Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 6[a]
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. According to sheminith.[b] A psalm of David.
1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger(A)
or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Have mercy on me,(B) Lord, for I am faint;(C)
heal me,(D) Lord, for my bones are in agony.(E)
3 My soul is in deep anguish.(F)
How long,(G) Lord, how long?
4 Turn,(H) Lord, and deliver me;
save me because of your unfailing love.(I)
5 Among the dead no one proclaims your name.
Who praises you from the grave?(J)
Psalm 12[a]
For the director of music. According to sheminith.[b] A psalm of David.
1 Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore;(A)
those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.
2 Everyone lies(B) to their neighbor;
they flatter with their lips
but harbor deception in their hearts.(C)
3 May the Lord silence all flattering lips(D)
and every boastful tongue—(E)
4 those who say,
“By our tongues we will prevail;(F)
our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”
Psalm 94
1 The Lord is a God who avenges.(A)
O God who avenges, shine forth.(B)
2 Rise up,(C) Judge(D) of the earth;
pay back(E) to the proud what they deserve.
3 How long, Lord, will the wicked,
how long will the wicked be jubilant?(F)
4 They pour out arrogant(G) words;
all the evildoers are full of boasting.(H)
5 They crush your people,(I) Lord;
they oppress your inheritance.(J)
6 They slay the widow(K) and the foreigner;
they murder the fatherless.(L)
7 They say, “The Lord does not see;(M)
the God of Jacob(N) takes no notice.”
8 Take notice, you senseless ones(O) among the people;
you fools, when will you become wise?
9 Does he who fashioned the ear not hear?
Does he who formed the eye not see?(P)
10 Does he who disciplines(Q) nations not punish?
Does he who teaches(R) mankind lack knowledge?
11 The Lord knows all human plans;(S)
he knows that they are futile.(T)
12 Blessed is the one you discipline,(U) Lord,
the one you teach(V) from your law;
13 you grant them relief from days of trouble,(W)
till a pit(X) is dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not reject his people;(Y)
he will never forsake his inheritance.
15 Judgment will again be founded on righteousness,(Z)
and all the upright in heart(AA) will follow it.
16 Who will rise up(AB) for me against the wicked?
Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?(AC)
17 Unless the Lord had given me help,(AD)
I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.(AE)
18 When I said, “My foot is slipping,(AF)”
your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.
19 When anxiety(AG) was great within me,
your consolation(AH) brought me joy.
20 Can a corrupt throne(AI) be allied with you—
a throne that brings on misery by its decrees?(AJ)
21 The wicked band together(AK) against the righteous
and condemn the innocent(AL) to death.(AM)
22 But the Lord has become my fortress,
and my God the rock(AN) in whom I take refuge.(AO)
23 He will repay(AP) them for their sins
and destroy(AQ) them for their wickedness;
the Lord our God will destroy them.
17 Zion stretches out her hands,(A)
but there is no one to comfort her.
The Lord has decreed for Jacob
that his neighbors become his foes;(B)
Jerusalem has become
an unclean(C) thing(D) among them.
18 “The Lord is righteous,(E)
yet I rebelled(F) against his command.
Listen, all you peoples;
look on my suffering.(G)
My young men and young women
have gone into exile.(H)
19 “I called to my allies(I)
but they betrayed me.
My priests and my elders
perished(J) in the city
while they searched for food
to keep themselves alive.
20 “See, Lord, how distressed(K) I am!
I am in torment(L) within,
and in my heart I am disturbed,(M)
for I have been most rebellious.(N)
Outside, the sword bereaves;
inside, there is only death.(O)
8 We do not want you to be uninformed,(A) brothers and sisters,[a] about the troubles we experienced(B) in the province of Asia.(C) We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God,(D) who raises the dead.(E) 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril,(F) and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope(G) that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers.(H) Then many will give thanks(I) on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
Paul’s Change of Plans
12 Now this is our boast: Our conscience(J) testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity[b](K) and godly sincerity.(L) We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom(M) but on God’s grace. 13 For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that, 14 as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.(N)
15 Because I was confident of this, I wanted to visit you(O) first so that you might benefit twice.(P) 16 I wanted to visit you on my way(Q) to Macedonia(R) and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way(S) to Judea.(T) 17 Was I fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner(U) so that in the same breath I say both “Yes, yes” and “No, no”?
18 But as surely as God is faithful,(V) our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” 19 For the Son of God,(W) Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas[c](X) and Timothy(Y)—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always(Z) been “Yes.” 20 For no matter how many promises(AA) God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen”(AB) is spoken by us to the glory of God.(AC) 21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm(AD) in Christ. He anointed(AE) us, 22 set his seal(AF) of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.(AG)
The Authority of Jesus Questioned(A)
27 They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. 28 “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?”
29 Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!”
31 They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’ …” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)(B)
33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
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