Book of Common Prayer
A Psalm of Complaint and of Praise.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
31 (A)In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge;
Let me never (B)be ashamed;
(C)In Your righteousness deliver me.
2 (D)Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly;
Be to me a (E)rock of [a]strength,
A stronghold to save me.
3 For You are my [b]rock and (F)my fortress;
For (G)Your name’s sake You will lead me and guide me.
4 You will (H)pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my (I)strength.
5 (J)Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have (K)ransomed me, O Lord, (L)God of [c]truth.
6 I hate those who (M)regard [d]vain idols,
But I (N)trust in the Lord.
7 I will (O)rejoice and be glad in Your lovingkindness,
Because You have (P)seen my affliction;
You have known the troubles of my soul,
8 And You have not (Q)given me over into the hand of the enemy;
You have set my feet in a large place.
9 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for (R)I am in distress;
My (S)eye is wasted away from grief, (T)my soul and my body also.
10 For my life is spent with (U)sorrow
And my years with sighing;
My (V)strength has failed because of my iniquity,
And (W)my [e]body has wasted away.
11 Because of all my adversaries, I have become a (X)reproach,
Especially to my (Y)neighbors,
And an object of dread to my acquaintances;
Those who see me in the street flee from me.
12 I am (Z)forgotten as a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
13 For I have heard the [f](AA)slander of many,
(AB)Terror is on every side;
While they (AC)took counsel together against me,
They (AD)schemed to take away my life.
14 But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord,
I say, “(AE)You are my God.”
15 My (AF)times are in Your hand;
(AG)Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.
16 Make Your (AH)face to shine upon Your servant;
(AI)Save me in Your lovingkindness.
17 Let me not be (AJ)put to shame, O Lord, for I call upon You;
Let the (AK)wicked be put to shame, let them (AL)be silent in [g]Sheol.
18 Let the (AM)lying lips be mute,
Which (AN)speak arrogantly against the righteous
With pride and contempt.
19 How great is Your (AO)goodness,
Which You have stored up for those who fear You,
Which You have wrought for those who (AP)take refuge in You,
(AQ)Before the sons of men!
20 You hide them in the (AR)secret place of Your presence from the (AS)conspiracies of man;
You keep them secretly in a [h]shelter from the (AT)strife of tongues.
21 (AU)Blessed be the Lord,
For He has made (AV)marvelous His lovingkindness to me in a besieged (AW)city.
22 As for me, (AX)I said in my alarm,
“I am (AY)cut off from before Your eyes”;
Nevertheless You (AZ)heard the voice of my supplications
When I cried to You.
Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.
A Psalm of David.
35 Contend, O Lord, with those who (A)contend with me;
Fight against those who (B)fight against me.
2 Take hold of [a](C)buckler and shield
And rise up for (D)my help.
3 Draw also the spear and [b]the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me;
Say to my soul, “I am (E)your salvation.”
4 Let those be (F)ashamed and dishonored who seek my [c]life;
Let those be (G)turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.
5 Let them be (H)like chaff before the wind,
With the angel of the Lord driving them on.
6 Let their way be dark and (I)slippery,
With the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
7 For (J)without cause they (K)hid their net for me;
Without cause they dug a [d]pit for my soul.
8 Let (L)destruction come upon him unawares,
And (M)let the net which he hid catch himself;
Into that very (N)destruction let him fall.
9 And my soul shall (O)rejoice in the Lord;
It shall (P)exult in His salvation.
10 All my (Q)bones will say, “Lord, (R)who is like You,
Who delivers the afflicted from him (S)who is too strong for him,
And (T)the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?”
11 (U)Malicious witnesses rise up;
They ask me of things that I do not know.
12 They (V)repay me evil for good,
To the bereavement of my soul.
13 But as for me, (W)when they were sick, my (X)clothing was sackcloth;
I (Y)humbled my soul with fasting,
And my (Z)prayer kept returning to my bosom.
14 I went about as though it were my friend or brother;
I (AA)bowed down [e]mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother.
15 But (AB)at my [f]stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together;
The [g](AC)smiters whom I did not know gathered together against me,
They [h](AD)slandered me without ceasing.
16 Like godless jesters at a feast,
They (AE)gnashed at me with their teeth.
17 Lord, (AF)how long will You look on?
Rescue my soul (AG)from their ravages,
My (AH)only life from the lions.
18 I will (AI)give You thanks in the great congregation;
I will (AJ)praise You among a mighty throng.
19 (AK)Do not let those who are wrongfully (AL)my enemies rejoice over me;
Nor let those (AM)who hate me without cause [i](AN)wink maliciously.
20 For they do not speak peace,
But they devise (AO)deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
21 They (AP)opened their mouth wide against me;
They said, “(AQ)Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!”
22 (AR)You have seen it, O Lord, (AS)do not keep silent;
O Lord, (AT)do not be far from me.
23 (AU)Stir up Yourself, and awake to my right
And to my cause, my God and my Lord.
24 (AV)Judge me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness,
And (AW)do not let them rejoice over me.
25 Do not let them say in their heart, “(AX)Aha, our desire!”
Do not let them say, “We have (AY)swallowed him up!”
26 Let (AZ)those be ashamed and humiliated altogether who rejoice at my distress;
Let those be (BA)clothed with shame and dishonor who (BB)magnify themselves over me.
The Child Immanuel
10 Then the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 11 “Ask a (A)sign for yourself from the Lord your God; [a]make it deep as Sheol or high as [b]heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!” 13 Then he said, “Listen now, O (B)house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will (C)try the patience of (D)my God as well? 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, (E)a [c]virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name [d](F)Immanuel. 15 He will eat (G)curds and honey [e]at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good. 16 (H)For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, (I)the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken.
Trials to Come for Judah
17 The Lord will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house such days as have never come since the day that (J)Ephraim separated from Judah, the (K)king of Assyria.”
18 In that day the Lord will (L)whistle for the fly that is in the [f](M)remotest part of the rivers of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 They will all come and settle on the steep [g]ravines, on the (N)ledges of the cliffs, (O)on all the thorn bushes and on all the [h]watering places.
20 In that day the Lord will (P)shave with a (Q)razor, (R)hired from regions beyond (S)the [i]Euphrates (that is, with the king of Assyria), the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard.
21 Now in that day a man may keep alive a (T)heifer and a pair of sheep; 22 and because of the abundance of the milk produced he will eat curds, for everyone that is left within the land will eat (U)curds and honey.
23 And it will come about in that day, (V)that every place where there used to be a thousand vines, valued at a thousand shekels of silver, will become (W)briars and thorns. 24 People will come there with bows and arrows because all the land will be briars and thorns. 25 As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the hoe, you will not go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place for [j](X)pasturing oxen and for sheep to trample.
13 (A)But we should always give thanks to God for you, (B)brethren beloved by the Lord, because (C)God has chosen you [a]from the beginning (D)for salvation [b](E)through sanctification [c]by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 It was for this He (F)called you through (G)our gospel, [d]that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brethren, (H)stand firm and (I)hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether (J)by word of mouth or (K)by letter [e]from us.
16 (L)Now may our Lord Jesus Christ (M)Himself and God our Father, who has (N)loved us and given us eternal comfort and (O)good hope by grace, 17 (P)comfort and (Q)strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.
Exhortation
3 (R)Finally, brethren, (S)pray for us that (T)the word of the Lord will [f]spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you; 2 and that we will be (U)rescued from [g]perverse and evil men; for not all have [h]faith. 3 But (V)the Lord is faithful, [i]and He will strengthen and protect you [j]from (W)the evil one. 4 We have (X)confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you (Y)are doing and will continue to do what we command. 5 May the Lord (Z)direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.
The Lord’s Supper
14 (A)When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and (B)the apostles with Him. 15 And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I shall never again eat it (C)until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 (D)And when He had taken a cup and (E)given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; 18 for (F)I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And when He had taken some bread and (G)given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is (H)poured out for you is the (I)new covenant in My blood. 21 (J)But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with [a]Mine on the table. 22 For indeed, the Son of Man is going (K)as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” 23 And they began to discuss among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing.
Who Is Greatest
24 And there arose also (L)a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. 25 (M)And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ 26 But it is not this way with you, (N)but the one who is the greatest among you must become like (O)the youngest, and the leader like the servant. 27 For (P)who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But (Q)I am among you as the one who serves.
28 “You are those who have stood by Me in My (R)trials; 29 and just as My Father has granted Me a (S)kingdom, I grant you 30 that you may (T)eat and drink at My table in My (U)kingdom, and (V)you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
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