Book of Common Prayer
A Davidic Psalm
Remembering God’s Love
101 I will sing about gracious love and justice;
Lord, I will sing praise to you.
2 I will pay attention to living a life of integrity—
when will I attain it?
I will live with integrity of heart in my house.
3 I will not even think about doing anything lawless;
I hate to do evil deeds;
I will have none of it.
4 I will not allow anyone with a perverted mind in my presence;
I will not be involved with[a] anything evil.
5 I will destroy the one who secretly slanders a friend.
I will not allow the proud and haughty to prevail.
6 My eyes are looking at the faithful of the land,
so they may live with me;
The one who lives a life of integrity will serve me.
7 A deceitful person will not sit in my house;
A liar will not remain in my presence.
8 Every morning I will destroy all the wicked of the land,
eliminating everyone who practices iniquity from the Lord’s city.
To the Director. A Davidic psalm.
A Prayer against the Evil One
109 God, whom I praise,
do not be silent,
2 for the mouths of wicked and deceitful people
are opened against me;
they speak against me with lying tongues.
3 They surround me with hate-filled words,
attacking me for no reason.
4 Instead of receiving[a] my love, they accuse me,
though I continue in prayer.
5 They devise evil against me instead of good,
and hatred in place of my love.
6 Appoint an evil person over him;
may an accuser stand at his right side.[b]
7 When he is judged, may he be found guilty;
may his prayer be regarded as sin.
8 May his days be few;
may another take over his position.[c]
9 May his children become fatherless,
and his wife a widow.
10 May his children roam around begging,
seeking food[d] while driven far[e] from their ruined homes.
11 May creditors seize all his possessions,
and may foreigners loot the property he has acquired.[f]
12 May no one extend gracious love to him,
or show favor to his fatherless children.
13 May his descendants[g] be eliminated,
and their memory[h] be erased from the next generation.
14 May his ancestors’ guilt be remembered in the Lord’s presence,
and may his mother’s guilt not be erased.
15 May what[i] they have done[j] be continually in the Lord’s presence;
and may their memory be excised from the earth.
16 For he didn’t think to extend gracious love;
he harassed to death the poor, the needy, and the broken hearted.[k]
17 He loved to curse—may his curses[l] return upon him!
He took no delight in blessing others[m]—
so may blessings[n] be far from him.
18 He wore curses like a garment—
may they[o] enter his inner being like water
and his bones like oil.
19 May those curses[p] wrap around him like a garment,
or like a belt that one always wears.
20 May this be the way the Lord repays my accuser,
those who speak evil against me.
21 Now you, Lord my God, defend[q] me for your name’s sake;
because your gracious love is good, deliver me!
22 Indeed, I am poor and needy,
and my heart is wounded within me.
23 I am fading[r] away like a shadow late in the day;
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees give way[s] from fasting,
and my skin is lean, deprived of oil.
25 I have become an object of derision to them—
they shake their heads whenever they see me.
26 Help me, Lord my God!
Deliver me in accord with your gracious love!
27 Then they will realize that your hand is in this—
that you, Lord, have accomplished it.
28 They will curse,
but you will bless.
When they attack,[t] they will[u] be humiliated,
while your servant rejoices.
29 May my accusers be clothed with shame
and wrapped in their humiliation as with a robe.
30 I will give many thanks to the Lord with my mouth,
praising him publicly,
Ayin
Praying for God’s Deliverance
121 I have acted with justice and righteousness;
do not abandon me to my oppressors.
122 Back up your servant in a positive way;
do not let the arrogant oppress me.
123 My eyes fail as I look[a] for your salvation
and for your righteous promise.
124 Act toward your servant consistent with your gracious love,
and teach me your statutes.
125 Since I am your servant, give me understanding,
so I will know your decrees.
126 It is time for the Lord to act,
since they have violated your instruction.[b]
127 I truly love your commands more than gold,
including fine gold.
128 I truly consider all of your precepts—all of them—to be just,
while I despise every false way.
Peyh
Living in God’s Word
129 Your decrees are wonderful—
that’s why I observe them.
130 The disclosure of your words illuminates,
providing understanding to the simple.
131 I open my mouth and pant
as I long for your commands.
132 Turn in my direction and show mercy to me,
as you have decreed regarding those who love your name.
133 Direct my footsteps by your promise,
and do not let any kind of iniquity rule over me.
134 Deliver me from human oppression
and I will keep your precepts.
135 Show favor to[c] your servant,
and teach me your statutes.
136 My eyes shed rivers of tears,
when others do not obey your instruction.[d]
Tsade
God’s Righteous Decrees
137 Lord, you are righteous,
and your judgments are right.
138 You have ordered your decrees to us rightly,
and they are very faithful.
139 My zeal consumes me
because my enemies forget your words.
140 Your word is very pure,
and your servant loves it.
141 Though I may be small and despised,
I do not neglect your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is an eternal righteousness,
and your instruction[e] is true.
143 Though trouble and anguish overwhelm me,
your commands remain my delight.
144 Your righteous decrees are eternal;
give me understanding, and I will live.
14 Then this message came to me from the Lord: 15 “Son of Man, your brothers, your other relatives, your fellow exiles,[a] and the entire house of Israel are the people to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘They’ve abandoned the Lord. This land was given to us for an inheritance.’”
The Future Hope of Israel
16 “Therefore you are to say, ‘This is what the Lord God says, “Although I’ve removed them far away to live among the nations, and although I’ve scattered them throughout the earth, yet I’ve continued to be their sanctuary, even for the short time that they will be living in the lands to which they’ve gone.”’
17 “Therefore you are to say, ‘This is what the Lord God says, “I’m going to gather you from among the nations, assembling you from the lands among which you have been dispersed. I’ll give you the land of Israel. 18 When they return from there and cast away all of their loathsome things and detestable practices, 19 then I’ll give them a united heart, placing a new spirit within them.[b] I’ll remove their stubborn heart[c] and give them a heart that’s sensitive to me.[d] 20 When they live by my statutes and keep my ordinances by observing them, then they’ll be my people and I will be their God. 21 But to those whose hearts delight in loathsome things and detestable practices, I’ll bring the consequences of their behavior crashing down on their own heads,” declares the Lord God.’”
The Cherubim Leave
22 Then the cherubim arose, with their wheels alongside, and the glory of Israel’s God remained above and over them. 23 The glory of the Lord went up from the middle of the city and stood on the mountain, east of the city. 24 Then in a vision from the Spirit of God, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Chaldea. At that point, the vision that I had been observing ended. 25 Later, I spoke to the exiles concerning everything the Lord had spoken that I had witnessed.
The Messiah is Superior to Melchizedek
7 Now this man Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, met Abraham and blessed him when he was returning from defeating the kings. 2 Abraham gave Melchizedek[a] a tenth of everything.[b] In the first place, his name means “king of righteousness,” and then he is also king of Salem, that is, “king of peace.” 3 He has no father, mother, or genealogy, no birth date recorded for him, nor a date of death.[c] Like the Son of God, he continues to be a priest forever.
4 Just look at how great this man was! Even Abraham—the patriarch himself—gave him a tenth of what he had captured! 5 The descendants of Levi who accept the priesthood have a commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their own brothers, even though they are also descendants of Abraham. 6 But this man, whose descent is not traced from them, collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the man who had received the promises. 7 It is beyond dispute that the less important person is blessed by the more important person. 8 Mortal men collect tithes, but we are informed by Scripture[d] that[e] Melchizedek[f] keeps on living. 9 One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, 10 because Levi[g] was still inside his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.
11 Now if perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—for on this basis the people received the Law—what further need would there be to speak of appointing another kind of priest according to the order of Melchizedek, not one according to the order of Aaron? 12 When a change in the priesthood takes place, there must also be a change in the Law. 13 For the person we are talking about belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served[h] at the altar. 14 Furthermore, it is obvious that our Lord was a descendant of Judah, and Moses said nothing about priests coming from that tribe. 15 This point is even more obvious in that another priest who is like Melchizedek has appeared 16 who was appointed to be a priest,[i] not on the basis of a genealogical registry, but rather on the power of an indestructible life. 17 For it is declared about him,
“You are a priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek.”[j]
The Return of the Seventy
17 The 70[a] disciples[b] came back and joyously reported, “Lord, even the demons are submitting to us in your name!”
18 He told them, “I watched Satan falling from heaven like lightning. 19 Look! I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to destroy[c] all the enemy’s power, and nothing will ever hurt you. 20 However, stop rejoicing because the spirits are submitting to you. Instead, rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
Jesus Praises the Father(A)
21 At that moment, the Holy Spirit[d] made Jesus[e] extremely joyful, so Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from wise and intelligent people and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, because this is what was pleasing to you. 22 All things have been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows[f] who the Father is except the Son and the person to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
23 Then turning to his disciples in private, he told them, “How blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 Because I tell you, many prophets and kings wanted to see the things you see but didn’t see them, and to hear the things you hear but didn’t hear them.”
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.