Book of Common Prayer
A special Davidic Psalm.[a]
Trust in the Face of Death
16 Keep me safe, God,
for I take refuge in you.
2 I told the Lord,
“You are my master,[b]
I have nothing good apart from you.”
3 As for the saints that are in the land,
they are noble, and all my delight is in them.
4 Those who hurry after another god[c] will have many sorrows;
I will not present[d] their drink offerings of blood,
nor will my lips speak[e] their names.
5 The Lord is my inheritance and my cup;
you support my lot.
6 The boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places for me;
truly, I have a beautiful heritage.
7 I will bless the Lord who has counseled me;
indeed, my conscience instructs[f] me during the night.
8 I have set the Lord before me continuously;
because he stands at my right hand, I will stand firm.[g]
9 Therefore, my heart is glad,
my whole being[h] rejoices,
and my body will dwell securely.
10 For you will not leave my soul in Sheol,[i]
you will not allow your holy one to experience corruption.[j]
11 You cause me to know the path of life;
in your presence is joyful abundance,
at your right hand there are pleasures forever.
A Davidic Prayer.
A Cry for Justice
17 Lord, hear my just plea!
Pay attention to my cry!
Listen to my prayer,
since it does not come from lying lips.
2 Justice for me will come from your presence;
your eyes see what is right.
3 When you probe my heart,
and examine me at night;
when you refine me,
you will find nothing wrong,[k]
for I have determined that I will not transgress with my mouth.
4 As for the ways of mankind,
I have, according to the words of your lips,
avoided the ways of the violent.
5 Because my steps have held fast to your paths,
my footsteps have not faltered.
6 I call upon you, for you will answer me, God.
Listen closely to me
and hear my prayer.
7 Show forth your gracious love,
save those who take refuge in you
from those who rebel against your sovereign power.[l]
8 Protect me as the most precious part of the eye;[m]
hide me under the shadow of your wings
9 from the wicked[n] who have afflicted me,
from my enemies who have surrounded me.
10 They are imprisoned by their own prosperity,[o]
they have boasted proudly with their mouth.
11 Now they have encircled our paths[p]
and are determined[q] to cast us down to the ground.
12 Like a lion they desire to rip us to pieces,
like a young lion waiting in ambush.
13 Arise, Lord,
confront them,
bring them to their knees!
Deliver me from the wicked by your sword—
14 from men, Lord, by your hand—
from men who belong to this world,
whose reward is only[r] in this[s] life.
But as for your treasured ones,
may their stomachs be full,
may their children have an abundance,
and may they leave wealth to their offspring.
15 But as for me, justified, I will behold your face;
when I awake, your presence[t] will satisfy me.
A Song of Ascents
Praise to the Creator
134 Now bless the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord
who serve[a] nightly in the Lord’s Temple.
2 Lift up your hands to the Holy Place
and bless the Lord.
3 May the Lord who fashions heaven and earth
bless you from Zion.
Praising God for His Graciousness
135 Hallelujah!
Praise the name of the Lord!
Give praise, you servants of the Lord,
2 you who are standing in the Lord’s Temple,
in the courtyards of the house of our God.
3 Praise the Lord,
because the Lord is good;
Sing to his name,
for he is gracious.
4 It is Jacob whom the Lord chose for himself—
Israel as his personal possession.
5 Indeed, I know that the Lord is great,
and that our Lord[b] surpasses all gods.
6 The Lord does whatever pleases him
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all its[c] deep regions.
7 He makes the clouds rise from the ends of the earth,
fashioning lightning for the rain,
bringing the wind from his storehouses.
8 It was the Lord[d] who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
including both men and animals.
9 He sent signs and wonders among you, Egypt,
before[e] Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 He struck down many nations,
killing many kings—
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
Og, king of Bashan,
and every kingdom of Canaan—
12 and he gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance to his people Israel.
13 Your name, Lord, exists forever,
and your reputation, Lord, throughout the ages.
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people,
and he will show compassion on his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
worked by[f] the hands of human beings.
16 Mouths are attributed to them,
but they cannot speak;
sight is attributed to them,
but they cannot see;
17 ears are attributed to them,
but they do not hear,
and there is no breath in their mouths.
18 Those who craft them—
and all[g] who trust in them—
will become like them.
19 House of Israel, bless the Lord!
House of Aaron, bless the Lord!
20 House of Levi, bless the Lord!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
21 Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
he who lives in Jerusalem.
Hallelujah!
23 and he told them, “This is what the Lord said: ‘Tomorrow is a Sabbath observance, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil, and put aside whatever remains to be kept for yourselves until morning.’” 24 So they put it away until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not smell bad, and there were no maggots in it. 25 Moses said, “Eat it today, since today is a Sabbath to the Lord, and today you won’t find it in the field. 26 For six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there won’t be any.”[a]
27 Nevertheless, that seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they did not find any. 28 Then the Lord asked Moses, “How long will you people[b] refuse to keep my commandments and my instructions?[c] 29 You see that the Lord has given you the Sabbath, and so on the sixth day he gives you food for two days. Let each person stay where he is; let no one leave his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The Israelis named it[d] “manna”.[e] It was white like coriander seed, and tasted like a wafer made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Set aside one omer[f] of it for future generations, so that they may see the food with which I fed you in the desert when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”
33 Then Moses told Aaron, “Take a jar, fill it with about one omer[g] of manna, and place it in the Lord’s presence, to be preserved throughout future generations.” 34 So Aaron placed it before the Testimony[h] to be kept, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 35 The Israelis ate manna for 40 years until they came to a land where they could settle.[i] They ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 Now one omer[j] is a tenth of an ephah.[k]
13 Who will harm you if you are devoted to doing what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. “Never be afraid of their threats, and never get upset. 15 Instead, exalt[a] the Messiah”[b] as Lord in your lives.[c] Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you to explain the hope you have. 16 But do this[d] gently and respectfully, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak evil of your good conduct in the Messiah[e] will be ashamed of slandering you. 17 After all, if it is the will of God, it is better to suffer for doing right than for doing wrong.
18 For the Messiah[f] also suffered[g] for sins once for all,
an innocent person for the guilty,
so that he could bring you[h] to God.
He was put to death in a mortal body
but was brought to life by the Spirit,
19 in which he went and made a proclamation to those imprisoned spirits 20 who disobeyed long ago in the days of Noah, when God waited patiently while the ark was being built. In it a few, that is, eight persons, were saved by water. 21 Baptism, which is symbolized by that water, now saves you also, not by removing dirt from the body, but by asking God for a clear[i] conscience based on the resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah,[j] 22 who has gone to heaven and is at the right hand of God, where angels, authorities, and powers have been made subject to him.
Good Managers of God’s Grace
4 Therefore, since the Messiah[k] suffered in a mortal body,[l] you, too, must arm yourselves with the same determination, because the person who has suffered in a mortal body has stopped sinning, 2 so that he can live the rest of his mortal life[m] guided, not by human desires, but by the will of God. 3 For you spent enough time in the past doing what the gentiles like to do, living in sensuality, sinful desires, drunkenness, wild celebrations, drinking parties, and detestable idolatry. 4 They insult you now because they are surprised that you are no longer joining them in the same excesses of wild living. 5 They will give an account to the one who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 Indeed, this is why the gospel was proclaimed even to those who have died, so that they could be judged in their mortal flesh like all humans and live in the spiritual realm like God.
16 “I have told you this to keep you from falling away.[a] 2 You’ll be thrown out of the synagogues. Yes, a time is coming when the one who kills you will think he’s serving God. 3 They’ll do this because they haven’t known the Father or me. 4 But I’ve told you this, so that when the time comes you’ll remember that I told you about them. I didn’t tell you this in the beginning, because I was still with you.”
The Work of the Spirit
5 “But now I am going to the one who sent me. Yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have told you this, sorrow has filled your hearts. 7 However, I’m telling you the truth. It’s for your advantage that I’m going away, because if I don’t go away, the Helper won’t come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment— 9 of sin, because they don’t believe in me; 10 of righteousness, because I’m going to the Father and you will no longer see me; 11 and of judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.[b]
12 “I still have a lot to say to you, but you cannot bear it now. 13 Yet when the Spirit of Truth comes, he’ll guide you into all truth. He won’t speak on his own accord, but he’ll speak whatever he hears and will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. That is why I said, ‘He will take what is mine and declare it to you.’
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