Book of Common Prayer
God Implored to Confound His Enemies.
A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.
83 Do not keep silent, O God;
Do not hold Your peace or be still, O God.
2
For behold, Your enemies are in tumult,
And those who hate You have raised their heads [in hatred of You].(A)
3
They concoct crafty schemes against Your people,
And conspire together against Your hidden and precious ones.
4
They have said, “Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation;
Let the name of Israel be remembered no more.”
5
For they have conspired together with one mind;
Against You they make a covenant—
6
The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Of Moab and the Hagrites,
7
Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre.
8
Assyria also has joined with them;
They have helped the children of Lot [the Ammonites and the Moabites] and have been an arm [of strength] to them. Selah.
9
Deal with them as [You did] with Midian,
As with Sisera and Jabin at the brook of Kishon,(B)
10
Who were destroyed at En-dor,
Who became like dung for the earth.
11
Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb
And all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,(C)
12
Who said, “Let us possess for ourselves
The pastures of God.”
13
O my God, make them like [a]whirling dust,
Like chaff before the wind [worthless and without substance].
14
Like fire consumes the forest,
And like the flame sets the mountains on fire,
15
So pursue them with Your tempest
And terrify them with [the violence of] Your storm.
16
Fill their faces with shame and disgrace,
That they may [persistently] seek Your name, O Lord.
17
Let them be ashamed and dismayed forever;
Yes, let them be humiliated and perish,
18
That they may know that You alone, whose name is the Lord,
Are the Most High over all the earth.
The Lord Extolled for His Goodness.
A Psalm of praise. Of David.
145 I will exalt You, my God, O King,
And [with gratitude and submissive wonder] I will bless Your name forever and ever.
2
Every day I will bless You and lovingly praise You;
Yes, [with awe-inspired reverence] I will praise Your name forever and ever.
3
Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised,
And His greatness is [so vast and profound as to be] unsearchable [incomprehensible to man].(A)
4
One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty and remarkable acts.
5
On the glorious splendor of Your majesty
And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.
6
People will speak of the power of Your awesome acts,
And [with gratitude and submissive wonder] I will tell of Your greatness.
7
They will overflow [like a fountain] when they speak of Your great and abundant goodness
And will sing joyfully of Your righteousness.
8
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
9
The Lord is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works [the entirety of things created].
10
All Your works shall give thanks to You and praise You, O Lord,
And Your godly ones will bless You.
11
They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom
And talk of Your power,
12
To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts
And the glorious majesty of Your kingdom.
13
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.(B)
14
The Lord upholds all those [of His own] who fall
And raises up all those who are bowed down.
15
The eyes of all look to You [in hopeful expectation],
And You give them their food in due time.
16
You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17
The Lord is [unwaveringly] righteous in all His ways
And gracious and kind in all His works.
18
The Lord is near to all who call on Him,
To all who call on Him in truth (without guile).
19
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear and worship Him [with awe-inspired reverence and obedience];
He also will hear their cry and will save them.
20
The Lord keeps all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
21
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
And all flesh will bless and gratefully praise His holy name forever and ever.
Prayer for God’s Mercy upon the Nation.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
85 O Lord, You have [at last] shown favor to Your land [of Canaan];
You have restored [from Babylon] the captives of Jacob (Israel).
2
You have forgiven the wickedness of Your people;
You have covered all their sin. Selah.
3
You have withdrawn all Your wrath,
You have turned away from Your burning anger.
4
Restore us, O God of our salvation,
And cause Your indignation toward us to cease.
5
Will You be angry with us forever?
Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?
6
Will You not revive us and bring us to life again,
That Your people may rejoice in You?
7
Show us Your lovingkindness, O Lord,
And grant us Your salvation.
8
I will hear [with expectant hope] what God the Lord will say,
For He will speak peace to His people, to His [a]godly ones—
But let them not turn again to folly.
9
Surely His salvation is near to those who [reverently] fear Him [and obey Him with submissive wonder],
That glory [the manifest presence of God] may dwell in our land.
10
Steadfast love and truth and faithfulness meet together;
Righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11
Truth springs from the earth,
And righteousness looks down from heaven.
12
Indeed, the Lord will give what is good,
And our land will yield its produce.
13
Righteousness will go before Him
And will make His footsteps into a way [in which to walk].
A Psalm of Supplication and Trust.
A Prayer of David.
86 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
For I am distressed and needy [I long for Your help].
2
Protect my life (soul), for I am godly and faithful;
O You my God, save Your servant, who trusts in You [believing in You and relying on You, confidently committing everything to You].
3
Be gracious and merciful to me, O Lord,
For to You I cry out all the day long.
4
Make Your servant rejoice,
For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul [all that I am—in prayer].
5
For You, O Lord, are good, and ready to forgive [our sins, sending them away, completely letting them go forever and ever];
And abundant in lovingkindness and overflowing in mercy to all those who call upon You.
6
Hear, O Lord, my prayer;
And listen attentively to the voice of my supplications (specific requests)!
7
In the day of my trouble I will call upon You,
For You will answer me.
8
There is no one like You among the gods, O Lord,
Nor are there any works [of wonder and majesty] like Yours.
9
All nations whom You have made shall come and kneel down in worship before You, O Lord,
And they shall glorify Your name.
10
For You are great and do wondrous works!
You alone are God.
11
Teach me Your way, O Lord,
I will walk and live in Your truth;
Direct my heart to fear Your name [with awe-inspired reverence and submissive wonder].(A)
12
I will give thanks and praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart;
And will glorify Your name forevermore.
13
For great is Your lovingkindness and graciousness toward me;
And You have rescued my life from the depths of Sheol [from death].
14
O God, arrogant and insolent men have risen up against me;
A band of violent men have sought my life,
And they have not set You before them.
15
But You, O Lord, are a God [who protects and is] merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.
16
Turn to me, and be gracious to me;
Grant Your strength [Your might and the power to resist temptation] to Your servant,
And save the son of Your handmaid.
17
Show me a sign of [Your] goodwill,
That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed,
Because You, O Lord, helped and comforted me.
22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule [as king] over us, both you and your son, also your son’s son, for you have rescued us from the hand of Midian.” 23 But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you.” 24 And Gideon said to them, “I would make a request of you, that each one of you give me an earring from his spoil.” For the Midianites had gold earrings, because they were [a]Ishmaelites [who customarily wore them]. 25 They answered, “We will certainly give them to you.” And they spread out a garment, and every one of them threw an earring there from his spoil. 26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was [b]seventeen hundred shekels of gold, apart from the crescent amulets and pendants and the purple garments which were worn by the kings of Midian, and apart from the chains that were on their camels’ necks. 27 Gideon made [all the golden earrings into] an ephod [a sacred, high priest’s garment], and put it in his city of Ophrah, and all Israel [c]worshiped it as an idol there, and [d]it became a trap for Gideon and his household.
Forty Years of Peace
28 So Midian was subdued and humbled before the sons of Israel, and they no longer lifted up their heads [in pride]. And the land was at rest for forty years in the days of Gideon.
29 Jerubbaal (Gideon) the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. 30 Now Gideon had seventy sons born to him, because he had many wives. 31 And his [e]concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelech. 32 Gideon the son of Joash died at a good advanced age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33 Then it came about, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the Israelites again played the prostitute with the Baals, and made Baal-berith their god. 34 And the Israelites did not remember the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hand of all their enemies on every side; 35 nor did they show kindness to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done for Israel.
Peter and John Arrested
4 And while Peter and John were talking to the people, the priests and the captain [who was in charge of the temple area and] of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, 2 being extremely disturbed and thoroughly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in [the case of] Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 So they arrested them and put them in jail until the next day, because it was evening. 4 But many of those who heard the message [of salvation] believed [in Jesus and accepted Him as the Christ]. And the number of the men came to be about 5,000.
5 On the next day, their magistrates and elders and scribes (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) were gathered together in Jerusalem; 6 and [a]Annas the high priest was there, and [b]Caiaphas and [c]John and Alexander, and all others who were of high-priestly descent. 7 When they had put the men in [d]front of them, they repeatedly asked, “By what sort of power, or in what name [that is, by what kind of authority], did you do this [healing]?” 8 Then Peter, filled with [the power of] the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people [members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Court], 9 if we are being put on trial today [to interrogate us] for a good deed done to [benefit] a disabled man, as to how this man has been restored to health, 10 let it be known and clearly understood by all of you, and by all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you [demanded be] crucified [by the Romans and], whom God raised from the dead—in this name [that is, by the authority and power of Jesus] this man stands here before you in good health. 11 This Jesus is the stone which was despised and rejected by you, the builders, but which became the [e]chief Cornerstone.(A) 12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among people by which we must be saved [for God has provided the world no alternative for salvation].”
43 The next day Jesus decided to go into Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me [as My disciple, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher, and walking the same path of life that I walk].” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote about—Jesus from Nazareth, the son of Joseph [according to public record].” 46 Nathanael answered him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip replied, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Here is an Israelite indeed [a true descendant of Jacob], in whom there is no guile nor deceit nor duplicity!” 48 Nathanael said to Jesus, “How do You know [these things about] me?” Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, when you were still under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered, “Rabbi (Teacher), You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” 50 Jesus replied, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe [in Me]? You will see greater things than this.” 51 Then He said to him, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man [the bridge between heaven and earth].”(A)
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