Book of Common Prayer
God Implored to Confound His Enemies.
A Song, a Psalm of Asaph.
83 O God, (A)do not remain quiet;
(B)Do not be silent and, O God, do not be still.
2 For behold, Your enemies (C)make an uproar,
And (D)those who hate You have [a](E)exalted themselves.
3 They (F)make shrewd plans against Your people,
And [b]conspire together against (G)Your [c]treasured ones.
4 They have said, “Come, and (H)let us wipe them out [d]as a nation,
That the (I)name of Israel be remembered no more.”
5 For they have [e](J)conspired together with one mind;
Against You they make a covenant:
6 The tents of (K)Edom and the (L)Ishmaelites,
(M)Moab and the (N)Hagrites;
7 (O)Gebal and (P)Ammon and (Q)Amalek,
(R)Philistia with the inhabitants of (S)Tyre;
8 (T)Assyria also has joined with them;
They have become [f]a help to the (U)children of Lot. [g]Selah.
9 Deal with them (V)as with Midian,
As (W)with Sisera and Jabin at the torrent of Kishon,
10 Who were destroyed at En-dor,
Who (X)became as dung for the ground.
11 Make their nobles like (Y)Oreb and Zeeb
And all their princes like (Z)Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 Who said, “(AA)Let us possess for ourselves
The (AB)pastures of God.”
13 O my God, make them like the [h](AC)whirling dust,
Like (AD)chaff before the wind.
14 Like (AE)fire that burns the forest
And like a flame that (AF)sets the mountains on fire,
15 So pursue them (AG)with Your tempest
And terrify them with Your storm.
16 (AH)Fill their faces with dishonor,
That they may seek Your name, O Lord.
17 Let them be (AI)ashamed and dismayed forever,
And let them be humiliated and perish,
18 That they may (AJ)know that (AK)You alone, whose name is the Lord,
Are the (AL)Most High over all the earth.
The Lord an Abundant Helper.
146 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
(A)Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord (B)while I live;
I will (C)sing praises to my God while I have my being.
3 (D)Do not trust in princes,
In [c]mortal (E)man, in whom there is (F)no salvation.
4 His (G)spirit departs, he (H)returns to [d]the earth;
In that very day his (I)thoughts perish.
5 How (J)blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
Whose (K)hope is in the Lord his God,
6 Who (L)made heaven and earth,
The (M)sea and all that is in them;
Who (N)keeps [e]faith forever;
7 Who (O)executes justice for the oppressed;
Who (P)gives food to the hungry.
The Lord (Q)sets the prisoners free.
8 The Lord (R)opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord (S)raises up those who are bowed down;
The Lord (T)loves the righteous;
9 The Lord [f](U)protects the [g]strangers;
He [h](V)supports the fatherless and the widow,
But He [i]thwarts (W)the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will (X)reign forever,
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
[j]Praise [k]the Lord!
Praise for Jerusalem’s Restoration and Prosperity.
147 [l]Praise [m]the Lord!
For (Y)it is good to sing praises to our God;
For [n]it is pleasant and praise is (Z)becoming.
2 The Lord (AA)builds up Jerusalem;
He (AB)gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals the (AC)brokenhearted
And (AD)binds up their [o]wounds.
4 He (AE)counts the number of the stars;
He [p](AF)gives names to all of them.
5 (AG)Great is our Lord and abundant in strength;
His (AH)understanding is [q]infinite.
6 The Lord [r](AI)supports the afflicted;
He brings down the wicked to the ground.
7 (AJ)Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises to our God on the lyre,
8 Who (AK)covers the heavens with clouds,
Who (AL)provides rain for the earth,
Who (AM)makes grass to [s]grow on the mountains.
9 He (AN)gives to the beast its food,
And to the (AO)young ravens which cry.
10 He does not delight in the strength of the (AP)horse;
He (AQ)does not take pleasure in the legs of a man.
11 The Lord (AR)favors those who fear Him,
(AS)Those who wait for His lovingkindness.
12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For He has strengthened the (AT)bars of your gates;
He has (AU)blessed your sons within you.
14 He (AV)makes [t]peace in your borders;
He (AW)satisfies you with (AX)the [u]finest of the wheat.
15 He sends forth His (AY)command to the earth;
His (AZ)word runs very swiftly.
16 He gives (BA)snow like wool;
He scatters the (BB)frost like ashes.
17 He casts forth His (BC)ice as fragments;
Who can stand before His (BD)cold?
18 He (BE)sends forth His word and melts them;
He (BF)causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow.
19 He (BG)declares His words to Jacob,
His (BH)statutes and His ordinances to Israel.
20 He (BI)has not dealt thus with any nation;
And as for His ordinances, they have (BJ)not known them.
[v]Praise [w]the Lord!
Prayer for God’s Mercy upon the Nation.
For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
85 O Lord, You showed (A)favor to Your land;
You [a](B)restored the captivity of Jacob.
2 You (C)forgave the iniquity of Your people;
You (D)covered all their sin. [b]Selah.
3 You (E)withdrew all Your fury;
You (F)turned away from Your burning anger.
4 (G)Restore us, O God of our salvation,
And (H)cause Your indignation toward us to cease.
5 Will (I)You be angry with us forever?
Will You prolong Your anger to [c]all generations?
6 Will You not Yourself [d](J)revive us again,
That Your people may (K)rejoice in You?
7 Show us Your lovingkindness, O Lord,
And (L)grant us Your salvation.
8 [e]I will hear what God the Lord will say;
For He will (M)speak peace to His people, [f]to His godly ones;
But let them not (N)turn back to [g]folly.
9 Surely (O)His salvation is near to those who [h]fear Him,
That (P)glory may dwell in our land.
10 (Q)Lovingkindness and [i]truth have met together;
(R)Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11 [j]Truth (S)springs from the earth,
And righteousness looks down from heaven.
12 Indeed, (T)the Lord will give what is good,
And our (U)land will yield its produce.
13 (V)Righteousness will go before Him
And will make His footsteps into a way.
A Psalm of Supplication and Trust.
A Prayer of David.
86 (W)Incline Your ear, O Lord, and answer me;
For I am (X)afflicted and needy.
2 (Y)Preserve my [k]soul, for I am a (Z)godly man;
O You my God, save Your servant who (AA)trusts in You.
3 Be (AB)gracious to me, O Lord,
For (AC)to You I cry all day long.
4 Make glad the soul of Your servant,
For to You, O Lord, (AD)I lift up my soul.
5 For You, Lord, are (AE)good, and (AF)ready to forgive,
And (AG)abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.
6 (AH)Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
And give heed to the voice of my supplications!
7 In (AI)the day of my trouble I shall call upon You,
For (AJ)You will answer me.
8 There is (AK)no one like You among the gods, O Lord,
Nor are there any works (AL)like Yours.
9 (AM)All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
And they shall glorify Your name.
10 For You are (AN)great and (AO)do [l]wondrous deeds;
You alone (AP)are God.
11 (AQ)Teach me Your way, O Lord;
I will walk in Your truth;
(AR)Unite my heart to fear Your name.
12 I will (AS)give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,
And will glorify Your name forever.
13 For Your lovingkindness toward me is great,
And You have (AT)delivered my soul from the [m]depths of [n]Sheol.
14 O God, arrogant men have (AU)risen up against me,
And [o]a band of violent men have sought my [p]life,
And they have not set You before them.
15 But You, O Lord, are a God (AV)merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and [q]truth.
16 (AW)Turn to me, and be gracious to me;
Oh (AX)grant Your strength to Your servant,
And save the (AY)son of Your handmaid.
17 (AZ)Show me a sign for good,
That those who hate me may (BA)see it and be ashamed,
Because You, O Lord, (BB)have helped me and comforted me.
The Stolen Blessing
30 Now it came about, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had hardly gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 Then he also made savory food, and brought it to his father; and he said to his father, “(A)Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that [a](B)you may bless me.” 32 Isaac his father said to him, “(C)Who are you?” And he said, “I am your son, (D)your firstborn, Esau.” 33 Then Isaac [b]trembled violently, and said, “(E)Who was he then that hunted game and brought it to me, so that I ate of all of it before you came, and blessed him? (F)Yes, and he shall be blessed.” 34 When Esau heard the words of his father, (G)he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” 35 And he said, “(H)Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing.” 36 Then he said, “[c]Is he not rightly named (I)Jacob, for he has supplanted me these two times? He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 37 But Isaac replied to Esau, “Behold, I have made him (J)your master, and all his [d]relatives I have given to him [e]as servants; and with grain and new wine I have sustained him. Now as for you then, what can I do, my son?” 38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” So Esau lifted his voice and (K)wept.
39 Then (L)Isaac his father answered and said to him,
“Behold, [f](M)away from the [g]fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling,
And [h]away from the dew of heaven from above.
40 “By your sword you shall live,
And your brother (N)you shall serve;
But it shall come about (O)when you become restless,
That you will [i]break his yoke from your neck.”
41 So Esau (P)bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said [j]to himself, “(Q)The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42 Now when the words of her elder son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she sent and called her younger son Jacob, and said to him, “Behold your brother Esau is consoling himself concerning you by planning to kill you. 43 Now therefore, my son, (R)obey my voice, and arise, [k]flee to (S)Haran, to my brother (T)Laban! 44 Stay with him (U)a few days, until your brother’s fury [l]subsides, 45 until your brother’s anger [m]against you subsides and he forgets (V)what you did to him. Then I will send and get you from there. Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?”
9 Let (A)love be without hypocrisy. (B)Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be (C)devoted to one another in brotherly love; [a]give preference to one another (D)in honor; 11 not lagging behind in diligence, (E)fervent in spirit, (F)serving the Lord; 12 (G)rejoicing in hope, (H)persevering in tribulation, (I)devoted to prayer, 13 (J)contributing to the needs of the [b]saints, [c](K)practicing hospitality.
14 (L)Bless those who persecute [d]you; bless and do not curse. 15 (M)Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 (N)Be of the same mind toward one another; (O)do not be haughty in mind, but [e]associate with the lowly. (P)Do not be wise in your own estimation. 17 (Q)Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. [f](R)Respect what is right in the sight of all men. 18 If possible, (S)so far as it depends on you, (T)be at peace with all men. 19 (U)Never take your own revenge, beloved, but [g]leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “(V)Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 “(W)But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
21 Then He said again to them, “I go away, and (A)you will seek Me, and (B)will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So (C)the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘(D)Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 And He was saying to them, “(E)You are from below, I am from above; (F)you are of this world, (G)I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you (H)will die in your sins; for unless you believe that [a](I)I am He, (J)you will die in your sins.” 25 So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “[b]What have I been saying to you from the beginning? 26 I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but (K)He who sent Me is true; and (L)the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.” 27 They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you (M)lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that [c](N)I am He, and (O)I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me; (P)He [d]has not left Me alone, for (Q)I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” 30 As He spoke these things, (R)many came to believe in Him.
The Truth Will Make You Free
31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “(S)If you continue in My word, then you are truly (T)disciples of Mine; 32 and (U)you will know the truth, and (V)the truth will make you free.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.