Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 31[a]
Prayer of Trust and Thanksgiving
1 For the director.[b] A psalm of David.
2 [c]In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me.
3 Turn your ear to me,
and act quickly to save me.
Be to me a rock[d] of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.
4 You are truly my rock and my fortress;
for the sake of your name,[e] lead and guide me.
5 Deliver me from the snare that has been set for me,
for you are my refuge.
6 Into your hands I commend my spirit;[f]
you will redeem me, O Lord, God of truth.
7 You hate those who cling to false idols,
but I put my trust in the Lord.
8 I will rejoice and exult in your kindness[g]
because you have witnessed my affliction
and have taken note of my anguish.
9 You have not abandoned me into the power of the enemy;
rather, you have set my feet in the open.
10 [h]Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for I am in trouble.
My weeping is laying waste to my eyes
as well as my soul[i] and my body.
11 My life is consumed with sorrow
and my years with sighing.
My strength ebbs because of my misery,
and my bones are wasting away.
12 I am an object of scorn
to all my enemies,
a loathsome sight to my neighbors,
and an object of dread to my friends.
When people catch sight of me outside,
they quickly turn away.
13 I have passed out of their minds
like someone who has died;
I have become like a broken vessel.[j]
14 I have heard the hissing of many:
“There is terror on every side,”[k]
as they conspire together against me
and plot to end my life.
15 But I place my trust in you, O Lord.
I say, “You are my God.”
16 My life is in your hands;[l]
deliver me from the power of my enemies,
from the clutches of those who pursue me.
17 Let your face shine[m] upon your servant;
save me in your kindness.
18 [n]Do not let me be put to shame, O Lord,
for I have cried out to you.
Let the wicked be put to shame
and lie silent in the netherworld.
19 Let their lying lips be struck dumb,
lips that speak insolently against the righteous
with pride and contempt.
20 [o]How great is your goodness, O Lord,
which you have stored up[p] for those who fear you
and which you bestow on those who take refuge in you,
in the presence of all the people.
21 You hide them in the safety of your presence
from those who conspire against them;
you keep them safe in your shelter,
far away from contentious tongues.
22 Blessed[q] be the Lord,
for he has manifested his wondrous kindness to me
when I was under siege.
23 I had cried out in terror,
“I have been cut off from your sight.”
But you heard my plea
when I cried out to you for assistance.
24 Love the Lord, all his saints.[r]
The Lord protects his loyal servants,
but the arrogant he repays beyond measure.
25 Be strong and courageous in your hearts,
all you who place your hope in the Lord.
Psalm 35[a]
Appeal for Help against Injustice
1 Of David.
Plead my cause, O Lord, with those who strive against me;
fight against those who fight against me.
2 Grasp your shield and buckler
and spring to my aid.
3 Brandish your spear and battle-ax
against those who pursue me.
Say to my soul,[b]
“I am your salvation.”
4 May those who seek my life
suffer shame and disgrace.
May those who plan my downfall
be forced to retreat in disgrace.
5 May they be like chaff flying in the wind,[c]
with the angel of the Lord scattering them.
6 May their way be shadowy and slippery,
with the angel of the Lord in pursuit.
7 Without cause they laid a net to trap me;
without cause they dug a pit to ensnare me.
8 May ruin come upon them unawares;
may the net they laid entrap them;
may they topple into the pit they dug.
9 Then my soul[d] will rejoice in the Lord
and exult in his salvation.
10 My whole being[e] will say,
“O Lord, who is there like you?
You deliver those who are weak
from those who are too strong for them,
and you protect the poor and needy
from those who seek to exploit them.”
11 False witnesses step forward
and question me about things I do not know.
12 They give me back evil in place of good
and leave my soul in sorrow.
13 Yet, when they were ill, I put on sackcloth[f]
and afflicted myself with fasting,
while I poured forth prayers from my heart.
14 I went about as though in grief,
as though for a friend or brother.
I bowed down in sorrow
as though lamenting for a mother.
15 But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and came together;
they came together and struck me unawares.
They slandered me without letup.
16 They mocked me with ever increasing fury
as they gnashed their teeth at me.
17 How long,[g] O Lord, will you look on?
Rescue me from these ravening beasts;
preserve my precious life from these lions.
18 I will offer you thanks in the great assembly;
I will praise you amid the vast throng.
19 Do not allow my treacherous enemies
to gloat over me;
do not permit those who hate me without reason[h]
to wink their eyes at me.
20 [i]For they do not speak words of peace,
but they contrive deceitful words
to lead astray the peaceful in the land.
21 They open wide their mouths shouting, “Aha! Aha!
We have seen it with our own eyes.”
22 You have seen, O Lord; do not be silent.
O Lord, do not be far from me.
23 Awaken and be diligent in my defense;
come to my aid, my God and my Lord.
24 [j]Defend me, O Lord, my God,
according to your righteousness,
and do not let them gloat over me.
25 Do not let them think,
“Aha! This is just what we wanted.”
Do not let them say,
“We have swallowed him up.”
26 Let all those who rejoice at my downfall
be put to shame and dismayed.
Let those who rise up arrogantly against me
be covered with shame and dishonor.
27 But let those who desire my vindication
shout for joy and be glad.
Let them cry out continually,
“Exalted be the Lord
who delights to see his servant in peace.”
28 Then my tongue shall proclaim your righteousness
and sing your praise all the day long.
10 [a]Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying:
11 Ask the Lord, your God for a sign;
let it be as deep as the netherworld
or as high as the heavens.
12 But Ahaz replied, “I will not ask. I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 Then Isaiah said:
Listen, O house of David!
Are you not satisfied to try the patience of men?
Must you also try the patience of my God?
14 Therefore, you will be given this sign
by the Lord himself:
The virgin will be with child,
and she will give birth to a son,
and she will name him Immanuel.
15 He will feed on curds and honey
by the time he learns to reject the bad
and choose the good.
16 Before that child has learned
to reject the bad and choose the good,
deserted will be the lands
of those two kings whom you dread.
17 The Lord will inflict on you,
and on your people and your father’s house,
days far worse than any that have been seen
since Ephraim[b] broke away from Judah—
you will become subjects of the king of Assyria.
18 When that day arrives,
the Lord will summon flies from the distant streams of Egypt
and bees from the land of Assyria.
19 They will all come forth and settle
in the steep ravines and in the clefts of the rocks,
on all the thornbushes and in all the pastures.
20 On that day the Lord will shave
with a razor hired from across the river[c]
(with the king of Assyria)
the head and the hair between the legs
as well as the beard.
21 When that day comes,
each man will keep a young cow and two sheep,
22 and because of the abundant milk they give
he will subsist on curds.
For all those who are left in the land
will eat curds and honey.
23 On that day,
wherever there used to be a thousand vines
worth a thousand pieces of silver,
that area will then be covered
with brambles and thornbushes.
24 Men will go there with bows and arrows,
for the entire country will be covered
by briers and thorns.
25 For fear of briers and thorns
you will not venture upon any hills
that used to be hoed with a hoe.
They will become a place for cattle to graze
and where sheep may tread.
Never Weary of Doing Good[a]
Call To Remain Steadfast.[b]However, we must always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning to be saved through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth.[c] 14 It was for this purpose that he called you through our gospel so that you might come to share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.15 Therefore, stand firm, brethren, and hold fast to the traditions[d] that you have been taught, whether by word of mouth or by a letter of ours. 16 And may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through his grace gave us unending encouragement and a sure hope,[e] 17 comfort your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
Chapter 3
Request for Prayers. 1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, so that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified, as it was with you. 2 Pray too that we may be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not all have faith.
3 However, the Lord is faithful. He will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. 4 And we are confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do all that we direct you to do. 5 May the Lord guide your hearts to the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ.
14 The Last Supper.[a] When the hour came, Jesus took his place at table along with the apostles. 15 He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you that from this moment on I shall never eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
17 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you that from this moment I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19 Jesus Gives His Body and His Blood.[b] Then he took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you. Do this in memory of me.” 20 And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be poured out for you.
21 The Betrayer Foretold.[c]“But behold, the hand of the one who will betray me is here with me on the table. 22 The Son of Man goes on his appointed path, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed.” 23 Then they began to question among themselves as to which one of them might do this.
24 The Disciples Are To Serve on Earth.[d] Then a dispute also broke out among them as to which one of them should be considered the greatest. 25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who exercise authority over them are given the title of ‘Benefactor.’[e]
26 “But it must not be so with you. Rather, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the leader must be like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater—the one seated at table or the one who serves? Surely, the one who sits at table. And yet I am in your midst as one who serves.
28 Judges of the Twelve Tribes.[f]“You are the ones who have stood by my side in my trials, 29 and now I confer on you a kingdom just as my Father has conferred one on me. 30 In my kingdom, you will eat and drink at my table, and you will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.[g]
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