Book of Common Prayer
The Blessedness of Answered Prayer
A Psalm. A Song (A)at the dedication of the house of David.
30 I will extol You, O Lord, for You have (B)lifted me up,
And have not let my foes (C)rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried out to You,
And You (D)healed me.
3 O Lord, (E)You brought my soul up from the grave;
You have kept me alive, [a]that I should not go down to the pit.
4 (F)Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His,
And give thanks at the remembrance of [b]His holy name.
5 For (G)His anger is but for a moment,
(H)His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But [c]joy comes in the morning.
6 Now in my prosperity I said,
“I shall never be [d]moved.”
7 Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong;
(I)You hid Your face, and I was troubled.
8 I cried out to You, O Lord;
And to the Lord I made supplication:
9 “What profit is there in my blood,
When I go down to the pit?
(J)Will the dust praise You?
Will it declare Your truth?
10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me;
Lord, be my helper!”
The Joy of Forgiveness
A Psalm of David. A [a]Contemplation.
32 Blessed is he whose (A)transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord (B)does not [b]impute iniquity,
And (C)in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old
Through my groaning all the day long.
4 For day and night Your (D)hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah
5 I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I have not hidden.
(E)I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
6 (F)For this cause everyone who is godly shall (G)pray to You
In a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters
They shall not come near him.
7 (H)You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with (I)songs of deliverance. Selah
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye.
9 Do not be like the (J)horse or like the mule,
Which have no understanding,
Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,
Else they will not come near you.
BOOK TWO
Psalms 42–72
Yearning for God in the Midst of Distresses
To the Chief Musician. A [a]Contemplation of the sons of Korah.
42 As the deer [b]pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
2 (A)My soul thirsts for God, for the (B)living God.
When shall I come and [c]appear before God?
3 (C)My tears have been my food day and night,
While they continually say to me,
(D)“Where is your God?”
4 When I remember these things,
(E)I pour out my soul within me.
For I used to go with the multitude;
(F)I went with them to the house of God,
With the voice of joy and praise,
With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.
5 (G)Why are you [d]cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
(H)Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
[e]For the help of His countenance.
6 [f]O my God, my soul is cast down within me;
Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan,
And from the heights of Hermon,
From [g]the Hill Mizar.
7 Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls;
(I)All Your waves and billows have gone over me.
8 The Lord will (J)command His lovingkindness in the daytime,
And (K)in the night His song shall be with me—
A prayer to the God of my life.
9 I will say to God my Rock,
(L)“Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 As with a [h]breaking of my bones,
My enemies [i]reproach me,
(M)While they say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 (N)Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
The [j]help of my countenance and my God.
Prayer to God in Time of Trouble
43 Vindicate (O)me, O God,
And (P)plead my cause against an ungodly nation;
Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!
2 For You are the God of my strength;
Why do You cast me off?
(Q)Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
Israel Restored to the Land
21 (A)“I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and (B)My hand which I have laid on them. 22 (C)So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward. 23 (D)The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore (E)I hid My face from them. I (F)gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. 24 (G)According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them.” ’
25 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: (H)‘Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the (I)whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name— 26 (J)after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they (K)dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid. 27 (L)When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I (M)am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, 28 (N)then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them [a]captive any longer. 29 (O)And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have (P)poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord God.”
Philippian Generosity
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last (A)your[a] care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, (B)to be content: 12 (C)I know how to [b]be abased, and I know how to [c]abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things (D)through [d]Christ who strengthens me.
14 Nevertheless you have done well that (E)you shared in my distress. 15 Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, (F)no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. 16 For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek (G)the fruit that abounds to your account. 18 Indeed I [e]have all and abound. I am full, having received from (H)Epaphroditus the things sent from you, (I)a sweet-smelling aroma, (J)an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. 19 And my God (K)shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 20 (L)Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Jesus Prays for All Believers
20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who [a]will believe in Me through their word; 21 (A)that they all may be one, as (B)You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the (C)glory which You gave Me I have given them, (D)that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; (E)that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
24 (F)“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; (G)for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father! (H)The world has not known You, but (I)I have known You; and (J)these have known that You sent Me. 26 (K)And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love (L)with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.