Book of Common Prayer
God’s Blessing on the King
For the music director. A psalm of David.[a]
20 May Yahweh answer you in the day of trouble.
May the name of Jacob’s God protect[b] you.
2 May he send you help[c] from the sanctuary,
and from Zion may he sustain you.
3 May he remember all your offerings,
and your burnt offering may he regard favorably.[d]
4 May he give to you your heart’s desire,[e]
and your every plan may he fulfill. Selah
5 May we shout for joy over your victory,
and in the name of our God may we set up banners.
May Yahweh fulfill all your requests.
6 Now I know that Yahweh will help his anointed.[f]
He will answer him from his holy heaven
with the victorious power of his right hand.
7 Some boast in chariots and others in horses,[g]
but we boast in the name of Yahweh, our God.
8 They will collapse and fall,
and we will rise and stand firm.
9 Rescue,[h] O Yahweh.
Let the king answer us when we call.
Joy in the Salvation of Yahweh
For the music director. A psalm of David.[i]
21 O Yahweh, the king will rejoice in your strength,
and how greatly he will delight in your help.[j]
2 You have given him the desire of his heart,
and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
3 For you meet him with blessings of good things.
You set on his head a crown of fine gold.
4 He asked life from you; you gave it to him—
length of days forever and ever.
5 His honor is great because of your help.[k]
Splendor and majesty you have bestowed upon him.
6 For you set on him blessings forever.
You make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 Because the king trusts Yahweh,
and through the steadfast love[l] of the Most High
he shall not be moved.
8 Your hand will find all your enemies;
your right hand will find those who hate you.
9 You will make them like your fiery furnace
at the time of your appearance.
Yahweh will swallow them in his wrath
and fire will consume them.
10 You will destroy their offspring[m] from the earth,
and their descendants[n] from among the children of humankind.
11 Though they have plotted[o] evil against you,
though they have planned a scheme, they will not prevail.
12 For you will turn them to flight;[p]
you will aim arrows on your bowstrings at their faces.
13 Be exalted, O Yahweh, in your strength,
and we sing and praise your power.
Yahweh Gives Authority to His Messiah
Of David. A psalm.[a]
110 A declaration of Yahweh to my lord,
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool.”
2 Yahweh will send out your mighty scepter from Zion;
rule in the midst of your enemies.
3 Your people will volunteer[b] in the day of your power.[c]
In holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn,
you will have the dew of your youth.[d]
4 Yahweh has sworn and he will not change his mind,
“You are a priest forever
according to the manner of Melchizedek.”
5 O Lord, at your right hand
he will shatter kings in the day of his anger.
6 He will judge among the nations;
he will fill them with corpses.
He will shatter the rulers[e] of many countries.
7 He will drink from the stream by the road;
therefore he will lift up his head.
Thanksgiving for God’s Deliverance
116 I love him, because Yahweh has heard
the voice of my supplications.[a]
2 Because he has inclined his ear to me,
I will call all my days.[b]
3 The ropes of death encircled me,
and the distresses of Sheol found me.
I found trouble and grief.
4 Then I called on the name of Yahweh:
“O Yahweh, please save my life!”
5 Gracious is Yahweh and righteous,
and our God is merciful.
6 Yahweh watches over the simple.
I was brought low, but he gave me victory.
7 Return, O my soul, to your repose,
for Yahweh has dealt bountifully with you.
8 For you have rescued me[c] from death,
my eyes[d] from tears, my feet from stumbling.
9 I will walk before Yahweh
in the land[e] of the living.
10 I believed when I spoke,
“I am afflicted greatly.”
11 I said in my haste,
“Everyone[f] is a liar.”
12 What shall I give back to Yahweh
for all his benefits to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and proclaim the name of Yahweh.
14 I will pay my vows made to Yahweh
in the presence of all his people.
15 Costly in Yahweh’s view[g] is
the death of his faithful ones.
16 Ah, Yahweh, I am indeed your servant;
I am your servant, the child of your maidservant.
You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to you a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and proclaim the name of Yahweh.
18 I will pay my vows made to Yahweh
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house[h] of Yahweh,
in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Praise Yah![i]
Let All Peoples Praise Yahweh
117 Praise Yahweh, all you nations;
extol him, all you peoples.
2 For his loyal love is mighty on our behalf,
and the faithfulness of Yahweh is forever.
Praise Yah![j]
Wisdom at Creation
22 “Yahweh possessed[a] me, the first of his ways,
before his acts of old.[b]
23 From eternity, I was set up from the first,
from the beginning[c] of the earth.
24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth,
when there were no springs of abounding[d] water.
25 Before mountains had been shaped,
before hills, I was brought forth.
26 When he had not yet made earth and fields,
or the first dust of the world,
27 when he established[e] the heavens, there I was,
when he drew[f] a circle upon the face of the deep,
28 when he made[g] skies from above,
when he founded fountains of the deep,
29 when he assigned[h] his limits to the sea,
that waters shall not transgress his command,[i]
when he marked[j] the foundations of the earth,
30 I was beside[k] him, a master workman,
and I was delighting day by day,
rejoicing before him always,[l]
31 rejoicing in the world of his earth,
and my delight was with the children of humankind.
Benefits of Following Wisdom
32 “And now, children, listen to me;
happy are those who will keep my ways.
33 Hear teaching and be wise;
do not neglect it.
34 Happy is the person who listens to me,
in order to keep watch at my doors day by day,
in order to guard the frames of my entrances.
35 For he who finds me is he who finds[m] life,
and he obtains favor from Yahweh.
36 But he who misses me injures himself.[n]
All those who hate me love death.”
Greeting
1 The elder, to Gaius the beloved, whom I love in the truth. 2 Dear friend, I pray you may prosper concerning everything and be healthy, just as your soul prospers. 3 For I rejoiced exceedingly when the[a] brothers came and testified to your truth, just as you are walking in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than this: that I hear my children are walking in the truth.
Instructions to Gaius
5 Dear friend, you act faithfully[b] in whatever you do for the brothers, even though they are strangers[c]. 6 They have testified to your love before the church; you will do well to send them[d] on their way in a manner worthy of God. 7 For they have gone out on behalf of the name, accepting nothing from the pagans.[e] 8 Therefore we ought to support such people, so that we become fellow workers with the truth.
Diotrephes Causes Trouble
9 I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who wants to be first among them, does not acknowledge us. 10 Therefore, if I come, I will call attention to the deeds he is doing[f], disparaging us with evil words. And not being content with these, he does not receive the brothers himself, and he hinders those wanting to do so and throws them out of the church. 11 Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.
Demetrius Commended
12 Demetrius has been testified to by all, even by the truth itself. And we also testify to him, and you know that our testimony is true.
Conclusion and Final Greeting
13 I have many things to write to you, but I do not want to write to you by means of ink and pen. 14 But I hope to see you right away, and to speak face to face[g]. 15 Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.
God’s Chosen Servant
15 Now Jesus, when he[a] learned of it,[b] withdrew from there, and many[c] followed him, and he healed them all. 16 And he warned them that they should not reveal his identity,[d] 17 in order that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled, who said,
18 “Behold my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased.
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
19 He will not quarrel or cry out,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
20 A crushed reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not extinguish,
until he brings justice to victory.
21 And in his name the Gentiles[e] will hope.[f]
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