Book of Common Prayer
God implored to confound his enemies.
A Song, a Psalm of Asaph.
83 O God, keep not thou silence:
Hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.
2 For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult;
And they that hate thee have lifted up the head.
3 They take crafty counsel against thy people,
And consult together against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation;
That the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent;
Against thee do they make a covenant:
6 The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites;
Moab, and the [a]Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek;
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre:
8 Assyria also is joined with them;
They have [b]helped the children of Lot. Selah
9 Do thou unto them as unto Midian,
As to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the river Kishon;
10 Who perished at Endor,
Who became as dung for the earth.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb;
Yea, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna;
12 Who said, Let us take to ourselves in possession
The [c]habitations of God.
13 O my God, make them like the whirling dust;
As stubble before the wind.
14 As the fire that burneth the forest,
And as the flame that setteth the mountains on fire,
15 So pursue them with thy tempest,
And terrify them with thy storm.
16 Fill their faces with confusion,
That they may seek thy name, O Jehovah.
17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed for ever;
Yea, let them be confounded and perish;
18 That they may know that [d]thou alone, whose name is Jehovah,
Art the Most High over all the earth.
Praise to Jehovah the abundant Helper.
[a]146 Praise ye Jehovah.
Praise Jehovah, O my soul.
2 While I live will I praise Jehovah:
I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
3 Put not your trust in princes,
Nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth;
In that very day his [b]thoughts perish.
5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help,
Whose hope is in Jehovah his God:
6 Who made heaven and earth,
The sea, and all that in them is;
Who keepeth truth for ever;
7 Who executeth justice for the oppressed;
Who giveth food to the hungry.
Jehovah looseth the prisoners;
8 Jehovah openeth the eyes of the blind;
Jehovah raiseth up them that are bowed down;
Jehovah loveth the righteous;
9 Jehovah preserveth the sojourners;
He upholdeth the fatherless and widow;
But the way of the wicked he [c]turneth upside down.
10 Jehovah will reign for ever,
Thy God, O Zion, unto all generations.
[d]Praise ye Jehovah.
Praise for Jerusalem’s restoration and prosperity.
[e]147 Praise ye Jehovah;
[f]For it is good to sing praises unto our God;
For it is pleasant, and praise is comely.
2 Jehovah doth build up Jerusalem;
He gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.
3 He healeth the broken in heart,
And bindeth up their [g]wounds.
4 He counteth the number of the stars;
He calleth them all by their names.
5 Great is our Lord, and mighty in power;
His understanding is infinite.
6 Jehovah upholdeth the meek:
He bringeth the wicked down to the ground.
7 Sing unto Jehovah with thanksgiving;
Sing praises upon the harp unto our God,
8 Who covereth the heavens with clouds,
Who prepareth rain for the earth,
Who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
9 He giveth to the beast his food,
And to the young ravens which cry.
10 He delighteth not in the strength of the horse:
He taketh no pleasure in the legs of a man.
11 Jehovah taketh pleasure in them that fear him,
In those that hope in his lovingkindness.
12 Praise Jehovah, O Jerusalem;
Praise thy God, O Zion.
13 For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates;
He hath blessed thy children within thee.
14 He maketh [h]peace in thy borders;
He filleth thee with the [i]finest of the wheat.
15 He sendeth out his commandment upon earth;
His word runneth very swiftly.
16 He giveth snow like wool;
He scattereth the hoar-frost like ashes.
17 He casteth forth his ice like morsels:
Who can stand before his cold?
18 He sendeth out his word, and melteth them:
He causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.
19 He showeth his word unto Jacob,
His statutes and his ordinances unto Israel.
20 He hath not dealt so with any nation;
And as for his ordinances, they have not known them.
[j]Praise ye Jehovah.
Prayer for God’s mercy upon the nation.
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
85 Jehovah, thou hast been favorable unto thy land;
Thou hast [a]brought back the captivity of Jacob.
2 Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people;
Thou hast covered all their sin. Selah
3 Thou hast taken away all thy wrath;
Thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger.
4 [b]Turn us, O God of our salvation,
And cause thine indignation toward us to cease.
5 Wilt thou be angry with us for ever?
Wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?
6 Wilt thou not quicken us again,
That thy people may rejoice in thee?
7 Show us thy lovingkindness, O Jehovah,
And grant us thy salvation.
8 I will hear what God Jehovah will speak;
For he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints:
But let them not turn again to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him,
That glory may dwell in our land.
10 Mercy and truth are met together;
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11 Truth springeth out of the earth;
And righteousness hath looked down from heaven.
12 Yea, Jehovah will give that which is good;
And our land shall yield its increase.
13 Righteousness shall go before him,
And shall [c]make his footsteps a way to walk in.
A psalm of supplication and trust.
A Prayer of David.
86 Bow down thine ear, O Jehovah, and answer me;
For I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my soul; for I am godly:
O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.
3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord;
For unto thee do I cry all the day long.
4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant;
For unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in lovingkindness unto all them that call upon thee.
6 Give ear, O Jehovah, unto my prayer;
And hearken unto the voice of my supplications.
7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee;
For thou wilt answer me.
8 There is none like unto thee among the gods, O Lord;
Neither are there any works like unto thy works.
9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord;
And they shall glorify thy name.
10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things:
Thou art God alone.
11 Teach me thy way, O Jehovah; I will walk in thy truth:
Unite my heart to fear thy name.
12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with my whole heart;
And I will glorify thy name for evermore.
13 For great is thy lovingkindness toward me;
And thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest Sheol.
14 O God, the proud are risen up against me,
And a company of violent men have sought after my soul,
And have not set thee before them.
15 But thou, O Lord, art a God merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.
16 Oh turn unto me, and [d]have mercy upon me;
Give thy strength unto thy servant,
And save the son of thy handmaid.
17 Show me a token for good,
That they who hate me may see it, and be put to shame,
Because thou, Jehovah, hast helped me, and comforted me.
7 So the king and Haman came [a]to banquet with Esther the queen. 2 And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed. 3 Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request: 4 for we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my peace, [b]although the adversary could not have compensated for the king’s damage. 5 Then spake the king Ahasuerus and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so? 6 And Esther said, An adversary and an enemy, even this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen. 7 And the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden: and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king. 8 Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the couch whereon Esther was. Then said the king, Will he even force the queen before me in the house? As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Then said Harbonah, one of the chamberlains that were before the king, Behold also, the [c]gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman hath made for Mordecai, who spake good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. And the king said, Hang him thereon. 10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king’s wrath pacified.
11 And God wrought special [a]miracles by the hands of Paul: 12 insomuch that unto the sick were carried away from his body handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out. 13 But certain also of the strolling Jews, exorcists, took upon them to name over them that had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. 14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, a chief priest, who did this. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said unto them, Jesus I [b]know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? 16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and mastered both of them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 And this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, that dwelt at Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. 18 Many also of them that had believed came, confessing, and declaring their deeds. 19 And not a few of them that practised magical arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all; and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So mightily grew the word of the Lord and prevailed.
14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and a fame went out concerning him through all the region round about. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and he entered, as his custom was, into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 And there was delivered unto him [a]the book of the prophet Isaiah. And he opened the [b]book, and found the place where it was written,
18 [c]The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
[d]Because he anointed me to preach [e]good tidings to the poor:
He hath sent me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovering of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the [f]book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down: and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 And he began to say unto them, To-day hath this scripture been fulfilled in your ears. 22 And all bare him witness, and wondered at the words of grace which proceeded out of his mouth: and they said, Is not this Joseph’s son? 23 And he said unto them, Doubtless ye will say unto me this parable, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in thine own country. 24 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is acceptable in his own country. 25 But of a truth I say unto you, There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the land; 26 and unto none of them was Elijah sent, but only to [g]Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian. 28 And they were all filled with wrath in the synagogue, as they heard these things; 29 and they rose up, and cast him forth out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might throw him down headlong. 30 But he passing through the midst of them went his way.
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