Book of Common Prayer
The Assurance of God’s Saving Work
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
20 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble;
May the name of the God of Jacob [a]defend you;
2 May He send you help from the sanctuary,
And strengthen you out of Zion;
3 May He remember all your offerings,
And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah
4 May He grant you according to your heart’s desire,
And (A)fulfill all your [b]purpose.
5 We will rejoice in your salvation,
And in the name of our God we will set up our banners!
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.
6 Now I know that the Lord saves His [c]anointed;
He will answer him from His holy heaven
With the saving strength of His right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots, and some in (B)horses;
But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
8 They have bowed down and fallen;
But we have risen and stand upright.
9 Save, Lord!
May the King answer us when we call.
Joy in the Salvation of the Lord
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
21 The king shall have joy in Your strength, O Lord;
And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
2 You have given him his heart’s desire,
And have not withheld the (C)request of his lips. Selah
3 For You meet him with the blessings of goodness;
You set a crown of pure gold upon his head.
4 (D)He asked life from You, and You gave it to him—
Length of days forever and ever.
5 His glory is great in Your salvation;
Honor and majesty You have placed upon him.
6 For You have made him most blessed forever;
(E)You have made him [d]exceedingly glad with Your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord,
And through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be [e]moved.
8 Your hand will find all Your enemies;
Your right hand will find those who hate You.
9 You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger;
The Lord shall swallow them up in His wrath,
And the fire shall devour them.
10 Their offspring You shall destroy from the earth,
And their [f]descendants from among the sons of men.
11 For they intended evil against You;
They devised a plot which they are not able to (F)perform.
12 Therefore You will make them turn their back;
You will make ready Your arrows on Your string toward their faces.
13 Be exalted, O Lord, in Your own strength!
We will sing and praise Your power.
Announcement of the Messiah’s Reign(A)
A Psalm of David.
110 The (B)Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your (C)footstool.”
2 The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength (D)out of Zion.
(E)Rule in the midst of Your enemies!
3 (F)Your people shall be volunteers
In the day of Your power;
(G)In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning,
You have the dew of Your youth.
4 The Lord has sworn
And (H)will not relent,
“You are a (I)priest forever
According to the order of (J)Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is (K)at Your right hand;
He shall [a]execute kings (L)in the day of His wrath.
6 He shall judge among the nations,
He shall fill the places with dead bodies,
(M)He shall [b]execute the heads of many countries.
7 He shall drink of the brook by the wayside;
(N)Therefore He shall lift up the head.
Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death
116 I (A)love the Lord, because He has heard
My voice and my supplications.
2 Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
3 (B)The [a]pains of death surrounded me,
And the [b]pangs of Sheol [c]laid hold of me;
I found trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called upon the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!”
5 (C)Gracious is the Lord, and (D)righteous;
Yes, our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserves the simple;
I was brought low, and He saved me.
7 Return to your (E)rest, O my soul,
For (F)the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
8 (G)For You have delivered my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
And my feet from falling.
9 I will walk before the Lord
(H)In the land of the living.
10 (I)I believed, therefore I spoke,
“I am greatly afflicted.”
11 (J)I said in my haste,
(K)“All men are liars.”
12 What shall I render to the Lord
For all His benefits toward me?
13 I will take up the cup of salvation,
And call upon the name of the Lord.
14 (L)I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people.
15 (M)Precious in the sight of the Lord
Is the death of His saints.
16 O Lord, truly (N)I am Your servant;
I am Your servant, (O)the son of Your maidservant;
You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to You (P)the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And will call upon the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people,
19 In the (Q)courts of the Lord’s house,
In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
[d]Praise the Lord!
Let All Peoples Praise the Lord
117 Praise (R)the Lord, all you Gentiles!
[e]Laud Him, all you peoples!
2 For His merciful kindness is great toward us,
And (S)the truth of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!
8 And in the fifth month, (A)on the seventh day of the month (which was (B)the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), (C)Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 (D)He burned the house of the Lord (E)and the king’s house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, (F)he burned with fire. 10 And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard (G)broke down the walls of Jerusalem all around.
11 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive (H)the rest of the people who remained in the city and the defectors who had deserted to the king of Babylon, with the rest of the multitude. 12 But the captain of the guard (I)left some of the poor of the land as vinedressers and farmers.
Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah(A)
22 Then he made Gedaliah the son of (B)Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor over (C)the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left. 23 Now when all the (D)captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Careah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and [a]Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men. 24 And Gedaliah took an oath before them and their men, and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.”
25 But (E)it happened in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck and killed Gedaliah, the Jews, as well as the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 And all the people, small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose (F)and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
The Risen Christ, Our Hope(A)
12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, (B)then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because (C)we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; (D)you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have [a]fallen (E)asleep in Christ have perished. 19 (F)If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.
The Last Enemy Destroyed
20 But now (G)Christ is risen from the dead, and has become (H)the firstfruits of those who have [b]fallen asleep. 21 For (I)since by man came death, (J)by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall (K)be made alive. 23 But (L)each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers (M)the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign (N)till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 (O)The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. 27 For (P)“He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. 28 (Q)Now when all things are made subject to Him, then (R)the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.
Effects of Denying the Resurrection
29 Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead?
7 (A)As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? (B)A reed shaken by the wind? 8 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, (C)and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he of whom it is written:
(D)‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You.’
11 “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 (E)And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 (F)For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to receive it, he is (G)Elijah who is to come. 15 (H)He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.