Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for Help in Despair
A song. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
For the music director; according to Mahalath Leannoth.
A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.[a]
88 O Yahweh, God of my salvation,
I cry out by day and through the night before you.
2 Let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry.
3 For my soul is full with troubles,
and my life approaches Sheol.
4 I am reckoned with those descending to the pit.
I am like a man[b] without strength,[c]
5 set free[d] among the dead,
like the slain lying in the grave,
whom you no longer remember,
even those cut off from your hand.
6 You have set me in the pit below,
in dark places, in the depths.
7 Your wrath presses upon me,
and you afflict me with all your waves. Selah
8 You have removed my acquaintances far from me.
You have made me detestable[e] to them.
I am confined and cannot go out.
9 My eye languishes from misery.
I call on you, O Yahweh, every day;
I spread out my hands[f] to you.
10 Do you work wonders[g] for the dead?
Or do the departed spirits[h] rise up to praise you? Selah
11 Is your loyal love told in the grave,
or your faithfulness in the underworld?[i]
12 Are your wonders[j] known in the darkness,
or your righteousness[k] in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But as for me, I cry for help to you, O Yahweh,
and in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 Why do you reject my soul, O Yahweh?
Why do you hide your face from me?
15 I am afflicted and perishing from my youth.
I bear your terrors. I am distraught.[l]
16 Your burning anger has passed over me;
your sudden fears have destroyed me.
17 They surround me like water all the day;
they circle about me altogether.
18 You have removed loved one and friend far from me,
my acquaintances far from my darkness.
God’s Protection in Times of Crisis
91 One who lives in the secret place[a] of the Most High
will lodge in the shadow of Shaddai.[b]
2 I will say to Yahweh, “You are my refuge and my fortress,
my God in whom I trust.”
3 For he will deliver[c] you from the snare of the fowler,
from the plague of destruction.
4 With his feathers he will cover you,
and under his wings you can take refuge.
His faithfulness will be a shield and a buckler.[d]
5 You need not fear the terror of the night,
or the arrow that flies by day,
6 or the plague that spreads in the darkness,
or the destruction that devastates at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
and ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes,
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 For you, O Yahweh, are my refuge.
You have made the Most High your dwelling place.[e]
10 No harm will befall you,
and no plague will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you,
to watch over you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on lion and viper;
you will trample young lion and serpent.
14 Because he loves me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will protect[f] him because he knows my name.
15 He will call upon me and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue and honor him.
16 With long life[g] I will satisfy him,
and show him my salvation.
Thanksgiving to Yahweh for Victory
A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.[h]
92 It is good to give thanks to Yahweh,
and to sing praise concerning your name, O Most High;
2 to declare in the morning your loyal love
and your faithfulness in the night,
3 on the ten string, and on the harp,
with a melody on the lyre.
4 For you, O Yahweh, have made me glad by your work;
by the deeds of your hands I sing for joy.
5 How great are your deeds, O Yahweh;
how very deep are your thoughts.
6 The brutish man does not know,
and the fool cannot understand this.
7 When the wicked flourish like grass
and all the workers of evil blossom,
it is so they can be destroyed forever.
8 But you are on high forever, O Yahweh.
9 For behold, your enemies, O Yahweh,
for behold, your enemies will perish.
All the workers of evil will be scattered.
10 But you have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox;
you have anointed me[i] with fresh oil.
11 And so my eye looks on my enemies.[j]
My ears hear those evildoers who rise up against me.
12 The righteous[k] will flourish like the date palm.
They will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Planted in the house[l] of Yahweh,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They will still prosper in old age.
They will be fat and luxuriant,[m]
15 to declare that Yahweh is upright.
He is my rock, and there is no injustice[n] in him.
The Year of Yahweh’s Favor
61 The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh is upon me,
because Yahweh has anointed me,
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,[a]
to proclaim[b] release to the captives
and liberation to those who are bound,
2 to proclaim[c] the year of Yahweh’s favor,
and our God’s day of vengeance,
to comfort all those in mourning,
3 to give[d] for those in mourning in Zion,
to give them a head wrap instead of ashes,
the oil of joy instead of mourning,
a garment of praise instead of a faint spirit.
And they will be called[e] oaks of righteousness,
the planting of Yahweh, to show his glory.
4 And they shall build the ancient ruins,
they shall erect the former deserted places.
And they shall restore the devastated cities,[f]
the deserted places of many generations.[g]
5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks,[h]
and foreigners[i] shall be your farmers and vinedressers.
6 But[j] you shall be called the priests of Yahweh,
you will be called[k] servers of our God.
You shall eat the wealth of the nations,
and you shall boast in their riches.
7 Instead of your shame, a double portion,
and instead of insult, they will rejoice over their portion.
Therefore they will take a double portion in their land;
they shall possess everlasting joy.[l]
8 For I, Yahweh, love justice,
hate robbery and[m] injustice,
and I will faithfully[n] give their reward,
and I will make[o] an everlasting covenant with[p] them.
9 And their descendants[q] will be known among the nations,
and their offspring in the midst of the peoples.
All those who see them shall recognize them,
that they are descendants[r] whom Yahweh has blessed.
Difficult Times Ahead in the Last Days
3 But know this, that in the last days difficult times will come, 2 for people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 hardhearted, irreconcilable, slanderous, without self-control, savage, with no interest for what is good, 4 traitors, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God, 5 maintaining a form of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid these people. 6 For from these are those who slip into houses and captivate foolish women loaded down with sins, led by various kinds of desires, 7 always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 And just as[a] Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these oppose the truth, people corrupted in mind, disqualified concerning the faith. 9 But they will not progress to a greater extent, for their folly will be quite evident to everyone, as also the folly of those two was.
The Value of the Scriptures
10 But you have faithfully followed my teaching, way of life, purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, and sufferings that happened to me in Antioch, in Iconium, and in Lystra, what sort of persecutions I endured, and the Lord delivered me from all of them. 12 And indeed, all those who want to live in a godly manner in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13 But evil people and imposters will progress to the worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But you continue in the things which you have learned and are convinced of, because you[b] know from whom you learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the holy writings that are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, 17 in order that the person of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection a Third Time
32 Now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going on ahead of them. And they were astounded, but those who were following him[a] were afraid. And taking aside the twelve again, he began to tell them the things that were about to happen to him: 33 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock him and spit on him and flog him and kill him,[b] and after three days he will rise.”
A Request by James and John
35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and[c] said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask you.” 36 And he said to them, “What do you want that I do[d] for you?” 37 So they said to him, “Grant to us that we may sit one at your right hand and one at your left in your glory.” 38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking! Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” 39 And they said to him, “We are able.” So Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup that I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but is for those for whom it has been prepared.” 41 And when they[e] heard this,[f] the ten began to be indignant about James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to himself and[g] said to them, “You know that those who are considered to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their people in high positions exercise authority over them. 43 But it is not like this among you! But whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be most prominent among you must be the slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
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