Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 83
Surrounded by Enemies
Heading
A song. A psalm by Asaph.
Opening Plea
1 God, do not keep silent.
Do not be deaf. Do not be quiet, God.
A Catalog of Enemies
2 Look! Your enemies are in an uproar,
and those who hate you have raised their head.
3 Against your people they devise deceptive schemes,
and they plot together against the people you treasure.
4 They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation,
so the name of Israel will not be remembered anymore.”
5 Indeed, with one mind they plot together.
They form an alliance against you—
6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
7 Gebal[a] and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia, with the inhabitants of Tyre.
8 Even Ashshur has joined with them. Interlude
They have become the arm of the sons of Lot.[b]
Prayer for Destruction of the Enemies
9 Do to them as you did to Midian,
as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the stream Kishon.
10 They perished at Endor.
They became like manure for the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and like Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 who said, “Let us take possession of God’s pastures for ourselves.”
13 My God, make them like tumbleweed,
like chaff before the wind.
14 As fire burns the forest,
or as a flame sets the mountains on fire,
15 so pursue them with your violent wind,
and terrify them with your storm.
16 Fill their faces with shame
so that they will seek your name, O Lord.
17 May they be ashamed and terrified forever.
May they be disgraced and perish.
18 Let them know that you, whose name is the Lord,
you alone are the Most High over all the earth.
Psalm 23
The King of Love My Shepherd Is
Heading
A psalm by David.
The Shepherd Provides for His People
1 The Lord is my shepherd.
I lack nothing.
2 He causes me to lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside quiet waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
The Shepherd Protects His People
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
The Royal Host Provides for His People
Psalm 27
The Stronghold of My Life
Heading
By David.
Safe in God’s Stronghold
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers advance against me to eat my flesh,
when my foes and my enemies come against me,
it is they who will stumble and fall.
3 If an army lines up against me, my heart will not fear.
If war rises against me, even then I will keep trusting.
Happy in God’s Temple
4 One thing I ask from the Lord. This is what I seek:
that I live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord,
and to seek him in his temple.[a]
5 Yes, he will hide me in his shelter on the day of trouble.
He will hide me in his tent.
He will set me high on a rock.
6 Then my head will be lifted up above the enemies who surround me.
I will offer sacrifices at his tent with a joyful shout.
I will sing and make music to the Lord.
Confident in Prayer
7 Hear me, O Lord. With my voice I call.
Be merciful to me and answer me.
8 When you say, “Seek my face,” my heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
9 Do not hide your face from me.
Do not turn your servant away in anger.
You have been my help.
Do not reject me or forsake me, O God who saves me.
10 If my father and my mother abandoned me,
the Lord would take me in.
Walking in God’s Path
11 Lord, teach me your way,
and lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.
12 Do not give me up to the desire of my foes,
because false witnesses rise up against me,
and so do those who breathe out violence.
At Home in God’s Land
13 Unless I was confident to see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living—[b]
14 Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart,
and wait for the Lord!
Psalm 85
You Showed Favor to Your Land
Heading
For the choir director. By the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
Past Goodness
1 You showed favor to your land, O Lord.
You restored Jacob.
2 You removed the guilt of your people. Interlude
You covered all their sin.
3 You put away all your wrath.
You turned from your burning anger.
Present Distress
4 Restore us, O God who saves us.
Put an end to your indignation with us.
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you extend your anger through all generations?
6 Will you not turn and revive us,
so that your people may rejoice in you?
Hope for the Future
7 Show us your mercy, O Lord,
and give us your salvation.
8 I will hear what the true God, the Lord, will say.
He indeed speaks peace to his people, to his favored ones,
but do not let them turn to foolish ways.
9 Surely his salvation is near for those who fear him,
so that glory may dwell in our land.
10 Mercy and truth meet together.
Righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Truth springs up from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.
12 The Lord will indeed give good things,
and our land will yield its harvest.
13 Righteousness walks in front of him.
It prepares the way for his footsteps.
Psalm 86
Guard My Life
Heading
A prayer by David.
David’s Need and David’s Faith
1 Turn your ear, O Lord.
Answer me, for I am poor and needy.
2 Guard my life, for I am favored by you.[a]
You are my God.
Save your servant, who trusts in you.
3 Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for I call to you all day long.
4 Bring joy to the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
God’s Grace
5 Indeed, you, Lord, are good and forgiving
and abounding in mercy to all who call to you.
6 Give ear to my prayer, O Lord.
Pay attention to the sound of my cries for mercy.
God’s Ruling Power
7 In the day of my distress I will call to you,
because you will answer me.
8 There is no one like you among the gods, O Lord.
There are no deeds like your deeds.
9 All the nations you have made will come.
They will bow before you, O Lord,
and they will give glory to your name,
10 because you are great and do marvelous deeds.
You alone are God.
God’s Praise
11 Teach me your way, O Lord.
I will walk in your truth.
Give me wholehearted commitment to fear your name.
12 I will thank you, 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 lowest hell.”[b]
The Plea Repeated
14 God, the arrogant rise against me.
A mob of ruthless men seeks my life.
They pay no attention to you.
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in mercy and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and have mercy on me.
Give your strength to your servant.
Save the son of your maidservant.
17 Give a sign of your goodness for me.
Then those who hate me will see it and be put to shame,
because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
The Church’s Victory
19 After these things I heard what seemed to be the loud sound of an immense crowd in heaven, saying:
Alleluia!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
2 for his judgments are true and just,
because he has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality,
and he has avenged his servants’ blood that was shed by her hand.
3 A second time they said, “Alleluia! Her smoke goes up forever and ever.”
4 Then the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures bowed down and worshipped God, who sits on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!”
5 And from the throne came a voice that said, “Praise our God, all you his servants and you who fear him, small and great.”
The Wedding Supper of the Lamb
6 And I heard what seemed to be the roar of a large crowd or the roar of many waters or the sound of loud rumblings of thunder, saying:
Alleluia!
For the Lord our[a] God, the Almighty, reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory,
because the wedding of the Lamb has come.
His bride has made herself ready,
8 and she was given bright, clean, fine linen to wear.
(In fact, the fine linen is the “not guilty” verdicts pronounced on the saints.)
9 The angel said to me, “Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.” He also said to me, “These are the true words of God.” 10 And I bowed down at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers, who have the testimony about Jesus. Worship God. For the testimony about Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
A Sign From Heaven
16 The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and, as a test, they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 But he answered them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather because the sky is red.’ 3 In the morning you say, ‘It will be stormy weather today because the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times! 4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” He left them and went away.
Watch Out for the Teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees
5 When his disciples came to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread along. 6 Jesus said to them, “Watch out and be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
7 They were discussing this among themselves and said, “It is because we did not bring any bread.”
8 Since Jesus knew what they were saying, he said, “You of little faith! Why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you brought no bread? 9 Do you still not understand? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand and how many basketfuls you picked up? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many basketfuls you picked up? 11 How is it that you do not understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
12 Then they understood that he was not warning them about the yeast in bread, but about the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.