Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 18[a]
A King’s Thanksgiving for Victory
1 For the leader. Of David, the servant of the Lord, who sang to the Lord the words of this song after the Lord had rescued him from the clutches of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said:(A)
I
I love you, Lord, my strength,
3 Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer,
My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, my saving horn,[b] my stronghold!(B)
4 Praised be the Lord, I exclaim!
I have been delivered from my enemies.
II
5 The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of destruction terrified me.
6 The cords[c] of Sheol encircled me;
the snares of death lay in wait for me.(C)
7 In my distress I called out: Lord!
I cried out to my God.(D)
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry to him reached his ears.
8 [d]The earth rocked and shook;
the foundations of the mountains trembled;
they shook as his wrath flared up.(E)
9 Smoke rose from his nostrils,
a devouring fire from his mouth;
it kindled coals into flame.
10 He parted the heavens and came down,
a dark cloud under his feet.(F)
11 Mounted on a cherub[e] he flew,
borne along on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness his cloak around him;
his canopy, water-darkened stormclouds.
13 From the gleam before him, his clouds passed,
hail and coals of fire.(G)
14 The Lord thundered from heaven;
the Most High made his voice resound.(H)
15 He let fly his arrows[f] and scattered them;
shot his lightning bolts and dispersed them.(I)
16 Then the bed of the sea appeared;
the world’s foundations lay bare,(J)
At your rebuke, O Lord,
at the storming breath of your nostrils.
17 He reached down from on high and seized me;
drew me out of the deep waters.(K)
18 He rescued me from my mighty enemy,
from foes too powerful for me.
19 They attacked me on my day of distress,
but the Lord was my support.
20 He set me free in the open;
he rescued me because he loves me.
Psalm 23[a]
The Lord, Shepherd and Host
1 A psalm of David.
I
The Lord is my shepherd;[b]
there is nothing I lack.(A)
2 In green pastures he makes me lie down;
to still waters he leads me;
3 (B)he restores my soul.
He guides me along right paths[c]
for the sake of his name.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,(C)
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff comfort me.
II
Psalm 27[a]
Trust in God
1 (A)Of David.
A
I
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The Lord is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
2 When evildoers come at me
to devour my flesh,[b](B)
These my enemies and foes
themselves stumble and fall.
3 Though an army encamp against me,
my heart does not fear;
Though war be waged against me,
even then do I trust.
II
4 One thing I ask of the Lord;
this I seek:
To dwell in the Lord’s house
all the days of my life,
To gaze on the Lord’s beauty,
to visit his temple.(C)
5 For God will hide me in his shelter
in time of trouble,(D)
He will conceal me in the cover of his tent;
and set me high upon a rock.
6 Even now my head is held high
above my enemies on every side!
I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and chant praise to the Lord.
B
I
7 Hear my voice, Lord, when I call;
have mercy on me and answer me.
8 “Come,” says my heart, “seek his face”;[c]
your face, Lord, do I seek!(E)
9 Do not hide your face from me;
do not repel your servant in anger.
You are my salvation; do not cast me off;
do not forsake me, God my savior!
10 Even if my father and mother forsake me,
the Lord will take me in.(F)
II
11 Lord, show me your way;
lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.(G)
12 Do not abandon me to the desire of my foes;
malicious and lying witnesses have risen against me.
13 I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.[d](H)
14 Wait for the Lord, take courage;
be stouthearted, wait for the Lord!
Chapter 12
Song of Thanksgiving[a]
1 On that day, you will say:
I give you thanks, O Lord;
though you have been angry with me,
your anger has abated, and you have consoled me.
2 God indeed is my salvation;
I am confident and unafraid.
For the Lord is my strength and my might,
and he has been my salvation.(A)
3 With joy you will draw water
from the fountains of salvation,(B)
4 And you will say on that day:
give thanks to the Lord, acclaim his name;
Among the nations make known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his name.(C)
5 Sing praise to the Lord for he has done glorious things;
let this be known throughout all the earth.(D)
6 Shout with exultation, City of Zion,
for great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel!(E)
I. Prologue[a]
Chapter 1
1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show his servants what must happen soon. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,(A) 2 who gives witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ by reporting what he saw. 3 Blessed is the one[b] who reads aloud and blessed are those who listen to this prophetic message and heed what is written in it, for the appointed time is near.(B)
II. Letters to the Churches of Asia
Greeting.[c] 4 John, to the seven churches in Asia:[d] grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne,(C) 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us[e] from our sins by his blood,(D) 6 who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever [and ever]. Amen.(E)
7 Behold, he is coming amid the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him.
All the peoples of the earth will lament him.
Yes. Amen.(F)
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,”[f] says the Lord God, “the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.”(G)
The First Vision.[g]
37 On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed, “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink.(A) 38 Whoever believes in me, as scripture says:
39 He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive. There was, of course, no Spirit yet,[b] because Jesus had not yet been glorified.(C)
Discussion About the Origins of the Messiah.[c] 40 Some in the crowd who heard these words said, “This is truly the Prophet.”(D) 41 Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But others said, “The Messiah will not come from Galilee, will he? 42 Does not scripture say that the Messiah will be of David’s family and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”(E) 43 So a division occurred in the crowd because of him. 44 Some of them even wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.
45 So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The guards answered, “Never before has anyone spoken like this one.” 47 So the Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?(F) 49 But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them,(G) 51 “Does our law condemn a person before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?”(H) 52 They answered and said to him, “You are not from Galilee also, are you? Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”
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