Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 83[a]
Prayer Against a Hostile Alliance
1 A song; a psalm of Asaph.
I
2 God, do not be silent;
God, do not be deaf or remain unmoved!(A)
3 See how your enemies rage;
your foes proudly raise their heads.
4 They conspire against your people,
plot against those you protect.(B)
5 They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
let Israel’s name be remembered no more!”
6 They scheme with one mind,
they have entered into a covenant against you:(C)
7 [b]The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
of Moab and the Hagrites,(D)
8 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek,(E)
Philistia and the inhabitants of Tyre.(F)
9 Assyria, too, in league with them,
backs the descendants of Lot.
Selah
II
10 [c]Deal with them as with Midian;
as with Sisera and Jabin at the wadi Kishon,(G)
11 Those destroyed at Endor,
who became dung for the ground.(H)
12 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
13 Who made a plan together,
“Let us take for ourselves the pastures of God.”
14 My God, make them like tumbleweed,
into chaff flying before the wind.(I)
15 As a fire raging through a forest,
a flame setting mountains ablaze,(J)
16 Pursue them with your tempest;
terrify them with your storm-wind.
17 Cover their faces with shame,
till they seek your name,[d] Lord.
18 Let them be ashamed and terrified forever;
let them perish in disgrace.
19 Let them know that your name is Lord,
you alone are the Most High over all the earth.(K)
Psalm 145[a]
The Greatness and Goodness of God
1 Praise. Of David.
I will extol you, my God and king;
I will bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you;
I will praise your name forever and ever.(A)
3 Great is the Lord and worthy of much praise,(B)
whose grandeur is beyond understanding.
4 One generation praises your deeds to the next
and proclaims your mighty works.(C)
5 They speak of the splendor of your majestic glory,
tell of your wonderful deeds.(D)
6 They speak of the power of your awesome acts
and recount your great deeds.(E)
7 They celebrate your abounding goodness
and joyfully sing of your justice.
8 The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in mercy.(F)
9 The Lord is good to all,
compassionate toward all your works.(G)
10 All your works give you thanks, Lord
and your faithful bless you.(H)
11 They speak of the glory of your reign
and tell of your mighty works,
12 Making known to the sons of men your mighty acts,
the majestic glory of your rule.
13 Your reign is a reign for all ages,
your dominion for all generations.(I)
The Lord is trustworthy in all his words,
and loving in all his works.
14 The Lord supports all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.(J)
15 The eyes of all look hopefully to you;
you give them their food in due season.(K)
16 You open wide your hand
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is just in all his ways,
merciful in all his works.(L)
18 The Lord is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.(M)
19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.(N)
20 The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he destroys.(O)
21 My mouth will speak the praises of the Lord;
all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.
Psalm 85[a]
Prayer for Divine Favor
1 For the leader. A psalm of the Korahites.
I
2 You once favored, Lord, your land,
restored the captives of Jacob.(A)
3 You forgave the guilt of your people,
pardoned all their sins.
Selah
4 You withdrew all your wrath,
turned back from your burning anger.(B)
II
5 Restore us, God of our salvation;
let go of your displeasure with us.(C)
6 Will you be angry with us forever,
prolong your anger for all generations?(D)
7 Certainly you will again restore our life,
that your people may rejoice in you.
8 Show us, Lord, your mercy;
grant us your salvation.
III
9 [b]I will listen for what God, the Lord, has to say;
surely he will speak of peace
To his people and to his faithful.
May they not turn to foolishness!
10 Near indeed is his salvation for those who fear him;
glory will dwell in our land.
11 [c]Love and truth will meet;
justice and peace will kiss.(E)
12 Truth will spring from the earth;
justice will look down from heaven.(F)
13 Yes, the Lord will grant his bounty;
our land will yield its produce.(G)
14 Justice will march before him,
and make a way for his footsteps.
Psalm 86[d]
Prayer in Time of Distress
1 A prayer of David.
I
Incline your ear, Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and oppressed.
2 Preserve my life, for I am devoted;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; 3 be gracious to me, Lord;
to you I call all the day.
4 Gladden the soul of your servant;
to you, Lord, I lift up my soul.(H)
5 Lord, you are good and forgiving,
most merciful to all who call on you.(I)
6 Lord, hear my prayer;
listen to my cry for help.(J)
7 On the day of my distress I call to you,
for you will answer me.
II
8 None among the gods can equal you, O Lord;
nor can their deeds compare to yours.(K)
9 All the nations you have made shall come
to bow before you, Lord,
and give honor to your name.(L)
10 For you are great and do wondrous deeds;
and you alone are God.
III
11 Teach me, Lord, your way
that I may walk in your truth,(M)
single-hearted and revering your name.
12 I will praise you with all my heart,
glorify your name forever, Lord my God.
13 Your mercy to me is great;
you have rescued me from the depths of Sheol.(N)
14 O God, the arrogant have risen against me;
a ruthless band has sought my life;
to you they pay no heed.
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in mercy and truth.(O)
16 Turn to me, be gracious to me;
give your strength to your servant;
save the son of your handmaid.(P)
17 Give me a sign of your favor:
make my enemies see, to their confusion,
that you, Lord, help and comfort me.
22 (A)The Israelites then said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son, and your son’s son—for you saved us from the power of Midian.” 23 But Gideon answered them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you. The Lord must rule over you.”(B)
24 Gideon went on to say, “Let me make a request of you. Give me, each of you, a ring from his spoils.” (Since they were Ishmaelites,[a] the enemy had gold rings.) 25 “We will certainly give them,” they replied, and they spread out a cloak into which everyone threw a ring from his spoils. 26 The gold rings he had requested weighed seventeen hundred gold shekels, apart from the crescents and pendants, the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and apart from the trappings that were on the necks of their camels. 27 (C)Gideon made an ephod out of the gold and placed it in his city, Ophrah. All Israel prostituted themselves there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.
28 Midian was brought into subjection by the Israelites; they no longer held their heads high, and the land had rest for forty years,(D) during the lifetime of Gideon.
Gideon’s Son Abimelech. 29 Then Jerubbaal, son of Joash, went to live in his house. 30 (E)Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives. 31 His concubine[b] who lived in Shechem also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelech. 32 At a good old age Gideon, son of Joash, died and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. 33 (F)But after Gideon was dead, the Israelites again prostituted themselves by following the Baals, making Baal-berith[c] their god. 34 The Israelites did not remember the Lord, their God, who had delivered them from the power of their enemies all around them. 35 Nor were they loyal to the house of Jerubbaal (Gideon) for all the good he had done for Israel.
Chapter 4
1 While they were still speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees[a] confronted them, 2 disturbed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.(A) 3 They laid hands on them and put them in custody until the next day, since it was already evening. 4 But many of those who heard the word came to believe and [the] number of men grew to [about] five thousand.
Before the Sanhedrin. 5 On the next day, their leaders, elders, and scribes were assembled in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly class. 7 They brought them into their presence and questioned them, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the holy Spirit, answered them, “Leaders of the people and elders:(B) 9 If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a cripple, namely, by what means he was saved, 10 then all of you and all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in his name this man stands before you healed. 11 (C)He is ‘the stone rejected by you,[b] the builders, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12 [c](D)There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”
43 The next day he[a] decided to go to Galilee, and he found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”(A) 46 But Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Here is a true Israelite.[b] There is no duplicity in him.” 48 [c](B)Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God;[d] you are the King of Israel.”(C) 50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?[e] You will see greater things than this.” 51 And he said to him, “Amen, amen,[f] I say to you, you will see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”(D)
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