When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
41 (E)And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless (F)not My will, but Yours, be done.” 43 [a]Then (G)an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. 44 (H)And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
45 When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. 46 Then He said to them, “Why (I)do you sleep? Rise and (J)pray, lest you enter into temptation.”
Betrayal and Arrest in Gethsemane(K)
47 And while He was still speaking, (L)behold, a multitude; and he who was called (M)Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. 48 But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a (N)kiss?”
49 When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” 50 And (O)one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.
51 But Jesus answered and said, “Permit even this.” And He touched his ear and healed him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.