Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Victory
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
20 The Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
The name of the God of Jacob protect you!
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary,
and give you support from Zion!
3 May he remember all your offerings,
and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices!Selah
4 May he grant you your heart’s desire,
and fulfil all your plans!
5 May we shout for joy over your victory,
and in the name of our God set up our banners!
May the Lord fulfil all your petitions!
6 Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with mighty victories by his right hand.
7 Some boast of chariots, and some of horses;
but we boast of the name of the Lord our God.
8 They will collapse and fall;
but we shall rise and stand upright.
9 Give victory to the king, O Lord;
answer us when we call.[a]
Thanksgiving for Victory
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
21 In thy strength the king rejoices, O Lord;
and in thy help how greatly he exults!
2 Thou hast given him his heart’s desire,
and hast not withheld the request of his lips.Selah
3 For thou dost meet him with goodly blessings;
thou dost set a crown of fine gold upon his head.
4 He asked life of thee; thou gavest it to him,
length of days for ever and ever.
5 His glory is great through thy help;
splendor and majesty thou dost bestow upon him.
6 Yea, thou dost make him most blessed for ever;
thou dost make him glad with the joy of thy presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord;
and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.
8 Your hand will find out all your enemies;
your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9 You will make them as a blazing oven
when you appear.
The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath;
and fire will consume them.
10 You will destroy their offspring from the earth,
and their children from among the sons of men.
11 If they plan evil against you,
if they devise mischief, they will not succeed.
12 For you will put them to flight;
you will aim at their faces with your bows.
13 Be exalted, O Lord, in thy strength!
We will sing and praise thy power.
Assurance of Victory for God’s Priest-King
A Psalm of David.
110 [a]The Lord says to my lord:
“Sit at my right hand,
till I make your enemies your footstool.”
2 The Lord sends forth from Zion
your mighty scepter.
Rule in the midst of your foes!
3 Your people will offer themselves freely
on the day you lead your host
upon the holy mountains.[b]
From the womb of the morning
like dew your youth[c] will come to you.
4 The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest for ever
after the order of Melchiz′edek.”
5 The Lord is at your right hand;
he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
6 He will execute judgment among the nations,
filling them with corpses;
he will shatter chiefs[d]
over the wide earth.
7 He will drink from the brook by the way;
therefore he will lift up his head.
Thanksgiving for Recovery from Illness
116 I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my supplications.
2 Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I beseech thee, save my life!”
5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserves the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return, O my soul, to your rest;
for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
8 For thou hast delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;
9 I walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.
10 I kept my faith, even when I said,
“I am greatly afflicted”;
11 I said in my consternation,
“Men are all a vain hope.”
12 What shall I render to the Lord
for all his bounty to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord,
14 I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his saints.
16 O Lord, I am thy servant;
I am thy servant, the son of thy handmaid.
Thou hast loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving
and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
Universal Call to Worship
117 Praise the Lord, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples!
2 For great is his steadfast love toward us;
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever.
Praise the Lord!
The Fiery Furnace
19 Then Nebuchadnez′zar was full of fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed′nego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was wont to be heated. 20 And he ordered certain mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed′nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their mantles,[a] their tunics,[b] their hats, and their other garments, and they were cast into the burning fiery furnace. 22 Because the king’s order was strict and the furnace very hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed′nego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed′nego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.[c]
The Prayer of Azariah in the Furnace
1 And they walked about in the midst of the flames, singing hymns to God and blessing the Lord. 2 Then Azari′ah stood and offered this prayer; in the midst of the fire he opened his mouth and said:
3 “Blessed art thou, O Lord, God of our fathers, and worthy of praise;
and thy name is glorified for ever.
4 For thou art just in all that thou hast done to us,
and all thy works are true and thy ways right,
and all thy judgments are truth.
5 Thou hast executed true judgments in all that thou hast brought upon us
and upon Jerusalem, the holy city of our fathers,
for in truth and justice thou hast brought all this upon us because of our sins.
6 For we have sinfully and lawlessly departed from thee,
and have sinned in all things and have not obeyed thy commandments;
7 we have not observed them or done them,
as thou hast commanded us that it might go well with us.
8 So all that thou hast brought upon us,
and all that thou hast done to us,
thou hast done in true judgment.
9 Thou hast given us into the hands of lawless enemies, most hateful rebels,
and to an unjust king, the most wicked in all the world.
10 And now we cannot open our mouths;
shame and disgrace have befallen thy servants and worshipers.
11 For thy name’s sake do not give us up utterly,
and do not break thy covenant,
12 and do not withdraw thy mercy from us,
for the sake of Abraham thy beloved
and for the sake of Isaac thy servant
and Israel thy holy one,
13 to whom thou didst promise
to make their descendants as many as the stars of heaven
and as the sand on the shore of the sea.
14 For we, O Lord, have become fewer than any nation,
and are brought low this day in all the world because of our sins.
15 And at this time there is no prince, or prophet, or leader,
no burnt offering, or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense,
no place to make an offering before thee or to find mercy.
16 Yet with a contrite heart and a humble spirit may we be accepted,
as though it were with burnt offerings of rams and bulls,
and with tens of thousands of fat lambs;
17 such may our sacrifice be in thy sight this day,
and may we wholly follow thee,
for there will be no shame for those who trust in thee.
18 And now with all our heart we follow thee,
we fear thee and seek thy face.
19 Do not put us to shame,
but deal with us in thy forbearance
and in thy abundant mercy.
20 Deliver us in accordance with thy marvelous works,
and give glory to thy name, O Lord!
Let all who do harm to thy servants be put to shame;
21 let them be disgraced and deprived of all power and dominion,
and let their strength be broken.
22 Let them know that thou art the Lord, the only God,
glorious over the whole world.”
The Song of the Three Jews
23 Now the king’s servants who threw them in did not cease feeding the furnace fires with naphtha, pitch, tow, and brush. 24 And the flame streamed out above the furnace forty-nine cubits, 25 and it broke through and burned those of the Chalde′ans whom it caught about the furnace. 26 But the angel of the Lord came down into the furnace to be with Azari′ah and his companions, and drove the fiery flame out of the furnace, 27 and made the midst of the furnace like a moist whistling wind, so that the fire did not touch them at all or hurt or trouble them.
28 Then the three, as with one mouth, praised and glorified and blessed God in the furnace, saying:
29 “Blessed art thou, O Lord, God of our fathers,
and to be praised and highly exalted for ever;
30 And blessed is thy glorious, holy name
and to be highly praised and highly exalted for ever;
31 Blessed art thou in the temple of thy holy glory
and to be extolled and highly glorified for ever.
32 Blessed art thou, who sittest upon cherubim and lookest upon the deeps,
and to be praised and highly exalted for ever.
33 Blessed art thou upon the throne of thy kingdom
and to be extolled and highly exalted for ever.
34 Blessed art thou in the firmament of heaven
and to be sung and glorified for ever.
35 “Bless the Lord, all works of the Lord,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
36 Bless the Lord, you heavens,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
37 Bless the Lord, you angels of the Lord,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
38 Bless the Lord, all waters above the heaven,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
39 Bless the Lord, all powers,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
40 Bless the Lord, sun and moon,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
41 Bless the Lord, stars of heaven,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
42 Bless the Lord, all rain and dew,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
43 Bless the Lord, all winds,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
44 Bless the Lord, fire and heat,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
45 Bless the Lord, winter cold and summer heat,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
46 Bless the Lord, dews and snows,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
47 Bless the Lord, nights and days,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
48 Bless the Lord, light and darkness,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
49 Bless the Lord, ice and cold,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
50 Bless the Lord, frosts and snows,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
51 Bless the Lord, lightnings and clouds,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
52 Let the earth bless the Lord;
let it sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
53 Bless the Lord, mountains and hills,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
54 Bless the Lord, all things that grow on the earth,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
55 Bless the Lord, you springs,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
56 Bless the Lord, seas and rivers,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
57 Bless the Lord, you whales and all creatures that move in the waters,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
58 Bless the Lord, all birds of the air,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
59 Bless the Lord, all beasts and cattle,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
60 Bless the Lord, you sons of men,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
61 Bless the Lord, O Israel,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
62 Bless the Lord, you priests of the Lord,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
63 Bless the Lord, you servants of the Lord,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
64 Bless the Lord, spirits and souls of the righteous,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
65 Bless the Lord, you who are holy and humble in heart,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.
66 Bless the Lord, Hanani′ah, Azari′ah, and Mish′ael,
sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever;
for he has rescued us from Hades and saved us from the hand of death,
and delivered us from the midst of the burning fiery furnace;
from the midst of the fire he has delivered us.
67 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his mercy endures for ever.
68 Bless him, all who worship the Lord, the God of gods,
sing praise to him and give thanks to him,
for his mercy endures for ever.”[d]
24 Then King Nebuchadnez′zar was astonished and rose up in haste. He said to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered the king, “True, O king.” 25 He answered, “But I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”
26 Then Nebuchadnez′zar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed′nego, servants of the Most High God, come forth, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed′nego came out from the fire. 27 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men; the hair of their heads was not singed, their mantles[e] were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. 28 Nebuchadnez′zar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed′nego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set at nought the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed′nego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins; for there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.” 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed′nego in the province of Babylon.
Love One Another
11 For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 and not be like Cain who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not wonder, brethren, that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love remains in death. 15 Any one who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But if any one has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth.
The Temptation of Jesus
4 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit 2 for forty days in the wilderness, tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing in those days; and when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” 5 And the devil took him up, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory; for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it shall all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written,
‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
and him only shall you serve.’”
9 And he took him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here; 10 for it is written,
‘He will give his angels charge of you, to guard you,’
11 and
‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.