Book of Common Prayer
God Implored to Confound His Enemies.
A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.
83 Do not keep silent, O God;
Do not hold Your peace or be still, O God.
2
For behold, Your enemies are in tumult,
And those who hate You have raised their heads [in hatred of You].(A)
3
They concoct crafty schemes against Your people,
And conspire together against Your hidden and precious ones.
4
They have said, “Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation;
Let the name of Israel be remembered no more.”
5
For they have conspired together with one mind;
Against You they make a covenant—
6
The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Of Moab and the Hagrites,
7
Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre.
8
Assyria also has joined with them;
They have helped the children of Lot [the Ammonites and the Moabites] and have been an arm [of strength] to them. Selah.
9
Deal with them as [You did] with Midian,
As with Sisera and Jabin at the brook of Kishon,(B)
10
Who were destroyed at En-dor,
Who became like dung for the earth.
11
Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb
And all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,(C)
12
Who said, “Let us possess for ourselves
The pastures of God.”
13
O my God, make them like [a]whirling dust,
Like chaff before the wind [worthless and without substance].
14
Like fire consumes the forest,
And like the flame sets the mountains on fire,
15
So pursue them with Your tempest
And terrify them with [the violence of] Your storm.
16
Fill their faces with shame and disgrace,
That they may [persistently] seek Your name, O Lord.
17
Let them be ashamed and dismayed forever;
Yes, let them be humiliated and perish,
18
That they may know that You alone, whose name is the Lord,
Are the Most High over all the earth.
The Lord, a Provider and the One Who Rescues Me.
A Psalm of David; when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him out, and he went away.
34 I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2
My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
The humble and downtrodden will hear it and rejoice.
3
O [a]magnify the Lord with me,
And let us lift up His name together.
4
I sought the Lord [on the authority of His word], and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.(A)
5
They looked to Him and were radiant;
Their faces will never blush in shame or confusion.
6
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
And saved him from all his troubles.
7
The [b]angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him [with awe-inspired reverence and worship Him with obedience],
And He rescues [each of] them.(B)
8
O taste and see that the Lord [our God] is good;
How blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who takes refuge in Him.(C)
9
O [reverently] fear the Lord, you His saints (believers, holy ones);
For to those who fear Him there is no want.
10
The young lions lack [food] and grow hungry,
But they who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing.
11
Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you to fear the Lord [with awe-inspired reverence and worship Him with obedience].
12
Who is the man who desires life
And loves many days, that he may 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 toward the righteous [those with moral courage and spiritual integrity]
And His ears are open to their cry.
16
The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
To cut off the memory of them from the earth.(D)
17
When the righteous cry [for help], the Lord hears
And rescues them from all their distress and troubles.
18
The Lord is near to the heartbroken
And He saves those who are crushed in spirit (contrite in heart, truly sorry for their sin).
19
Many hardships and perplexing circumstances confront the righteous,
But the Lord rescues him from them all.
20
He keeps all his bones;
Not one of them is broken.(E)
21
Evil will cause the death of the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will be held guilty and will be condemned.
22
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.
Prayer for God’s Mercy upon the Nation.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
85 O Lord, You have [at last] shown favor to Your land [of Canaan];
You have restored [from Babylon] the captives of Jacob (Israel).
2
You have forgiven the wickedness of Your people;
You have covered all their sin. Selah.
3
You have withdrawn all Your wrath,
You have turned away from Your burning anger.
4
Restore us, O God of our salvation,
And cause Your indignation toward us to cease.
5
Will You be angry with us forever?
Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?
6
Will You not revive us and bring us to life again,
That Your people may rejoice in You?
7
Show us Your lovingkindness, O Lord,
And grant us Your salvation.
8
I will hear [with expectant hope] what God the Lord will say,
For He will speak peace to His people, to His [a]godly ones—
But let them not turn again to folly.
9
Surely His salvation is near to those who [reverently] fear Him [and obey Him with submissive wonder],
That glory [the manifest presence of God] may dwell in our land.
10
Steadfast love and truth and faithfulness meet together;
Righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11
Truth springs from the earth,
And righteousness looks down from heaven.
12
Indeed, the Lord will give what is good,
And our land will yield its produce.
13
Righteousness will go before Him
And will make His footsteps into a way [in which to walk].
A Psalm of Supplication and Trust.
A Prayer of David.
86 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
For I am distressed and needy [I long for Your help].
2
Protect my life (soul), for I am godly and faithful;
O You my God, save Your servant, who trusts in You [believing in You and relying on You, confidently committing everything to You].
3
Be gracious and merciful to me, O Lord,
For to You I cry out all the day long.
4
Make Your servant rejoice,
For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul [all that I am—in prayer].
5
For You, O Lord, are good, and ready to forgive [our sins, sending them away, completely letting them go forever and ever];
And abundant in lovingkindness and overflowing in mercy to all those who call upon You.
6
Hear, O Lord, my prayer;
And listen attentively to the voice of my supplications (specific requests)!
7
In the day of my trouble I will call upon You,
For You will answer me.
8
There is no one like You among the gods, O Lord,
Nor are there any works [of wonder and majesty] like Yours.
9
All nations whom You have made shall come and kneel down in worship before You, O Lord,
And they shall glorify Your name.
10
For You are great and do wondrous works!
You alone are God.
11
Teach me Your way, O Lord,
I will walk and live in Your truth;
Direct my heart to fear Your name [with awe-inspired reverence and submissive wonder].(A)
12
I will give thanks and praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart;
And will glorify Your name forevermore.
13
For great is Your lovingkindness and graciousness toward me;
And You have rescued my life from the depths of Sheol [from death].
14
O God, arrogant and insolent men have risen up against me;
A band of violent men have sought my life,
And they have not set You before them.
15
But You, O Lord, are a God [who protects and is] merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.
16
Turn to me, and be gracious to me;
Grant Your strength [Your might and the power to resist temptation] to Your servant,
And save the son of Your handmaid.
17
Show me a sign of [Your] goodwill,
That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed,
Because You, O Lord, helped and comforted me.
The Murmuring of Miriam and Aaron
12 Now [a]Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the [b]Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman); 2 and they said, “Has the Lord really spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken also through us?” And the Lord heard it. 3 ([c]Now the man Moses was very humble (gentle, kind, devoid of self-righteousness), more than any man who was on the face of the earth.) 4 Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle).” And the three of them came out. 5 The Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tabernacle, and He called Aaron and Miriam, and they came forward. 6 And He said,
“Hear now My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I the Lord will make Myself known to him in a vision
And I will speak to him in a dream.
7
“But it is not so with My servant Moses;
He is entrusted and faithful in all My house.(A)
8
“With him I speak mouth to mouth [directly],
Clearly and openly and not in riddles;
And he beholds the form of the Lord.
Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?”
9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Miriam and Aaron, and He departed. 10 But when the cloud had withdrawn from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. And Aaron turned and looked at Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous. 11 Then Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, I plead with you, do not account this sin to us, in which we have acted foolishly and in which we have sinned. 12 Oh, do not let her be like one dead, already half decomposed when he comes from his mother’s womb.” 13 So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “Heal her please, O God, I plead with You!” 14 But the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but [d]spit in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days? Let her be shut up outside the camp for seven days, and afterward she may return.” 15 So Miriam was shut up outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was brought in again [and declared ceremonially clean from her leprosy].
16 Afterward the people moved on from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.
12 For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without [regard to] the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged and condemned by the Law. 13 For it is not those who merely hear the Law [as it is read aloud] who are just or righteous before God, but it is those who [actually] obey the Law who will be [a]justified [pronounced free of the guilt of sin and declared acceptable to Him]. 14 When Gentiles, who do not have the Law [since it was given only to Jews], do [b]instinctively the things the Law requires [guided only by their conscience], they are a law to themselves, though they do not have the Law. 15 They show that the [c]essential requirements of the Law are written in their hearts; and their conscience [their sense of right and wrong, their moral choices] bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or perhaps defending them 16 on that day when, [d]as my gospel proclaims, God will judge the secrets [all the hidden thoughts and concealed sins] of men through Christ Jesus.(A)
The Jew Is Condemned by the Law
17 But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely on the Law [for your salvation] and boast in [your special relationship to] God, 18 and [if you claim to] know His will and [e]approve the things that are [f]essential or have a sense of what is excellent, based on your instruction from the Law, 19 and [if you] are confident that you are a [qualified] guide to the blind [those untaught in theology], a light to those who are in darkness, 20 and [that you are] [g]a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the [spiritually] [h]childish, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth— 21 well then, you who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal [in ways that are discrete, but just as sinful]? 22 You who say that one must not commit adultery, [i]do you commit adultery? You who detest idols, do you rob [pagan] temples [of valuable idols and offerings]?(B) 23 You who boast in the Law, do you [repeatedly] dishonor God by [j]breaking the Law? 24 For, “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” just as it is written [in Scripture].(C)
10 “See that you do not despise or think less of one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven [are in the presence of and] continually look upon the face of My Father who is in heaven.(A) 11 [a][For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]
Ninety-nine Plus One
12 “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them gets lost, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountain and go in search of the one that is lost?(B) 13 And if it turns out that he finds it, I assure you and most solemnly say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that did not get lost. 14 So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones be lost.
Discipline and Prayer
15 “If your brother sins[b], go and show him his fault in private; if he listens and pays attention to you, you have won back your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take along with you one or two others, so that every word may be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. 17 If he pays no attention to them [refusing to listen and obey], tell it to the [c]church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile (unbeliever) and a tax collector.(C) 18 I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whatever you bind [forbid, declare to be improper and unlawful] on earth [d]shall have [already] been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose [permit, declare lawful] on earth [e]shall have [already] been loosed in heaven.(D)
19 “Again I say to you, that if two [f]believers on earth agree [that is, are of one mind, in harmony] about anything that they ask [within the will of God], it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.(E) 20 For where two or three are gathered in My name [meeting together as My followers], I am there among them.”(F)
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