Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 20[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
20 May the Lord answer[b] you[c] when you are in trouble;[d]
may the God of Jacob[e] make you secure.
2 May he send you help from his temple;[f]
from Zion may he give you support.
3 May he take notice of[g] all your offerings;
may he accept[h] your burnt sacrifice. (Selah)
4 May he grant your heart’s desire;[i]
may he bring all your plans to pass.[j]
5 Then we will shout for joy over your[k] victory;
we will rejoice[l] in the name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your requests.
6 Now I am sure[m] that the Lord will deliver[n] his chosen king;[o]
he will intervene for him[p] from his holy, heavenly temple,[q]
and display his mighty ability to deliver.[r]
7 Some trust in chariots and others in horses,[s]
but we[t] depend on[u] the Lord our God.
8 They will fall down,[v]
but we[w] will stand firm.[x]
9 The Lord will deliver the king;[y]
he will answer us[z] when we call to him for help![aa]
Psalm 21[ab]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
21 O Lord, the king rejoices in the strength you give;[ac]
he takes great delight in the deliverance you provide.[ad]
2 You grant[ae] him his heart’s desire;
you do not refuse his request.[af] (Selah)
3 For you bring him[ag] rich[ah] blessings;[ai]
you place a golden crown on his head.
4 He asked you to sustain his life,[aj]
and you have granted him long life and an enduring dynasty.[ak]
5 Your deliverance brings him great honor;[al]
you give him majestic splendor.[am]
6 For you grant him lasting blessings;
you give him great joy by allowing him into your presence.[an]
7 For the king trusts[ao] in the Lord,
and because of the Most High’s[ap] faithfulness he is not shaken.[aq]
8 You[ar] prevail over[as] all your enemies;
your power is too great for those who hate you.[at]
9 You burn them up like a fiery furnace[au] when you appear.[av]
The Lord angrily devours them;[aw]
the fire consumes them.
10 You destroy their offspring[ax] from the earth,
their descendants[ay] from among the human race.[az]
11 Yes,[ba] they intend to do you harm;[bb]
they dream up a scheme,[bc] but they do not succeed.[bd]
12 For you make them retreat[be]
when you aim your arrows at them.[bf]
13 Rise up, O Lord, in strength![bg]
We will sing and praise[bh] your power.
Psalm 110[a]
A psalm of David.
110 Here is the Lord’s proclamation[b] to my lord:[c]
“Sit down at my right hand[d] until I make your enemies your footstool.”[e]
2 The Lord[f] extends[g] your dominion[h] from Zion.
Rule in the midst of your enemies.
3 Your people willingly follow you[i] when you go into battle.[j]
On the holy hills[k] at sunrise[l] the dew of your youth[m] belongs to you.[n]
4 The Lord makes this promise on oath[o] and will not revoke it:[p]
“You are an eternal priest[q] after the pattern of[r] Melchizedek.”[s]
5 O Lord,[t] at your right hand
he strikes down[u] kings in the day he unleashes his anger.[v]
6 He executes judgment[w] against[x] the nations.
He fills the valleys with corpses;[y]
he shatters their heads over the vast battlefield.[z]
7 From the stream along the road he drinks;
then he lifts up his head.[aa]
Psalm 116[a]
116 I love the Lord
because he heard my plea for mercy,[b]
2 and listened to me.[c]
As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help.[d]
3 The ropes of death tightened around me,[e]
the snares[f] of Sheol confronted me.
I was confronted[g] with trouble and sorrow.
4 I called on the name of the Lord,
“Please, Lord, rescue my life!”
5 The Lord is merciful and fair;
our God is compassionate.
6 The Lord protects[h] the untrained;[i]
I was in serious trouble[j] and he delivered me.
7 Rest once more, my soul,[k]
for the Lord has vindicated you.[l]
8 Yes,[m] Lord,[n] you rescued my life from death,
kept my eyes from tears
and my feet from stumbling.
9 I will serve[o] the Lord
in the land[p] of the living.
10 I had faith when I said,
“I am severely oppressed.”
11 I rashly declared,[q]
“All men are liars.”
12 How can I repay the Lord
for all his acts of kindness to me?
13 I will celebrate my deliverance,[r]
and call on the name of the Lord.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people.
15 The Lord values
the lives of his faithful followers.[s]
16 Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your female servant.[t]
You saved me from death.[u]
17 I will present a thank offering to you,
and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people,
19 in the courts of the Lord’s temple,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 117[v]
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and his disposition changed[a] toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders[b] to heat the furnace seven times hotter than it was normally heated. 20 He ordered strong[c] soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. 21 So those men were tied up while still wearing their cloaks, trousers, turbans, and other clothes,[d] and were thrown into the furnace[e] of blazing fire. 22 But since the king’s command was so urgent, and the furnace was so excessively hot, the men who escorted[f] Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were killed[g] by the leaping flames.[h] 23 But those three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell into the furnace[i] of blazing fire while still securely bound.[j]
God Delivers His Servants
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was startled and quickly got up. He said to his ministers, “Wasn’t it three men that we tied up and threw[k] into[l] the fire?” They replied to the king, “For sure, O king.” 25 He answered, “But I see four men, untied and walking around in the midst of the fire! No harm has come to them! And the appearance of the fourth is like that of a god!”[m] 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire. He called out,[n] “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the most high God, come out! Come here!”
Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego emerged from the fire.[o] 27 Once the satraps, prefects, governors, and ministers of the king had gathered around, they saw that those men were physically[p] unharmed by the fire.[q] The hair of their heads was not singed, nor were their trousers damaged. Not even the smell of fire was to be found on them!
28 Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed,[r] “Praised be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent forth his angel[s] and has rescued his servants who trusted in him, ignoring[t] the edict of the king and giving up their bodies rather than[u] serve or pay homage to any god other than their God! 29 I hereby decree[v] that any people, nation, or language group that blasphemes[w] the God of Shadrach, Meshach, or Abednego will be dismembered and his home reduced to rubble! For there exists no other god who can deliver in this way.” 30 Then Nebuchadnezzar[x] promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
God Is Love, So We Must Love One Another
11 For[a] this is the gospel[b] message[c] that you have heard from the beginning: that we should love one another,[d] 12 not like Cain[e] who was of the evil one and brutally[f] murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his deeds were evil, but his brother’s were righteous.
13 Therefore do not be surprised, brothers and sisters,[g] if the world hates you.[h] 14 We know that[i] we have crossed over[j] from death to life[k] because[l] we love our fellow Christians.[m] The one who does not love remains in death.[n] 15 Everyone who hates his fellow Christian[o] is a murderer,[p] and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing[q] in him. 16 We have come to know love by this:[r] that Jesus[s] laid down[t] his life for us; thus we ought to lay down our lives for our fellow Christians. 17 But whoever has the world’s possessions[u] and sees his fellow Christian[v] in need and shuts off his compassion against him, how can the love of God[w] reside[x] in such a person?[y]
18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue but in deed and truth.[z]
The Temptation of Jesus
4 Then[a] Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River[b] and was led by the Spirit[c] in[d] the wilderness,[e] 2 where for forty days he endured temptations[f] from the devil. He[g] ate nothing[h] during those days, and when they were completed,[i] he was famished. 3 The devil said to him, “If[j] you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”[k] 4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man[l] does not live by bread alone.’”[m]
5 Then[n] the devil[o] led him up[p] to a high place[q] and showed him in a flash all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he[r] said to him, “To you[s] I will grant this whole realm[t]—and the glory that goes along with it,[u] for it has been relinquished[v] to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish. 7 So then, if[w] you will worship[x] me, all this will be[y] yours.” 8 Jesus[z] answered him,[aa] “It is written, ‘You are to worship[ab] the Lord[ac] your God and serve only him.’”[ad]
9 Then[ae] the devil[af] brought him to Jerusalem, had him stand[ag] on the highest point of the temple,[ah] and said to him, “If[ai] you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’[aj] 11 and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”[ak] 12 Jesus[al] answered him,[am] “It is said, ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’”[an] 13 So[ao] when the devil[ap] had completed every temptation, he departed from him until a more opportune time.[aq]
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