Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 16[a]
A prayer[b] of David.
16 Protect me, O God, for I have taken shelter in you.[c]
2 I say to the Lord, “You are the Lord,
my only source of well-being.”[d]
3 As for God’s chosen people who are in the land,
and the leading officials I admired so much[e]—
4 their troubles multiply;
they desire other gods.[f]
I will not pour out drink offerings of blood to their gods,[g]
nor will I make vows in the name of their gods.[h]
5 Lord, you give me stability and prosperity;[i]
you make my future secure.[j]
6 It is as if I have been given fertile fields
or received a beautiful tract of land.[k]
7 I will praise[l] the Lord who[m] guides[n] me;
yes, during the night I reflect and learn.[o]
8 I constantly trust in the Lord;[p]
because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 So my heart rejoices
and I am happy;[q]
my life is safe.[r]
10 You will not abandon me[s] to Sheol;[t]
you will not allow your faithful follower[u] to see[v] the Pit.[w]
11 You lead me in[x] the path of life.[y]
I experience absolute joy in your presence;[z]
you always give me sheer delight.[aa]
Psalm 17[ab]
A prayer of David.
17 Lord, consider my just cause.[ac]
Pay attention to my cry for help.
Listen to the prayer
I sincerely offer.[ad]
2 Make a just decision on my behalf.[ae]
Decide what is right.[af]
3 You have scrutinized my inner motives;[ag]
you have examined me during the night.[ah]
You have carefully evaluated me, but you find no sin.
I am determined I will say nothing sinful.[ai]
4 As for the actions of people[aj]—
just as you have commanded,
I have not followed in the footsteps of violent men.[ak]
5 I carefully obey your commands;[al]
I do not deviate from them.[am]
6 I call to you because you will answer me, O God.
Listen to me![an]
Hear what I say![ao]
7 Accomplish awesome, faithful deeds,[ap]
you who powerfully deliver those who look to you for protection from their enemies.[aq]
8 Protect me as you would protect the pupil of your eye.[ar]
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.[as]
9 Protect me from[at] the wicked men who attack[au] me,
my enemies who crowd around me for the kill.[av]
10 They are calloused;[aw]
they speak arrogantly.[ax]
11 They attack me, now they surround me;[ay]
they intend to throw me to the ground.[az]
12 He[ba] is like a lion[bb] that wants to tear its prey to bits,[bc]
like a young lion crouching[bd] in hidden places.
13 Rise up, Lord!
Confront him.[be] Knock him down.[bf]
Use your sword to rescue me from the wicked man.[bg]
14 Lord, use your power to deliver me from these murderers,[bh]
from the murderers of this world.[bi]
They enjoy prosperity;[bj]
you overwhelm them with the riches they desire.[bk]
They have many children,
and leave their wealth to their offspring.[bl]
15 As for me, because I am innocent I will see your face;[bm]
when I awake you will reveal yourself to me.[bn]
Psalm 134[a]
A song of ascents.[b]
134 Attention![c] Praise the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord,
who serve[d] in the Lord’s temple during the night.
2 Lift your hands toward the sanctuary
and praise the Lord.
3 May the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth,
bless you[e] from Zion.[f]
Psalm 135[g]
135 Praise the Lord.
Praise the name of the Lord.
Offer praise, you servants of the Lord,
2 who serve[h] in the Lord’s temple,
in the courts of the temple of our God.
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good.
Sing praises to his name, for it is pleasant.[i]
4 Indeed,[j] the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel to be his special possession.[k]
5 Yes,[l] I know the Lord is great,
and our Lord is superior to all gods.
6 He does whatever he pleases
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the ocean depths.
7 He causes the clouds to arise from the end of the earth,
makes lightning bolts accompany the rain,
and brings the wind out of his storehouses.
8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
including both men and animals.
9 He performed awesome deeds[m] and acts of judgment[n]
in your midst, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 He defeated many nations,
and killed mighty kings—
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan.
12 He gave their land as an inheritance,
as an inheritance to Israel his people.
13 O Lord, your name endures,[o]
your reputation, O Lord, lasts.[p]
14 For the Lord vindicates[q] his people,
and has compassion on his servants.[r]
15 The nations’ idols are made of silver and gold;
they are man-made.[s]
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see,
17 and ears, but cannot hear.
Indeed, they cannot breathe.[t]
18 Those who make them will end up[u] like them,
as will everyone who trusts in them.
19 O family[v] of Israel, praise the Lord.
O family of Aaron, praise the Lord.
20 O family of Levi, praise the Lord.
You loyal followers[w] of the Lord, praise the Lord.
21 The Lord deserves praise in Zion[x]—
he who dwells in Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord.
23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a time of cessation from work,[a] a holy Sabbath[b] to the Lord. Whatever you want to[c] bake, bake today;[d] whatever you want to boil, boil today; whatever is left put aside for yourselves to be kept until morning.’”
24 So they put it aside until the morning, just as Moses had commanded, and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. 25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the area.[e] 26 Six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”
27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather it, but they found nothing. 28 So the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse[f] to obey my commandments and my instructions? 29 See, because the Lord has given you the Sabbath, that is why[g] he is giving you food for two days on the sixth day. Each of you stay where you are;[h] let no one[i] go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The house of Israel[j] called its name “manna.”[k] It was like coriander seed and was white, and it tasted[l] like wafers with honey.
32 Moses said, “This is what[m] the Lord has commanded: ‘Fill an omer with it to be kept[n] for generations to come,[o] so that they may see[p] the food I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out from the land of Egypt.’” 33 Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put in it an omer full of manna, and place it before the Lord to be kept for generations to come.” 34 Just as the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the ark of the testimony[q] for safekeeping.[r]
35 Now the Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was inhabited; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 (Now an omer is one-tenth of an ephah.)[s]
13 For[a] who is going to harm you if you are devoted to what is good? 14 But in fact, if you happen to suffer[b] for doing what is right,[c] you are blessed. But do not be terrified of them[d] or be shaken.[e] 15 But set Christ[f] apart[g] as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess.[h] 16 Yet do it with courtesy and respect,[i] keeping a good conscience, so that those who slander your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame when they accuse you.[j] 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if God wills it,[k] than for doing evil.
18 [l] Because Christ also suffered[m] once for sins,
the just for the unjust,[n]
to bring you to God,
by being put to death in the flesh
but[o] by being made alive in the spirit.[p]
19 In it[q] he went and preached to the spirits in prison,[r]
20 after they were disobedient long ago[s] when God patiently waited[t] in the days of Noah as an ark was being constructed. In the ark[u] a few, that is eight souls, were delivered through water. 21 And this prefigured baptism, which now saves you[v]—not the washing off of physical dirt[w] but the pledge[x] of a good conscience to God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who went into heaven and is at the right hand of God[y] with angels and authorities and powers subject to him.[z]
4 So, since Christ suffered[aa] in the flesh, you also arm yourselves with the same attitude, because the one who has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin,[ab] 2 in that he spends the rest of his time[ac] on earth concerned about the will of God and not human desires. 3 For the time that has passed was sufficient for you to do what the non-Christians[ad] desire.[ae] You lived then[af] in debauchery, evil desires, drunkenness, carousing, drinking bouts,[ag] and wanton idolatries.[ah] 4 So[ai] they are astonished[aj] when you do not rush with them into the same flood of wickedness, and they vilify you.[ak] 5 They will face a reckoning before[al] Jesus Christ[am] who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 Now it was for this very purpose[an] that the gospel was preached to those who are now dead,[ao] so that though[ap] they were judged in the flesh[aq] by human standards[ar] they may live spiritually[as] by God’s standards.[at]
16 “I have told you all these things so that you will not fall away.[a] 2 They will put you out of[b] the synagogue,[c] yet a time[d] is coming when the one who kills you will think he is offering service to God.[e] 3 They[f] will do these things because they have not known the Father or me.[g] 4 But I have told you these things[h] so that when their time[i] comes, you will remember that I told you about them.[j]
“I did not tell you these things from the beginning because I was with you.[k] 5 But now I am going to the one who sent me,[l] and not one of you is asking me, ‘Where are you going?’[m] 6 Instead your hearts are filled with sadness[n] because I have said these things to you. 7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I am going away. For if I do not go away, the Advocate[o] will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he[p] comes, he will prove the world wrong[q] concerning sin and[r] righteousness and[s] judgment— 9 concerning sin, because[t] they do not believe in me;[u] 10 concerning righteousness,[v] because[w] I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; 11 and concerning judgment,[x] because[y] the ruler of this world[z] has been condemned.[aa]
12 “I have many more things to say to you,[ab] but you cannot bear[ac] them now. 13 But when he,[ad] the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide[ae] you into all truth.[af] For he will not speak on his own authority,[ag] but will speak whatever he hears, and will tell you[ah] what is to come.[ai] 14 He[aj] will glorify me,[ak] because he will receive[al] from me what is mine[am] and will tell it to you.[an] 15 Everything that the Father has is mine; that is why I said the Spirit[ao] will receive from me what is mine[ap] and will tell it to you.[aq]
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