Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 40
Thanksgiving for Deliverance and Prayer for Help
To the leader. Of David. A Psalm.
1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.(A)
2 He drew me up from the desolate pit,[a]
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.(B)
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the Lord.(C)
4 Happy are those who make
the Lord their trust,
who do not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after false gods.(D)
5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you.
Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
they would be more than can be counted.(E)
6 Sacrifice and offering you do not desire,
but you have given me an open ear.[b]
Burnt offering and sin offering
you have not required.(F)
7 Then I said, “Here I am;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me.[c]
8 I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”(G)
9 I have told the glad news of deliverance
in the great congregation;
see, I have not restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.(H)
10 I have not hidden your saving help within my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
from the great congregation.(I)
11 Do not, O Lord, withhold
your mercy from me;
let your steadfast love and your faithfulness
keep me safe forever.(J)
12 For evils have encompassed me
without number;
my iniquities have overtaken me
until I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails me.(K)
Psalm 54
Prayer for Vindication
To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David, when the Ziphites went and told Saul, “David is in hiding among us.”
1 Save me, O God, by your name,
and vindicate me by your might.(A)
2 Hear my prayer, O God;
give ear to the words of my mouth.(B)
3 For the insolent have risen against me;
the ruthless seek my life;
they do not set God before them. Selah(C)
Psalm 51
Prayer for Cleansing and Pardon
To the leader. A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy,
blot out my transgressions.(A)
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.(B)
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.(C)
4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgment.(D)
5 Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.(E)
6 You desire truth in the inward being;[a]
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.(F)
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.(G)
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.(H)
9 Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.(I)
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right[b] spirit within me.(J)
11 Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.(K)
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing[c] spirit.(L)
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.(M)
14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.(N)
Punishment for Rejecting God’s Demands
8 The word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying: 9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another;(A) 10 do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.(B) 11 But they refused to listen and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears in order not to hear.(C) 12 They made their hearts adamant in order not to hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from the Lord of hosts.(D) 13 Just as, when I[a] called, they would not hear, so, when they called, I would not hear, says the Lord of hosts,(E) 14 and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and a pleasant land was made desolate.”(F)
God’s Promises to Zion
8 The word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying: 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am zealous for Zion with great zeal, and I am zealous for her with great wrath.(G) 3 Thus says the Lord: I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts shall be called the holy mountain.(H) 4 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of their great age.(I) 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.(J) 6 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Even though it seems impossible to the remnant of this people in these days, should it also seem impossible to me, says the Lord of hosts?(K) 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: I will save my people from the east country and from the west country,(L) 8 and I will bring them to live in Jerusalem. They shall be my people and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.”(M)
6 Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, with seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.(A) 7 He went and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne. 8 When he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.(B) 9 They sing a new song:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to break its seals,
for you were slaughtered and by your blood you ransomed for God
saints from[a] every tribe and language and people and nation;(C)
10 you have made them a kingdom and priests serving[b] our God,
and they will reign[c] on earth.”(D)
11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands,(E) 12 singing with full voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”
13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that is in them, singing,
“To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might
forever and ever!”(F)
14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the elders fell down and worshiped.
The Parable of the Talents
14 “For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them;(A) 15 to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. At once(B) 16 the one who had received the five talents went off and traded with them and made five more talents. 17 In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18 But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.(C) 20 Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’(D) 22 And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter,(E) 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I did not scatter? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest.(F) 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29 For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.(G) 30 As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’(H)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.