Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 31
A Plea for Protection
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.
1 Lord, I seek refuge in You;
let me never be disgraced.(A)
Save me by Your righteousness.
2 Listen closely to me; rescue me quickly.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a mountain fortress to save me.(B)
3 For You are my rock and my fortress;(C)
You lead and guide me
because of Your name.(D)
4 You will free me from the net
that is secretly set for me,
for You are my refuge.(E)
5 Into Your hand I entrust my spirit;(F)
You redeem[a] me, Lord, God of truth.(G)
6 I[b] hate those who are devoted to worthless idols,
but I trust in the Lord.(H)
7 I will rejoice and be glad in Your faithful love
because You have seen my affliction.
You have known the troubles of my life(I)
8 and have not handed me over to the enemy.(J)
You have set my feet in a spacious place.(K)
9 Be gracious to me, Lord,
because I am in distress;(L)
my eyes are worn out from angry sorrow—
my whole being[c] as well.(M)
10 Indeed, my life is consumed with grief
and my years with groaning;(N)
my strength has failed
because of my sinfulness,[d]
and my bones waste away.(O)
11 I am ridiculed by all my adversaries
and even by my neighbors.
I am dreaded by my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street run from me.(P)
12 I am forgotten: gone from memory
like a dead person—like broken pottery.(Q)
13 I have heard the gossip of many;
terror is on every side.(R)
When they conspired against me,
they plotted to take my life.(S)
14 But I trust in You, Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”(T)
15 The course of my life is in Your power;(U)
deliver me from the power of my enemies
and from my persecutors.(V)
16 Show Your favor to Your servant;
save me by Your faithful love.(W)
17 Lord, do not let me be disgraced when I call on You.(X)
Let the wicked be disgraced;
let them be silent[e][f] in Sheol.(Y)
18 Let lying lips be quieted;(Z)
they speak arrogantly against the righteous
with pride and contempt.(AA)
19 How great is Your goodness
that You have stored up for those who fear You
and accomplished in the sight of everyone
for those who take refuge in You.(AB)
20 You hide them in the protection of Your presence;
You conceal them in a shelter[g]
from the schemes of men,
from quarrelsome tongues.(AC)
21 May the Lord be praised,
for He has wonderfully shown His faithful love to me
in a city under siege.[h](AD)
22 In my alarm I had said,
“I am cut off from Your sight.”(AE)
But You heard the sound of my pleading
when I cried to You for help.(AF)
Psalm 35
Prayer for Victory
Davidic.
1 Oppose my opponents, Lord;
fight those who fight me.(A)
2 Take Your shields—large and small—
and come to my aid.(B)
3 Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers,
and assure me: “I am your deliverance.”(C)
4 Let those who seek to kill me
be disgraced and humiliated;
let those who plan to harm me
be turned back and ashamed.(D)
5 Let them be like chaff in the wind,
with the angel of the Lord driving them away.(E)
6 Let their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.(F)
7 They hid their net for me without cause;
they dug a pit for me without cause.(G)
8 Let ruin come on him unexpectedly,
and let the net that he hid ensnare him;
let him fall into it—to his ruin.(H)
9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will delight in His deliverance.(I)
10 My very bones will say,
“Lord, who is like You,(J)
rescuing the poor from one too strong for him,
the poor or the needy from one who robs him?”(K)
11 Malicious witnesses come forward;
they question me about things I do not know.(L)
12 They repay me evil for good,
making me desolate.(M)
13 Yet when they were sick,
my clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled myself with fasting,
and my prayer was genuine.[a](N)
14 I went about grieving as if for my friend or brother;
I was bowed down with grief,
like one mourning a mother.(O)
15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
they gathered against me.
Assailants I did not know
tore at me and did not stop.(P)
16 With godless mockery[b]
they gnashed their teeth at me.(Q)
17 Lord, how long will You look on?(R)
Rescue my life from their ravages,
my only one from the young lions.(S)
18 I will praise You in the great congregation;
I will exalt You among many people.(T)
19 Do not let my deceitful enemies rejoice over me;
do not let those who hate me without cause(U)
look at me maliciously.(V)
20 For they do not speak in friendly ways,
but contrive deceitful schemes[c]
against those who live peacefully in the land.(W)
21 They open their mouths wide against me and say,
“Aha, aha! We saw it!”[d](X)
22 You saw it, Lord; do not be silent.
Lord, do not be far from me.(Y)
23 Wake up and rise to my defense,
to my cause, my God and my Lord!(Z)
24 Vindicate me, Lord my God,
in keeping with Your righteousness,
and do not let them rejoice over me.(AA)
25 Do not let them say in their hearts,
“Aha! Just what we wanted.”
Do not let them say,
“We have swallowed him up!”(AB)
26 Let those who rejoice at my misfortune
be disgraced and humiliated;
let those who exalt themselves over me
be clothed with shame and reproach.(AC)
The Immanuel Prophecy
10 Then the Lord spoke again to Ahaz: 11 “Ask for a sign(A) from the Lord your God—from the depths of Sheol to the heights of heaven.”
12 But Ahaz replied, “I will not ask. I will not test the Lord.”
13 Isaiah(B) said, “Listen, house of David! Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men? Will you also try the patience of my God?(C) 14 Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you[a] a sign: The virgin will conceive,[b] have a son, and name him Immanuel.[c](D) 15 By the time he learns to reject what is bad and choose what is good,(E) he will be eating butter[d] and honey.(F) 16 For before the boy knows to reject what is bad and choose what is good, the land of the two kings you dread will be abandoned. 17 The Lord will bring on you, your people, and the house of your father, such a time as has never been since Ephraim separated from Judah(G)—the king of Assyria(H) is coming.”
18 On that day(I)
the Lord will whistle(J) to the fly
that is at the farthest streams of the Nile
and to the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
19 All of them will come and settle
in the steep ravines, in the clefts of the rocks,(K)
in all the thornbushes, and in all the water holes.
20 On that day the Lord will use a razor(L) hired from beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria(M)—to shave the head, the hair on the legs, and to remove the beard as well.
21 On that day
a man will raise a young cow and two sheep,
22 and from the abundant milk they give
he will eat butter,
for every survivor in the land will eat butter and honey.(N)
23 And on that day
every place where there were 1,000 vines,
worth 1,000 pieces of silver,
will become thorns and briers.(O)
24 A man will go there with bow and arrows
because the whole land will be thorns and briers.
25 You will not go to all the hills
that were once tilled with a hoe,
for fear of the thorns and briers.
Those hills will be places for oxen to graze
and for sheep to trample.
Stand Firm
13 But we must always thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning[a] God has chosen(A) you for salvation through sanctification(B) by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, so that you might obtain the glory(C) of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brothers, stand firm(D) and hold to the traditions you were taught,(E) either by our message or by our letter.
16 May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved(F) us and given us eternal encouragement and good hope by grace, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good work and word.
Pray for Us
3 Finally, brothers, pray for us that the Lord’s message may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you,(G) 2 and that we may be delivered(H) from wicked and evil men, for not all have faith.[b] 3 But the Lord is faithful; He will strengthen and guard you from the evil one.(I) 4 We have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do what we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts to God’s love and Christ’s endurance.(J)
The First Lord’s Supper
14 When(A) the hour came, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. 15 Then He said to them, “I have fervently desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again[a] until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”(B) 17 Then He took a cup,(C) and after giving thanks,(D) He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you, from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19 And He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “This is My body,(E) which is given for you. Do this in remembrance(F) of Me.”
20 In the same way He also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant(G) established by My blood;(H) it is shed for you.[b] 21 But(I) look, the hand of the one betraying Me is at the table with Me!(J) 22 For the Son of Man will go away as it has been determined,(K) but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”
23 So they began to argue(L) among themselves which of them it could be who was going to do this thing.
The Dispute over Greatness
24 Then a dispute also arose among them about who should be considered the greatest.(M) 25 But He said to them,(N) “The kings of the Gentiles dominate them, and those who have authority over them are called[c] ‘Benefactors.’[d] 26 But it must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever is greatest among you must become like the youngest,(O) and whoever leads, like the one serving. 27 For who is greater, the one at the table or the one serving? Isn’t it the one at the table? But I am among you as the One who serves.(P) 28 You are the ones who stood by Me in My trials.(Q) 29 I bestow on you a kingdom,(R) just as My Father bestowed one on Me, 30 so that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom.(S) And you will sit on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel.(T)
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