Book of Common Prayer
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
20 May the Lord answer you when you are in trouble.
May the God of Jacob keep you safe.
2 May he send you help from the sacred tent.
May he give you aid from Zion.
3 May he remember all your sacrifices.
May he accept your burnt offerings.
4 May he give you what your heart wishes for.
May he make all your plans succeed.
5 May we shout for joy over your victory.
May we lift up our flags in the name of our God.
May the Lord give you everything you ask for.
6 Now I know that the Lord gives victory to his anointed king.
He answers him from his sacred home in heaven.
The power of God’s right hand gives victory to the king.
7 Some trust in chariots. Some trust in horses.
But we trust in the Lord our God.
8 They are brought to their knees and fall down.
But we get up and stand firm.
9 Lord, give victory to the king!
Answer us when we call out to you!
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
21 Lord, the king is filled with joy because you are strong.
How great is his joy because you help him win his battles!
2 You have given him what his heart wished for.
You haven’t kept back from him what his lips asked for.
3 You came to greet him with rich blessings.
You placed a crown of pure gold on his head.
4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him.
You promised him days that would never end.
5 His glory is great because you helped him win his battles.
You have honored him with glory and majesty.
6 You have given him blessings that will never end.
You have made him glad and joyful because you are with him.
7 The king trusts in the Lord.
The faithful love of the Most High God
will keep the king secure.
8 You, the king, will capture all your enemies.
Your right hand will take hold of them.
9 When you appear for battle,
you will burn them up like they were in a flaming furnace.
The Lord will swallow them up in his great anger.
His fire will burn them up.
10 You will wipe their children from the face of the earth.
You will remove them from the human race.
11 Your enemies make evil plans against you.
They think up evil things to do. But they can’t succeed.
12 You will make them turn their backs and run away
when you aim your arrows at them.
13 Lord, may you be honored because you are strong.
We will sing and praise your might.
A psalm of David.
110 The Lord says to my lord,
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your control.”
2 The Lord will make your royal authority spread out from Zion to other lands.
He says, “Rule over your enemies who are all around you.”
3 Your troops will be willing to fight for you
on the day of battle.
Your young men will be wrapped in holy majesty.
They will come to you like the fresh dew that falls early in the morning.
4 The Lord has made a promise.
He will not change his mind.
He has said, “You are a priest forever,
just like Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is at your right hand.
He will crush kings on the day when he is angry.
6 He will judge the nations. He will pile up dead bodies on the field of battle.
He will crush the rulers of the whole earth.
7 He will drink from a brook along the way and receive new strength.
And so he will win the battle.
116 I love the Lord, because he heard my voice.
He heard my cry for his help.
2 Because he paid attention to me,
I will call out to him as long as I live.
3 The ropes of death were wrapped around me.
The horrors of the grave came over me.
I was overcome by sadness and sorrow.
4 Then I called out to the Lord.
I cried out, “Lord, save me!”
5 The Lord is holy and kind.
Our God is full of tender love.
6 The Lord takes care of those who are not aware of danger.
When I was in great need, he saved me.
7 I said to myself, “Be calm.
The Lord has been good to me.”
8 Lord, you have saved me from death.
You have dried the tears from my eyes.
You have kept me from tripping and falling.
9 So now I can enjoy life here with you
while I’m still living.
10 I trusted in the Lord even when I said to myself,
“I am in great pain.”
11 When I was terrified, I said to myself,
“No one tells the truth.”
12 The Lord has been so good to me!
How can I ever pay him back?
13 I will bring an offering of wine to the Lord
and thank him for saving me.
I will worship him.
14 In front of all the Lord’s people,
I will do what I promised him.
15 The Lord pays special attention
when his faithful people die.
16 Lord, I serve you.
I serve you just as my mother did.
You have set me free from the chains of my suffering.
17 Lord, I will sacrifice a thank offering to you.
I will worship you.
18 In front of all the Lord’s people,
I will do what I promised him.
19 I will keep my promise in the courtyards of the Lord’s temple.
I will keep my promise in Jerusalem itself.
Praise the Lord.
117 All you nations, praise the Lord.
All you people on earth, praise him.
2 Great is his love for us.
The Lord is faithful forever.
Praise the Lord.
Job’s Reply
9 Job replied,
10 “I’m sick of living.
So I’ll talk openly about my problems.
I’ll speak out because my spirit is bitter.
2 I say to God, ‘Don’t find me guilty.
Instead, tell me what charges
you are bringing against me.
3 Does it make you happy when you crush me?
Does it please you to turn your back on what you have made?
While you do those things,
you smile on the plans of sinful people!
4 You don’t have human eyes.
You don’t see as people see.
5 Your days aren’t like the days of a mere human being.
Your years aren’t even like the years of a strong man.
6 So you search for my mistakes.
You look for my sin.
7 You already know I’m not guilty.
No one can save me from your power.
8 “ ‘Your hands shaped me and made me.
So are you going to destroy me now?
9 Remember, you molded me like clay.
So are you going to turn me back into dust?
16 If I become proud, you hunt me down like a lion.
You show your mighty power against me.
17 You bring new witnesses against me.
You become more and more angry with me.
You use your power against me again and again.
18 “ ‘Why did you bring me out of my mother’s body?
I wish I had died before anyone saw me.
19 I wish I’d never been born!
I wish I’d been carried straight from my mother’s body to the grave!
20 Aren’t my few days almost over?
Leave me so I can have a moment of joy.
21 Turn away before I go to the place I can’t return from.
It’s the land of gloom and total darkness.
22 It’s the land of darkest night
and total darkness and disorder.
There even the light is like darkness.’ ”
Peter Explains His Actions
11 The apostles and the believers all through Judea heard that Gentiles had also received God’s word. 2 Peter went up to Jerusalem. There the Jewish believers found fault with him. 3 They said, “You went into the house of Gentiles. You ate with them.”
4 Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story. 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying,” he said. “There I had a vision. I saw something that looked like a large sheet. It was being let down from heaven by its four corners. It came down to where I was. 6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth. There were also wild animals, reptiles and birds. 7 Then I heard a voice speaking to me. ‘Get up, Peter,’ the voice said. ‘Kill and eat.’
8 “I replied, ‘No, Lord! I will not! Nothing that is not pure and “clean” has ever entered my mouth.’
9 “A second time the voice spoke from heaven. The voice said, ‘Do not say anything is not pure that God has made “clean.” ’ 10 This happened three times. Then the sheet was pulled up into heaven.
11 “Just then three men stopped at the house where I was staying. They had been sent to me from Caesarea. 12 The Holy Spirit told me not to let anything keep me from going with them. These six brothers here went with me. We entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house. The angel said, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon Peter. 14 He has a message to bring to you. You and your whole family will be saved through it.’
15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them. He came just as he had come on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered the Lord’s words. ‘John baptized with water,’ he had said. ‘But you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 God gave them the same gift he gave those of us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. So who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”
18 When they heard this, they didn’t object anymore. They praised God. They said, “So then, God has allowed even Gentiles to turn away from their sins. He did this so that they could live.”
Challenge to What Jesus Says About Himself
12 Jesus spoke to the people again. He said, “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in darkness. They will have that light. They will have life.”
13 The Pharisees argued with him. “Here you are,” they said, “appearing as your own witness. But your witness does not count.”
14 Jesus answered, “Even if I am a witness about myself, what I say does count. I know where I came from. And I know where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards. I don’t judge anyone. 16 But if I do judge, what I decide is true. This is because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. 17 Your own Law says that the witness of two people proves the truth about something. 18 I am a witness about myself. The other witness about me is the Father, who sent me.”
19 Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”
“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 He spoke these words while he was teaching in the temple courtyard. He was near the place where the offerings were put. But no one arrested him. That’s because the time for him to die had not yet come.
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