Book of Common Prayer
To the Overcomer upon Shoshannim, {lilies} A testimony of Asaph: A Psalm.
1 ¶ Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth.
2 In the presence of Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength and come and save us.
3 Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
4 O LORD God of the hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?
5 Thou dost feed them with the bread of tears and give them tears to drink in great measure.
6 Thou dost make us a strife unto our neighbours, and our enemies laugh at us among themselves.
7 Turn us again, O God of the hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
8 ¶ Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt; thou hast cast out the Gentiles and planted it.
9 Thou didst prepare room before it and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the earth.
10 The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and its boughs were like the cedars of God.
11 She sent out her boughs unto the sea and her branches unto the river.
12 Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all those who pass by the way pluck her?
13 The boar out of the wood wastes it, and the wild beast of the field devours it.
14 Return, we beseech thee, O God of the hosts: look down from heaven and behold and visit this vine
15 and the vineyard which thy right hand has planted and the branch that thou didst make strong for thyself.
16 It is burned with fire; it is cut down; they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.
17 Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou didst make strong for thyself,
18 so we will not go back from thee. Thou shalt quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.
19 Turn us again, O LORD God of the hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
16 ¶ And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill thy horn with oil and go; I will send thee to Jesse of Bethlehem for I have provided me a king among his sons.
2 And Samuel said, How can I go? If Saul understands it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take a heifer with thee and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD.
3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show thee what thou shalt do, and thou shalt anoint unto me the one whom I name unto thee.
4 And Samuel did as the LORD said and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming and said, Comest thou peaceably?
5 And he said, Peaceably; I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and called them to the sacrifice.
6 ¶ And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab and said, Peradventure is the LORD’s anointed before him?
7 And the LORD replied unto Samuel, Do not look on his countenance or on the height of his stature because I have refused him, for it is not as man sees, for man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither has the LORD chosen this one.
9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither has the LORD chosen this one.
10 Again, Jesse made his seven sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD has not chosen these.
11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are all thy young men here? And he said, There remains yet the youngest, and, behold, he keeps the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send for him, for we will not sit down to the table until he comes here.
12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and of a beautiful countenance and handsome. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him, for this is he.
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him from among his brethren; and the Spirit of the LORD prospered David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
18 ¶ Little children, it is the last hour, and as ye have heard that the antichrist comes, likewise there are also beginning to be many antichrists, by which we know that it is the last time.
19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us; but this happened that it might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
20 ¶ But ye have the anointing of the Holy One, and ye know all things.
21 I have not written unto you as if ye ignore the truth, but as unto those that know it, and that no lie is of the truth.
22 Who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ? This same is antichrist, who denies the Father and the Son.
23 Whosoever denies the Son, the same does not have the Father. Whosoever confesses the Son, has the Father also.
24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. For if that which ye have heard from the beginning shall abide in you, ye also shall continue to abide in the Son and in the Father.
25 And this is the promise that he has promised us, even eternal life.
1 ¶ Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous, for to the upright praise is beautiful.
2 Celebrate unto the LORD with harp; sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
3 Sing unto him a new song; play unto excellence with joy.
4 For the word of the LORD is right, and all his works are done in truth.
5 He loves righteousness and judgment; the earth is full of the mercy of the LORD.
6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; he lays up the deeps for treasures.
8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
9 For he spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and it came into being.
10 The LORD brings the counsel of the Gentiles to nought; he makes the devices of the peoples of no effect.
11 The counsel of the LORD stands for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
12 ¶ Blessed is the people whose God is the LORD; the people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance.
13 The LORD looked from heaven; he saw all the sons of Adam.
14 From the place of his habitation he looked upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
15 He fashioned all of their hearts; he considers all their works.
16 The king is not saved by the multitude of the army; the mighty man does not escape by much strength.
17 A horse is a vain thing for salvation; neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon those that fear him, upon those that wait for his mercy
19 to deliver their souls from death and to keep them alive in the famine.
20 Our soul waited for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.
21 Therefore our heart shall rejoice in him because we have trusted in the name of his holiness.
22 Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we have waited upon thee.
17 ¶ And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the congregation. {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones}
18 And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons,
19 serving the Lord with all humility and with many tears and temptations, which have befallen me by the ambushes of the Jews,
20 and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house,
21 testifying both to the Jews and also to the Gentiles, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
22 And now, behold, I go bound of the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there,
23 except that the Holy Spirit witnesses in every city, saying that prisons and tribulations await me.
24 But none of these things move me, neither do I count my life dear unto myself, only that I might finish my course with joy and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
25 And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.
26 Therefore I take you to record this day that I am pure from the blood of everyone.
27 For I have not refrained from declaring unto you the full counsel of God.
28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as bishops to feed the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} of God, which he has purchased with his own blood.
29 For I know this, that after my departing, grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
30 Also from among your own selves, men shall arise, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after themselves.
31 Therefore watch and remember that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is powerful to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
33 I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel.
34 Moreover, ye yourselves know that these hands have ministered unto my necessities and to those that were with me.
35 I have showed you in all things how that so labouring, ye ought to support the weak and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
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