Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 20[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
20 May the Lord answer[b] you[c] when you are in trouble;[d]
may the God of Jacob[e] make you secure.
2 May he send you help from his temple;[f]
from Zion may he give you support.
3 May he take notice of[g] all your offerings;
may he accept[h] your burnt sacrifice. (Selah)
4 May he grant your heart’s desire;[i]
may he bring all your plans to pass.[j]
5 Then we will shout for joy over your[k] victory;
we will rejoice[l] in the name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your requests.
6 Now I am sure[m] that the Lord will deliver[n] his chosen king;[o]
he will intervene for him[p] from his holy, heavenly temple,[q]
and display his mighty ability to deliver.[r]
7 Some trust in chariots and others in horses,[s]
but we[t] depend on[u] the Lord our God.
8 They will fall down,[v]
but we[w] will stand firm.[x]
9 The Lord will deliver the king;[y]
he will answer us[z] when we call to him for help![aa]
Psalm 21[ab]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
21 O Lord, the king rejoices in the strength you give;[ac]
he takes great delight in the deliverance you provide.[ad]
2 You grant[ae] him his heart’s desire;
you do not refuse his request.[af] (Selah)
3 For you bring him[ag] rich[ah] blessings;[ai]
you place a golden crown on his head.
4 He asked you to sustain his life,[aj]
and you have granted him long life and an enduring dynasty.[ak]
5 Your deliverance brings him great honor;[al]
you give him majestic splendor.[am]
6 For you grant him lasting blessings;
you give him great joy by allowing him into your presence.[an]
7 For the king trusts[ao] in the Lord,
and because of the Most High’s[ap] faithfulness he is not shaken.[aq]
8 You[ar] prevail over[as] all your enemies;
your power is too great for those who hate you.[at]
9 You burn them up like a fiery furnace[au] when you appear.[av]
The Lord angrily devours them;[aw]
the fire consumes them.
10 You destroy their offspring[ax] from the earth,
their descendants[ay] from among the human race.[az]
11 Yes,[ba] they intend to do you harm;[bb]
they dream up a scheme,[bc] but they do not succeed.[bd]
12 For you make them retreat[be]
when you aim your arrows at them.[bf]
13 Rise up, O Lord, in strength![bg]
We will sing and praise[bh] your power.
Psalm 110[a]
A psalm of David.
110 Here is the Lord’s proclamation[b] to my lord:[c]
“Sit down at my right hand[d] until I make your enemies your footstool.”[e]
2 The Lord[f] extends[g] your dominion[h] from Zion.
Rule in the midst of your enemies.
3 Your people willingly follow you[i] when you go into battle.[j]
On the holy hills[k] at sunrise[l] the dew of your youth[m] belongs to you.[n]
4 The Lord makes this promise on oath[o] and will not revoke it:[p]
“You are an eternal priest[q] after the pattern of[r] Melchizedek.”[s]
5 O Lord,[t] at your right hand
he strikes down[u] kings in the day he unleashes his anger.[v]
6 He executes judgment[w] against[x] the nations.
He fills the valleys with corpses;[y]
he shatters their heads over the vast battlefield.[z]
7 From the stream along the road he drinks;
then he lifts up his head.[aa]
Psalm 116[a]
116 I love the Lord
because he heard my plea for mercy,[b]
2 and listened to me.[c]
As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help.[d]
3 The ropes of death tightened around me,[e]
the snares[f] of Sheol confronted me.
I was confronted[g] with trouble and sorrow.
4 I called on the name of the Lord,
“Please, Lord, rescue my life!”
5 The Lord is merciful and fair;
our God is compassionate.
6 The Lord protects[h] the untrained;[i]
I was in serious trouble[j] and he delivered me.
7 Rest once more, my soul,[k]
for the Lord has vindicated you.[l]
8 Yes,[m] Lord,[n] you rescued my life from death,
kept my eyes from tears
and my feet from stumbling.
9 I will serve[o] the Lord
in the land[p] of the living.
10 I had faith when I said,
“I am severely oppressed.”
11 I rashly declared,[q]
“All men are liars.”
12 How can I repay the Lord
for all his acts of kindness to me?
13 I will celebrate my deliverance,[r]
and call on the name of the Lord.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people.
15 The Lord values
the lives of his faithful followers.[s]
16 Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your female servant.[t]
You saved me from death.[u]
17 I will present a thank offering to you,
and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people,
19 in the courts of the Lord’s temple,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 117[v]
The Lord Demands Justice
18 Woe[a] to those who wish for the day of the Lord!
Why do you want the Lord’s day of judgment to come?
It will bring darkness, not light.
19 Disaster will be inescapable,[b]
as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear,
then escaped into[c] a house,
leaned his hand against the wall,
and was bitten by a poisonous snake.
20 Don’t you realize the Lord’s day of judgment will bring[d] darkness, not light—
gloomy blackness, not bright light?
21 “I absolutely despise[e] your festivals!
I get no pleasure[f] from your religious assemblies.
22 Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings,[g] I will not be satisfied;
I will not look with favor on your peace offerings of fattened calves.[h]
23 Take away from me your[i] noisy songs;
I don’t want to hear the music of your stringed instruments.[j]
24 Justice must flow like torrents of water,
righteous actions[k] like a stream that never dries up.
25 You did not bring me[l] sacrifices and grain offerings during the forty years you spent in the wilderness, family[m] of Israel.
Exhortation to the Faithful
17 But you, dear friends—recall the predictions[a] foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.[b] 18 For they said to you, “At the end of time[c] there will come[d] scoffers, propelled by their own ungodly desires.”[e] 19 These people are divisive,[f] worldly,[g] devoid of the Spirit.[h] 20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit,[i] 21 maintain[j] yourselves in the love of God, while anticipating[k] the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life.[l] 22 And have mercy on those who waver; 23 save[m] others by snatching them out of the fire; have mercy[n] on others, coupled with a fear of God,[o] hating even the clothes stained[p] by the flesh.[q]
Final Blessing
24 Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling,[r] and to cause you to stand, rejoicing,[s] without blemish[t] before his glorious presence,[u] 25 to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.
Paying Taxes to Caesar
15 Then the Pharisees[a] went out and planned together to entrap him with his own words.[b] 16 They sent to him their disciples along with the Herodians,[c] saying, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful, and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.[d] You do not court anyone’s favor because you show no partiality.[e] 17 Tell us then, what do you think? Is it right[f] to pay taxes[g] to Caesar[h] or not?”
18 But Jesus realized their evil intentions and said, “Hypocrites! Why are you testing me? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax.” So[i] they brought him a denarius.[j] 20 Jesus[k] said to them, “Whose image[l] is this, and whose inscription?” 21 They replied,[m] “Caesar’s.” He said to them,[n] “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”[o] 22 Now when they heard this they were stunned,[p] and they left him and went away.
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