Book of Common Prayer
A Psalm of Complaint and of Praise.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
31 (A)In You, Lord, I have taken refuge;
Let me never (B)be [a]put to shame;
(C)In Your righteousness rescue me.
2 (D)Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly;
Be a (E)rock of [b]strength for me,
A [c]stronghold to save me.
3 For You are my rock and (F)my fortress;
For the (G)sake of Your name You will lead me and guide me.
4 You will (H)pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my (I)strength.
5 (J)Into Your hand I entrust my spirit;
You have (K)redeemed me, Lord, (L)God of [d]truth.
6 I hate those who (M)devote themselves to worthless [e]idols,
But I (N)trust in the Lord.
7 I will (O)rejoice and be glad in Your faithfulness,
Because You have (P)seen my misery;
You have known the troubles of my soul,
8 And You have not (Q)handed me over to the enemy;
You have set my feet in a large place.
9 Be gracious to me, Lord, for (R)I am in distress;
My (S)eye is wasted away from grief, (T)my soul and my body too.
10 For my life is spent with (U)sorrow
And my years with sighing;
My (V)strength has failed because of my guilt,
And (W)my [f]body has wasted away.
11 Because of all my adversaries, I have become a (X)disgrace,
Especially to my (Y)neighbors,
And an object of dread to my acquaintances;
Those who see me in the street flee from me.
12 I am (Z)forgotten like a dead person, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
13 For I have heard the [g](AA)slander of many,
(AB)Terror is on every side;
While they (AC)took counsel together against me,
They (AD)schemed to take away my life.
14 But as for me, I trust in You, Lord,
I say, “(AE)You are my God.”
15 My (AF)times are in Your hand;
(AG)Rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.
16 Make Your (AH)face shine upon Your servant;
(AI)Save me in Your faithfulness.
17 Let me not be (AJ)put to shame, Lord, for I call upon You;
Let the (AK)wicked be put to shame, let them (AL)be silent in [h]Sheol.
18 Let the (AM)lying lips be speechless,
Which (AN)speak arrogantly against the righteous
With pride and contempt.
19 How great is Your (AO)goodness,
Which You have stored up for those who fear You,
Which You have performed for those who (AP)take refuge in You,
(AQ)Before the sons of mankind!
20 You hide them in the (AR)secret place of Your presence from the (AS)conspiracies of mankind;
You keep them secretly in a [i]shelter from the (AT)strife of tongues.
21 (AU)Blessed be the Lord,
For He has shown His (AV)marvelous faithfulness to me in a besieged (AW)city.
22 As for me, (AX)I said in my alarm,
“I am (AY)cut off from Your eyes”;
Nevertheless You (AZ)heard the sound of my pleadings
When I called to You for help.
Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.
A Psalm of David.
35 Contend, Lord, with those who (A)contend with me;
Fight against those who (B)fight against me.
2 Take hold of [a](C)buckler and shield
And rise up as (D)my help.
3 Draw also the spear and [b]the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me;
Say to my soul, “I am (E)your salvation.”
4 Let those be (F)ashamed and dishonored who seek my [c]life;
Let those be (G)turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.
5 Let them be (H)like chaff before the wind,
With the angel of the Lord driving them on.
6 Let their way be dark and (I)slippery,
With the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
7 For (J)they (K)hid their net for me without cause;
Without cause they dug a pit for my soul.
8 Let (L)destruction come upon him when he is unaware,
And (M)let the net which he hid catch him;
Let him fall into that very (N)destruction.
9 So my soul shall (O)rejoice in the Lord;
It shall (P)rejoice in His salvation.
10 All my (Q)bones will say, “Lord, (R)who is like You,
Who rescues the afflicted from one (S)who is too strong for him,
And (T)the afflicted and the poor from one who robs him?”
11 (U)Malicious witnesses rise up;
They ask me things that I do not know.
12 They (V)repay me evil for good,
To the bereavement of my soul.
13 But as for me, (W)when they were sick, my (X)clothing was sackcloth;
I (Y)humbled my soul with fasting,
But my (Z)prayer kept returning to [d]me.
14 I went about as though it were my friend or brother;
I (AA)bowed down [e]in mourning, like one who mourns for a mother.
15 But (AB)at my [f]stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together;
The [g](AC)afflicted people whom I did not know gathered together against me,
They [h](AD)slandered me without ceasing.
16 Like godless jesters at a feast,
They (AE)gnashed at me with their teeth.
17 Lord, (AF)how long will You look on?
Rescue my soul (AG)from their ravages,
My (AH)only life from the lions.
18 I will (AI)give You thanks in the great congregation;
I will (AJ)praise You among a mighty people.
19 (AK)Do not let those who are wrongfully (AL)my enemies rejoice over me;
Nor let those (AM)who hate me for no reason [i](AN)wink maliciously.
20 For they do not speak peace,
But they devise (AO)deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
21 They (AP)opened their mouth wide against me;
They said, “(AQ)Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen it!”
22 (AR)You have seen it, Lord, (AS)do not keep silent;
Lord, (AT)do not be far from me.
23 (AU)Stir Yourself, and awake to my right
And to my cause, my God and my Lord.
24 (AV)Judge me, Lord my God, according to Your righteousness,
And (AW)do not let them rejoice over me.
25 Do not let them say in their heart, “(AX)Aha, our desire!”
Do not let them say, “We have (AY)swallowed him up!”
26 May (AZ)those be ashamed and altogether humiliated who rejoice at my distress;
May those who (BA)exalt themselves over me be (BB)clothed with shame and dishonor.
The Child Immanuel
10 Then the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 11 “Ask for a (A)sign for yourself from the Lord your God; [a]make it deep as Sheol or high as [b]heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I put the Lord to the test!” 13 Then he said, “Listen now, (B)house of David! Is it too trivial a thing for you to [c]try the patience of men, that you will [d](C)try the patience of (D)my God as well? 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, (E)the [e]virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will name Him [f](F)Immanuel. 15 He will eat [g](G)curds and honey [h]at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good. 16 (H)For before the boy knows enough to refuse evil and choose good, (I)the land whose two kings you dread will be abandoned.
Trials to Come for Judah
17 The Lord will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that (J)Ephraim separated from Judah—the days of the (K)king of Assyria.”
18 On that day the Lord will (L)whistle for the fly that is in the [i](M)remotest part of the canals of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 They will all come and settle on the steep [j]ravines, on the (N)ledges of the cliffs, (O)on all the thorn bushes, and on all the watering places.
20 On that day the Lord will (P)shave with a (Q)razor, (R)hired from regions beyond (S)the Euphrates River (that is, with the king of Assyria), the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard.
21 Now on that day a person may keep alive only a (T)heifer and a pair of sheep; 22 and because of the abundance of the milk produced he will eat [k]curds, for everyone who is left within the land will eat [l](U)curds and honey.
23 And it will come about on that day, (V)that every place where there used to be a thousand vines, valued at a thousand shekels of silver, will become (W)briars and thorns. 24 People will come there with bows and arrows, because all the land will be briars and thorns. 25 As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the plow, you will not go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place for [m](X)pasturing oxen and for sheep to trample.
Stand Firm
13 (A)But we should always give thanks to God for you, (B)brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because (C)God has chosen you [a]from the beginning (D)for salvation [b](E)through sanctification [c]by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 It was for this He (F)called you through (G)our gospel, [d]that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers and sisters, (H)stand firm and (I)hold on to the traditions which you were taught, whether (J)by word of mouth or (K)by letter [e]from us.
16 (L)Now may our Lord Jesus Christ (M)Himself and God our Father, who has (N)loved us and given us eternal comfort and (O)good hope by grace, 17 (P)comfort and (Q)strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.
Request for Prayer
3 (R)Finally, brothers and sisters, (S)pray for us that (T)the word of the Lord will [f]spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it was also with you; 2 and that we will be (U)rescued from troublesome and evil people; for not all have the faith. 3 But (V)the Lord is faithful, [g]and He will strengthen and protect you [h]from (W)the evil one. 4 We have (X)confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you (Y)are doing, and will do, what we command. 5 May the Lord (Z)direct your hearts to the love of God and to the perseverance of Christ.
The Lord’s Supper
14 (A)When the hour came, He reclined at the table, and (B)the apostles with Him. 15 And He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I shall not eat it again (C)until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 (D)And when He had taken a cup and (E)given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; 18 for (F)I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And when He had taken some bread and (G)given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, which is being given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup, which is (H)poured out for you, is the (I)new covenant in My blood. 21 (J)But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with [a]Mine on the table. 22 For indeed, the Son of Man is going (K)as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” 23 And they began to debate among themselves which one of them it was who was going to do this.
Who Is Greatest
24 And (L)a dispute also developed among them as to which one of them was regarded as being the greatest. 25 (M)And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles domineer over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ 26 But it is not this way for you; (N)rather, the one who is the greatest among you must become like (O)the youngest, and the leader like the servant. 27 For (P)who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But (Q)I am among you as the one who serves.
28 “You are the ones who have stood by Me in My (R)trials; 29 and just as My Father has granted Me a (S)kingdom, I grant you 30 that you may (T)eat and drink at My table in My (U)kingdom, and (V)you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
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