Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Protection, Guidance and Pardon.
A Psalm of David.
25 To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
2
O my God, in You I [have unwavering] trust [and I rely on You with steadfast confidence],
Do not let me be ashamed or my hope in You be disappointed;
Do not let my enemies triumph over me.
3
Indeed, none of those who [expectantly] wait for You will be ashamed;
Those who turn away from what is right and deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed (humiliated, embarrassed).
4
Let me know Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
5
Guide me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
For You [and only You] I wait [expectantly] all the day long.
6
Remember, O Lord, Your [tender] compassion and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they have been from of old.
7
Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
According to Your lovingkindness remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.
8
Good and upright is the Lord;
Therefore He instructs sinners in the way.
9
He leads the humble in justice,
And He teaches the humble His way.
10
All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and goodness and truth and faithfulness
To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.
11
For Your name’s sake, O Lord,
Pardon my wickedness and my guilt, for they are great.
12
Who is the man who fears the Lord [with awe-inspired reverence and worships Him with submissive wonder]?
He will teach him [through His word] in the way he should choose.
13
His soul will dwell in prosperity and goodness,
And his descendants will inherit the land.
14
The secret [of the wise counsel] of the Lord is for those who fear Him,
And He will let them know His covenant and reveal to them [through His word] its [deep, inner] meaning.(A)
15
My eyes are continually toward the Lord,
For He will bring my feet out of the net.
16
Turn to me [Lord] and be gracious to me,
For I am alone and afflicted.
17
The troubles of my heart are multiplied;
Bring me out of my distresses.
18
Look upon my affliction and my trouble,
And forgive all my sins.
19
Look upon my enemies, for they are many;
They hate me with cruel and violent hatred.
20
Guard my soul and rescue me;
Do not let me be ashamed or disappointed,
For I have taken refuge in You.
21
Let integrity and uprightness protect me,
For I wait [expectantly] for You.
22
O God, redeem Israel,
Out of all his troubles.
A Psalm of Thanksgiving for God’s Justice.
To the Chief Musician; on [a]Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.
9 I will give thanks and praise the Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell aloud all Your wonders and marvelous deeds.
2
I will rejoice and exult in you;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.
3
When my enemies turn back,
They stumble and perish before You.
4
For You have maintained my right and my cause;
You have sat on the throne judging righteously.
5
You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked and unrepentant;
You have wiped out their name forever and ever.
6
The enemy has been cut off and has vanished in everlasting ruins,
You have uprooted their cities;
The very memory of them has perished.
7
But the Lord will remain and sit enthroned forever;
He has prepared and established His throne for judgment.(A)
8
And He will judge the world in righteousness;
He will execute judgment for the nations with fairness (equity).(B)
9
The Lord also will be a refuge and a stronghold for the oppressed,
A refuge in times of trouble;
10
And those who know Your name [who have experienced Your precious mercy] will put their confident trust in You,
For You, O Lord, have not abandoned those who seek You.(C)
11
Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion;
Declare among the peoples His [great and wondrous] deeds.
12
For He who avenges blood [unjustly shed] remembers them (His people);
He does not forget the cry of the afflicted and abused.
13
Have mercy on me and be gracious to me, O Lord;
See how I am afflicted by those who hate me,
You who lift me up from the gates of death,
14
That I may tell aloud all Your praises,
That in the gates of the daughter of Zion (Jerusalem)
I may rejoice in Your salvation and Your help.
15
The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made;
In the net which they hid, their own foot has been caught.
16
The Lord has made Himself known;
He executes judgment;
The wicked are trapped by the work of their own hands. Higgaion (meditation) Selah.
17
The wicked will turn to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead),
Even all the nations who forget God.
18
For the poor will not always be forgotten,
Nor the hope of the burdened perish forever.
19
Arise, O Lord, do not let man prevail;
Let the nations be judged before You.
20
Put them in [reverent] [b]fear of You, O Lord,
So that the nations may know they are but [frail and mortal] men. Selah.
Description of a Citizen of Zion.
A Psalm of David.
15 O Lord, who may lodge [as a guest] in Your tent?
Who may dwell [continually] on Your holy hill?
2
He who walks with integrity and strength of character, and works righteousness,
And speaks and holds truth in his heart.
3
He does not slander with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
4
In his eyes an evil person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the Lord [and obediently worship Him with awe-inspired reverence and submissive wonder].
He keeps his word even to his own disadvantage and does not change it [for his own benefit];
5
He does not put out his money at interest [to a fellow Israelite],
And does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things will never be shaken.(A)
Daniel Interprets the Vision
19 “Then Daniel, whose [Babylonian] name was Belteshazzar, was appalled and speechless for a while [because he was deeply concerned about the destiny of the king], and his thoughts alarmed him. The king said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation frighten you.’ Belteshazzar answered, ‘My lord, may the dream be [meant] for those who hate you and its message for your enemies! 20 The tree that you saw, which became great and grew strong, whose height reached to heaven and which was visible to all the earth, 21 whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and on which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field lived, and in whose branches the birds of the sky nested— 22 it is you, O king, who have become great and grown strong; your greatness has increased and it reaches to heaven, and your dominion [reaches] to the ends of the earth. 23 In that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, “Cut the tree down and destroy it; but leave the stump with its roots in the earth, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him feed with the beasts of the field until seven periods of time pass over him,” 24 this is the interpretation, O king: It is the decree of the Most High [God], which has come upon my lord the king: 25 that you shall be driven from mankind and your dwelling place shall be with the beasts of the field; and that you be given grass to eat like the cattle and be wet with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know [without any doubt] that the Most High [God] rules over the kingdom of mankind and He bestows it to whomever He desires. 26 And in that it was commanded to leave the stump with the roots of the tree [in the earth], your kingdom shall be restored to you after you recognize (understand fully) that Heaven rules. 27 Therefore, O king, let my advice to you be [considered and found] acceptable; break away now from your sins and exhibit your repentance by doing what is right, and from your wickedness by showing mercy to the poor, so that [if you repent] there may possibly be a continuance of your prosperity and tranquility and a healing of your error.’
19 By this we will know [without any doubt] that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart and quiet our conscience before Him 20 whenever our heart convicts us [in guilt]; for God is greater than our heart and He knows all things [nothing is hidden from Him because we are in His hands]. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not convict us [of guilt], we have confidence [complete assurance and boldness] before God; 22 and we receive from Him whatever we ask because we [carefully and consistently] keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight [habitually seeking to follow His plan for us].
23 This is His commandment, that we believe [with personal faith and confident trust] in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and [that we unselfishly] love and seek the best for one another, just as He commanded us. 24 The one who habitually keeps His commandments [obeying His word and following His precepts, abides and] remains in Him, and He in him. By this we know and have the proof that He [really] abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us [as a gift].
Testing the Spirits
4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit [speaking through a self-proclaimed prophet]; instead test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets and teachers have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know and recognize the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges and confesses [the fact] that Jesus Christ has [actually] come in the flesh [as a man] is from God [God is its source]; 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus [acknowledging that He has come in the flesh, but would deny any of the Son’s true nature] is not of God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and is now already in the world. 4 Little children (believers, dear ones), you are of God and you belong to Him and have [already] overcome them [the agents of the antichrist]; because He who is in you is greater than he (Satan) who is in the world [of sinful mankind]. 5 They [who teach twisted doctrine] are of the world and belong to it; therefore they speak from the [viewpoint of the] world [with its immoral freedom and baseless theories—demanding compliance with their opinions and ridiculing the values of the upright], and the [gullible one of the] world listens closely and pays attention to them. 6 We [who teach God’s word] are from God [energized by the Holy Spirit], and whoever knows God [through personal experience] listens to us [and has a deeper understanding of Him]. Whoever is not of God does not listen to us. By this we know [without any doubt] the spirit of truth [motivated by God] and the spirit of error [motivated by Satan].
Jesus’ Public Ministry
14 Then Jesus went back to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and the news about Him spread through the entire region. 15 And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised and glorified and honored by all.
16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,(A)
18
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me (the Messiah),
Because He has anointed Me to preach the good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to announce release (pardon, forgiveness) to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed (downtrodden, bruised, crushed by tragedy),
19
to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the favor of God abound greatly].”(B)
20 Then He rolled up the scroll [having stopped in the middle of the verse], gave it back to the attendant and sat down [to teach]; and the eyes of all those in the synagogue were [attentively] fixed on Him. 21 He began speaking to them: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing and in your presence.” 22 And [as He continued on] they all were speaking well of Him, and were in awe and were wondering about the words of grace which were coming from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” 23 So He said to them, “You will no doubt quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal Yourself! Whatever [miracles] that we heard were done [by You] in Capernaum, do here in Your hometown as well.’” 24 Then He said, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. 25 But in truth I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was closed up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; 26 and yet Elijah was not sent [by the Lord] to a single one of them, but only to Zarephath in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.(C) 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and not one of them was cleansed [by being healed] except Naaman the Syrian.”(D) 28 As they heard these things [about God’s grace to these two Gentiles], the people in the synagogue were filled with a great rage; 29 and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the crest of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to hurl Him down the cliff. 30 But passing [miraculously] through the crowd, He went on His way.
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