Book of Common Prayer
Jehovah the psalmist’s portion in life and deliverer in death.
Michtam of David.
16 Preserve me, O God; for in thee do I take refuge.
2 O my soul, thou hast said unto Jehovah, Thou art [a]my Lord:
I have no good beyond thee.
3 [b]As for the saints that are in the earth,
[c]They are the excellent in whom is all my delight.
4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied that give gifts for another god:
Their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer,
Nor take their names upon my lips.
5 Jehovah is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup:
Thou maintainest my lot.
6 The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places;
Yea, I have a goodly heritage.
7 I will bless Jehovah, who hath given me counsel;
Yea, my [d]heart instructeth me in the night seasons.
8 I have set Jehovah always before me:
Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth:
My flesh also shall dwell [e]in safety.
10 For thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol;
Neither wilt thou suffer thy [f]holy one to see [g]corruption.
11 Thou wilt show me the path of life:
In thy presence is fulness of joy;
In thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Prayer for protection against oppressors.
A Prayer of David.
17 Hear the right, O Jehovah, attend unto my cry;
Give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.
2 Let my sentence come forth from thy presence;
[h]Let thine eyes look upon equity.
3 Thou hast proved my heart; thou hast visited me in the night;
Thou hast tried me, and [i]findest nothing;
I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
4 As for the works of men, by the word of thy lips
I have kept me from the ways of the violent.
5 My steps have held fast to thy paths,
My feet have not slipped.
6 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt answer me, O God:
Incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.
7 Show thy marvellous lovingkindness,
O thou that savest [j]by thy right hand them that take refuge in thee
From those that rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the apple of the eye;
Hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
9 From the wicked that oppress me,
My deadly enemies, that compass me about.
10 [k]They are inclosed in their own fat:
With their mouth they speak proudly.
11 They have now compassed us in our steps;
They set their eyes to cast us down to the earth.
12 He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey,
And as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
13 Arise, O Jehovah,
[l]Confront him, cast him down:
Deliver my soul from [m]the wicked by thy sword;
14 From [n]men by thy hand, O Jehovah,
From men [o]of the world, whose portion is in this life,
And whose belly thou fillest with thy treasure:
They are satisfied with children,
And leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
15 As for me, [p]I shall behold thy face in righteousness;
[q]I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with beholding thy form.
Greetings of night-watchers.
A Song of Ascents.
134 Behold, bless ye Jehovah, all ye servants of Jehovah,
That by night stand in the house of Jehovah.
2 Lift up your hands [a]to the sanctuary,
And bless ye Jehovah.
3 Jehovah bless thee out of Zion;
Even he that made heaven and earth.
Praise for Jehovah’s wonderful works. Vanity of idols.
[b]135 Praise ye Jehovah.
Praise ye the name of Jehovah;
Praise him, O ye servants of Jehovah,
2 Ye that stand in the house of Jehovah,
In the courts of the house of our God.
3 Praise ye Jehovah; for Jehovah is good:
Sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.
4 For [c]Jehovah hath chosen Jacob unto himself,
And Israel for his own possession.
5 For I know that Jehovah is great,
And that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatsoever Jehovah pleased, that hath he done,
In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps;
7 Who causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
Who maketh lightnings for the rain;
Who bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries;
8 Who smote the first-born of Egypt,
Both of man and beast;
9 Who sent signs and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt,
Upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants;
10 Who smote many [d]nations,
And slew mighty kings,
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
And Og king of Bashan,
And all the kingdoms of Canaan,
12 And gave their land for a heritage,
A heritage unto Israel his people.
13 Thy name, O Jehovah, endureth for ever;
Thy memorial name, O Jehovah, throughout all generations.
14 For Jehovah will judge his people,
And repent himself concerning his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
16 They have mouths, but they speak not;
Eyes have they, but they see not;
17 They have ears, but they hear not;
Neither is there any breath in their mouths.
18 They that make them shall be like unto them;
Yea, every one that trusteth in them.
19 O house of Israel, bless ye Jehovah:
O house of Aaron, bless ye Jehovah:
20 O house of Levi, bless ye Jehovah:
Ye that fear Jehovah, bless ye Jehovah.
21 Blessed be Jehovah out of Zion,
Who dwelleth at Jerusalem.
[e]Praise ye Jehovah.
3 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, the [a]judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the [b]sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3 Then the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, the [c]judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the [d]sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 Then the herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 5 that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, [e]dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up; 6 and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 7 Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
8 Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and brought accusation against the Jews. 9 They answered and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king, O king, live for ever. 10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image; 11 and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said unto them, Is it of purpose, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that ye serve not my god, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? 15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made, well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that god that shall deliver you out of my hands? 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, [f]we have no need to answer thee in this matter. 17 [g]If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
3 Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. For this cause the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2 Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if [a]he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is. 3 And every one that hath this hope set on him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. 4 Every one that doeth sin doeth also lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. 5 And ye know that he was manifested to [b]take away sins; and in him is no sin. 6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither [c]knoweth him. 7 My little children, let no man lead you astray: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous: 8 he that doeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. To this end was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whosoever is begotten of God doeth no sin, because his seed abideth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is begotten of God. 10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
15 And as the people were in expectation, and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether haply he were the Christ; 16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but there cometh he that is mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not [a]worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you [b]in the Holy Spirit and in fire: 17 whose fan is in his hand, thoroughly to cleanse his threshing-floor, and to gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.
18 With many other exhortations therefore preached he [c]good tidings unto the people; 19 but Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things which Herod had done, 20 added this also to them all, that he shut up John in prison.
21 Now it came to pass, when all the people were baptized, that, Jesus also having been baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form, as a dove, upon him, and a voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
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