Book of Common Prayer
To the Director: By the servant of the Lord, David, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hands of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
Gratitude for Victory
18 He said:
“I love you, Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my God,
my stronghold[a] in whom I take refuge, my shield, the glory[b]
of my salvation, and my high tower.”
3 I cried out to the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I was delivered from my enemies.
4 The cords of death entangled me;
the rivers of Belial[c] made me afraid.
5 The cords of Sheol[d] surrounded me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I cried to the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his Temple he heard my voice;
my cry reached his ears.
7 The world shook and trembled;
the foundations of the mountains quaked,
they shook because he was angry.
8 In his anger smoke poured out of his nostrils,
and consuming fire from his mouth;
coals were lit from it.
9 He bent the sky and descended,
and darkness was under his feet.
10 He rode upon a cherub and flew;
he soared upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his hiding place,
his canopy surrounding him was dark waters and thick clouds.
12 The brightness before him scattered the thick clouds,
with hail stones and flashes of fire.
13 Then the Lord thundered in[e] the heavens,
and the Most High sounded aloud,
calling for hail stones and flashes of fire.[f]
14 He shot his arrows and scattered them;
with many lightning bolts he frightened them.
15 Then the channels of the sea could be seen,
and the foundations of the earth were uncovered
because of your rebuke, Lord,
because of the blast from the breath of your nostrils.
16 He reached down and took me;
he drew me from many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemies,
from those who hated me because
they were stronger than I.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out to a spacious place;
he delivered me, for in me he takes delight.
God’s Reward to the Righteous
20 The Lord will reward me because I am righteous;
because my hands are clean he will restore me;
A Davidic Psalm.
The Lord Shepherds His People
23 The Lord is the one who is shepherding me;
I lack nothing.
2 He causes me to lie down in pastures of green grass;
he guides me beside quiet waters.
3 He revives my life;
he leads me in pathways that are righteous
for the sake of his name.[a]
4 Even when I walk through a valley of deep darkness,[b]
I will not be afraid
because you are with me.
Your rod and your staff—they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me,
even in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Truly, goodness and gracious love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will remain in[c] the Lord’s Temple forever.[d]
Davidic
Confidence in the Lord
27 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom will I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
of whom will I be afraid?
2 When those who practice evil, my enemies, and my oppressors
come near me to devour my flesh,
they stumble and fall.
3 If an army encamps against me,
my heart will not fear.
If a war is launched against me,
I will even trust in that situation.
4 I have asked one thing from the Lord;
it is what I really seek:
that I may remain in the Lord’s Temple
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord;
and to inquire in his Temple.
5 For he will conceal me in his shelter on the day of evil;
He will hide me in a secluded chamber within his tent;
He will place me on a high rock.
6 Now my head will be lifted up above my enemies,
even those who surround me.
I will sacrifice in his tent with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melodies to the Lord.
7 Hear my voice, Lord, when I cry out!
Be gracious to me and answer me.
8 My mind recalls your word,[a]
“Seek my face,”
so your face, Lord, I will seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me;
do not turn away in anger from your servant.
You have been my help,
therefore do not abandon or forsake me,
God of my salvation.
10 Though my father and my mother abandoned me,
the Lord gathers me up.
11 Teach me your way, Lord,
and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
12 Do not hand me over to the desires of my enemies;
for false witnesses have risen up against me;
even the one who breathes out violence.
13 I believe that I will see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
14 Wait on the Lord.
Be courageous, and he will strengthen your heart.
Wait on the Lord!
Israel’s Praise to the Lord
12 At that time,[a] you will say:
“I will praise you, Lord,
for although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away,
and you have comforted me.
2 “Look! God—yes God—is[b] my salvation;
I will trust, and not be afraid.
For the Lord[c] is my strength and my song,[d]
and he has become my salvation.”
3 You will draw water joyfully from the wells of salvation. And you will say at that time:[e]
4 “Give thanks to the Lord;
call on his name.
Make known his actions
among the nations.
Proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 “Sing praises to the Lord,[f]
because he has acted gloriously,
being made[g] known in all the world.
6 Shout aloud, and sing for joy,
you who live in Zion,
because great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel.”
The Revelation of Jesus the Messiah to the Seven Churches
1 This is[a] the revelation of Jesus the Messiah,[b] which God gave him to show his servants the things that must happen soon. He made it known by sending his messenger[c] to his servant John, 2 who testified about this message from God and the testimony about Jesus the Messiah.[d] 3 How blessed is the one who reads aloud and those who hear the words of this prophecy and obey what is written in it, for the time is near!
4 From[e] John to the seven churches in Asia. May grace and peace be yours from the one who is, who was, and who is coming, from the seven spirits who are in front of his throne, 5 and from Jesus the Messiah,[f] the witness, the faithful one,[g] the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To the one who loves us and has freed[h] us from our sins by his blood 6 and has made us a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.
7 Look! He is coming in the clouds.
Every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him,
and all the tribes of the earth will mourn
because of him.
So be it! Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” declares the Lord God, “the one who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.”
Rivers of Living Water
37 On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and shouted, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me[a] and drink! 38 The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have rivers of living water flowing from his heart.” 39 Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who were believing in him were to receive, because the Spirit[b] was not yet present[c] and Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Division among the People
40 When they heard these words, some in the crowd were saying, “This really is the Prophet,” 41 while others were saying, “This is the Messiah!”[d]
But some were saying, “The Messiah[e] doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? 42 Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Messiah[f] is from David’s family and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” 43 So there was a division in the crowd because of him. 44 Some of them were wanting to seize him, but no one laid hands on him.
The Unbelief of the Authorities
45 Then the officers returned to the high priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him?”
46 The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like that!”
47 Then the Pharisees replied to them, “You haven’t been deceived, too, have you? 48 None of the authorities or Pharisees has believed in him, have they? 49 But this mob that does not know the Law—they’re under a curse!”
50 One of their own, Nicodemus (the man who had previously met with Jesus),[g] asked them, 51 “Surely our Law does not condemn[h] a person without first hearing from him and finding out what he is doing, does it?”
52 They answered him, “You aren’t from Galilee, too, are you? Search and see that no prophet comes from Galilee.”
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