Book of Common Prayer
Praise to the Lord and Warning against Unbelief.
95 Come, let’s (A)sing for joy to the Lord,
Let’s shout joyfully to (B)the rock of our salvation.
2 Let’s (C)come before His presence (D)with a song of thanksgiving,
Let’s shout joyfully to Him (E)in songs with instruments.
3 For the Lord is a (F)great God
And a great King (G)above all gods,
4 In whose hand are the (H)depths of the earth,
The peaks of the mountains are also His.
5 [a]The sea is His, for it was He (I)who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let’s (J)worship and bow down,
Let’s (K)kneel before the Lord our (L)Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And (M)we are the people of His [b](N)pasture and the sheep of His hand.
(O)Today, [c]if you will hear His voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts as at [d](P)Meribah,
As on the day of [e](Q)Massah in the wilderness,
9 “When your fathers (R)put Me to the test,
They tested Me, though they had seen My work.
10 For (S)forty years I was disgusted with that generation,
And said they are a people who err in their heart,
And they do not know My ways.
11 Therefore I (T)swore in My anger,
They certainly shall not enter My (U)rest.”
A Cry of Anguish and a Song of Praise.
For the music director; upon [a]Aijeleth Hashshahar. A Psalm of David.
22 (A)My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
(B)Far from my [b]help are the words of my [c](C)groaning.
2 My God, I (D)cry out by day, but You do not answer;
And by night, but [d]I have no rest.
3 Yet (E)You are holy,
You who [e]are enthroned upon (F)the praises of Israel.
4 In You our fathers (G)trusted;
They trusted and You (H)rescued them.
5 To You they cried out and they fled to safety;
(I)In You they trusted and were not [f]disappointed.
6 But I am a (J)worm and not a person,
A (K)disgrace of mankind and (L)despised by the people.
7 All who see me (M)deride me;
They [g]sneer, they (N)shake their heads, saying,
8 “[h]Turn [i]him over to the Lord; (O)let Him save him;
Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”
9 Yet You are He who (P)brought me forth from the womb;
You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.
10 I was cast upon You (Q)from [j]birth;
You have been my God from my mother’s womb.
11 (R)Do not be far from me, for [k]trouble is near;
For there is (S)no one to help.
12 Many (T)bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of (U)Bashan have encircled me.
13 They (V)open their mouths wide at me,
As a ravening and roaring (W)lion.
14 I am (X)poured out like water,
And all my (Y)bones are out of joint;
My (Z)heart is like wax;
It is melted within [l]me.
15 My (AA)strength is dried up like a piece of pottery,
And (AB)my tongue clings to my jaws;
And You (AC)lay me [m]in the dust of death.
16 For (AD)dogs have surrounded me;
[n]A band of evildoers has encompassed me;
[o]They (AE)pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
(AF)They look, they stare at me;
18 They (AG)divide my garments among them,
And they cast lots for my clothing.
19 But You, Lord, (AH)do not be far away;
You who are my help, (AI)hurry to my assistance.
20 Save my [p]soul from (AJ)the sword,
My (AK)only life from the [q]power of the dog.
21 Save me from the (AL)lion’s mouth;
From the horns of the (AM)wild oxen You (AN)answer me.
22 I will (AO)proclaim Your name to my brothers;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 (AP)You who fear the Lord, praise Him;
All you [r]descendants of Jacob, (AQ)glorify Him,
And (AR)stand in awe of Him, all you [s]descendants of Israel.
24 For He has (AS)not despised nor scorned the suffering of the afflicted;
Nor has He (AT)hidden His face from him;
But (AU)when he cried to Him for help, He heard.
25 From You comes (AV)my praise in the great assembly;
I shall (AW)pay my vows before those who fear Him.
26 The [t]afflicted will eat and (AX)be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will (AY)praise the Lord.
May your (AZ)heart live forever!
27 All the (BA)ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the (BB)families of the nations will worship before [u]You.
28 For the (BC)kingdom is the Lord’s
And He (BD)rules over the nations.
29 All the [v](BE)prosperous of the earth will eat and worship,
All those who (BF)go down to the dust will kneel before Him,
Even he who [w](BG)cannot keep his soul alive.
30 A [x](BH)posterity will serve Him;
It will be told of the Lord to (BI)the coming generation.
31 They will come and (BJ)will declare His righteousness
To a people (BK)who will be born, that He has performed it.
An Evening Prayer for Sanctification and Protection.
A Psalm of David.
141 Lord, I call upon You; (A)hurry to me!
(B)Listen to my voice when I call to You!
2 May my prayer be [a]counted as (C)incense before You;
The (D)raising of my hands as the (E)evening offering.
3 Set a (F)guard, Lord, [b]over my mouth;
Keep watch over the (G)door of my lips.
4 (H)Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice deeds [c]of wickedness
With people who (I)do wrong;
And (J)may I not taste their delicacies.
5 May the (K)righteous strike me with mercy and discipline me;
It is (L)oil for the head;
My head shall not refuse it,
For my prayer (M)is still against their evil deeds.
6 Their judges are (N)thrown down by the sides of the rock,
And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7 As when one (O)plows and breaks open the earth,
Our (P)bones have been scattered at the (Q)mouth of [d]Sheol.
Prayer for Help and Guidance.
A Psalm of David.
143 Hear my prayer, Lord,
(A)Listen to my pleadings!
Answer me in Your (B)faithfulness, in Your (C)righteousness!
2 And (D)do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For (E)no person living is righteous in Your sight.
3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life (F)to the ground;
He (G)has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead.
4 Therefore (H)my spirit [a]feels weak within me;
My heart is [b](I)appalled within me.
5 I (J)remember the days of old;
I (K)meditate on all Your accomplishments;
I (L)reflect on the work of Your hands.
6 I (M)spread out my hands to You;
My (N)soul longs for You, like a weary land. Selah
7 (O)Answer me quickly, Lord, my (P)spirit fails;
(Q)Do not hide Your face from me,
Or I will be the same as (R)those who go down to the pit.
8 Let me hear Your (S)faithfulness (T)in the morning,
For I trust (U)in You;
Teach me the (V)way in which I should walk;
For to You I (W)lift up my soul.
9 (X)Save me, Lord, from my enemies;
[c]I take refuge in You.
10 (Y)Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Let (Z)Your good Spirit (AA)lead me on level [d]ground.
11 (AB)For the sake of Your name, Lord, (AC)revive me.
(AD)In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.
12 And in Your faithfulness, [e](AE)destroy my enemies,
And (AF)eliminate all those who attack my soul,
For (AG)I am Your servant.
Message to the Exiles
29 Now these are the words of the (A)letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
4 “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles whom I have (A)sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 ‘(B)Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their [a]produce. 6 Take (C)wives and father sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may give birth to sons and daughters; and grow in numbers there and do not decrease. 7 (D)Seek the [b]prosperity of the city where I have sent you into exile, and (E)pray to the Lord in its behalf; for [c]in its [d]prosperity will be your [e]prosperity.’ 8 For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Do not let your (F)prophets who are in your midst or your diviners (G)deceive you, and do not listen to their interpretations of (H)your dreams which you dream. 9 For they (I)prophesy falsely to you in My name; (J)I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.
10 “For this is what the Lord says: ‘When (K)seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My (L)good word to you, to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the (M)plans that I [f]have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for [g](N)prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a (O)hope. 12 Then you will (P)call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will (Q)listen to you. 13 And you will (R)seek Me and find Me when you (S)search for Me with all your heart.
13 But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Therefore insofar as (A)I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 if somehow I may (B)move (C)my [a]own people to jealousy and (D)save some of them. 15 For if their rejection proves to be the (E)reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but (F)life from the dead? 16 If the (G)first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are as well.
17 But if some of the (H)branches were broken off, and (I)you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the [b]rich root of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that (J)it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. 19 (K)You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you (L)stand by your faith. (M)Do not be conceited, but fear; 21 for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. 22 See then the kindness and severity of God: to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s (N)kindness, (O)if you continue in His kindness; for otherwise you too (P)will be cut off. 23 And they also, (Q)if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in; for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?
The Death and Resurrection of Lazarus
11 Now a certain man was sick: Lazarus of (A)Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister (B)Martha. 2 And it was the Mary who (C)anointed (D)the Lord with [a]ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “(E)Lord, behold, (F)he whom You love is sick.” 4 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not [b]meant for death, but is for (G)the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” 5 (Now Jesus loved (H)Martha and her sister, and Lazarus.) 6 So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. 7 Then after this He *said to the disciples, “(I)Let’s go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples *said to Him, “(J)Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking (K)to stone You, and yet You are going there again?” 9 Jesus replied, “(L)Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks during the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in [c]him.” 11 This He said, and after this He *said to them, “Our (M)friend Lazarus (N)has fallen asleep; but I am going so that I may awaken him from sleep.” 12 The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will [d]come out of it.” 13 Now (O)Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about [e]actual sleep. 14 So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus died, 15 and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let’s go to him.” 16 (P)Therefore Thomas, who was called [f](Q)Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s also go, so that we may die with Him!”
17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb (R)four days. 18 Now (S)Bethany was near Jerusalem, about [g]fifteen stadia away; 19 and many of (T)the Jews had come to (U)Martha and Mary, (V)to console them about their brother. 20 So then (W)Martha, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but (X)Mary [h]stayed in the house. 21 Martha then said to Jesus, “(Y)Lord, (Z)if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 Even now I know that (AA)whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” 23 Jesus *said to her, “Your brother will rise from the dead.” 24 Martha *said to Him, “(AB)I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “(AC)I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me (AD)will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have come to believe that You are (AE)the [i]Christ, the Son of God, and [j](AF)He who comes into the world.”
Mary Anoints Jesus
12 (A)Therefore, six days before (B)the Passover, Jesus came to (C)Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they made Him a dinner there, and (D)Martha was serving; and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. 3 (E)Mary then took a [a]pound of very expensive (F)perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But (G)Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, the one who intended to [b]betray Him, *said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred [c]denarii and the proceeds given to poor people?” 6 Now he said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he (H)kept the money box, he used to [d]steal from (I)what was put into it. 7 Therefore Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it [e]for (J)the day of My burial. 8 (K)For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”
9 The (L)large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not on account of Jesus only, but so that they might also see Lazarus, (M)whom He raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also,
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