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.
Praising the Lord in His House at Night
A Song of Ascents.
134 Behold, bless the Lord,
All you servants of the Lord,
Who by night stand in the house of the Lord!
2 (A)Lift up your hands in the sanctuary,
And bless the Lord.
3 The Lord who made heaven and earth
Bless you from Zion!
Praise to God in Creation and Redemption
135 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
(B)Praise Him, O you servants of the Lord!
2 (C)You who stand in the house of the Lord,
In (D)the courts of the house of our God,
3 Praise the Lord, for (E)the Lord is good;
Sing praises to His name, (F)for it is pleasant.
4 For (G)the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel for His [a]special treasure.
5 For I know that (H)the Lord is great,
And our Lord is above all gods.
6 (I)Whatever the Lord pleases He does,
In heaven and in earth,
In the seas and in all deep places.
7 (J)He causes the [b]vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
(K)He makes lightning for the rain;
He brings the wind out of His (L)treasuries.
8 (M)He [c]destroyed the firstborn of Egypt,
[d]Both of man and beast.
9 (N)He sent signs and wonders into the midst of you, O Egypt,
(O)Upon Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 (P)He defeated many nations
And slew mighty kings—
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
And (Q)all the kingdoms of Canaan—
12 (R)And gave their land as a [e]heritage,
A heritage to Israel His people.
13 (S)Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
Your fame, O Lord, throughout all generations.
14 (T)For the Lord will judge His people,
And He will have compassion on His servants.
15 (U)The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
16 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
17 They have ears, but they do not hear;
Nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.
19 (V)Bless the Lord, O house of Israel!
Bless the Lord, O house of Aaron!
20 Bless the Lord, O house of Levi!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
21 Blessed be the Lord (W)out of Zion,
Who dwells in Jerusalem!
Praise the Lord!
23 Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is (A)a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.’ ” 24 So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not (B)stink, nor were there any worms in it. 25 Then Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. 26 (C)Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.”
27 Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. 28 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long (D)do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? 29 See! For the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 And the house of Israel called its name [a]Manna. And (E)it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
32 Then Moses said, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: ‘Fill an omer with it, to be kept for your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’ ” 33 And Moses said to Aaron, (F)“Take a pot and put an omer of manna in it, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations.” 34 As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up (G)before the Testimony, to be kept. 35 And the children of Israel (H)ate manna (I)forty years, (J)until they came to an inhabited land; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 Now an omer is one-tenth of an ephah.
Suffering for Right and Wrong
13 (A)And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? 14 (B)But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. (C)“And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” 15 But [a]sanctify [b]the Lord God in your hearts, and always (D)be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the (E)hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16 (F)having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. 17 For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
Christ’s Suffering and Ours
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring [c]us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, 19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly were disobedient, [d]when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. 21 (G)There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (H)(not the removal of the filth of the flesh, (I)but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and (J)is at the right hand of God, (K)angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.
Christ’s Example to Be Followed
4 Therefore, since Christ suffered [e]for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, (L)but for the will of God. 3 For we have spent enough of our past [f]lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. 4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. 5 They will give an account to Him who is ready (M)to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this reason (N)the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but (O)live according to God in the spirit.
Jesus Warns and Comforts His Disciples
16 “These things I have spoken to you, that you (A)should not be made to stumble. 2 (B)They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming (C)that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. 3 And (D)these things they will do [a]to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. 4 But these things I have told you, that when [b]the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.
“And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.
The Work of the Holy Spirit
5 “But now I (E)go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, (F)sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but (G)if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has (H)come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 (I)of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 (J)of righteousness, (K)because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 (L)of judgment, because (M)the ruler of this world is judged.
12 “I still have many things to say to you, (N)but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, (O)the Spirit of truth, has come, (P)He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 (Q)He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 (R)All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He [c]will take of Mine and declare it to you.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.