Book of Common Prayer
The Hope of the Faithful, and the Messiah’s Victory
A (A)Michtam of David.
16 Preserve[a] me, O God, for in You I put my trust.
2 O my soul, you have said to the Lord,
“You are my Lord,
(B)My goodness is nothing apart from You.”
3 As for the saints who are on the earth,
“They are the excellent ones, in (C)whom is all my delight.”
4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god;
Their drink offerings of (D)blood I will not offer,
(E)Nor take up their names on my lips.
5 O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You [b]maintain my lot.
6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Yes, I have a good inheritance.
7 I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel;
My [c]heart also instructs me in the night seasons.
8 (F)I have set the Lord always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will [d]rest in hope.
10 (G)For You will not leave my soul in [e]Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to [f]see corruption.
11 You will show me the (H)path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Prayer with Confidence in Final Salvation
A Prayer of David.
17 Hear a just cause, O Lord,
Attend to my cry;
Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips.
2 Let my vindication come from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright.
3 You have tested my heart;
You have visited me in the night;
(I)You have [g]tried me and have found [h]nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth shall not (J)transgress.
4 Concerning the works of men,
By the word of Your lips,
I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.
5 (K)Uphold my steps in Your paths,
That my footsteps may not slip.
6 (L)I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God;
Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.
7 Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,
O You who [i]save those who trust in You
From those who rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the [j]apple of Your eye;
Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,
9 From the wicked who oppress me,
From my deadly enemies who surround me.
10 They have closed up their (M)fat hearts;
With their mouths they (N)speak proudly.
11 They have now surrounded us in our steps;
They have set their eyes, crouching down to the earth,
12 As a lion is eager to tear his prey,
And like a young lion lurking in secret places.
13 Arise, O Lord,
Confront him, cast him down;
Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword,
14 With Your hand from men, O Lord,
From men of the world who have their portion in this life,
And whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure.
They are satisfied with children,
And leave the rest of their possession for their babes.
The Suffering, Praise, and Posterity of the Messiah
To the Chief Musician. Set to [a]“The Deer of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David.
22 My (A)God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Why are You so far from helping Me,
And from the words of My groaning?
2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season, and am not silent.
3 But You are holy,
Enthroned in the (B)praises of Israel.
4 Our fathers trusted in You;
They trusted, and You delivered them.
5 They cried to You, and were delivered;
(C)They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.
6 But I am (D)a worm, and no man;
(E)A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
7 (F)All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They [b]shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8 “He(G) [c]trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him;
(H)Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”
9 (I)But You are He who took Me out of the womb;
You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.
10 I was cast upon You from birth.
From My mother’s womb
(J)You have been My God.
11 Be not far from Me,
For trouble is near;
For there is none to help.
12 (K)Many bulls have surrounded Me;
Strong bulls of (L)Bashan have encircled Me.
13 (M)They [d]gape at Me with their mouths,
Like a raging and roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water,
(N)And all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It has melted [e]within Me.
15 (O)My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And (P)My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
(Q)They[f] pierced My hands and My feet;
17 I can count all My bones.
(R)They look and stare at Me.
18 (S)They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.
19 But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me;
O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
20 Deliver Me from the sword,
(T)My[g] precious life from the power of the dog.
21 (U)Save Me from the lion’s mouth
And from the horns of the wild oxen!
(V)You have answered Me.
22 (W)I will declare Your name to (X)My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 (Y)You who fear the Lord, praise Him!
All you [h]descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But (Z)when He cried to Him, He heard.
25 (AA)My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;
(AB)I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.
Let your heart live forever!
27 All the ends of the world
Shall remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the [i]nations
Shall worship before [j]You.
28 (AC)For the kingdom is the Lord’s,
And He rules over the nations.
29 (AD)All the prosperous of the earth
Shall eat and worship;
(AE)All those who go down to [k]the dust
Shall bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep himself alive.
30 A posterity shall serve Him.
It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,
31 They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born,
That He has done this.
The Ten Commandments Reviewed(A)
5 And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them. 2 (B)The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 The Lord (C)did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive. 4 (D)The Lord talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. 5 (E)I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord; for (F)you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain. He said:
6 (G)‘I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of [a]bondage.
7 (H)‘You shall have no other gods [b]before Me.
8 (I)‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 9 you shall not (J)bow[c] down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, [d]visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 10 (K)but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and [e]keep My commandments.
11 (L)‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him [f]guiltless who takes His name in vain.
12 (M)‘Observe the Sabbath day, to [g]keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 (N)Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is the (O)Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 (P)And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there (Q)by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
16 (R)‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, (S)that your days may be long, and that it may be well with (T)you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
17 (U)‘You shall not murder.
18 (V)‘You shall not commit adultery.
19 (W)‘You shall not steal.
20 (X)‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
21 (Y)‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife; and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’
22 “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more. And (Z)He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.
Signs of an Apostle
11 I have become (A)a fool [a]in boasting; you have compelled me. For I ought to have been commended by you; for (B)in nothing was I behind the most eminent apostles, though (C)I am nothing. 12 (D)Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and (E)wonders and mighty (F)deeds. 13 For what is it in which you were inferior to other churches, except that I myself was not burdensome to you? Forgive me this wrong!
Love for the Church
14 (G)Now for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be burdensome to you; for (H)I do not seek yours, but you. (I)For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. 15 And I will very gladly spend and be spent (J)for your souls; though (K)the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved.
16 But be that as it may, (L)I did not burden you. Nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you by cunning! 17 Did I take advantage of you by any of those whom I sent to you? 18 I urged Titus, and sent our (M)brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not walk in the same spirit? Did we not walk in the same steps?
19 (N)Again, [b]do you think that we excuse ourselves to you? (O)We speak before God in Christ. (P)But we do all things, beloved, for your edification. 20 For I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, and that (Q)I shall be found by you such as you do not wish; lest there be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults; 21 lest, when I come again, my God (R)will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many (S)who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, (T)fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced.
The Narrow Way(A)
13 (B)“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 [a]Because narrow is the gate and [b]difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
You Will Know Them by Their Fruits(C)
15 (D)“Beware of false prophets, (E)who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 (F)You will know them by their fruits. (G)Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, (H)every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 (I)Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
I Never Knew You(J)
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, (K)‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who (L)does the will of My Father in heaven.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.