Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 16[a]
A prayer[b] of David.
16 Protect me, O God, for I have taken shelter in you.[c]
2 I say to the Lord, “You are the Lord,
my only source of well-being.”[d]
3 As for God’s chosen people who are in the land,
and the leading officials I admired so much[e]—
4 their troubles multiply;
they desire other gods.[f]
I will not pour out drink offerings of blood to their gods,[g]
nor will I make vows in the name of their gods.[h]
5 Lord, you give me stability and prosperity;[i]
you make my future secure.[j]
6 It is as if I have been given fertile fields
or received a beautiful tract of land.[k]
7 I will praise[l] the Lord who[m] guides[n] me;
yes, during the night I reflect and learn.[o]
8 I constantly trust in the Lord;[p]
because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 So my heart rejoices
and I am happy;[q]
my life is safe.[r]
10 You will not abandon me[s] to Sheol;[t]
you will not allow your faithful follower[u] to see[v] the Pit.[w]
11 You lead me in[x] the path of life.[y]
I experience absolute joy in your presence;[z]
you always give me sheer delight.[aa]
Psalm 17[ab]
A prayer of David.
17 Lord, consider my just cause.[ac]
Pay attention to my cry for help.
Listen to the prayer
I sincerely offer.[ad]
2 Make a just decision on my behalf.[ae]
Decide what is right.[af]
3 You have scrutinized my inner motives;[ag]
you have examined me during the night.[ah]
You have carefully evaluated me, but you find no sin.
I am determined I will say nothing sinful.[ai]
4 As for the actions of people[aj]—
just as you have commanded,
I have not followed in the footsteps of violent men.[ak]
5 I carefully obey your commands;[al]
I do not deviate from them.[am]
6 I call to you because you will answer me, O God.
Listen to me![an]
Hear what I say![ao]
7 Accomplish awesome, faithful deeds,[ap]
you who powerfully deliver those who look to you for protection from their enemies.[aq]
8 Protect me as you would protect the pupil of your eye.[ar]
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.[as]
9 Protect me from[at] the wicked men who attack[au] me,
my enemies who crowd around me for the kill.[av]
10 They are calloused;[aw]
they speak arrogantly.[ax]
11 They attack me, now they surround me;[ay]
they intend to throw me to the ground.[az]
12 He[ba] is like a lion[bb] that wants to tear its prey to bits,[bc]
like a young lion crouching[bd] in hidden places.
13 Rise up, Lord!
Confront him.[be] Knock him down.[bf]
Use your sword to rescue me from the wicked man.[bg]
14 Lord, use your power to deliver me from these murderers,[bh]
from the murderers of this world.[bi]
They enjoy prosperity;[bj]
you overwhelm them with the riches they desire.[bk]
They have many children,
and leave their wealth to their offspring.[bl]
15 As for me, because I am innocent I will see your face;[bm]
when I awake you will reveal yourself to me.[bn]
Psalm 134[a]
A song of ascents.[b]
134 Attention![c] Praise the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord,
who serve[d] in the Lord’s temple during the night.
2 Lift your hands toward the sanctuary
and praise the Lord.
3 May the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth,
bless you[e] from Zion.[f]
Psalm 135[g]
135 Praise the Lord.
Praise the name of the Lord.
Offer praise, you servants of the Lord,
2 who serve[h] in the Lord’s temple,
in the courts of the temple of our God.
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good.
Sing praises to his name, for it is pleasant.[i]
4 Indeed,[j] the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel to be his special possession.[k]
5 Yes,[l] I know the Lord is great,
and our Lord is superior to all gods.
6 He does whatever he pleases
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the ocean depths.
7 He causes the clouds to arise from the end of the earth,
makes lightning bolts accompany the rain,
and brings the wind out of his storehouses.
8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
including both men and animals.
9 He performed awesome deeds[m] and acts of judgment[n]
in your midst, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 He defeated many nations,
and killed mighty kings—
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan.
12 He gave their land as an inheritance,
as an inheritance to Israel his people.
13 O Lord, your name endures,[o]
your reputation, O Lord, lasts.[p]
14 For the Lord vindicates[q] his people,
and has compassion on his servants.[r]
15 The nations’ idols are made of silver and gold;
they are man-made.[s]
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see,
17 and ears, but cannot hear.
Indeed, they cannot breathe.[t]
18 Those who make them will end up[u] like them,
as will everyone who trusts in them.
19 O family[v] of Israel, praise the Lord.
O family of Aaron, praise the Lord.
20 O family of Levi, praise the Lord.
You loyal followers[w] of the Lord, praise the Lord.
21 The Lord deserves praise in Zion[x]—
he who dwells in Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord.
Daniel’s Friends Are Tested
3 [a] King Nebuchadnezzar had a golden[b] statue made.[c] It was 90 feet[d] tall and 9 feet[e] wide. He erected it on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent out a summons to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates,[f] and all the other authorities of the province to attend the dedication of the statue that he[g] had erected. 3 So the satraps, prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other provincial authorities assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had erected. They were standing in front of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had erected.[h]
4 Then the herald[i] made a loud[j] proclamation: “To you, O peoples, nations, and language groups, the following command is given:[k] 5 When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither,[l] trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must[m] bow down and pay homage to the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has erected. 6 Whoever does not bow down and pay homage will immediately[n] be thrown into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire!” 7 Therefore when they all[o] heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes,[p] and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations, and language groups began bowing down and paying homage to the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had erected.
8 Now[q] at that time certain[r] Chaldeans came forward and brought malicious accusations against[s] the Jews. 9 They said[t] to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever![u] 10 You have issued an edict, O king, that everyone must bow down and pay homage to the golden statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music. 11 And whoever does not bow down and pay homage must be thrown into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire. 12 But there are Jewish men whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—and these men[v] have not shown proper respect to you, O king. They don’t serve your gods and they don’t pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in a fit of rage[w] demanded that they bring[x] Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego before him. So they brought them[y] before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t serve my gods and that you don’t pay homage to the golden statue that I erected? 15 Now if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must bow down and pay homage to the statue that I had made. If you don’t pay homage to it, you will immediately be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. Now, who is that god who can rescue you from my power?”[z] 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to King Nebuchadnezzar,[aa] “We do not need to give you a reply[ab] concerning this. 17 If[ac] our God whom we are serving exists,[ad] he is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he will rescue us, O king, from your power as well. 18 But if he does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we don’t serve your gods, and we will not pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”
3 (See what sort of love the Father has given to us: that[a] we should be called God’s children—and indeed[b] we are![c] For this reason[d] the world does not know us: because it did not know him.[e] 2 Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be[f] has not yet been revealed. We[g] know that[h] whenever[i] it[j] is revealed[k] we will be like him, because[l] we will see him just as he is.[m] 3 And everyone who has this hope focused[n] on him purifies[o] himself, just as Jesus[p] is pure).[q]
4 Everyone who practices sin[r] also practices lawlessness;[s] indeed,[t] sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that Jesus[u] was revealed to take away[v] sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 Everyone who resides[w] in him does not sin;[x] everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness[y] is righteous, just as Jesus[z] is righteous. 8 The one who practices sin is of the devil,[aa] because the devil has been sinning[ab] from the beginning. For this purpose[ac] the Son of God was revealed: to destroy[ad] the works of the devil. 9 Everyone who has been fathered[ae] by God does not practice sin,[af] because[ag] God’s[ah] seed[ai] resides in him, and thus[aj] he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God. 10 By this[ak] the children of God and the children of the devil are revealed: Everyone who does not practice righteousness—the one who does not love his fellow Christian[al]—is not of God.
15 While the people were filled with anticipation[a] and they all wondered[b] whether perhaps John[c] could be the Christ,[d] 16 John answered them all,[e] “I baptize you with water,[f] but one more powerful than I am is coming—I am not worthy[g] to untie the strap[h] of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.[i] 17 His winnowing fork[j] is in his hand to clean out his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his storehouse,[k] but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire.”[l]
18 And in this way,[m] with many other exhortations, John[n] proclaimed good news to the people. 19 But when John rebuked Herod[o] the tetrarch[p] because of Herodias, his brother’s wife,[q] and because of all the evil deeds[r] that he had done, 20 Herod added this to them all: He locked up John in prison.
The Baptism of Jesus
21 Now when[s] all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized. And while he was praying,[t] the heavens[u] opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove.[v] And a voice came from heaven, “You are my one dear Son;[w] in you I take great delight.”[x]
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