Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 40
Thanksgiving and a Cry for Help
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 I waited patiently for the Lord,
and he turned to me and heard my cry for help.(A)
2 He brought me up from a desolate[a] pit,
out of the muddy clay,(B)
and set my feet on a rock,
making my steps secure.(C)
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.(D)
Many will see and fear,
and they will trust in the Lord.(E)
4 How happy is anyone
who has put his trust in the Lord
and has not turned to the proud
or to those who run after lies!(F)
5 Lord my God, you have done many things—
your wondrous works and your plans for us;
none can compare with you.
If I were to report and speak of them,
they are more than can be told.(G)
6 You do not delight in sacrifice and offering;
you open my ears to listen.[b]
You do not ask for a whole burnt offering or a sin offering.(H)
7 Then I said, “See, I have come;
in the scroll it is written about me.(I)
8 I delight to do your will, my God,(J)
and your instruction is deep within me.”(K)
9 I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;
see, I do not keep my mouth closed[c]—
as you know, Lord.(L)
10 I did not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I spoke about your faithfulness and salvation;
I did not conceal your constant love and truth
from the great assembly.(M)
11 Lord, you do not[d] withhold your compassion from me.
Your constant love and truth will always guard me.(N)
12 For troubles without number have surrounded me;
my iniquities have overtaken me; I am unable to see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my courage leaves me.(O)
13 Lord, be pleased to rescue me;
hurry to help me, Lord.(P)
Psalm 54
Prayer for Deliverance
For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David. When the Ziphites went and said to Saul, “Is David not hiding among us?” (A)
1 God, save me by your name,
and vindicate me by your might!(B)
2 God, hear my prayer;
listen to the words from my mouth.(C)
3 For strangers rise up against me,
and violent men intend to kill me.
They do not let God guide them.[a](D)Selah
Psalm 51
A Prayer for Restoration
For the choir director. A psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him after he had gone to Bathsheba.(A)
1 Be gracious to me, God,
according to your faithful love;
according to your abundant compassion,
blot out my rebellion.(B)
2 Completely wash away my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.(C)
3 For I am conscious of my rebellion,
and my sin is always before me.(D)
4 Against you—you alone—I have sinned
and done this evil in your sight.(E)
So you are right when you pass sentence;
you are blameless when you judge.(F)
5 Indeed, I was guilty when I was born;
I was sinful when my mother conceived me.(G)
6 Surely you desire integrity in the inner self,
and you teach me wisdom deep within.(H)
7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.(I)
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.(J)
9 Turn your face away[a] from my sins
and blot out all my guilt.(K)
10 God, create a clean heart for me
and renew a steadfast[b] spirit within me.(L)
11 Do not banish me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.(M)
12 Restore the joy of your salvation to me,
and sustain me by giving me a willing spirit.(N)
13 Then I will teach the rebellious your ways,
and sinners will return to you.(O)
14 Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God(P)—
God of my salvation—
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.(Q)
15 Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.(R)
16 You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it;
you are not pleased with a burnt offering.(S)
17 The sacrifice pleasing to God is[c] a broken spirit.
You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God.(T)
8 The word of the Lord came to Zechariah: 9 “The Lord of Armies says this: ‘Make fair decisions.(A) Show faithful love and compassion(B) to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the resident alien or the poor,(C) and do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’(D) 11 But they refused to pay attention(E) and turned a stubborn shoulder; they closed their ears so they could not hear.(F) 12 They made their hearts like a rock so as not to obey the law or the words that the Lord of Armies had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets.(G) Therefore intense anger came from the Lord of Armies. 13 Just as he had called, and they would not listen, so when they called, I would not listen, says the Lord of Armies. 14 I scattered them with a windstorm over all the nations that had not known them, and the land was left desolate behind them, with no one coming or going. They turned a pleasant land into a desolation.”
Obedience and Feasting
8 The word of the Lord of Armies came: 2 The Lord of Armies says this: “I am extremely jealous(H) for Zion; I am jealous for her with great wrath.” 3 The Lord says this: “I will return to Zion and live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City;(I) the mountain of the Lord of Armies will be called the Holy Mountain.” 4 The Lord of Armies says this: “Old men and women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of advanced age. 5 The streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in them.” 6 The Lord of Armies says this: “Though it may seem impossible to the remnant of this people in those days, should it also seem impossible to me?”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies. 7 The Lord of Armies says this: “I will save my people from the land of the east and the land of the west.[a] 8 I will bring them back(J) to live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God.”(K)
6 Then I saw one like a slaughtered lamb(A) standing in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God(B) sent into all the earth. 7 He went and took the scroll out of the right hand of the one seated on the throne.
The Lamb Is Worthy
8 When he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp(C) and golden bowls(D) filled with incense,(E) which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song:(F)
You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slaughtered,
and you purchased[a] people[b]
for God by your blood
from every tribe and language
and people and nation.(G)
10 You made them a kingdom[c]
and priests to our God,(H)
and they will reign on the earth.
11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels around the throne, and also of the living creatures and of the elders. Their number was countless thousands, plus thousands of thousands.(I) 12 They said with a loud voice,
Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered
to receive power and riches
and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and blessing!
13 I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth,(J) on the sea, and everything in them say,(K)
Blessing and honor and glory and power
be to the one seated on the throne,
and to the Lamb, forever and ever!
14 The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
The Parable of the Talents
14 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey.(A) He called his own servants and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents,[a] to another two talents, and to another one talent, depending on each one’s ability. Then he went on a journey.(B) Immediately 16 the man who had received five talents went, put them to work, and earned five more. 17 In the same way the man with two earned two more. 18 But the man who had received one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five talents approached, presented five more talents, and said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I’ve earned five more talents.’
21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’(C)
22 “The man with two talents also approached. He said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I’ve earned two more talents.’
23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’
24 “The man who had received one talent also approached and said, ‘Master, I know you. You’re a harsh man, reaping where you haven’t sown and gathering where you haven’t scattered seed.(D) 25 So I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’
26 “His master replied to him, ‘You evil, lazy servant!(E) If you knew that I reap where I haven’t sown and gather where I haven’t scattered, 27 then[b] you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and I would have received my money[c] back with interest when I returned.
28 “‘So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.(F) 30 And throw this good-for-nothing servant into the outer darkness,(G) where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
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