Book of Common Prayer
BOOK 2
Thirsting for God in Trouble and Exile.
For the choir director. A [a]Maskil of the sons of Korah.
42 As the deer [b]pants for the water brooks,
So my soul [c](A)pants for You, O God.
2 My soul (B)thirsts for God, for the (C)living God;
When shall I come and [d](D)appear before God?
3 My (E)tears have been my food day and night,
While they (F)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember and I (G)pour out my soul within me.
For I (H)used to go along with the throng and [e]lead them in procession to the house of God,
With the voice of (I)joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.
5 (J)Why are you [f](K)in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become (L)disturbed within me?
[g](M)Hope in God, for I shall [h]again praise [i]Him
For the [j](N)help of His presence.
6 O my God, my soul is [k]in despair within me;
Therefore I (O)remember You from (P)the land of the Jordan
And the [l]peaks of (Q)Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
All Your (R)breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.
8 The Lord will (S)command His lovingkindness in the daytime;
And His song will be with me (T)in the night,
A prayer to (U)the God of my life.
9 I will say to God (V)my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go (W)mourning [m]because of the (X)oppression of the enemy?”
10 As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me,
While they (Y)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
11 (Z)Why are you [n]in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
[o]Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him,
The [p]help of my countenance and my God.
Prayer for Deliverance.
43 (AA)Vindicate me, O God, and (AB)plead my case against an ungodly nation;
[q]O deliver me from (AC)the deceitful and unjust man!
2 For You are the (AD)God of my strength; why have You (AE)rejected me?
Why do I go (AF)mourning [r]because of the oppression of the enemy?
Hannah’s Song of Thanksgiving
2 Then Hannah (A)prayed and said,
“My heart exults in the Lord;
(B)My [a]horn is exalted in the Lord,
My mouth [b]speaks boldly against my enemies,
Because (C)I rejoice in Your salvation.
2 “(D)There is no one holy like the Lord,
Indeed, (E)there is no one besides You,
(F)Nor is there any rock like our God.
3 “[c]Boast no more so very proudly,
(G)Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth;
(H)For the Lord is a God of knowledge,
(I)And with Him actions are weighed.
4 “(J)The bows of the mighty are shattered,
(K)But the feeble gird on strength.
5 “Those who were full hire themselves out for bread,
But those who were hungry cease to hunger.
(L)Even the barren gives birth to seven,
But (M)she who has many children languishes.
6 “(N)The Lord kills and makes alive;
(O)He brings down to [d]Sheol and raises up.
7 “(P)The Lord makes poor and rich;
(Q)He brings low, He also exalts.
8 “(R)He raises the poor from the dust,
(S)He lifts the needy from the ash heap
(T)To make them sit with nobles,
And inherit a seat of honor;
(U)For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
And He set the world on them.
9 “(V)He keeps the feet of His godly ones,
(W)But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness;
(X)For not by might shall a man prevail.
10 “(Y)Those who contend with the Lord will be shattered;
(Z)Against them He will thunder in the heavens,
(AA)The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
(AB)And He will give strength to His king,
(AC)And will exalt the [e]horn of His anointed.”
The Truth Will Make You Free
31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “(A)If you continue in My word, then you are truly (B)disciples of Mine; 32 and (C)you will know the truth, and (D)the truth will make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “(E)We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, (F)everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35 (G)The slave does not remain in the house forever; (H)the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son (I)makes you free, you will be free indeed.
The Beauty and Glory of Zion.
A Song; a Psalm of the sons of Korah.
48 (A)Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
In the (B)city of our God, His (C)holy mountain.
2 (D)Beautiful in elevation, (E)the joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion in the far north,
The (F)city of the great King.
3 God, in her palaces,
Has made Himself known as a (G)stronghold.
4 For, lo, the (H)kings assembled themselves,
They passed by together.
5 They saw it, then they were amazed;
They were (I)terrified, they [a]fled in alarm.
6 [b]Panic seized them there,
Anguish, as of (J)a woman in childbirth.
7 With the (K)east wind
You (L)break the (M)ships of Tarshish.
8 As we have heard, so have we seen
In the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God;
God will (N)establish her forever. [c]Selah.
9 We have thought on (O)Your lovingkindness, O God,
In the midst of Your temple.
10 As is Your (P)name, O God,
So is Your (Q)praise to the ends of the earth;
Your (R)right hand is full of righteousness.
11 Let Mount (S)Zion be glad,
Let the (T)daughters of Judah rejoice
Because of Your judgments.
12 Walk about Zion and go around her;
Count her (U)towers;
13 Consider her (V)ramparts;
Go through her palaces,
That you may (W)tell it to the next generation.
14 For [d]such is God,
Our God forever and ever;
He will (X)guide us [e]until death.
The Privileges of Citizenship in Zion.
A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song.
87 His (A)foundation is in the holy mountains.
2 The Lord (B)loves the gates of Zion
More than all the other dwelling places of Jacob.
3 (C)Glorious things are spoken of you,
O (D)city of God. [a]Selah.
4 “I shall mention [b](E)Rahab and Babylon [c]among those who know Me;
Behold, Philistia and (F)Tyre with [d](G)Ethiopia:
‘This one was born there.’”
5 But of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”;
And the Most High Himself will (H)establish her.
6 The Lord will count when He (I)registers the peoples,
“This one was born there.” Selah.
7 Then those who (J)sing as well as those who [e](K)play the flutes shall say,
“All my (L)springs of joy are in you.”
Children of God Love One Another
3 See [a](A)how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called (B)children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because (C)it did not know Him. 2 (D)Beloved, now we are (E)children of God, and (F)it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He (G)appears, we will be (H)like Him, because we will (I)see Him just as He is. 3 And everyone who has this (J)hope fixed on Him (K)purifies himself, just as He is pure.
4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and (L)sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that He (M)appeared in order to (N)take away sins; and (O)in Him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in Him (P)sins; no one who sins has seen Him or [b](Q)knows Him. 7 (R)Little children, make sure no one (S)deceives you; (T)the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; 8 the one who practices sin is (U)of the devil; for the devil [c]has sinned from the beginning. (V)The Son of God (W)appeared for this purpose, (X)to destroy the works of the devil.
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