Book of Common Prayer
The Lord a Fortress in Adversity
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
31 In (A)You, O Lord, I [a]put my trust;
Let me never be ashamed;
Deliver me in Your righteousness.
2 (B)Bow down Your ear to me,
Deliver me speedily;
Be my rock of [b]refuge,
A [c]fortress of defense to save me.
3 (C)For You are my rock and my fortress;
Therefore, (D)for Your name’s sake,
Lead me and guide me.
4 Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my strength.
5 (E)Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have redeemed me, O Lord God of (F)truth.
6 I have hated those (G)who regard useless idols;
But I trust in the Lord.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy,
For You have considered my trouble;
You have (H)known my soul in [d]adversities,
8 And have not (I)shut[e] me up into the hand of the enemy;
(J)You have set my feet in a wide place.
9 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble;
(K)My eye wastes away with grief,
Yes, my soul and my [f]body!
10 For my life is spent with grief,
And my years with sighing;
My strength fails because of my iniquity,
And my bones waste away.
11 (L)I am a [g]reproach among all my enemies,
But (M)especially among my neighbors,
And am repulsive to my acquaintances;
(N)Those who see me outside flee from me.
12 (O)I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a [h]broken vessel.
13 (P)For I hear the slander of many;
(Q)Fear is on every side;
While they (R)take counsel together against me,
They scheme to take away my life.
14 But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in Your (S)hand;
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,
And from those who persecute me.
16 (T)Make Your face shine upon Your servant;
Save me for Your mercies’ sake.
17 (U)Do not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon You;
Let the wicked be ashamed;
(V)Let them be silent in the grave.
18 (W)Let the lying lips be put to silence,
Which (X)speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.
19 (Y)Oh, how great is Your goodness,
Which You have laid up for those who fear You,
Which You have prepared for those who trust in You
In the presence of the sons of men!
20 (Z)You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence
From the plots of man;
(AA)You shall keep them secretly in a [i]pavilion
From the strife of tongues.
21 Blessed be the Lord,
For (AB)He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a [j]strong city!
22 For I said in my haste,
“I am cut off from before Your eyes”;
Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications
When I cried out to You.
23 Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints!
For the Lord preserves the faithful,
And fully repays the proud person.
24 (AC)Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart,
All you who hope in the Lord.
The Lord the Avenger of His People
A Psalm of David.
35 Plead[a] my cause, O Lord, with those who strive with me;
Fight against those who fight against me.
2 Take hold of shield and [b]buckler,
And stand up for my help.
3 Also draw out the spear,
And stop those who pursue me.
Say to my soul,
“I am your salvation.”
4 (A)Let those be put to shame and brought to dishonor
Who seek after my life;
Let those be (B)turned back and brought to confusion
Who plot my hurt.
5 (C)Let them be like chaff before the wind,
And let the [c]angel of the Lord chase them.
6 Let their way be (D)dark and slippery,
And let the angel of the Lord pursue them.
7 For without cause they have (E)hidden their net for me in a pit,
Which they have dug without cause for my life.
8 [d]Let (F)destruction come upon him unexpectedly,
And let his net that he has hidden catch himself;
Into that very destruction let him fall.
9 And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord;
It shall rejoice in His salvation.
10 (G)All my bones shall say,
“Lord, (H)who is like You,
Delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him,
Yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?”
11 Fierce witnesses rise up;
They ask me things that I do not know.
12 (I)They reward me evil for good,
To the sorrow of my soul.
13 But as for me, (J)when they were sick,
My clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled myself with fasting;
And my prayer would return to my own [e]heart.
14 I paced about as though he were my friend or brother;
I bowed down [f]heavily, as one who mourns for his mother.
15 But in my [g]adversity they rejoiced
And gathered together;
Attackers gathered against me,
And I did not know it;
They tore at me and did not cease;
16 With ungodly mockers at feasts
They gnashed at me with their teeth.
17 Lord, how long will You (K)look on?
Rescue me from their destructions,
My precious life from the lions.
18 I will give You thanks in the great assembly;
I will praise You among [h]many people.
19 (L)Let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies;
Nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause.
20 For they do not speak peace,
But they devise deceitful matters
Against the quiet ones in the land.
21 They also opened their mouth wide against me,
And said, “Aha, aha!
Our eyes have seen it.”
22 This You have seen, O Lord;
Do not keep silence.
O Lord, do not be far from me.
23 Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication,
To my cause, my God and my Lord.
24 Vindicate me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness;
And let them not rejoice over me.
25 Let them not say in their hearts, “Ah, so we would have it!”
Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”
26 Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who rejoice at my hurt;
Let them be (M)clothed with shame and dishonor
Who exalt themselves against me.
27 (N)Let them shout for joy and be glad,
Who favor my righteous cause;
And let them say continually,
“Let the Lord be magnified,
Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”
28 And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness
And of Your praise all the day long.
10 Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but (A)I am slow of speech and [a]slow of tongue.”
11 So the Lord said to him, (B)“Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore, go, and I will be (C)with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”
13 But he said, “O my Lord, (D)please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.”
14 So (E)the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and He said: “Is not Aaron the Levite your (F)brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, (G)he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 Now (H)you shall speak to him and (I)put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and (J)I will teach you what you shall do. 16 So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and (K)you shall be to him as God. 17 And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.”
Moses Goes to Egypt
18 So Moses went and returned to (L)Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, “Please let me go and return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive.”
And Jethro said to Moses, (M)“Go in peace.”
19 Now the Lord said to Moses in (N)Midian, “Go, return to (O)Egypt; for all the men who (P)sought your life are dead.” 20 Then Moses (Q)took his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took (R)the rod of God in his hand.
21 And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those (S)wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But (T)I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall (U)say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord: (V)“Israel is My son, (W)My firstborn. 23 So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed (X)I will kill your son, your firstborn.” ’ ”
24 And it came to pass on the way, at the (Y)encampment, that the Lord (Z)met him and sought to (AA)kill him. 25 Then (AB)Zipporah took (AC)a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and [b]cast it at [c]Moses’ feet, and said, “Surely you are a husband of blood to me!” 26 So He let him go. Then she said, “You are a [d]husband of blood!”—because of the circumcision.
27 And the Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness (AD)to meet Moses.” So he went and met him on (AE)the mountain of God, and kissed him. 28 So Moses (AF)told Aaron all the words of the Lord who had sent him, and all the (AG)signs which He had commanded him. 29 Then Moses and Aaron (AH)went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel. 30 (AI)And Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses. Then he did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 So the people (AJ)believed; and when they heard that the Lord had (AK)visited the children of Israel and that He (AL)had looked on their affliction, then (AM)they bowed their heads and worshiped.
Prophecy and Tongues
14 Pursue love, and (A)desire spiritual gifts, (B)but especially that you may prophesy. 2 For he who (C)speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. 3 But he who prophesies speaks (D)edification and (E)exhortation and comfort to men. 4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; [a]for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.
Tongues Must Be Interpreted
6 But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you unless I speak to you either by (F)revelation, by knowledge, by prophesying, or by teaching? 7 Even things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound, unless they make a distinction in the sounds, how will it be known what is piped or played? 8 For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle? 9 So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air. 10 There are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is without [b]significance. 11 Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a [c]foreigner to him who speaks, and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me. 12 Even so you, since you are [d]zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the [e]edification of the church that you seek to excel.
13 Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may (G)interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15 What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. (H)I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing (I)with the understanding. 16 Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say “Amen” (J)at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say? 17 For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified.
18 I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all; 19 yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.
Jesus Again Predicts His Death and Resurrection
30 Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it. 31 (A)For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will (B)kill Him. And after He is killed, He will (C)rise the third day.” 32 But they (D)did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.
Who Is the Greatest?(E)
33 (F)Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you [a]disputed among yourselves on the road?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had (G)disputed among themselves who would be the (H)greatest. 35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, (I)“If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” 36 Then (J)He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and (K)whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”
Jesus Forbids Sectarianism(L)
38 (M)Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.”
39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, (N)for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. 40 For (O)he who is not against [b]us is on [c]our side. 41 (P)For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.