Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 88[a]
A song, a psalm written by the Korahites, for the music director, according to the machalath-leannoth style;[b] a well-written song[c] by Heman the Ezrahite.
88 O Lord God who delivers me,[d]
by day I cry out
and at night I pray before you.[e]
2 Listen to my prayer.[f]
Pay attention[g] to my cry for help.
3 For my life[h] is filled with troubles,
and I am ready to enter Sheol.[i]
4 They treat me like[j] those who descend into the grave.[k]
I am like a helpless man,[l]
5 adrift[m] among the dead,
like corpses lying in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
and who are cut off from your power.[n]
6 You place me in the lowest regions of the Pit,[o]
in the dark places, in the watery depths.
7 Your anger bears down on me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves. (Selah)
8 You cause those who know me to keep their distance;
you make me an appalling sight to them.
I am trapped and cannot get free.[p]
9 My eyes grow weak because of oppression.
I call out to you, O Lord, all day long;
I spread out my hands in prayer to you.[q]
10 Do you accomplish amazing things for the dead?
Do the departed spirits[r] rise up and give you thanks? (Selah)
11 Is your loyal love proclaimed in the grave,
or your faithfulness in the place of the dead?[s]
12 Are your amazing deeds experienced[t] in the dark region,[u]
or your deliverance in the land of oblivion?[v]
13 As for me, I cry out to you, O Lord;
in the morning my prayer confronts you.
14 O Lord, why do you reject me,
and pay no attention to me?[w]
15 I am oppressed and have been on the verge of death since my youth.[x]
I have been subjected to your horrors and am numb with pain.[y]
16 Your anger overwhelms me;[z]
your terrors destroy me.
17 They surround me like water all day long;
they join forces and encircle me.[aa]
18 You cause my friends and neighbors to keep their distance;[ab]
those who know me leave me alone in the darkness.[ac]
Psalm 91[a]
91 As for you, the one who lives[b] in the shelter of the Most High,[c]
and resides in the protective shadow[d] of the Sovereign One[e]—
2 I say this about the Lord, my shelter and my stronghold,
my God in whom I trust—
3 he will certainly rescue you from the snare of the hunter[f]
and from the destructive plague.
4 He will shelter you[g] with his wings;[h]
you will find safety under his wings.
His faithfulness is like a shield or a protective wall.[i]
5 You need not fear the terrors of the night,[j]
the arrow that flies by day,
6 the plague that stalks in the darkness,
or the disease that ravages at noon.[k]
7 Though a thousand may fall beside you,
and a multitude on your right side,
it[l] will not reach you.
8 Certainly you will see it with your very own eyes—
you will see the wicked paid back.[m]
9 For you have taken refuge in the Lord,
my shelter, the Most High.
10 No harm will overtake[n] you;
no illness[o] will come near your home.[p]
11 For he will order his angels[q]
to protect you in all you do.[r]
12 They will lift you up in their hands,
so you will not slip and fall on a stone.[s]
13 You will subdue[t] a lion and a snake;[u]
you will trample underfoot a young lion and a serpent.
14 The Lord says,[v]
“Because he is devoted to me, I will deliver him;
I will protect him[w] because he is loyal to me.[x]
15 When he calls out to me, I will answer him.
I will be with him when he is in trouble;
I will rescue him and bring him honor.
16 I will satisfy him with long life,[y]
and will let him see my salvation.”
Psalm 92[z]
A psalm; a song for the Sabbath day.
92 It is fitting[aa] to thank the Lord,
and to sing praises to your name, O Most High.[ab]
2 It is fitting[ac] to proclaim your loyal love in the morning,
and your faithfulness during the night,
3 to the accompaniment of a ten-stringed instrument and a lyre,
to the accompaniment of the meditative tone of the harp.
4 For you, O Lord, have made me happy by your work.
I will sing for joy because of what you have done.[ad]
5 How great are your works, O Lord!
Your plans are very intricate![ae]
6 The spiritually insensitive do not recognize this;
the fool does not understand this.[af]
7 When the wicked sprout up like grass,
and all the evildoers glisten,[ag]
it is so that they may be annihilated.[ah]
8 But you, O Lord, reign[ai] forever.
9 Indeed,[aj] look at your enemies, O Lord.
Indeed,[ak] look at how your enemies perish.
All the evildoers are scattered.
10 You exalt my horn like that of a wild ox.[al]
I am covered[am] with fresh oil.
11 I gloat in triumph over those who tried to ambush me;[an]
I hear the defeated cries of the evil foes who attacked me.[ao]
12 The godly[ap] grow like a palm tree;
they grow high like a cedar in Lebanon.[aq]
13 Planted in the Lord’s house,
they grow in the courts of our God.
14 They bear fruit even when they are old;
they are filled with vitality and have many leaves.[ar]
15 So they proclaim that the Lord, my Protector,
is just and never unfair.[as]
The Call of Samuel
3 Now the boy Samuel continued serving the Lord under Eli’s supervision.[a] Receiving a message from the Lord was rare in those days; revelatory visions were infrequent.
2 Eli’s eyes had begun to fail, so that he was unable to see well. At that time he was lying down in his place, 3 and the lamp of God had not yet been extinguished. Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord as well; the ark of God was also there. 4 The Lord called to Samuel, and he replied, “Here I am!” 5 Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But Eli[b] said, “I didn’t call you. Go back and lie down.” So he went back and lay down. 6 The Lord again called, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But Eli[c] said, “I didn’t call you, my son. Go back and lie down.”
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord; the Lord’s messages had not yet been revealed to him. 8 Then the Lord called Samuel a third time. So he got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me!” Eli then realized that it was the Lord who was calling the boy. 9 So Eli said to Samuel, “Go back and lie down. When he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ So Samuel went back and lay down in his place.
10 Then the Lord came and stood nearby, calling as he had previously done, “Samuel! Samuel!” Samuel replied, “Speak, for your servant is listening!” 11 The Lord said to Samuel, “Look! I am about to do something in Israel;[d] when anyone hears about it, both of his ears will tingle. 12 On that day I will carry out[e] against Eli everything that I spoke about his house—from start to finish! 13 You[f] should tell him that I am about to judge his house forever because of[g] the sin that he knew about. For his sons were cursing God,[h] and he did not rebuke them. 14 Therefore I swore an oath to the house of Eli, ‘The sin of the house of Eli can never be forgiven by sacrifice or by grain offering.’”
15 So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the Lord’s house. But Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision. 16 However, Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!” He replied, “Here I am.” 17 Eli[i] said, “What message did he speak to you? Don’t conceal it from me. God will judge you severely[j] if you conceal from me anything that he said to you!”
18 So Samuel told him everything. He did not hold back anything from him. Eli[k] said, “The Lord will do what he pleases.”[l] 19 Samuel continued to grow, and the Lord was with him. None of his prophecies fell to the ground unfulfilled.[m] 20 All Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba realized that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. 21 Then the Lord again appeared in Shiloh, for it was in Shiloh that the Lord had revealed himself to Samuel[n] through a message from the Lord.[o]
The Response to Peter’s Address
37 Now when they heard this,[a] they were acutely distressed[b] and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “What should we do, brothers?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized[c] in the name of Jesus Christ[d] for[e] the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.[f] 39 For the promise[g] is for you and your children, and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.” 40 With many other words he testified[h] and exhorted them saying, “Save yourselves from this perverse[i] generation!” 41 So those who accepted[j] his message[k] were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people[l] were added.[m]
The Fellowship of the Early Believers
42 They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship,[n] to the breaking of bread and to prayer.[o] 43 Reverential awe[p] came over everyone,[q] and many wonders and miraculous signs[r] came about by the apostles. 44 All who believed were together and held[s] everything in common, 45 and they began selling[t] their property[u] and possessions and distributing the proceeds[v] to everyone, as anyone had need. 46 Every day[w] they continued to gather together by common consent in the temple courts,[x] breaking bread from[y] house to house, sharing their food with glad[z] and humble hearts,[aa] 47 praising God and having the good will[ab] of all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number every day[ac] those who were being saved.
The Signs of the End of the Age
5 Now[a] while some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned[b] with beautiful stones and offerings,[c] Jesus[d] said, 6 “As for these things that you are gazing at, the days will come when not one stone will be left on another.[e] All will be torn down!”[f] 7 So[g] they asked him,[h] “Teacher, when will these things[i] happen? And what will be the sign that[j] these things are about to take place?” 8 He[k] said, “Watch out[l] that you are not misled. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’[m] and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them! 9 And when you hear of wars and rebellions,[n] do not be afraid.[o] For these things must happen first, but the end will not come at once.”[p]
Persecution of Disciples
10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise up in arms[q] against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, and famines[r] and plagues in various places, and there will be terrifying sights[s] and great signs[t] from heaven. 12 But before all this,[u] they will seize[v] you and persecute you, handing you over to the synagogues[w] and prisons. You[x] will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 13 This will be a time for you to serve as witnesses.[y] 14 Therefore be resolved[z] not to rehearse[aa] ahead of time how to make your defense. 15 For I will give you the words[ab] along with the wisdom[ac] that none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents,[ad] brothers, relatives,[ae] and friends, and they will have some of you put to death. 17 You will be hated by everyone because of my name.[af] 18 Yet[ag] not a hair of your head will perish.[ah] 19 By your endurance[ai] you will gain[aj] your lives.[ak]
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.