Book of Common Prayer
A Davidic Psalm for the dedication of the Temple.
Thanksgiving for Deliverance
30 I exalt you, Lord,
for you have lifted me up,
and my enemies could not gloat over me.
2 Lord, my God!
I cried out to you for help
and you healed me.
3 Lord, you brought me from death;[a]
you kept me alive so that I did not descend into the Pit.[b]
4 You, his godly ones,
sing to the Lord,
give thanks at the mention of his holiness.
5 For his wrath is only momentary;
yet his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may lodge for the night,
but shouts of joy will come in the morning.
6 As for me,
I said in my prosperity,
“I will never be moved.”
7 By your favor, Lord,
you established me as a strong mountain;
Then you hid your face,
and I was dismayed.
8 I cried out to you, Lord,
and I make supplication to the Lord:
9 “What profit is there in my death[c] if I go down to the Pit?[d]
Can dust worship you?
Can it proclaim your faithfulness?”
10 Hear me, Lord,
and have mercy on me!
Lord, help me!
11 You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you took off my sackcloth
and clothed me with a garment of joy,
12 so that I may sing praise to you
and not remain silent.
Lord, my God,
I will give you thanks forever!
A Davidic instruction.[a]
The Blessings of Forgiveness
32 How blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 How blessed is the person against whom the Lord does not charge iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent about my sin,[b]
my body[c] wasted away
by my groaning all day long.
4 For your hand was heavy upon me day and night;
my strength was exhausted
as in a summer drought.
5 My sin I acknowledged to you;
my iniquity I did not hide.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave the guilt of my sin!
6 Therefore every godly person should pray to you at such a time.[d]
Surely a flood of great waters will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place;
you will deliver me from trouble
and surround me with shouts of deliverance.
8 I will instruct you and teach you
concerning the path you should walk;
I will direct you with my eye.
9 Don’t be like a horse or mule,
without understanding.
They are held in check by a bit and bridle in their mouths;
otherwise they will not remain near you.
10 The wicked have many sorrows,
but gracious love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.
11 Righteous ones, be glad in the Lord and rejoice!
Shout for joy, all of you who are upright in heart!
BOOK II (Psalms 42-72)
To the Director: An instruction[a] of the Sons of Korah.
Hope in God When Times of Trouble Come
42 As an antelope pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When may I come and appear in God’s presence?
3 My tears have been my food day and night,
while people[b] keep asking me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
4 These things I will recall as I pour out my troubles[c] within me:
I used to go with the crowd in a procession to the house of God,
accompanied with shouts of joy and thanksgiving.
5 Why are you in despair, my soul?
Why are you disturbed within me?
Hope in God,
for once again I will praise him,
since his presence saves me.
6 My God, my soul feels depressed[d] within me;
therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan,
from the heights of Hermon,
even from the foothills.[e]
7 Deep waters call out to what is deeper still;[f]
at the roar of your waterfalls
all your breakers and your waves swirled over me.
8 By day the Lord will command his gracious love,
and by night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I will ask God, my Rock, “Why have you forsaken me?
Why do I go around mourning under the enemy’s oppression?”
10 Like the shattering of my bones are the taunts of my oppressors,
saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why are you in despair, my soul?
Why are you disturbed within me?
Hope in God,
for once again I will praise him,
since his presence saves me
and he is my God.
God is my Hope during Times of Trouble
43 [g]You be my judge,[h] God,
and plead my case against an unholy nation;
rescue me from the deceitful and unjust man.
2 Since you are the God who strengthens me,
why have you forsaken me?
Why do I go around mourning under the enemy’s oppression?”
3 Send forth your light and your truth
so they may guide me.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain and to your dwelling places.[i]
4 Then I will approach the altar of God,
even to God in whom my joy finds its source.[j]
Then I will praise you with the lyre,
God, my God,
5 Why are you in despair, my soul?
Why are you disturbed within me?
Hope in God,
because I will praise him once again,
since his presence saves me
and he is my God.
The Future Glory of the Lord’s House
2 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, this message from the Lord came by[a] Haggai the prophet: 2 “Speak to Shealtiel’s son Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, to Jehozadak’s son Joshua, the high priest, and to the rest[b] of the people, asking, 3 ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? And what does it look like now? From what you can see, it seems like nothing, doesn’t it? 4 Now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord, ‘and be strong, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord. ‘Go to work, because I am with you,’ declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. 5 ‘My Spirit continues to dwell among you, according to[c] the covenant I established when you came out from Egypt. Don’t be afraid!’
6 “For this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘Once more, in a little while, I will make the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the dry land to shake. 7 I will shake all nations, and the One desired by all nations will come. Then I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.
8 “The silver belongs to me, as does the gold,”[d] declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. 9 “The glory of this present house will be greater than was the former,” declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. “And in this place I will grant peace,” declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.”
The Letter to the Church in Sardis
3 “To the messenger[a] of the church in Sardis, write:
‘The one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars says this:
‘I know what you’ve been doing. You are known for being alive, but you are dead. 2 Be alert, and strengthen the things that are left, which are about to die. I note that your actions are incomplete before my God. 3 So remember what you received and heard. Obey it, and repent. If you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you won’t know the time when I will come to you. 4 But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me in white clothes because they are worthy. 5 The person who overcomes[b] in this way will wear white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the Book of Life. I will acknowledge his name in the presence of my Father and his angels.
6 ‘Let everyone[c] listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple(A)
24 After Jesus had left the Temple and was walking away, his disciples came up to him to point out to him the Temple buildings. 2 But in reply he responded to them, “You see all these things, don’t you? I tell all of you[a] with certainty, not even a single stone here will be left standing on top of another that won’t be completely demolished.”
Cults, Revolutions, Famines, and Earthquakes(B)
3 Now while Jesus[b] was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
4 In reply, Jesus told them, “See to it that no one deceives you, 5 because many will come in my name, proclaiming, ‘I’m the Messiah,’[c] and they will deceive many people. 6 You’ll begin to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See to it that you don’t panic. These things must take place, but the end won’t have come yet, 7 because nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 But all these things are only a beginning of agonies.”
Future Persecution, Apostasy, and Evangelism(C)
9 “Then they’ll hand you over to suffer[d] and will kill you, and you’ll be hated by all the nations[e] on account of my name. 10 Then many people will fall away, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people, 12 and because lawlessness will increase, the love of many people will grow cold. 13 But the person who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the inhabited world as a testimony to all nations,[f] and then the end will come.”
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.