Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 70[a](A)
For the director of music. Of David. A petition.
1 Hasten, O God, to save me;
come quickly, Lord, to help me.(B)
2 May those who want to take my life(C)
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
be turned back in disgrace.(D)
3 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”(E)
turn back because of their shame.
4 But may all who seek you(F)
rejoice and be glad(G) in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
“The Lord is great!”(H)
5 But as for me, I am poor and needy;(I)
come quickly to me,(J) O God.
You are my help(K) and my deliverer;(L)
Lord, do not delay.(M)
Psalm 71(N)
1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;(O)
let me never be put to shame.(P)
2 In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me;
turn your ear(Q) to me and save me.
3 Be my rock of refuge,
to which I can always go;
give the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.(R)
4 Deliver(S) me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,(T)
from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.(U)
5 For you have been my hope,(V) Sovereign Lord,
my confidence(W) since my youth.
6 From birth(X) I have relied on you;
you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.(Y)
I will ever praise(Z) you.
7 I have become a sign(AA) to many;
you are my strong refuge.(AB)
8 My mouth(AC) is filled with your praise,
declaring your splendor(AD) all day long.
9 Do not cast(AE) me away when I am old;(AF)
do not forsake(AG) me when my strength is gone.
10 For my enemies(AH) speak against me;
those who wait to kill(AI) me conspire(AJ) together.
11 They say, “God has forsaken(AK) him;
pursue him and seize him,
for no one will rescue(AL) him.”
12 Do not be far(AM) from me, my God;
come quickly, God, to help(AN) me.
13 May my accusers(AO) perish in shame;(AP)
may those who want to harm me
be covered with scorn and disgrace.(AQ)
14 As for me, I will always have hope;(AR)
I will praise you more and more.
15 My mouth will tell(AS) of your righteous deeds,(AT)
of your saving acts all day long—
though I know not how to relate them all.
16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts,(AU) Sovereign Lord;
I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.
17 Since my youth, God, you have taught(AV) me,
and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.(AW)
18 Even when I am old and gray,(AX)
do not forsake me, my God,
till I declare your power(AY) to the next generation,
your mighty acts to all who are to come.(AZ)
19 Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,(BA)
you who have done great things.(BB)
Who is like you, God?(BC)
20 Though you have made me see troubles,(BD)
many and bitter,
you will restore(BE) my life again;
from the depths of the earth(BF)
you will again bring me up.
21 You will increase my honor(BG)
and comfort(BH) me once more.
22 I will praise you with the harp(BI)
for your faithfulness, my God;
I will sing praise to you with the lyre,(BJ)
Holy One of Israel.(BK)
23 My lips will shout for joy(BL)
when I sing praise to you—
I whom you have delivered.(BM)
24 My tongue will tell of your righteous acts
all day long,(BN)
for those who wanted to harm me(BO)
have been put to shame and confusion.(BP)
Psalm 74
A maskil[a] of Asaph.
1 O God, why have you rejected(A) us forever?(B)
Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?(C)
2 Remember the nation you purchased(D) long ago,(E)
the people of your inheritance,(F) whom you redeemed(G)—
Mount Zion,(H) where you dwelt.(I)
3 Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins,(J)
all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.
4 Your foes roared(K) in the place where you met with us;
they set up their standards(L) as signs.
5 They behaved like men wielding axes
to cut through a thicket of trees.(M)
6 They smashed all the carved(N) paneling
with their axes and hatchets.
7 They burned your sanctuary to the ground;
they defiled(O) the dwelling place(P) of your Name.(Q)
8 They said in their hearts, “We will crush(R) them completely!”
They burned(S) every place where God was worshiped in the land.
9 We are given no signs from God;(T)
no prophets(U) are left,
and none of us knows how long this will be.
10 How long(V) will the enemy mock(W) you, God?
Will the foe revile(X) your name forever?
11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?(Y)
Take it from the folds of your garment(Z) and destroy them!
13 It was you who split open the sea(AC) by your power;
you broke the heads of the monster(AD) in the waters.
14 It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan(AE)
and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.(AF)
15 It was you who opened up springs(AG) and streams;
you dried up(AH) the ever-flowing rivers.
16 The day is yours, and yours also the night;
you established the sun and moon.(AI)
17 It was you who set all the boundaries(AJ) of the earth;
you made both summer and winter.(AK)
18 Remember how the enemy has mocked you, Lord,
how foolish people(AL) have reviled your name.
19 Do not hand over the life of your dove(AM) to wild beasts;
do not forget the lives of your afflicted(AN) people forever.
20 Have regard for your covenant,(AO)
because haunts of violence fill the dark places(AP) of the land.
21 Do not let the oppressed(AQ) retreat in disgrace;
may the poor and needy(AR) praise your name.
22 Rise up,(AS) O God, and defend your cause;
remember how fools(AT) mock you all day long.
23 Do not ignore the clamor(AU) of your adversaries,(AV)
the uproar(AW) of your enemies,(AX) which rises continually.
26 “‘Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.(A)
“‘Do not practice divination(B) or seek omens.(C)
27 “‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.(D)
28 “‘Do not cut(E) your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.
29 “‘Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute,(F) or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.(G)
30 “‘Observe my Sabbaths(H) and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.(I)
31 “‘Do not turn to mediums(J) or seek out spiritists,(K) for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.
32 “‘Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect(L) for the elderly(M) and revere your God.(N) I am the Lord.(O)
33 “‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. 34 The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born.(P) Love them as yourself,(Q) for you were foreigners(R) in Egypt.(S) I am the Lord your God.
35 “‘Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity.(T) 36 Use honest scales(U) and honest weights, an honest ephah[a](V) and an honest hin.[b](W) I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.(X)
37 “‘Keep all my decrees(Y) and all my laws(Z) and follow them. I am the Lord.’”
1 Paul, Silas[a](A) and Timothy,(B)
To the church of the Thessalonians(C) in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.(D)
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3 We ought always to thank God for you,(E) brothers and sisters,[b] and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.(F) 4 Therefore, among God’s churches we boast(G) about your perseverance and faith(H) in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.(I)
5 All this is evidence(J) that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy(K) of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6 God is just:(L) He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you(M) 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven(N) in blazing fire(O) with his powerful angels.(P) 8 He will punish(Q) those who do not know God(R) and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.(S) 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction(T) and shut out from the presence of the Lord(U) and from the glory of his might(V) 10 on the day(W) he comes to be glorified(X) in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.(Y)
11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you,(Z) that our God may make you worthy(AA) of his calling,(AB) and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness(AC) and your every deed prompted by faith.(AD) 12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you,(AE) and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.[c]
Do Not Worry(A)
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry(B) about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.(C) Are you not much more valuable than they?(D) 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?(E)
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor(F) was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?(G) 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.(H) 33 But seek first his kingdom(I) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.(J) 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
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