Book of Common Prayer
Praise to the Lord and Warning against Unbelief.
95 Come, let’s (A)sing for joy to the Lord,
Let’s shout joyfully to (B)the rock of our salvation.
2 Let’s (C)come before His presence (D)with a song of thanksgiving,
Let’s shout joyfully to Him (E)in songs with instruments.
3 For the Lord is a (F)great God
And a great King (G)above all gods,
4 In whose hand are the (H)depths of the earth,
The peaks of the mountains are also His.
5 [a]The sea is His, for it was He (I)who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let’s (J)worship and bow down,
Let’s (K)kneel before the Lord our (L)Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And (M)we are the people of His [b](N)pasture and the sheep of His hand.
(O)Today, [c]if you will hear His voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts as at [d](P)Meribah,
As on the day of [e](Q)Massah in the wilderness,
9 “When your fathers (R)put Me to the test,
They tested Me, though they had seen My work.
10 For (S)forty years I was disgusted with that generation,
And said they are a people who err in their heart,
And they do not know My ways.
11 Therefore I (T)swore in My anger,
They certainly shall not enter My (U)rest.”
A Cry of Anguish and a Song of Praise.
For the music director; upon [a]Aijeleth Hashshahar. A Psalm of David.
22 (A)My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
(B)Far from my [b]help are the words of my [c](C)groaning.
2 My God, I (D)cry out by day, but You do not answer;
And by night, but [d]I have no rest.
3 Yet (E)You are holy,
You who [e]are enthroned upon (F)the praises of Israel.
4 In You our fathers (G)trusted;
They trusted and You (H)rescued them.
5 To You they cried out and they fled to safety;
(I)In You they trusted and were not [f]disappointed.
6 But I am a (J)worm and not a person,
A (K)disgrace of mankind and (L)despised by the people.
7 All who see me (M)deride me;
They [g]sneer, they (N)shake their heads, saying,
8 “[h]Turn [i]him over to the Lord; (O)let Him save him;
Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”
9 Yet You are He who (P)brought me forth from the womb;
You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.
10 I was cast upon You (Q)from [j]birth;
You have been my God from my mother’s womb.
11 (R)Do not be far from me, for [k]trouble is near;
For there is (S)no one to help.
12 Many (T)bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of (U)Bashan have encircled me.
13 They (V)open their mouths wide at me,
As a ravening and roaring (W)lion.
14 I am (X)poured out like water,
And all my (Y)bones are out of joint;
My (Z)heart is like wax;
It is melted within [l]me.
15 My (AA)strength is dried up like a piece of pottery,
And (AB)my tongue clings to my jaws;
And You (AC)lay me [m]in the dust of death.
16 For (AD)dogs have surrounded me;
[n]A band of evildoers has encompassed me;
[o]They (AE)pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
(AF)They look, they stare at me;
18 They (AG)divide my garments among them,
And they cast lots for my clothing.
19 But You, Lord, (AH)do not be far away;
You who are my help, (AI)hurry to my assistance.
20 Save my [p]soul from (AJ)the sword,
My (AK)only life from the [q]power of the dog.
21 Save me from the (AL)lion’s mouth;
From the horns of the (AM)wild oxen You (AN)answer me.
22 I will (AO)proclaim Your name to my brothers;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 (AP)You who fear the Lord, praise Him;
All you [r]descendants of Jacob, (AQ)glorify Him,
And (AR)stand in awe of Him, all you [s]descendants of Israel.
24 For He has (AS)not despised nor scorned the suffering of the afflicted;
Nor has He (AT)hidden His face from him;
But (AU)when he cried to Him for help, He heard.
25 From You comes (AV)my praise in the great assembly;
I shall (AW)pay my vows before those who fear Him.
26 The [t]afflicted will eat and (AX)be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will (AY)praise the Lord.
May your (AZ)heart live forever!
27 All the (BA)ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the (BB)families of the nations will worship before [u]You.
28 For the (BC)kingdom is the Lord’s
And He (BD)rules over the nations.
29 All the [v](BE)prosperous of the earth will eat and worship,
All those who (BF)go down to the dust will kneel before Him,
Even he who [w](BG)cannot keep his soul alive.
30 A [x](BH)posterity will serve Him;
It will be told of the Lord to (BI)the coming generation.
31 They will come and (BJ)will declare His righteousness
To a people (BK)who will be born, that He has performed it.
An Evening Prayer for Sanctification and Protection.
A Psalm of David.
141 Lord, I call upon You; (A)hurry to me!
(B)Listen to my voice when I call to You!
2 May my prayer be [a]counted as (C)incense before You;
The (D)raising of my hands as the (E)evening offering.
3 Set a (F)guard, Lord, [b]over my mouth;
Keep watch over the (G)door of my lips.
4 (H)Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice deeds [c]of wickedness
With people who (I)do wrong;
And (J)may I not taste their delicacies.
5 May the (K)righteous strike me with mercy and discipline me;
It is (L)oil for the head;
My head shall not refuse it,
For my prayer (M)is still against their evil deeds.
6 Their judges are (N)thrown down by the sides of the rock,
And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7 As when one (O)plows and breaks open the earth,
Our (P)bones have been scattered at the (Q)mouth of [d]Sheol.
Prayer for Help and Guidance.
A Psalm of David.
143 Hear my prayer, Lord,
(A)Listen to my pleadings!
Answer me in Your (B)faithfulness, in Your (C)righteousness!
2 And (D)do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For (E)no person living is righteous in Your sight.
3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life (F)to the ground;
He (G)has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead.
4 Therefore (H)my spirit [a]feels weak within me;
My heart is [b](I)appalled within me.
5 I (J)remember the days of old;
I (K)meditate on all Your accomplishments;
I (L)reflect on the work of Your hands.
6 I (M)spread out my hands to You;
My (N)soul longs for You, like a weary land. Selah
7 (O)Answer me quickly, Lord, my (P)spirit fails;
(Q)Do not hide Your face from me,
Or I will be the same as (R)those who go down to the pit.
8 Let me hear Your (S)faithfulness (T)in the morning,
For I trust (U)in You;
Teach me the (V)way in which I should walk;
For to You I (W)lift up my soul.
9 (X)Save me, Lord, from my enemies;
[c]I take refuge in You.
10 (Y)Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Let (Z)Your good Spirit (AA)lead me on level [d]ground.
11 (AB)For the sake of Your name, Lord, (AC)revive me.
(AD)In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.
12 And in Your faithfulness, [e](AE)destroy my enemies,
And (AF)eliminate all those who attack my soul,
For (AG)I am Your servant.
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “(A)Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews says: “(B)Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. 14 For this time I am going to send all My plagues [a]on you and your servants and your people, so that (C)you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth. 15 For had I now put out My hand and struck you and your people with plague, you would then have been eliminated from the earth. 16 But indeed, (D)for this reason I have allowed you to [b]remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name throughout the earth. 17 Still you exalt yourself against My people [c]by not letting them go.
The Plague of Hail
18 Behold, about this time tomorrow, (E)I will [d]send a very heavy hail, such as has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded [e]until now. 19 So now, send word, bring (F)your livestock and whatever you have in the field to safety. (G)Every person and animal that is found in the field and is not brought home, when the hail comes down on them, will die.”’” 20 (H)Everyone among the servants of Pharaoh who [f]feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring his servants and his livestock into the houses; 21 but everyone who [g]did not pay regard to the word of the Lord [h]left his servants and his livestock in the field.
22 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out with your hand toward the sky, so that [i](I)hail may fall on all the land of Egypt, on every person and animal, and on every plant of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” 23 So Moses reached out with his staff toward the sky, and the Lord [j]sent [k]thunder and (J)hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. 24 So there was hail, and fire flashing intermittently in the midst of the hail, which was very heavy, such as had not occurred in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 (K)The hail struck everything that was in the field through all the land of Egypt, from people to animals; the hail also struck every plant of the field, and shattered every tree of the field. 26 (L)Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, was there no hail.
27 Then Pharaoh [l](M)sent for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “(N)I have sinned this time; the Lord is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones. 28 (O)Plead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s [m]thunder and hail; and (P)I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” 29 Moses said to him, “As soon as I go out of the city, I will (Q)spread out my [n]hands to the Lord; the [o]thunder will cease and there will no longer be hail, so that you may know that (R)the earth is the Lord’s. 30 (S)But as for you and your servants, I know that (T)you do not yet [p]fear [q]the Lord God.” 31 (Now the flax and the (U)barley were [r]ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the spelt were not [s]ruined, for they ripen late.) 33 (V)So Moses left the city from his meeting with Pharaoh, and spread out his [t]hands to the Lord; and the [u]thunder and the hail stopped, and rain [v]no longer poured on the earth. 34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the [w]thunder had stopped, he sinned again and [x]hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 So Pharaoh’s heart was [y]hardened, and he did not let the sons of Israel go, just as the (W)Lord had spoken through Moses.
Paul’s Apostolic Ministry
4 Therefore, since we have this (A)ministry, as we (B)received mercy, we (C)do not lose heart, 2 but we have renounced the (D)things hidden because of shame, not walking in trickery nor (E)distorting the word of God, but by the open proclamation of the truth (F)commending ourselves to every person’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our (G)gospel is (H)veiled, it is veiled [a]to (I)those who are perishing, 4 in whose case (J)the god of (K)this [b]world has (L)blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that [c]they will not see the (M)light of the gospel of the (N)glory of Christ, who is the (O)image of God. 5 For we (P)do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants [d]on account of Jesus. 6 For God, who said, “(Q)Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has (R)shone in our hearts to give the (S)Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in [e](T)earthen containers, so that the extraordinary greatness of (U)the power will be of God and not from ourselves; 8 we are (V)afflicted in every way, but not (W)crushed; (X)perplexed, but not despairing; 9 (Y)persecuted, but not (Z)abandoned; (AA)struck down, but not destroyed; 10 (AB)always carrying around in the body the dying of Jesus, so that (AC)the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who live are constantly being handed over to death because of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal flesh. 12 So death works in us, but life in you.
Jesus’ Sufferings Foretold
32 (A)Now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they (B)were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, 33 saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and (C)the Son of Man will be [a]handed over to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will [b]hand Him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock Him and (D)spit on Him, and flog Him and kill Him; and three days later He will rise from the dead.”
35 [c](E)James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, *came up to [d]Jesus, saying to Him, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” 36 And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” 37 They said to Him, “[e]Grant that we (F)may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.” 38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able (G)to drink the cup that I drink, or (H)to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 They said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink (I)you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. 40 But to sit on My right or on My left is not Mine to give; (J)but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
41 (K)Hearing this, the other ten began to feel indignant with [f]James and John. 42 Calling them to Himself, Jesus *said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them; and their [g]people in high position exercise authority over them. 43 But it is not this way among you; (L)rather, whoever wants to become [h]prominent among you shall be your servant; 44 and whoever wants to be first among you shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man (M)did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His [i]life as a ransom for many.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.