Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 88[a]
Prayer in Affliction
1 A song. A psalm of the sons of Korah.[b] For the director. According to Mahalath. For singing. A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
2 [c]O Lord, the God of my salvation,
day and night I cry out to you.
3 Let my prayer come before you;
give ear to my cry for help.
4 [d]For my soul[e] is filled with misery,
and my life draws near to the netherworld.
5 I am numbered among those who go down to the pit;[f]
all strength has failed me.
6 I have been abandoned among the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no longer
and whom your hand has abandoned.[g]
7 [h]You have lowered me into the depths of the pit,
into the darkest regions of the abyss.
8 Your wrath lies heavy upon me;
all your waves engulf me. Selah
9 You have caused my closest friends to shun me
and made me hateful in their sight.
I am shut in with no means of escape,[i]
10 and my eyes grow dim[j] with my suffering.
[k]Every day I call out to you, O Lord,
and spread out my hands to you.
11 Do you perform wonders[l] for the dead?
Do the shades rise up and give you praise? Selah
12 Is your kindness[m] celebrated in the grave,
or your faithfulness in the tomb?
13 Are your wonders known in the region of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?[n]
14 [o]But for my part, I cry out to you, O Lord;
in the morning my prayer rises before you.
15 Why do you cast me away, O Lord?[p]
Why do you hide your face from me?
16 Since infancy I have been wretched and close to death;
I have borne your terrors
and have now reached the point of exhaustion.
17 Your wrath has weighed down upon me;
your terrors have destroyed me.
18 All day long they surround me like a flood;
they encircle me completely.
19 You have caused my friends and neighbors to shun me;
my sole companion now is darkness.[q]
Psalm 91[a]
Security under God’s Protection
1 You who abide in the shelter of the Most High,[b]
who rest in the shadow of the Almighty,
2 say to the Lord, “You are my refuge and my fortress,
my God in whom I place my trust.”
3 He will rescue you from the snare of the fowler[c]
and from virulent pestilence.
4 With his feathers he will shelter you,[d]
and you will take refuge under his wings;
his faithfulness serves as a protective shield.
5 You will not fear the terror by night[e]
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the plague[f] that lays waste at midday.
7 Even though a thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
such evils will not afflict you.
8 Rather, your own eyes will behold[g]
the punishment inflicted on the wicked.
9 You have made the Lord your refuge
and chosen the Most High to be your dwelling.
10 Therefore, no evil will threaten you,
no calamity will come near your dwelling.
11 [h]For he will command his angels[i] about you—
to guard you wherever you go.
12 They will lift you up with their hands,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.[j]
13 You will tread upon the asp and the viper;
you will trample the lion and the dragon.[k]
14 [l]“Because he loves me, I will deliver him,
I will raise high[m] the one who acknowledges my name.
15 When he calls to me, I will answer,
and I will be with him in time of distress;
I will rescue him and cause him to be honored.[n]
16 I will reward him with a long life
and show him my salvation.”[o]
Psalm 92[p]
Praise of God’s Just Rule
1 A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath.[q]
2 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praise to your name,[r] O Most High,
3 to proclaim your kindness[s] in the morning
and your faithfulness during the night,
4 with the ten-stringed harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
5 [t]Your deeds, O Lord, have caused me to exult;
at the works of your hands I shout for joy:
6 How great are your deeds, O Lord!
How profound are your thoughts!
7 [u]A senseless person cannot grasp this;
a fool[v] is unable to comprehend it.
8 Even though the wicked may sprout like grass
and all evildoers may prosper,
they are doomed to eternal destruction,[w]
9 whereas you, O Lord, are exalted forever.[x]
10 Surely your enemies, O Lord,
surely your enemies will perish,
and all evildoers will be scattered.
11 [y]You have given me the strength of a wild bull
and anointed me with fresh oil.
12 My eyes have witnessed the downfall of my enemies;
my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.
13 [z]The righteous will flourish like the palm tree;
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon.
14 They are planted in the house of the Lord[aa]
and will flourish in the courts of our God.
15 They still will bear fruit, in their old age,
and they will remain fresh and green,
16 proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, in whom no injustice can be found.”
Chapter 3
Samuel’s Call.[a] 1 Young Samuel ministered to the Lord under Eli. Now the word of the Lord was rare in those days, there were not many visions. 2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow so weak so that he could not see well anymore, was lying down in his place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord where the Ark of God was kept.[b] 4 The Lord called out, “Samuel.” He answered, “Here I am.” 5 He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, you called me.” He said, “I did not call you, go back and lie down.” He went and lay down.
6 The Lord called again, “Samuel.” Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, you called me.” He said, “I did not call you, my son, lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
8 The Lord called Samuel a third time. He got up and went to Samuel and said, “Here I am, you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord had called him. 9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down. If he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ” So he went and lay down in his place.
10 Then the Lord came and stood and called out as he had the other times, “Samuel, Samuel.” Samuel said, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” 11 The Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am going to do something in Israel that will cause the ears of everyone who hears it to ring. 12 On that day I will bring against Eli all of the things that I have proclaimed against his house, from beginning to end. 13 I have told him that I would judge his household forever because of the sin about which he knew, because his sons brought a curse upon themselves and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore, I have sworn to the house of Eli that the guilt will never be atoned from Eli’s house by either sacrifice or offering.”
15 Samuel lay down until the morning, and then he opened the doors to the house of the Lord. However, he was afraid to reveal the vision to Eli, 16 but Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son,” and he answered, “Here I am.” 17 He said, “What is it that the Lord said to you? Please, do not hide it from me. May the Lord do it to you[c] and even more if you hide anything from me of all those things that he said to you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. He then said, “He is the Lord, let him do what seems best to him.”
19 Samuel the Prophet. Samuel grew up, and the Lord was with him and did not let any of his words fall to the ground. 20 All of Israel, from Dan to Beer-sheba,[d] knew that Samuel had been confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. 21 The Lord continued to appear in Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh through the word of the Lord.
37 When they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “What are we to do, brethren?” 38 Peter answered, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise that was made is for you, for your children, and for all those who are far away, for all those whom the Lord our God will call.”
40 Life of the First Community—I.[a] He offered further testimony with many other arguments as he exhorted them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and on that day about three thousand people were added to their number. 42 They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayers.
43 A sense of awe was felt by all for many wonders and signs were performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and owned everything in common. 45 They would sell their property and possessions and distribute the proceeds to all according to what each one needed. 46 Every day, united in spirit, they would assemble together in the temple. They would break bread in their homes and share their food with joyful and generous hearts 47 as they praised God, and they were regarded with favor by all the people. And day by day the Lord added to those who were being saved.
The Destruction of the Temple and the Return of Christ[a]
Jesus Announces the Destruction of the Temple.[b] When some people were talking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and votive offerings, Jesus remarked, 6 “As for all these things that you are gazing at now, the time will come when not one stone here will be left upon another; everything will be thrown down.”The Signs of the End.[c] 7 They then asked him, “Teacher, when will this happen? And what will be the sign that it is about to take place?” 8 He answered, “Take care not to be deceived. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. 9 And when you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified, for those things are bound to take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.”
10 Then he added, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be tremendous earthquakes, famines, and plagues in various places, as well as dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.
12 The Coming Persecution.“But before all this happens, they will seize you and persecute you. You will be handed over to synagogues and imprisoned, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 13 This will give you an opportunity to bear witness to me. 14 But do not even consider preparing your defense beforehand, 15 for I myself will give you a depth of wisdom and eloquence that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
16 “You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends, and some of you will be put to death. 17 You will be hated by all because of my name, 18 but not a hair of your head will be lost. 19 By standing firm you will gain life.
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