Book of Common Prayer
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
A Prayer for Victory
20 May the Lord answer you in the day of distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob[a] protect you.
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary,
and may he sustain you from Zion.
3 May he remember all your gifts,
and may he accept your burnt offerings.
4 May he give you what your heart desires,
and may he fulfill all your plans.
5 May we shout for joy at your deliverance
and unfurl our banners in the name of our God.
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.
6 Now I know that the Lord has delivered his anointed;
he has answered him from his sanctuary
with the strength of his right hand of deliverance.
7 Some boast[b] in chariots,
others in horses;
but we will boast in[c] the name of the Lord our God.
8 While they bowed down and fell,
we arose and stood upright.
9 Deliver us, Lord!
Answer us, our King,[d] on the day we cry out!
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
Praise for the Lord’s Deliverance
21 The king rejoices in your strength, Lord.
How greatly he rejoices in your deliverance.
2 You have granted him the desire of his heart,
and have not withheld what his lips requested.
3 You go before him with wonderful blessings,
and put a crown of fine gold on his head.
4 He asked life from you, and you gave it to him—
a long life for ever and ever.
5 His glory is great because of your deliverance,
you have given him honor and majesty.
6 Indeed, you have given him eternal blessings;
you will make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 The king trusts in the Lord;
because of the gracious love of the Most High,
he will stand firm.[e]
8 Your hand will find all your enemies,
your right hand will find those who hate you.
9 When you appear,
you will set them ablaze like a fire furnace.
In his wrath, the Lord will consume them,
and the fire will devour them.
10 You will destroy their descendants[f] from the earth,
even their offspring from the ranks[g] of mankind.
11 Though they plot evil against you and devise schemes,
they will not succeed.
12 Indeed, you will make them retreat,[h]
when you aim your bow[i] at their faces.
13 Rise up, Lord, because you are strong;
we will sing and praise your power.
A Davidic psalm
A Priestly Ruler
110 A declaration from the Lord[a] to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool.”
2 When the Lord extends your mighty scepter from Zion,
rule in the midst of your enemies.
3 Your soldiers[b] are willing volunteers on your day of battle;
in majestic holiness, from the womb,
from the dawn, the dew of your youth belongs to you.
4 The Lord took an oath and will never recant:
“You are a priest forever,
after the manner of Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is at your right hand;
he will utterly destroy kings in the time of his wrath.
6 He will execute judgment against the nations,
filling graves[c] with corpses.
He will utterly destroy leaders far and wide.
7 He will drink from a stream on the way,
then hold his head high.
God, My Deliverer
116 I love the Lord
because he has heard my prayer for mercy;[a]
2 for he listens to me whenever I call.
3 The ropes of death were wound around me
and the anguish of Sheol[b] came upon me;
I encountered distress and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord,
“Lord, please deliver me!”[c]
5 The Lord is gracious and righteous;
our God is compassionate;
6 the Lord watches over the innocent;[d]
I was brought low, and he delivered me.
7 Return to your resting place, my soul,
for the Lord treated you generously.
8 Indeed, you delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from crying,[e]
and my feet from stumbling.
9 I will walk in the Lord’s presence
in the lands of the living.
10 I will continue to believe, even when I say,
“I am greatly afflicted”
11 and speak hastily,
“All people are liars!”
12 What will I return to the Lord
for all his benefits to me?
13 I will raise my cup of deliverance
and invoke the Lord’s name.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
15 In the sight of the Lord,
the death of his faithful ones is valued.
16 Lord, I am indeed your servant.
I am your servant.
I am the son of your handmaid.
You have released my bonds.
17 I will bring you a thanksgiving offering
and call on the name of the Lord!
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the Lord’s house,
in your midst, Jerusalem.
Hallelujah!
A Call to Praise the Lord
117 Praise the Lord, all you nations!
Exalt him, all you peoples!
2 For great is his gracious love toward us,
and the Lord’s faithfulness is eternal.
Hallelujah!
Job Cannot Argue with His Creator
9 This was Job’s response:
Job Asks God to Acquit Him
10 “I am disgusted with living,
so I’m going to talk about my complaint freely.
I’ll speak out from the bitterness of my soul.
2 I’ll say to God,
‘Don’t condemn me!
Let me know why you are fighting me.
3 Does it delight you to oppress
or despise what you have made,
while you smile at the plans of the wicked?[a]
4 Do you have eyes made of flesh?
Can you look at things as humans do?
5 Can you live only as long as a human being?
Or live the years[b] of a mortal man?
6 “‘For you seek out my iniquity
and search for my sin.
7 Although you know that I’m not guilty,
there’s no one to deliver me from you![c]
8 Your hands formed and fashioned me,
but then you have destroyed me all at once on all sides.
9 “‘Please remember that you’ve made me like clay
and you’ll return me to dust.
16 But if I do lift up my head,
you will hunt me like a lion!
You will perform miracles in order to fight against me.
17 “‘You have brought new witnesses against me,
you’re even more angry with me—
you’ve brought fresh troops to attack me!
18 So why did you bring me out from the womb?
I wish I had died, before anyone had seen me,
19 as if I had never existed;
carried from the womb to the grave.
20 My days are so few, aren’t they?
So leave me alone, then,
so I can smile a little
21 before I go, never to return,
leaving for the land of deep darkness and shadow.
22 It’s a gloomy land, like deepest darkness;
where there’s no order,
and where even[a] the brightness is like darkness.’”
Peter Reports to the Church in Jerusalem
11 Now the apostles and the brothers who were in Judea heard that the gentiles had also accepted the word of God. 2 But when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those who emphasized circumcision[a] disagreed with him. 3 They said, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them!”
4 Then Peter began to explain to them point by point what had happened. He said, 5 “I was in the town of Joppa praying when in a trance I saw a vision: Something like a large linen sheet descended down from heaven, lowered by its four corners, and it came right down to me. 6 When I examined it closely, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles, and birds of the air. 7 I also heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter! Kill something and eat it.’ 8 But I replied, ‘Absolutely not, Lord, for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth!’ 9 Then the voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘You must stop calling common what God has made clean!’ 10 This happened three times. Then everything was pulled back up to heaven.
11 “At that very moment three men arrived at the house where we were staying. They had been sent to me from Caesarea. 12 The Spirit told me to go with them without hesitating. These six brothers went with me, too, and we entered the house of the man from Caesarea.[b] 13 Then he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his home and saying, ‘Send messengers[c] to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter. 14 He will discuss with you how you and your entire household will be saved.’
15 “When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as he was first given to us. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with[d] water, but you will be baptized with[e] the Holy Spirit.’ 17 Now if God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus, the Messiah,[f] who was I to try to stop God?”
18 When they heard this, they calmed down, and praised God by saying, “So God has given repentance that leads to life even to gentiles.”
Jesus the Light of the World
12 Later on, Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. The one who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
13 The Pharisees told him, “You’re testifying about yourself. Your testimony isn’t valid.”[a]
14 Jesus answered them, “Even though I’m testifying about myself, my testimony is valid[b] because I know where I’ve come from and where I’m going. But you don’t know where I come from or where I’m going. 15 You’re judging by human standards,[c] but I’m not judging anyone. 16 Yet even if I should judge, my judgment would be valid,[d] because it is not I alone who judges, but I and the one who sent me. 17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two people is valid.[e] 18 I’m testifying about myself, and the Father who sent me is testifying about me.”
19 Then they asked him, “Where is this Father of yours?”
Jesus replied, “You don’t know me or my Father. If you had known me, you would’ve known my Father, too.” 20 He spoke these words in the treasury, while he was teaching in the Temple. Yet no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
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