Book of Common Prayer
A song. A Psalm of Asaph
A Plea for Judgment
83 God, do not rest!
Don’t be silent!
Don’t stay inactive, God!
2 See! Your enemies rage;
those who hate you issue threats.[a]
3 They plot against[b] your people
and conspire against your cherished ones.
4 They say, “Let us go and erase them as a nation
so the name of Israel will not be remembered anymore.”
5 Indeed, they shrewdly planned together,
forming an alliance against you—
6 the tents of Edom, the Ishmaelites,
Moab, the Hagrites,
7 Gebal, Ammon, Amalek, Philistia,
and the inhabitants of Tyre.
8 Even Assyria joined them
to strengthen the descendants of Lot.
9 Deal with them as you did to Midian,[c]
Sisera, and Jabin at the Kishon Brook.[d]
10 They were destroyed at En-dor
and became as dung on the ground.
11 Punish their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,[e]
and all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,[f]
12 who said, “Let us possess the pastures of God.”
13 God, set them up like dried thistles,
like straw before the wind.
14 Like a fire burning a forest,
and a flame setting mountains ablaze.
15 Pursue them with your storm and
terrify them with your whirlwind.
16 Fill their faces with shame
until they seek your name, God.
17 Let them be humiliated and terrified permanently
until they die in shame.[g]
18 Then they will know that you alone—
whose name is Lord—
are the Most High over all the earth.
Praise to God the Help of Israel
146 Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord, my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live,
singing praises to my God while I exist.
3 Do not look to nobles,
nor to mere human beings who cannot save.
4 When they stop breathing,
they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans evaporate!
5 Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6 maker of heaven and earth,
the seas and everything in them,
forever the guardian of truth,
7 who brings justice for the oppressed,
and who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord frees the prisoners;
8 the Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down.
The Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord stands guard over the stranger;
he supports both widows and orphans,
but makes the path of the wicked slippery.[a]
10 The Lord will reign forever,
your God, Zion, for all generations!
Hallelujah!
Praise for God’s Provision
147 Hallelujah!
It is good to sing praise to our God,
and it is fitting to sing glorious praise.
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem;
he gathers together the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted,
binding up their injuries.
4 He keeps track of the number of stars,
assigning names to all of them.
5 Our Lord is great,
and rich in power;
his understanding has no limitation.
6 The Lord supports the afflicted
while he casts the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving,
and compose music to our God with the lyre.
8 He shields the heavens with clouds,
preparing rain for the earth
and making grass grow on the hills.
9 He gives wild animals their food,
including the young ravens when they cry.
10 He takes no delight in the strength of a horse,
and gains no pleasure in the runner’s swiftness.[b]
11 But the Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
with those who depend on his gracious love.
12 Glorify the Lord, Jerusalem!
Praise your God, Zion!
13 For he has strengthened the bars of your gates,
blessing your children within you.
14 He grants peace within your borders,
satisfying[c] you with the finest of wheat.
15 He sends out his command to the earth,
making[d] his word go forth quickly.
16 He supplies snow like wool,
scattering frost like ashes.
17 He casts down his ice crystals like bread[e] fragments.
Who can endure his freezing cold?
18 He sends out his word
and melts them.
He makes his wind blow
and the water flows.
19 He declares his words to Jacob,
his statutes and decrees to Israel.
20 He has not dealt with any other nation like this;
they never knew[f] his decrees.
Hallelujah!
To the Director: A Psalm by the descendants of Korah.
Restore Us, God
85 Lord you have favored your land
and restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You took away the iniquity of your people,
forgiving all their sins.
3 You withdrew all your wrath
and turned away from your burning anger.
4 Restore us, God of our salvation,
and stop being angry with us.
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger from generation to generation?
6 Will you restore our lives again
so that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Lord, show your gracious love
and deliver us.
8 Let me listen to what God, the Lord, says;
for the Lord will promise peace
to his people, to his holy ones;
may they not return to foolishness.
9 Surely, he will soon deliver those who fear him,
for his glory will live in our land.
10 Gracious love and truth meet;
righteousness and peace kiss.
11 Truth sprouts up from the ground,
while righteousness looks down from the sky.
12 The Lord will also provide what is good,
and our land will yield its produce.
13 Righteousness will go before him
to prepare a path for his steps.
A Davidic prayer
Help Us, God
86 Lord, listen and answer me,
for I am afflicted and needy.
2 Protect me, for I am faithful;[a]
My God, deliver your servant who trusts in you.
3 Have mercy on me Lord,
for I call on you all day long.
4 Your servant rejoices,
because, Lord, I set my hope on[b] you.
5 Indeed you, Lord, are kind and forgiving,
overflowing with gracious love to everyone who calls on you.
6 Hear my prayer, Lord;
attend to my prayer of supplication.
7 In my troubled times I will call on you,
for you will answer me.
8 No one can compare with you among the gods, Lord;
No one can accomplish[c] your work.
9 All the nations that you have established will come
and worship you, my Lord.
They will honor your name.
10 For you are great,
and you are doing awesome things;
you alone are God.
11 Teach me your ways, Lord,
that I may walk in your truth;
let me wholeheartedly[d] revere your name.
12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with my whole being;
and I will honor your name continuously.
13 For great is your gracious love to me;
you’ve delivered me from the depths of Sheol.[e]
14 God, arrogant men rise up against me,
while a company of ruthless individuals want to kill me.
They do not have regard for you.[f]
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate God,
merciful and patient,[g]
with unending gracious love and faithfulness.
16 Return to me and have mercy on me;
clothe your servant with your strength
and deliver the son of your maid servant.
17 Show me a sign of your goodness,
so that those who hate me will see it and be ashamed.
For you, Lord, will help and comfort me.
Esau Learns of Isaac’s Deception
30 Just after Isaac had finished blessing Jacob and Jacob had left his father Isaac, Jacob’s[a] brother Esau returned from hunting, 31 prepared some delicious food, brought it to his father, and told him, “Can you get up now, father, so you may eat some of your son’s game and then bless me?”
32 But his father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”
“I’m Esau, your firstborn son,” he answered.
33 At this, Isaac began to tremble violently. “Who then,” he asked, “hunted some game and brought it to me to eat before you arrived, so that I’ve blessed him? Indeed, he is blessed.”
34 When Esau realized[b] what his father Isaac was saying, he began to wail out loud bitterly. “Bless me,” he cried, “even me, too, my father!”
35 Isaac[c] replied, “Your brother came here deceitfully and stole your blessing.”
36 Then he said, “Isn’t his name rightly called Jacob?”[d] Esau asked. “He has circumvented me this second time. First,[e] he took away my birthright, and now, look how he also stole my blessing.” Then he added, “Haven’t you reserved a blessing for me?”
37 In response, Isaac told Esau, “Look! I’ve predicted that he’s going[f] to become your master, and I’ve assigned all his brothers to be his servants. What then can I do for you, my son?”
38 Then Esau implored his father, “Don’t you have even one blessing for me, my father? Bless me, even me too, my father!” Then Esau lifted his voice and wept bitterly.
39 At this, his father Isaac replied to him,
“Look! Away from the fertile land will be your dwellings;
away from the dew of the skies above.
40 By your sword you’ll live;
but you’ll serve your brother.
But when you’ve become restless,
you’ll break off his yoke from your neck.”
41 So Esau harbored animosity toward Jacob because of the way his father had blessed him. Esau kept saying to himself,[g] “The time[h] to mourn for my father is very near. That’s when I’m going to kill my brother Jacob.”
42 Eventually, what Rebekah’s older son Esau had been saying was reported to her, so she sent for her younger son Jacob and warned him, “Look! Your brother is planning to get even by killing you.[i] 43 Son, you’d better do what I say! Get up, run off to my brother Laban in Haran, 44 and stay there with him a few days until your brother’s fury subsides.[j] 45 After that happens[k] and he has forgotten what you’ve done to him, I’ll send for you so you can return from there. Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?”
9 Your love must be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to each other with mutual affection. Excel at showing respect for each other. 11 Never be lazy in showing such devotion. Be on fire with the Spirit. Serve the Lord.[a] 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in trouble, and persistent in prayer. 13 Supply the needs of the saints. Extend hospitality to strangers.
14 Bless those who persecute you. Keep on blessing them, and never curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who are rejoicing. Cry with those who are crying. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Do not be arrogant, but associate with humble people. Do not think that you are wiser than you really are.
17 Do not pay anyone back evil for evil, but[b] focus your thoughts on what is right in the sight of all people. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live in peace with all people. 19 Do not take revenge, dear friends, but leave room for God’s[c] wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance belongs to me. I will pay them back, declares the Lord.”[d] 20 But “if your enemy is hungry, feed him. For if he is thirsty, give him a drink. If you do this, you will pile burning coals on his head.”[e] 21 Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.
The One from Above
21 Later on, he told them again, “I’m going away, and you’ll look for me, but you will die in your sin.[a] You cannot come where I’m going.”
22 So the Jewish leaders[b] were asking, “He isn’t going to kill himself, is he? Is that why he said,[c] ‘You cannot come where I’m going’?”
23 He told them, “You are from below, I’m from above. You are of this world, but I’m not of this world. 24 That is why I told you that you will die in your sins, for unless you believe that I AM, you’ll die in your sins.”
25 Then they asked him, “Who are you?”
Jesus told them, “What have I been telling you all along?[d] 26 I have much to say about you and to condemn you for.[e] But the one who sent me is truthful,[f] and what I’ve heard from him I declare to the world.”
27 They didn’t realize that he was talking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus told them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own authority. Instead, I speak only what the Father has taught me. 29 Moreover, the one who sent me is with me. He has never left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.” 30 While he was saying these things, many believed in him.
Freedom and Slavery
31 So Jesus told those Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are really my disciples. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
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