Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 83[a]
Prayer Against a Hostile Alliance
1 A song; a psalm of Asaph.
I
2 God, do not be silent;
God, do not be deaf or remain unmoved!(A)
3 See how your enemies rage;
your foes proudly raise their heads.
4 They conspire against your people,
plot against those you protect.(B)
5 They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
let Israel’s name be remembered no more!”
6 They scheme with one mind,
they have entered into a covenant against you:(C)
7 [b]The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
of Moab and the Hagrites,(D)
8 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek,(E)
Philistia and the inhabitants of Tyre.(F)
9 Assyria, too, in league with them,
backs the descendants of Lot.
Selah
II
10 [c]Deal with them as with Midian;
as with Sisera and Jabin at the wadi Kishon,(G)
11 Those destroyed at Endor,
who became dung for the ground.(H)
12 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
13 Who made a plan together,
“Let us take for ourselves the pastures of God.”
14 My God, make them like tumbleweed,
into chaff flying before the wind.(I)
15 As a fire raging through a forest,
a flame setting mountains ablaze,(J)
16 Pursue them with your tempest;
terrify them with your storm-wind.
17 Cover their faces with shame,
till they seek your name,[d] Lord.
18 Let them be ashamed and terrified forever;
let them perish in disgrace.
19 Let them know that your name is Lord,
you alone are the Most High over all the earth.(K)
Psalm 146[a]
Trust in God the Creator and Redeemer
1 Hallelujah!
2 Praise the Lord, my soul;
I will praise the Lord all my life,
sing praise to my God while I live.(A)
I
3 Put no trust in princes,
in children of Adam powerless to save.(B)
4 Who breathing his last, returns to the earth;
that day all his planning comes to nothing.(C)
II
5 Blessed the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord, his God,
6 The maker of heaven and earth,
the seas and all that is in them,(D)
Who keeps faith forever,
7 secures justice for the oppressed,(E)
who gives bread to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free;(F)
8 the Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord raises up those who are bowed down;(G)
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord protects the resident alien,
comes to the aid of the orphan and the widow,(H)
but thwarts the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord shall reign forever,
your God, Zion, through all generations!(I)
Hallelujah!
Psalm 147[b]
God’s Word Restores Jerusalem
1 Hallelujah!
I
How good to sing praise to our God;
how pleasant to give fitting praise.(J)
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem,
and gathers the dispersed of Israel,(K)
3 Healing the brokenhearted,
and binding up their wounds.(L)
4 He numbers the stars,
and gives to all of them their names.(M)
5 Great is our Lord, vast in power,
with wisdom beyond measure.(N)
6 The Lord gives aid to the poor,
but casts the wicked to the ground.(O)
II
7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
with the lyre make music to our God,(P)
8 [c]Who covers the heavens with clouds,
provides rain for the earth,
makes grass sprout on the mountains,(Q)
9 Who gives animals their food
and young ravens what they cry for.(R)
10 [d]He takes no delight in the strength of horses,
no pleasure in the runner’s stride.(S)
11 Rather the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
those who put their hope in his mercy.
III
12 Glorify the Lord, Jerusalem;
Zion, offer praise to your God,
13 For he has strengthened the bars of your gates,
blessed your children within you.(T)
14 He brings peace to your borders,
and satisfies you with finest wheat.(U)
15 [e]He sends his command to earth;
his word runs swiftly!(V)
16 Thus he makes the snow like wool,
and spreads the frost like ash;(W)
17 He disperses hail like crumbs.
Who can withstand his cold?
18 Yet when again he issues his command, it melts them;
he raises his winds and the waters flow.
19 He proclaims his word to Jacob,
his statutes and laws to Israel.(X)
20 He has not done this for any other nation;
of such laws they know nothing.
Hallelujah!
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.
30 Jacob had scarcely left his father after Isaac had finished blessing him, when his brother Esau came back from his hunt. 31 Then he too prepared a dish, and bringing it to his father, he said, “Let my father sit up and eat some of his son’s game, that you may then give me your blessing.” 32 His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?” He said, “I am your son, your firstborn son, Esau.” 33 Isaac trembled greatly. “Who was it, then,” he asked, “that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it all just before you came, and I blessed him. Now he is blessed!” 34 As he heard his father’s words, Esau burst into loud, bitter sobbing and said, “Father, bless me too!” 35 When Isaac said, “Your brother came here by a ruse and carried off your blessing,” 36 Esau exclaimed, “He is well named Jacob, is he not! He has supplanted me[a] twice! First he took away my right as firstborn, and now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not saved a blessing for me?”(A) 37 Isaac replied to Esau: “I have already appointed him your master, and I have assigned to him all his kindred as his servants; besides, I have sustained him with grain and wine. What then can I do for you, my son?” 38 But Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, father? Bless me too, father!” and Esau wept aloud.(B) 39 His father Isaac said in response:
“See, far from the fertile earth
will be your dwelling;
far from the dew of the heavens above!(C)
40 By your sword you will live,
and your brother you will serve;
But when you become restless,
you will throw off his yoke from your neck.”(D)
41 Esau bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. Esau said to himself, “Let the time of mourning for my father come, so that I may kill my brother Jacob.”(E) 42 When Rebekah got news of what her older son Esau had in mind, she summoned her younger son Jacob and said to him: “Listen! Your brother Esau intends to get his revenge by killing you. 43 So now, my son, obey me: flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran, 44 and stay with him a while until your brother’s fury subsides— 45 until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back. Why should I lose both of you in a single day?”
Mutual Love. 9 Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good;(A) 10 love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor.(B) 11 Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.(C) 12 Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.(D) 13 Contribute to the needs of the holy ones,(E) exercise hospitality. 14 [a]Bless those who persecute [you],(F) bless and do not curse them.(G) 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.(H) 16 Have the same regard for one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly; do not be wise in your own estimation.(I) 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil; be concerned for what is noble in the sight of all.(J) 18 If possible, on your part, live at peace with all.(K) 19 Beloved, do not look for revenge but leave room for the wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”(L) 20 Rather, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.”(M) 21 Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good.
21 He said to them again, “I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin.[a] Where I am going you cannot come.”(A) 22 [b]So the Jews said, “He is not going to kill himself, is he, because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?” 23 He said to them, “You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world.(B) 24 That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM,[c] you will die in your sins.”(C) 25 [d]So they said to him, “Who are you?”(D) Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true, and what I heard from him I tell the world.”(E) 27 They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father. 28 So Jesus said [to them], “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me.(F) 29 The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.” 30 Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.
Jesus and Abraham.[e] 31 Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him,[f] “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”(G)
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