Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 83
A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.
1 Do not keep Your silence, O God;
do not hold Your peace or be still, O God.
2 For, look, Your enemies make an uproar,
and those who hate You have lifted up their heads.
3 They have given crafty counsel against Your people,
and have consulted against Your treasured ones.
4 They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation,
that the name of Israel may be no more remembered.”
5 For they have conspired together;
they make a covenant against You—
6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
even Moab and the Hagrites;
7 Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Assyria also is joined with them,
they are the strength of the descendants of Lot. Selah
9 Do to them as You did to the Midianites,
as to Sisera and Jabin at the river of Kishon,
10 who perished at Endor;
they became as dung for the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb;
yes, all their princes as Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 who said, “Let us take for ourselves
the pastures of God as a possession.”
13 O my God, make them like a tumbleweed,
as stubble before the wind.
14 As fire burns a forest,
and as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15 so pursue them with Your storm,
and make them afraid with Your hurricane.
16 Fill their faces with shame,
that they may seek your name, O Lord.
17 Let them be confounded and troubled forever;
yes, let them be put to shame and perish,
18 that they may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord,
are the Most High over all the earth.
Psalm 34
A Psalm of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he departed.
1 I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise will continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul will make its boast in the Lord;
the humble will hear of it and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and He answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked to Him and became radiant,
and their faces are not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard,
and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord camps around those who fear Him,
and delivers them.
8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints;
for the ones who fear Him will not be in need.
10 The young lions are in want and suffer hunger,
but the ones who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Who is the man who desires life,
and loves a long life in order to see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil,
and your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Turn away from evil, and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and His ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against the ones doing evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to the broken-hearted,
and saves the contrite of spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 A righteous one keeps all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
21 Evil will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord redeems the life of His servants,
and all who take refuge in Him will not be punished.
Psalm 85
For the Music Director. A Psalm of the songs of Korah.
1 Lord, You have been favorable to Your land;
You have brought back the captivity of Jacob.
2 You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people;
You have covered all their sin. Selah
3 You have withdrawn all Your wrath;
You have turned from the fierceness of Your anger.
4 Restore us, O God of our salvation,
and put away Your indignation toward us.
5 Will You be angry with us forever?
Will You draw out Your anger to all generations?
6 Will You not revive us again,
that Your people may rejoice in You?
7 Show us Your mercy, O Lord,
and grant us Your deliverance.
8 I will hear what God the Lord will speak,
for He will speak peace to His people and to His saints,
but let them not turn again to folly.
9 Surely His salvation is near to them who fear Him,
that glory may dwell in our land.
10 Mercy and truth have met together;
righteousness and peace have kissed.
11 Truth springs from the ground,
and righteousness looks down from the sky.
12 Yes, the Lord gives that which is good,
and our land shall yield its increase.
13 Righteousness shall go before Him
and prepare a way for His footsteps.
Psalm 86
A Prayer of David.
1 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
for I am oppressed and needy.
2 Preserve my soul, for I am godly;
You are my God; save Your servant
who trusts in You.
3 Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for to You I cry all day long.
4 Gladden the soul of Your servant,
for to You, O Lord,
I lift my soul.
5 For You, Lord, are good, and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call on You.
6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer,
and attend to my plea for mercy.
7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon You,
for You will answer me.
8 Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord;
neither are there any works like Your works.
9 All nations whom You have made
shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
and shall glorify Your name.
10 For You are great and do wondrous deeds;
You are God alone.
11 Teach me Your way, O Lord,
that I will walk in Your truth;
bind my heart
to fear Your name.
12 I will give You thanks, O Lord my God, with all my heart,
and I will glorify Your name forever.
13 For great is Your mercy toward me,
and You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
14 O God, insolent men have risen against me,
and bands of violent men have sought my life;
they have not set You before them.
15 But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion and gracious,
slow to anger, and abundant in mercy and truth.
16 Turn to me and have mercy on me;
give Your strength to Your servant,
and save the humble son of Your female servant.
17 Show me a sign of Your favor,
that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed
because You, Lord, have helped and comforted me.
God’s Case Against the House of Eli
27 A man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Did I not plainly reveal Myself to the house of your father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house? 28 And choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer upon My altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before Me? And I gave to the house of your father all the offerings made by fire by the children of Israel? 29 Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering, which I have commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?’
30 “Therefore the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I surely said that your house, and the house of your father, should walk before Me forever,’ but now the Lord says, ‘Far be it from Me to do so, for those who honor Me, I will honor, and those that despise Me will be humbled. 31 The days are coming when I will cut off your authority and the strength of your father’s house, so there shall not be an old man in your house. 32 You shall see the distress of My dwelling, despite all the good which will be done for Israel. And there shall not be an elderly man in your house perpetually. 33 Yet the one I do not cut off from My altar will be spared so your eyes will not stop weeping or your soul grieving. All the increase of your house will die in their prime.
34 “ ‘This will be the sign to you which will come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: In one day, they will both die. 35 And I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest; what is in My heart and in My soul he will do it. And I will build him a sure house, and it will walk before My anointed forever. 36 But it will be that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and will say, Please attach me to one of the priestly offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.’ ”
22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth was a man attested to you by God with powerful works and wonders and signs, which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know. 23 You have taken Him, who was handed over to you by the ordained counsel and foreknowledge of God, and by lawless hands have crucified and killed Him, 24 whom God raised up by loosening the pull of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. 25 For David says concerning Him:
‘I foresaw the Lord always before me,
for He is at my right hand,
that I may not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
moreover my flesh will dwell in hope.
27 For You will not abandon my soul to Hades,
nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
28 You have made known to me the ways of life;
You will make me full of joy with Your presence.’[a]
29 “Brothers, I may speak confidently to you concerning the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 But being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of his seed according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 he foresaw this and spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. 32 God raised up this Jesus, of which we all are witnesses. 33 Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this which you now see and hear. 34 For David has not ascended to the heavens, yet he says:
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
35 Until I make Your enemies
Your footstool.” ’[b]
36 “Therefore, let all the house of Israel assuredly know that God has made this Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
The Question About David’s Son(A)
41 Then Jesus said to them, “How do they say that Christ is David’s Son? 42 David himself says in the Book of Psalms,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
43 until I make Your enemies
Your footstool.”[a]’
44 David therefore calls Him ‘Lord.’ How is He then his Son?”
The Denouncing of the Scribes(B)
45 Then as all the people heard, He said to His disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes who desire to walk in long robes and who love greetings in the marketplaces and the prominent seats in the synagogues and the seats of honor at banquets, 47 who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive greater condemnation.”
The Widow’s Offering(C)
21 He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts in the treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow putting in two mites,[b] 3 and He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. 4 For all these out of their abundance have put in their gifts for God. But she out of her poverty has put in all the living she had.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.