Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for the King
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
20 May the Lord answer you in ·times [L the day] of ·trouble [distress].
May the name of the God of Jacob ·protect [defend; provide refuge for] you [Num. 6:24].
2 May he send you help from ·his Temple [L the sanctuary]
and support you from Mount Zion [C location of the Temple].
3 May he remember all your ·offerings [gifts; tributes; grain offerings; Lev. 2]
and ·accept [look with favor on] all your ·sacrifices [L whole burnt offerings; Lev. 1]. ·
4 May he give you ·what you want [L all your heart]
and ·make all your plans succeed [L fulfill all your plans],
5 and we will shout for joy when you ·succeed [are victorious; C as in battle],
and we will raise a ·flag [banner] in the name of our God.
May the Lord ·give you [fulfill] all that you ask for.
6 Now I know the Lord ·helps [saves; gives victory to] his ·appointed king [anointed].
He answers him from his holy heaven
and ·saves him [gives him victory] with his strong right hand.
7 Some ·trust in [boast in; rely on] chariots, others in horses,
but we ·trust [boast in; rely on] the name of the Lord our God [Is. 2:7].
8 They ·are overwhelmed and defeated [collapse and fall],
but we ·march forward and win [L rise and stand erect].
9 Lord, ·save [give victory to] the king!
Answer us when we call for help.
Thanksgiving for the King
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
21 Lord, the king rejoices because of your strength;
he is so happy when you ·save him [give him victory/help]!
2 You gave the king ·what he wanted [L the desire of his heart]
and did not ·refuse [withhold] ·what he asked for [L the request of his lips]. ·
3 You put ·good things [rich blessings] before him
and placed a gold crown on his head.
4 He asked you for life,
and you gave it to him,
·so his years go on and on [L length of days forever and ever].
5 He has great glory because you gave him ·victories [help];
you gave him ·honor [splendor] and ·praise [majesty].
6 You ·always [forever] gave him blessings;
you made him glad because ·you were with him [L of the joy of your presence].
7 The king truly ·trusts [has confidence in] the Lord.
Because God Most High always ·loves [is loyal toward] him,
he will not be ·overwhelmed [moved].
8 Your hand ·is against [L will find out] all your enemies;
·those who hate you will feel your power [L your right hand will find out those who hate you].
9 When ·you [L the Lord] appear,
you will burn them as in a furnace.
In your anger you will swallow them up,
and fire will burn them up.
10 You will destroy their ·families [offspring] from the earth;
their ·children [L seed] will not live.
11 They made evil plans against you,
but ·their traps [L the schemes they devise] won’t ·work [succeed].
12 You will make them turn their backs
when you aim your arrows at ·them [L their faces].
13 Be ·supreme [exalted], Lord, in your power.
We sing and praise your ·greatness [strength].
The Lord Appoints a King
A psalm of David.
110 ·The Lord said [L Utterance/Oracle of the Lord] to my Lord,
“Sit at my right ·side [L hand]
until I put your enemies under your ·control [L feet; Matt. 22:44; 26:64; Mark 12:36; 16:19; Luke 20:42–44; 22:59; Acts 2:34–35; Rom. 8:34; 1 Cor. 15:25; Eph. 1:20; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12–13; 12:2].”
2 The Lord will ·enlarge [L send] ·your kingdom [L the scepter of your strength; C symbol of royal power] beyond ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C location of the Temple],
and ·you will rule over [L give you dominion in the midst of] your enemies.
3 Your people will ·join [freely offer themselves to] you on ·your day of battle [L the day of your power/army].
You have been dressed in ·holiness [splendor of holiness] from ·birth [L the womb of dawn];
you have the ·freshness of a child [L dew of your youth].
4 The Lord has made a promise
and will not ·change his mind [waver].
He said, “You are a priest forever,
a priest like Melchizedek [C in reference to an ancient priest-king in Jerusalem; ultimately fulfilled in Christ; Gen. 14:18; Heb. 5:6; 7:17, 21].”
5 The Lord is ·beside you to help you [L by your right hand].
·When he becomes angry [L In the day of his anger], he will ·crush [shatter] kings.
6 He will judge those nations, filling them with ·dead bodies [corpses];
he will ·defeat rulers [L crush/shatter heads] ·all over the [L throughout the wide] world.
7 ·The king [or The Lord; L He] will drink from the brook on the way.
Then he will ·be strengthened [L lift up his head].
Thanksgiving for Escaping Death
116 I love the Lord,
because he ·listens to my prayers for help [L hears/or heard my voice, my prayer of supplication].
2 He ·paid attention [L extends his ear] to me,
so I will ·call to him for help [call; pray] ·as long as I live [L in my days].
3 The ·ropes [cords] of death ·bound [encompass] me,
and the ·fear [hardship; distress] of ·the grave [L Sheol; C the grave or the underworld] ·took hold of [reached; found] me.
I ·was troubled and sad [L found distress and sadness].
4 Then I ·called out [prayed in] the name of the Lord.
I said, “Please, Lord, ·save [rescue] me!”
5 The Lord is ·kind [gracious] and ·does what is right [righteous];
our God is ·merciful [compassionate; Ex. 34:6–7].
6 The Lord ·watches over [keeps; guards] the ·foolish [immature; simpleminded];
when I was ·helpless [brought low], he ·saved me [gave me victory].
7 I said to myself, “·Relax [L Return, my soul/life to your rest],
because the Lord ·takes care of you [treats you well].”
8 Lord, you ·saved [rescued] me from death.
·You stopped my eyes from crying [L …and my eyes from tears];
·you kept me from being defeated [L …my feet from stumbling].
9 So I will walk ·with [before; in the presence of] the Lord
in the land of the living [C as opposed to the grave].
10 I ·believed [trusted], so I said,
“I am ·completely ruined [afflicted greatly; 2 Cor. 4:13].”
11 In my ·distress [worry] I said,
“All people are liars [Rom. 3:4].”
12 What can I ·give [L return to] the Lord
for all the ·good things [benefits] he has given to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation,
and I will pray ·to [L in the name of] the Lord.
14 I will ·give the Lord what I promised [pay my vow to the Lord]
in front of all his people.
15 The death of ·one that belongs to the Lord [his loyal ones/saints]
is precious in his ·sight [L eyes].
16 Lord, I am your servant;
I am your servant and the son of your female servant.
You have ·freed me from [loosened] my chains.
17 I will give you ·an offering to show thanks to you [a thanksgiving offering],
and I will pray ·to [L in the name of] the Lord.
18 I will ·give the Lord what I promised [pay my vow to the Lord]
in front of all his people,
19 in the ·Temple courtyards [L courtyards of the house of the Lord]
in your midst, Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
A Hymn of Praise
117 All you nations, praise the Lord.
All you people, ·praise [extol] him
2 because ·the Lord loves us very much [L great is his loyalty/love toward us],
and his ·truth [faithfulness] is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!
22 “The Lord ·begot [or acquired; possessed] me ·when he began his work [L at the beginning of his path],
long before he made anything else.
23 I was ·created [formed; woven; or appointed] in the very beginning,
even before the world began.
24 I was ·born [brought forth] ·before there were oceans [L when there were no deeps],
or springs ·overflowing [heavy] with water,
25 before the hills were ·there [L settled],
before the mountains I was ·born [brought forth].
26 God had not made the earth or ·fields [open country],
not even the first ·dust [mud clods; soil] of the earth.
27 I was there when God ·put the skies in place [established the heavens],
when he ·stretched [decreed] the horizon over the ·oceans [deep],
28 when he ·made [thickened; strengthened] the clouds above
and put the deep underground springs in place.
29 I was there when he ·ordered [decreed] the sea
not to go beyond the borders he had set.
I was there when he ·laid [decreed] the earth’s foundation.
30 I was like a ·child [nursling; or craftsman; architect] by his side.
I was ·delighted [playing] every day,
·enjoying [laughing in] his presence all the time,
31 ·enjoying [laughing with the inhabitants of] the whole world,
and ·delighted [playing] with all its people [John 1:1–3; Col. 1:15; C Jesus is associated with personified Wisdom in that both were present with God during creation].
32 “Now, my ·children [L sons], listen to me,
because those who ·follow my ways [guard my path] are happy.
33 Listen to my ·teaching [instruction], and you will be wise;
do not ·ignore [avoid] it.
34 Happy are those who listen to me,
watching at my door every day,
·waiting at my open doorway [L guarding my doorposts].
35 Those who find me find life,
and ·the Lord will be pleased with them [they gain favor from the Lord].
36 Those who ·do not find [miss; or offend] me hurt themselves.
Those who hate me love death.”
Help Christians Who Teach Truth
1 From the Elder [or old man; C Greek: presbyteros, referring to advanced age, a church office, or both; 1 Tim. 5:17; 1 Pet. 5:1; see 2 John 1].
To ·my dear friend [L the beloved] Gaius [C an otherwise unknown Christian leader], whom I love in the truth [C the truth about the Gospel of Jesus Christ]:
2 ·My dear friend [L Beloved], I pray that you are ·doing well [prospering] in ·every way [all respects] and that your health is good, just as ·your soul is doing fine [it is well with your soul; your soul is prospering]. 3 [L For] I was very happy when some brothers and sisters came and ·told me [testified] about the truth in your life and how you are ·following [L walking in] the way of truth [2 John 4]. 4 Nothing gives me greater joy than to hear that my children [C members of the church under his spiritual care] are ·following the way of truth [walking in the truth].
5 ·My dear friend [L Beloved], ·it is good that [you are living out your faith when] you help the brothers and sisters, even those ·you do not know [L who are strangers]. 6 They ·told [testified before] the church about your love. ·Please help them [You will do well] to continue their trip [C as missionaries] in a way worthy of God. 7 [L For] They ·started out in service to Christ [L departed for the sake of the name], and they have been accepting ·nothing [no support] from nonbelievers [L Gentiles; pagans]. 8 So we should ·help [show hospitality to; support] such people; when we do, we ·share in their work [become coworkers] for the truth.
9 I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be ·their leader [first], will not ·listen to us [receive us; or accept our authority]. 10 So if I come, I will ·talk about [call to mind; bring attention to] what Diotrephes [C nothing further is known about this man] is doing, about how he ·lies and says evil things about us [slanders us with evil/malicious words]. But ·more than [not satisfied with] that, he refuses to ·accept [welcome; receive] the other brothers and sisters; he even ·stops [prevents] those who do want to ·accept [welcome; receive] them and ·puts them out of [expels them from] the church.
11 ·My dear friend [Beloved], do not ·follow [imitate] what is ·bad [evil]; ·follow [imitate] what is good [1 Cor. 4:16; 11:1; 1 Thess. 1:6; 2:14; 2 Thess. 3:7; Heb. 6:12; 13:7]. The one who does good ·belongs to [is from] God. But the one who does evil has never ·known [L seen] God.
12 Everyone ·says [witnesses/testifies to] good things about Demetrius [C likely the bearer of the letter to Gaius; otherwise unknown], and the truth agrees with what they say. We also ·speak [witness; testify] well of him, and you know ·what we say [our witness/testimony] is true.
13 I have many things I want to write you, but I do not want to use pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon and talk face to face. 15 Peace to you. The friends here greet you. Please greet each friend there by name [2 John 12–13].
Jesus Is God’s Chosen Servant(A)
15 Jesus knew ·what the Pharisees were doing [L this], so he left that place. ·Many people [Large crowds] followed him, and he healed all who were sick. 16 But Jesus warned the people not to ·tell who he was [make him known]. 17 He did these things to ·bring about [fulfill] what Isaiah the prophet had said:
18 “·Here is [L Behold; Look!] my servant whom I have chosen.
·I love him [The one I love; My beloved], ·and I am pleased with him [L in whom my soul delights/is well pleased].
I will put my Spirit upon him,
and he will ·tell of my [proclaim] justice to ·all people [the nations/Gentiles].
19 He will not ·argue [quarrel; fight] or ·cry out [shout];
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
20 He will not break a ·crushed blade of grass [battered/bruised reed]
or ·put out [extinguish] ·even a weak flame [a flickering candle; L a smoldering wick]
until he ·makes justice win the [leads justice to] victory.
21 In ·him [L his name] will the ·Gentiles [nations; non-Jewish people] ·find [put their] hope [Is. 42:1–4].”
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