Book of Common Prayer
You Will Not Abandon My Soul
A (A)Miktam[a] of David.
16 Preserve me, O God, for in you I (B)take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
(C)I have no good apart from you.”
4 The sorrows of those who run after[c] another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or (E)take their names on my lips.
5 The Lord is (F)my chosen portion and my (G)cup;
you hold my (H)lot.
6 (I)The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
7 I bless the Lord who (J)gives me counsel;
in (K)the night also my (L)heart instructs me.[d]
8 (M)I have (N)set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my (O)right hand, I shall not be (P)shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my (Q)whole being[e] rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to (R)Sheol,
(S)or let your (T)holy one see (U)corruption.[f]
11 You make known to me (V)the path of life;
in your presence there is (W)fullness of joy;
at your right hand are (X)pleasures forevermore.
In the Shadow of Your Wings
A (Y)Prayer of David.
17 Hear a just cause, O Lord; (Z)attend to my cry!
Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
2 From your presence (AA)let my vindication come!
Let your eyes behold the right!
3 You have (AB)tried my heart, you have (AC)visited me by (AD)night,
you have (AE)tested me, and you will find nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
4 With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent.
5 My steps have (AF)held fast to your paths;
my feet have not slipped.
6 I (AG)call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
(AH)incline your ear to me; hear my words.
7 (AI)Wondrously show[g] your steadfast love,
O Savior of those who seek refuge
from (AJ)their adversaries at your right hand.
8 Keep me as (AK)the apple of your eye;
hide me in (AL)the shadow of your wings,
9 from the wicked who do me violence,
my deadly enemies who (AM)surround me.
10 (AN)They close their hearts to pity;
with their mouths they (AO)speak arrogantly.
11 They have now surrounded our (AP)steps;
they set their eyes to (AQ)cast us to the ground.
12 He is like a lion eager to tear,
as a young lion (AR)lurking in ambush.
13 Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him!
Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
14 from men by your hand, O Lord,
from (AS)men of the world whose (AT)portion is in this life.[h]
You fill their womb with treasure;[i]
they are satisfied with (AU)children,
and they leave their abundance to their infants.
Come, Bless the Lord
A Song of (A)Ascents.
134 Come, bless the Lord, all you (B)servants of the Lord,
who (C)stand (D)by night in the house of the Lord!
2 (E)Lift up your hands to (F)the holy place
and bless the Lord!
Your Name, O Lord, Endures Forever
135 (J)Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord,
give praise, O (K)servants of the Lord,
2 who (L)stand in the house of the Lord,
in (M)the courts of the house of our God!
3 Praise the Lord, for (N)the Lord is good;
sing to his name, (O)for it is pleasant![a]
4 For the Lord has (P)chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his (Q)own possession.
5 For I know that (R)the Lord is great,
and that our Lord is above all gods.
6 (S)Whatever the Lord pleases, he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all deeps.
7 (T)He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
who (U)makes lightnings for the rain
and brings forth the wind from his (V)storehouses.
8 He it was who (W)struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
both of man and of beast;
9 who in your midst, O Egypt,
sent (X)signs and wonders
against Pharaoh and all his servants;
10 (Y)who struck down many nations
and killed mighty kings,
11 (Z)Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and (AA)Og, king of Bashan,
and (AB)all the kingdoms of Canaan,
12 and (AC)gave their land as a heritage,
a heritage to his people Israel.
13 (AD)Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
(AE)your renown,[b] O Lord, throughout all ages.
14 (AF)For the Lord will vindicate his people
and (AG)have compassion on his servants.
15 (AH)The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
16 They have mouths, but do not speak;
they have eyes, but do not see;
17 they have ears, but do not hear,
nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them become like them,
so do all who trust in them.
Nebuchadnezzar's Golden Image
3 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits[a] and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on (A)the plain of Dura, in (B)the province of Babylon. 2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather (C)the satraps, the prefects, and (D)the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 3 Then (E)the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 And the herald (F)proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O (G)peoples, nations, and languages, 5 that when you hear the (H)sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you (I)are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately (J)be cast into a burning fiery furnace.” 7 Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all (K)the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
The Fiery Furnace
8 Therefore at that time certain (L)Chaldeans (M)came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. 9 They declared[b] to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, (N)have made a decree, that every man who (O)hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, (P)shall fall down and worship the golden image. 11 And whoever does not fall down and worship (Q)shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have (R)appointed over the affairs of (S)the province of Babylon: (T)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, (U)pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar (V)in furious rage commanded that (W)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready when (X)you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good.[c] But if you do not worship, (Y)you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And (Z)who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”
16 (AA)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, (AB)our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.[d] 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
3 See (A)what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called (B)children of God; and so we are. The reason why (C)the world does not know us is that (D)it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are (E)God's children (F)now, and what we will be (G)has not yet appeared; but we know that (H)when he appears[a] (I)we shall be like him, because (J)we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who (K)thus hopes in him (L)purifies himself as he is pure.
4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; (M)sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that (N)he appeared in order to (O)take away sins, and (P)in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; (Q)no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, (R)let no one deceive you. (S)Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 (T)Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was (U)to destroy the works of the devil. 9 (V)No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's[b] seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, (W)nor is the one who (X)does not love his brother.
15 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, (A)whether he might be (B)the Christ, 16 (C)John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but (D)he who is mightier than I is coming, (E)the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you (F)with the Holy Spirit and (G)fire. 17 His (H)winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to (I)gather the wheat into his barn, (J)but the chaff he will burn with (K)unquenchable fire.”
18 So (L)with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. 19 But (M)Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added this to them all, that (N)he locked up John in prison.
21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when (O)Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, (P)the heavens were opened, 22 and (Q)the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and (R)a voice came from heaven, (S)“You are my beloved Son;[a] with you I am well pleased.”[b]
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.