Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 85[a]
Prayer for Divine Favor
1 For the leader. A psalm of the Korahites.
I
2 You once favored, Lord, your land,
restored the captives of Jacob.(A)
3 You forgave the guilt of your people,
pardoned all their sins.
Selah
4 You withdrew all your wrath,
turned back from your burning anger.(B)
II
5 Restore us, God of our salvation;
let go of your displeasure with us.(C)
6 Will you be angry with us forever,
prolong your anger for all generations?(D)
7 Certainly you will again restore our life,
that your people may rejoice in you.
8 Show us, Lord, your mercy;
grant us your salvation.
III
9 [b]I will listen for what God, the Lord, has to say;
surely he will speak of peace
To his people and to his faithful.
May they not turn to foolishness!
10 Near indeed is his salvation for those who fear him;
glory will dwell in our land.
11 [c]Love and truth will meet;
justice and peace will kiss.(E)
12 Truth will spring from the earth;
justice will look down from heaven.(F)
13 Yes, the Lord will grant his bounty;
our land will yield its produce.(G)
14 Justice will march before him,
and make a way for his footsteps.
Psalm 86[d]
Prayer in Time of Distress
1 A prayer of David.
I
Incline your ear, Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and oppressed.
2 Preserve my life, for I am devoted;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; 3 be gracious to me, Lord;
to you I call all the day.
4 Gladden the soul of your servant;
to you, Lord, I lift up my soul.(H)
5 Lord, you are good and forgiving,
most merciful to all who call on you.(I)
6 Lord, hear my prayer;
listen to my cry for help.(J)
7 On the day of my distress I call to you,
for you will answer me.
II
8 None among the gods can equal you, O Lord;
nor can their deeds compare to yours.(K)
9 All the nations you have made shall come
to bow before you, Lord,
and give honor to your name.(L)
10 For you are great and do wondrous deeds;
and you alone are God.
III
11 Teach me, Lord, your way
that I may walk in your truth,(M)
single-hearted and revering your name.
12 I will praise you with all my heart,
glorify your name forever, Lord my God.
13 Your mercy to me is great;
you have rescued me from the depths of Sheol.(N)
14 O God, the arrogant have risen against me;
a ruthless band has sought my life;
to you they pay no heed.
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in mercy and truth.(O)
16 Turn to me, be gracious to me;
give your strength to your servant;
save the son of your handmaid.(P)
17 Give me a sign of your favor:
make my enemies see, to their confusion,
that you, Lord, help and comfort me.
Psalm 91[a]
Security Under God’s Protection
I
1 You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High,[b]
who abide in the shade of the Almighty,
2 Say to the Lord, “My refuge and fortress,
my God in whom I trust.”(A)
3 He will rescue you from the fowler’s snare,
from the destroying plague,
4 He will shelter you with his pinions,
and under his wings you may take refuge;(B)
his faithfulness is a protecting shield.
5 You shall not fear the terror of the night
nor the arrow that flies by day,(C)
6 Nor the pestilence that roams in darkness,
nor the plague that ravages at noon.(D)
7 Though a thousand fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
near you it shall not come.
8 You need simply watch;
the punishment of the wicked you will see.(E)
9 Because you have the Lord for your refuge
and have made the Most High your stronghold,
10 No evil shall befall you,
no affliction come near your tent.(F)
11 [c]For he commands his angels with regard to you,(G)
to guard you wherever you go.(H)
12 With their hands they shall support you,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.(I)
13 You can tread upon the asp and the viper,
trample the lion and the dragon.(J)
II
14 Because he clings to me I will deliver him;
because he knows my name I will set him on high.(K)
15 He will call upon me and I will answer;(L)
I will be with him in distress;(M)
I will deliver him and give him honor.
16 With length of days I will satisfy him,
and fill him with my saving power.(N)
Psalm 92[d]
A Hymn of Thanksgiving for God’s Fidelity
1 A psalm. A sabbath song.
I
2 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praise to your name, Most High,(O)
3 To proclaim your love at daybreak,
your faithfulness in the night,
4 With the ten-stringed harp,
with melody upon the lyre.(P)
5 For you make me jubilant, Lord, by your deeds;
at the works of your hands I shout for joy.
II
6 How great are your works, Lord!(Q)
How profound your designs!
7 A senseless person cannot know this;
a fool cannot comprehend.
8 Though the wicked flourish like grass(R)
and all sinners thrive,
They are destined for eternal destruction;
9 but you, Lord, are forever on high.
10 Indeed your enemies, Lord,
indeed your enemies shall perish;
all sinners shall be scattered.(S)
III
11 You have given me the strength of a wild ox;(T)
you have poured rich oil upon me.(U)
12 My eyes look with glee on my wicked enemies;
my ears shall hear what happens to my wicked foes.(V)
13 The just shall flourish like the palm tree,
shall grow like a cedar of Lebanon.(W)
14 [e]Planted in the house of the Lord,
they shall flourish in the courts of our God.
15 They shall bear fruit even in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
16 To proclaim: “The Lord is just;
my rock, in whom there is no wrong.”(X)
Chapter 2
1 And Hannah prayed:[a]
“My heart exults in the Lord,
my horn is exalted by my God.
I have swallowed up my enemies;
I rejoice in your victory.(A)
2 There is no Holy One like the Lord;
there is no Rock like our God.(B)
3 Speak boastfully no longer,
Do not let arrogance issue from your mouths.[b]
For an all-knowing God is the Lord,
a God who weighs actions.(C)
4 “The bows of the mighty are broken,
while the tottering gird on strength.(D)
5 The well-fed hire themselves out for bread,
while the hungry no longer have to toil.
The barren wife bears seven sons,
while the mother of many languishes.(E)
6 “The Lord puts to death and gives life,
casts down to Sheol and brings up again.(F)
7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich,
humbles, and also exalts.
8 He raises the needy from the dust;
from the ash heap lifts up the poor,
To seat them with nobles
and make a glorious throne their heritage.
“For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
and he has set the world upon them.(G)
9 He guards the footsteps of his faithful ones,
but the wicked shall perish in the darkness;
for not by strength does one prevail.
10 The Lord’s foes shall be shattered;
the Most High in heaven thunders;
the Lord judges the ends of the earth.
May he give strength to his king,
and exalt the horn of his anointed!”(H)
Chapter 2[a]
Generosity of God’s Plan.[b] 1 (A)You were dead in your transgressions and sins[c] 2 in which you once lived following the age of this world,[d] following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient.(B) 3 All of us once lived among them in the desires of our flesh, following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest.(C) 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, 5 (D)even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ[e] (by grace you have been saved), 6 raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,(E) 7 that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.(F) 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;(G) 9 it is not from works, so no one may boast.(H) 10 For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.(I)
One in Christ.[f]
22 Many will say to me on that day,(A) ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’(B) 23 Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you.[a] Depart from me, you evildoers.’(C)
The Two Foundations. 24 [b]“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.(D) 25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house.(E) But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. 26 And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”
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