Book of Common Prayer
Confidence in Yahweh
A miktam[a] of David.[b]
16 Protect me, O God,
for I take refuge in you.
2 Oh my soul you have said[c] to Yahweh, “You are my Lord.
I have no good apart from you.”
3 With regard to the saints who are in the land,
they are the noble ones in whom is all my desire.
4 Those who hurry after[d] another god increase their sorrows.
I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
nor take up their names on my lips.
5 Yahweh is the portion which is my share and my cup.
You hold my lot.
6 The measuring lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.
Yes, my inheritance is delightful for me.
7 I will bless Yahweh who advises me;
yes, at night my innermost being[e] instructs me.
8 I have set Yahweh before me always.
Because he is at my right hand I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices.
Yes, my body will dwell in safety,
10 for you will not abandon my soul to Sheol;
you will not give your faithful one to see the grave.
11 You will make known to me the path of life.
In your presence is fullness of joy.
At your right hand are pleasures forever.
Prayer for Vindication and Protection
A prayer of David.[f]
17 O Yahweh, hear a just cause.
Hear my cry; heed my prayer
I make without deceitful lips.
2 Let my vindication come forth from you;
let your eyes see fairness.
3 You have tried my heart;
you have examined me by night;
you have tested me; you found nothing.
I have decided that my mouth will not transgress.
4 As for the works of humankind,
by the word of your lips,
I have kept from the ways of the violent.
5 I have held my steps in your path
My feet will not slip.
6 As for me, I have called on you
because you will answer me, O God.
Incline your ear to me.
Hear my words.[g]
7 Show wondrously your acts of loyal love,
O Savior of those who take refuge
at your right hand[h]
from those who rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the apple of your eye.[i]
Hide me in the shadow of your wings
9 from the presence[j] of the wicked who destroy me,
those enemies against my life,
they that surround me.
10 They have shut off their calloused[k] heart;
with their mouth they speak arrogantly.
11 Now they surround us at our every step.
They intend[l]
to pin[m] me to the ground.
12 He is like[n] a lion; he longs to tear apart,
and like a strong lion crouching in hiding places.
13 Rise up, O Yahweh, confront him.[o]
Make him bow down.
Rescue with your sword my life from the wicked,
14 from men by your hand, O Yahweh, from men of this world.
Their share is in this life,[p] and you fill their stomach with your treasure.
They are satisfied with children.
They bequeath their excess to their children.
15 By contrast, I in righteousness shall see your face.
Upon awakening I will be satisfied seeing your form.
Praising Yahweh in the Temple at Night
A song of ascents.[a]
134 Look, bless Yahweh, all you the servants of Yahweh,
who serve[b] in the house[c] of Yahweh by night.
2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
and bless Yahweh.
3 May Yahweh bless you from Zion,
he who made heaven and earth.
Praise to God for His Power and Redemption
135 Praise Yah![d] Praise the name of Yahweh.
Praise him, O servants of Yahweh,
2 who stand in the house[e] of Yahweh,
in the courts of the house[f] of our God.
3 Praise Yah,[g] for Yahweh is good.
Sing praises concerning his name, for it is pleasant.
4 For Yah has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his special possession.
5 For I know that Yahweh is great,
and our Lord is greater than all gods.
6 All that Yahweh desires, he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the depths.
7 He causes clouds to rise from the edge of the earth;
he makes lightnings for the rain;
he brings out the wind from his storehouses.
8 Who struck the firstborn of Egypt,
both of humans[h] and animals.[i]
9 He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 Who struck many nations
and killed mighty kings—
11 Sihon the king of the Amorites,
and Og the king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan—
12 and he gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance for his people Israel.
13 O Yahweh, your name endures forever,
your renown[j] throughout all generations,[k]
14 for Yahweh will plead the cause of his people
and will have compassion on his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of the hands of humankind.
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak;
they have eyes, but cannot see;
17 they have ears, but cannot hear;
there is not even breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them become like them,
as does everyone who trusts in them.
19 O house of Israel, bless Yahweh.
O house of Aaron, bless Yahweh.
20 O house of Levi, bless Yahweh.
You who fear Yahweh, bless Yahweh.
21 Blessed be Yahweh from Zion,
who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise Yah![l]
The Faithfulness of Three Young Israelites and God’s Deliverance
3 Nebuchadnezzar the king made a statue of gold. Its height was sixty cubits and its width was six cubits; he set it up in the valley of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent directions to assemble the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all of the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3 Then the satraps, the prefects, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the province were assembled for the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up, and were standing before[a] the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 Then the herald proclaimed aloud,[b] “To you it is commanded,[c] O peoples, nations and people of all languages,[d] 5 that at the time that you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, the trigon, the harp, the drum and all kinds of music, you must fall down and you must worship the statue of gold[e] that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. 6 And whoever[f] does not fall down and worship will be thrown immediately[g] into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire.” 7 Therefore,[h] at that time,[i] as soon as[j] all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, the trigon, the harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations and people of all languages[k] were falling down and were worshiping the statue of gold[l] that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
8 Therefore[m] at this time[n] some astrologers[o] came forward and they denounced the Jews.[p] 9 They responded and said[q] to Nebuchadnezzar the king, “O king, may you live forever![r] 10 You, O king, have made a decree that everyone[s] who hears the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, the trigon, the harp and the drum and all kinds of music, he shall fall down and shall worship the statue of gold.[t] 11 And whoever[u] does not fall down[v] and worship shall be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. 12 However there are Judean men whom you have appointed[w] over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—these men, O king, pay you no heed[x] and were not serving your god, and the statue of gold[y] that you set up they are not worshiping.”
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar said in rage and anger to bring in Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego; then they brought in these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you are not serving my god, and you are not worshiping the statue of gold[z] that I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready so that when[aa] you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, the trigon, the harp and the drum and all kinds of music, you fall down and you worship the statue that I have made, that will be good. But if you do not worship it, immediately[ab] you will be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire, and who is the god[ac] who[ad] will rescue you from my hands?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king, Nebuchadnezzar, “We have no need on this matter to present a defense to you.[ae] 17 If it is so,[af] our God, whom we serve, is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire. And from your hand, O king, let him rescue us. 18 And if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods,[ag] and the statue of gold[ah] that you have set up we will not worship.”
3 See what sort of love the Father has given to us: that we should be called children of God, and we are! Because of this the world does not know us: because it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that whenever he is revealed we will be like him, because we will see him just as he is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as that one is pure.
4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that that one was revealed in order that he might take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 Everyone who resides in him does not sin. Everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you: the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as that one is righteous. 8 The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this reason the Son of God was revealed: in order to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Everyone who is fathered by God does not practice sin, because his seed resides in him, and he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God. 10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are evident: everyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, namely, the one who does not love his brother.
15 And while[a] the people were waiting expectantly and all were pondering in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he might be the Christ,[b] 16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but the one who is more powerful than I am is coming, of whom I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing shovel is in his hand, to clean out his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his storehouse, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
18 So with many other exhortations also he proclaimed good news to the people. 19 But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him concerning Herodias, his brother’s wife, and concerning all the evil deeds that Herod had done, 20 added this also to them all: he also locked up John in prison.
The Baptism of Jesus
21 Now it happened that when all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized, and while he[c] was praying, heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
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