Book of Common Prayer
The Assurance of God’s Saving Work
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
20 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble;
May the name of the God of Jacob [a]defend you;
2 May He send you help from the sanctuary,
And strengthen you out of Zion;
3 May He remember all your offerings,
And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah
4 May He grant you according to your heart’s desire,
And (A)fulfill all your [b]purpose.
5 We will rejoice in your salvation,
And in the name of our God we will set up our banners!
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.
6 Now I know that the Lord saves His [c]anointed;
He will answer him from His holy heaven
With the saving strength of His right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots, and some in (B)horses;
But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
8 They have bowed down and fallen;
But we have risen and stand upright.
9 Save, Lord!
May the King answer us when we call.
Joy in the Salvation of the Lord
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
21 The king shall have joy in Your strength, O Lord;
And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
2 You have given him his heart’s desire,
And have not withheld the (C)request of his lips. Selah
3 For You meet him with the blessings of goodness;
You set a crown of pure gold upon his head.
4 (D)He asked life from You, and You gave it to him—
Length of days forever and ever.
5 His glory is great in Your salvation;
Honor and majesty You have placed upon him.
6 For You have made him most blessed forever;
(E)You have made him [d]exceedingly glad with Your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord,
And through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be [e]moved.
8 Your hand will find all Your enemies;
Your right hand will find those who hate You.
9 You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger;
The Lord shall swallow them up in His wrath,
And the fire shall devour them.
10 Their offspring You shall destroy from the earth,
And their [f]descendants from among the sons of men.
11 For they intended evil against You;
They devised a plot which they are not able to (F)perform.
12 Therefore You will make them turn their back;
You will make ready Your arrows on Your string toward their faces.
13 Be exalted, O Lord, in Your own strength!
We will sing and praise Your power.
Announcement of the Messiah’s Reign(A)
A Psalm of David.
110 The (B)Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your (C)footstool.”
2 The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength (D)out of Zion.
(E)Rule in the midst of Your enemies!
3 (F)Your people shall be volunteers
In the day of Your power;
(G)In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning,
You have the dew of Your youth.
4 The Lord has sworn
And (H)will not relent,
“You are a (I)priest forever
According to the order of (J)Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is (K)at Your right hand;
He shall [a]execute kings (L)in the day of His wrath.
6 He shall judge among the nations,
He shall fill the places with dead bodies,
(M)He shall [b]execute the heads of many countries.
7 He shall drink of the brook by the wayside;
(N)Therefore He shall lift up the head.
Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death
116 I (A)love the Lord, because He has heard
My voice and my supplications.
2 Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
3 (B)The [a]pains of death surrounded me,
And the [b]pangs of Sheol [c]laid hold of me;
I found trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called upon the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!”
5 (C)Gracious is the Lord, and (D)righteous;
Yes, our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserves the simple;
I was brought low, and He saved me.
7 Return to your (E)rest, O my soul,
For (F)the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
8 (G)For You have delivered my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
And my feet from falling.
9 I will walk before the Lord
(H)In the land of the living.
10 (I)I believed, therefore I spoke,
“I am greatly afflicted.”
11 (J)I said in my haste,
(K)“All men are liars.”
12 What shall I render to the Lord
For all His benefits toward me?
13 I will take up the cup of salvation,
And call upon the name of the Lord.
14 (L)I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people.
15 (M)Precious in the sight of the Lord
Is the death of His saints.
16 O Lord, truly (N)I am Your servant;
I am Your servant, (O)the son of Your maidservant;
You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to You (P)the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And will call upon the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people,
19 In the (Q)courts of the Lord’s house,
In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
[d]Praise the Lord!
Let All Peoples Praise the Lord
117 Praise (R)the Lord, all you Gentiles!
[e]Laud Him, all you peoples!
2 For His merciful kindness is great toward us,
And (S)the truth of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!
Water from the Rock(A)
17 Then (B)all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the Wilderness of (C)Sin, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to (D)drink. 2 (E)Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give us water, that we may drink.”
So Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you (F)tempt the Lord?”
3 And the people thirsted there for water, and the people (G)complained against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our (H)livestock with thirst?”
4 So Moses (I)cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to (J)stone[a] me!”
5 And the Lord said to Moses, (K)“Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which (L)you struck the river, and go. 6 (M)Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.”
And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 So he called the name of the place (N)Massah[b] and [c]Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they [d]tempted the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Victory over the Amalekites(O)
8 (P)Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9 And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with (Q)the rod of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 And so it was, when Moses (R)held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands became [e]heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, (S)“Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that (T)I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called its name, [f]The-Lord-Is-My-Banner; 16 for he said, “Because [g]the Lord has (U)sworn: the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
Serving for God’s Glory
7 But (A)the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. 8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for (B)“love will cover a multitude of sins.” 9 (C)Be hospitable to one another (D)without grumbling. 10 (E)As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, (F)as good stewards of (G)the manifold grace of God. 11 (H)If anyone speaks, let him speak as the [a]oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that (I)in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the [b]dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Suffering for God’s Glory
12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice (J)to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that (K)when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 14 If you are [c]reproached for the name of Christ, (L)blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. [d]On their part He is blasphemed, (M)but on your part He is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a [e]busybody in other people’s matters. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this [f]matter.
17 For the time has come (N)for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, (O)what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 Now
(P)“If the righteous one is scarcely saved,
Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”
19 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God (Q)commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.
Sorrow Will Turn to Joy
16 “A (A)little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, (B)because I go to the Father.”
17 Then some of His disciples said among themselves, “What is this that He says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’?” 18 They said therefore, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not [a]know what He is saying.”
19 Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’? 20 Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and (C)lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into (D)joy. 21 (E)A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and (F)your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.
23 “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. (G)Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, (H)that your joy may be (I)full.
Jesus Christ Has Overcome the World
25 “These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you (J)plainly about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; 27 (K)for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and (L)have believed that I came forth from God. 28 (M)I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.”
29 His disciples said to Him, “See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech! 30 Now we are sure that (N)You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this (O)we believe that You came forth from God.”
31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 (P)Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, (Q)each to his [b]own, and will leave Me alone. And (R)yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. 33 These things I have spoken to you, that (S)in Me you may have peace. (T)In the world you [c]will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, (U)I have overcome the world.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.