Book of Common Prayer
The Lord the Shepherd of His People
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is (A)my shepherd;
(B)I shall not [a]want.
2 (C)He makes me to lie down in [b]green pastures;
(D)He leads me beside the [c]still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
(E)He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
God the Help of Those Who Seek Him
A Song of Ascents.
121 I (A)will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
2 (B)My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
3 (C)He will not allow your foot to [a]be moved;
(D)He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
Job’s Repentance and Restoration
42 Then Job answered the Lord and said:
2 “I know that You (A)can do everything,
And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.
3 You asked, (B)‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
(C)Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
4 Listen, please, and let me speak;
You said, (D)‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’
A Heavenly Inheritance
3 (A)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who (B)according to His abundant mercy (C)has begotten us again to a living hope (D)through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance [a]incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, (E)reserved in heaven for you, 5 (F)who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 (G)In this you greatly rejoice, though now (H)for a little while, if need be, (I)you have been [b]grieved by various trials, 7 that (J)the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though (K)it is tested by fire, (L)may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 (M)whom having not [c]seen you love. (N)Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
An Exuberant Declaration of Faith
A Psalm of David.
27 The Lord is my (A)light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The (B)Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked came against me
To (C)eat[a] up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
3 (D)Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.
4 (E)One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may (F)dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the [b]beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.
5 For (G)in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall (H)set me high upon a rock.
6 And now (I)my head shall be [c]lifted up above my enemies all around me;
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of [d]joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8 When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
9 (J)Do not hide Your face from me;
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
10 (K)When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the Lord will take care of me.
11 (L)Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
12 Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;
For (M)false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.
13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
(N)In the land of the living.
The Way, the Truth, and the Life
14 “Let (A)not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many [a]mansions; if it were not so, [b]I would have told you. (B)I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, (C)I will come again and receive you to Myself; that (D)where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
5 (E)Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am (F)the way, (G)the truth, and (H)the life. (I)No one comes to the Father (J)except through Me.
The Father Revealed
7 (K)“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.