Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 20[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
20 May the Lord answer[b] you[c] when you are in trouble;[d]
may the God of Jacob[e] make you secure.
2 May he send you help from his temple;[f]
from Zion may he give you support.
3 May he take notice of[g] all your offerings;
may he accept[h] your burnt sacrifice. (Selah)
4 May he grant your heart’s desire;[i]
may he bring all your plans to pass.[j]
5 Then we will shout for joy over your[k] victory;
we will rejoice[l] in the name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your requests.
6 Now I am sure[m] that the Lord will deliver[n] his chosen king;[o]
he will intervene for him[p] from his holy, heavenly temple,[q]
and display his mighty ability to deliver.[r]
7 Some trust in chariots and others in horses,[s]
but we[t] depend on[u] the Lord our God.
8 They will fall down,[v]
but we[w] will stand firm.[x]
9 The Lord will deliver the king;[y]
he will answer us[z] when we call to him for help![aa]
Psalm 21[ab]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
21 O Lord, the king rejoices in the strength you give;[ac]
he takes great delight in the deliverance you provide.[ad]
2 You grant[ae] him his heart’s desire;
you do not refuse his request.[af] (Selah)
3 For you bring him[ag] rich[ah] blessings;[ai]
you place a golden crown on his head.
4 He asked you to sustain his life,[aj]
and you have granted him long life and an enduring dynasty.[ak]
5 Your deliverance brings him great honor;[al]
you give him majestic splendor.[am]
6 For you grant him lasting blessings;
you give him great joy by allowing him into your presence.[an]
7 For the king trusts[ao] in the Lord,
and because of the Most High’s[ap] faithfulness he is not shaken.[aq]
8 You[ar] prevail over[as] all your enemies;
your power is too great for those who hate you.[at]
9 You burn them up like a fiery furnace[au] when you appear.[av]
The Lord angrily devours them;[aw]
the fire consumes them.
10 You destroy their offspring[ax] from the earth,
their descendants[ay] from among the human race.[az]
11 Yes,[ba] they intend to do you harm;[bb]
they dream up a scheme,[bc] but they do not succeed.[bd]
12 For you make them retreat[be]
when you aim your arrows at them.[bf]
13 Rise up, O Lord, in strength![bg]
We will sing and praise[bh] your power.
Psalm 110[a]
A psalm of David.
110 Here is the Lord’s proclamation[b] to my lord:[c]
“Sit down at my right hand[d] until I make your enemies your footstool.”[e]
2 The Lord[f] extends[g] your dominion[h] from Zion.
Rule in the midst of your enemies.
3 Your people willingly follow you[i] when you go into battle.[j]
On the holy hills[k] at sunrise[l] the dew of your youth[m] belongs to you.[n]
4 The Lord makes this promise on oath[o] and will not revoke it:[p]
“You are an eternal priest[q] after the pattern of[r] Melchizedek.”[s]
5 O Lord,[t] at your right hand
he strikes down[u] kings in the day he unleashes his anger.[v]
6 He executes judgment[w] against[x] the nations.
He fills the valleys with corpses;[y]
he shatters their heads over the vast battlefield.[z]
7 From the stream along the road he drinks;
then he lifts up his head.[aa]
Psalm 116[a]
116 I love the Lord
because he heard my plea for mercy,[b]
2 and listened to me.[c]
As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help.[d]
3 The ropes of death tightened around me,[e]
the snares[f] of Sheol confronted me.
I was confronted[g] with trouble and sorrow.
4 I called on the name of the Lord,
“Please, Lord, rescue my life!”
5 The Lord is merciful and fair;
our God is compassionate.
6 The Lord protects[h] the untrained;[i]
I was in serious trouble[j] and he delivered me.
7 Rest once more, my soul,[k]
for the Lord has vindicated you.[l]
8 Yes,[m] Lord,[n] you rescued my life from death,
kept my eyes from tears
and my feet from stumbling.
9 I will serve[o] the Lord
in the land[p] of the living.
10 I had faith when I said,
“I am severely oppressed.”
11 I rashly declared,[q]
“All men are liars.”
12 How can I repay the Lord
for all his acts of kindness to me?
13 I will celebrate my deliverance,[r]
and call on the name of the Lord.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people.
15 The Lord values
the lives of his faithful followers.[s]
16 Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your female servant.[t]
You saved me from death.[u]
17 I will present a thank offering to you,
and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people,
19 in the courts of the Lord’s temple,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 117[v]
22 The Lord created[a] me as the beginning[b] of his works,[c]
before his deeds of long ago.
23 From eternity I have been fashioned,[d]
from the beginning, from before the world existed.[e]
24 When there were no deep oceans[f] I was born,[g]
when there were no springs overflowing[h] with water;
25 before the mountains were set in place—
before the hills—I was born,[i]
26 before he made the earth and its fields,[j]
or the top soil[k] of the world.
27 When he established the heavens, I was there;
when he marked out the horizon[l] over the face of the deep,
28 when he established the clouds above,
when he secured the fountains of the deep,[m]
29 when he gave the sea his decree[n]
that the waters should not pass over his command,[o]
when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
30 then I was[p] beside him as a master craftsman,[q]
and I was his delight[r] day by day,
rejoicing before him at all times,
31 rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth,[s]
and delighting[t] in its people.[u]
32 “So now, children,[v] listen to me;
blessed are those who keep my ways.
33 Listen to my instruction[w] so that you may be wise,[x]
and do not neglect it.
34 Blessed is the one[y] who listens to me,
watching[z] at my doors day by day,
waiting[aa] beside my doorway.[ab]
35 For the one who finds me has found[ac] life
and received[ad] favor from the Lord.
36 But the one who misses me[ae] brings harm[af] to himself;[ag]
all who hate[ah] me love death.”
Introduction and Thanksgiving
1 From[a] the elder,[b] to Gaius[c] my dear brother, whom I love in truth.[d] 2 Dear friend, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul.[e] 3 For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, just as you are living according to the truth.[f]
4 I have no greater joy than this: to hear[g] that my children are living according to the truth.[h]
The Charge to Gaius
5 Dear friend,[i] you demonstrate faithfulness[j] by whatever you do for the brothers (even though they are strangers). 6 They[k] have testified to your love before the church.[l] You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.[m] 7 For they have gone forth[n] on behalf of “The Name,”[o] accepting nothing from the pagans.[p] 8 Therefore we[q] ought to support such people, so that we become coworkers in cooperation with the truth.[r]
Diotrephes the Troublemaker
9 I wrote something to the church,[s] but Diotrephes,[t] who loves to be first among them, does not acknowledge us.[u] 10 Therefore, if I come,[v] I will call attention to the deeds he is doing[w]—the bringing of unjustified charges against us with evil words! And not being content with that, he not only refuses to welcome the brothers himself, but hinders the people who want to do so and throws them out of the church! 11 Dear friend, do not imitate what is bad but what is good.[x] The one who does good is of God; the one who does what is bad has not seen God.[y]
Worthy Demetrius
12 Demetrius[z] has been testified to by all, even by the truth itself. We also testify to him,[aa] and you know that our testimony is true.
Conclusion
13 I have many things to write to you, but I do not wish to write to you with[ab] pen and ink.[ac] 14 But I hope to see you right away, and we will speak face to face.[ad] 15 Peace be with you.[ae] The friends here[af] greet you. Greet the friends[ag] there[ah] by name.
God’s Special Servant
15 Now when Jesus learned of this, he went away from there. Great[a] crowds[b] followed him, and he healed them all. 16 But he sternly warned them not to make him known. 17 This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:[c]
18 “Here is[d] my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I take great delight.[e]
I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or cry out,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
20 He will not break a bruised reed or extinguish a smoldering wick,
until he brings justice to victory.
21 And in his name the Gentiles[f] will hope.”[g]
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