Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for Guidance
To the Chief Musician. With [a]flutes. A Psalm of David.
5 Give (A)ear to my words, O Lord,
Consider my [b]meditation.
2 Give heed to the voice of my cry,
My King and my God,
For to You I will pray.
3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord;
(B)In the morning I will direct it to You,
And I will look up.
4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness,
Nor shall evil [c]dwell with You.
5 The (C)boastful shall not (D)stand in Your sight;
You hate all workers of iniquity.
6 You shall destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors the (E)bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
7 But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy;
In fear of You I will worship toward [d]Your holy temple.
8 (F)Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies;
Make Your way straight before my face.
9 For there is no [e]faithfulness in their mouth;
Their inward part is destruction;
(G)Their throat is an open tomb;
They flatter with their tongue.
10 Pronounce them guilty, O God!
Let them fall by their own counsels;
Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions,
For they have rebelled against You.
11 But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;
Let them ever shout for joy, because You [f]defend them;
Let those also who love Your name
Be joyful in You.
12 For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround him as with a shield.
A Prayer of Faith in Time of Distress
To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. (H)On [g]an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David.
6 O Lord, (I)do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.
2 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak;
O Lord, (J)heal me, for my bones are troubled.
3 My soul also is greatly (K)troubled;
But You, O Lord—how long?
4 Return, O Lord, deliver me!
Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake!
5 (L)For in death there is no remembrance of You;
In the grave who will give You thanks?
A Song of Confidence in God’s Triumph over Evil
10 Why do You stand afar off, O Lord?
Why do You hide in times of trouble?
2 The wicked in his pride [a]persecutes the poor;
(A)Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.
3 For the wicked (B)boasts of his heart’s desire;
[b]He (C)blesses the greedy and renounces the Lord.
4 The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God;
[c]God is in none of his (D)thoughts.
5 His ways [d]are always prospering;
Your judgments are far above, out of his sight;
As for all his enemies, he sneers at them.
6 (E)He has said in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
(F)I shall never be in adversity.”
7 (G)His mouth is full of cursing and (H)deceit and oppression;
Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity.
8 He sits in the lurking places of the villages;
In the secret places he murders the innocent;
His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.
9 He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den;
He lies in wait to catch the poor;
He catches the poor when he draws him into his net.
10 So [e]he crouches, he lies low,
That the helpless may fall by his [f]strength.
11 He has said in his heart,
“God has forgotten;
He hides His face;
He will never see.”
12 Arise, O Lord!
O God, (I)lift up Your hand!
Do not forget the (J)humble.
13 Why do the wicked renounce God?
He has said in his heart,
“You will not require an account.”
14 But You have (K)seen, for You observe trouble and grief,
To repay it by Your hand.
The helpless (L)commits[g] himself to You;
(M)You are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man;
Seek out his wickedness until You find none.
16 (N)The Lord is King forever and ever;
The nations have perished out of His land.
17 Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;
You will prepare their heart;
You will cause Your ear to hear,
18 To [h]do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
That the man of the earth may [i]oppress no more.
Faith in the Lord’s Righteousness
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
11 In (O)the Lord I put my trust;
How can you say to my soul,
“Flee as a bird to your mountain”?
2 For look! (P)The wicked bend their bow,
They make ready their arrow on the string,
That they may shoot [j]secretly at the upright in heart.
3 (Q)If the foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?
4 The Lord is in His holy temple,
The Lord’s (R)throne is in heaven;
(S)His eyes behold,
His eyelids test the sons of men.
5 The Lord (T)tests the righteous,
But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.
6 Upon the wicked He will rain coals;
Fire and brimstone and a burning wind
(U)Shall be [k]the portion of their cup.
The Song of Moses(A)
15 Then (B)Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying:
“I will (C)sing to the Lord,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!
2 The Lord is my strength and (D)song,
And He has become my salvation;
He is my God, and (E)I will praise Him;
My (F)father’s God, and I (G)will exalt Him.
3 The Lord is a man of (H)war;
The Lord is His (I)name.
4 (J)Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea;
(K)His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.
5 The depths have covered them;
(L)They sank to the bottom like a stone.
6 “Your (M)right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power;
Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces.
7 And in the greatness of Your (N)excellence
You have overthrown those who rose against You;
You sent forth (O)Your wrath;
It (P)consumed them (Q)like stubble.
8 And (R)with the blast of Your nostrils
The waters were gathered together;
(S)The floods stood upright like a heap;
The depths [a]congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 (T)The enemy said, ‘I will pursue,
I will overtake,
I will (U)divide the spoil;
My desire shall be satisfied on them.
I will draw my sword,
My hand shall destroy them.’
10 You blew with Your wind,
The sea covered them;
They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
11 “Who(V) is like You, O Lord, among the [b]gods?
Who is like You, (W)glorious in holiness,
Fearful in (X)praises, (Y)doing wonders?
12 You stretched out Your right hand;
The earth swallowed them.
13 You in Your mercy have (Z)led forth
The people whom You have redeemed;
You have guided them in Your strength
To (AA)Your holy habitation.
14 “The (AB)people will hear and be afraid;
(AC)Sorrow[c] will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 (AD)Then (AE)the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed;
(AF)The mighty men of Moab,
Trembling will take hold of them;
(AG)All the inhabitants of Canaan will (AH)melt away.
16 (AI)Fear and dread will fall on them;
By the greatness of Your arm
They will be (AJ)as still as a stone,
Till Your people pass over, O Lord,
Till the people pass over
(AK)Whom You have purchased.
17 You will bring them in and (AL)plant them
In the (AM)mountain of Your inheritance,
In the place, O Lord, which You have made
For Your own dwelling,
The (AN)sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.
18 “The(AO) Lord shall reign forever and ever.”
19 For the (AP)horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and (AQ)the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them. But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.
The Song of Miriam(AR)
20 Then Miriam (AS)the prophetess, (AT)the sister of Aaron, (AU)took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her (AV)with timbrels and with dances. 21 And Miriam (AW)answered them:
(AX)“Sing to the Lord,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!”
Living Before God Our Father
13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not (A)conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 (B)but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, (C)“Be holy, for I am holy.”
17 And if you call on the Father, who (D)without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your [a]stay here in fear; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with [b]corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but (E)with the precious blood of Christ, (F)as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20 (G)He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was [c]manifest (H)in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, (I)who raised Him from the dead and (J)gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
The Enduring Word
22 Since you (K)have purified your souls in obeying the truth [d]through the Spirit in [e]sincere (L)love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, 23 (M)having been born again, not of [f]corruptible seed but [g]incorruptible, (N)through the word of God which lives and abides [h]forever, 24 because
(O)“All flesh is as grass,
And all [i]the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers,
And its flower falls away,
25 (P)But the [j]word of the Lord endures forever.”
(Q)Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.
18 (A)I will not leave you orphans; (B)I will come to you.
Indwelling of the Father and the Son
19 “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but (C)you will see Me. (D)Because I live, you will live also. 20 At that day you will know that (E)I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 (F)He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and [a]manifest Myself to him.”
22 (G)Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”
23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, (H)and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and (I)the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.
The Gift of His Peace
25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But (J)the [b]Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will (K)send in My name, (L)He will teach you all things, and bring to your (M)remembrance all things that I said to you. 27 (N)Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 You have heard Me (O)say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because [c]I said, (P)‘I am going to the Father,’ for (Q)My Father is greater than I.
29 “And (R)now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, (S)for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has (T)nothing in Me. 31 But that the world may know that I love the Father, and (U)as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.