Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 20
A Prayer for Victory for the King
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For the choir director. A psalm by David.
The People’s Prayer
1 May the Lord answer you in the day of distress.
May the name of the God of Jacob lift you up.
2 May he send you help from the holy place.
May he support you from Zion.
3 May he remember all your sacrificial gifts. Interlude
May he accept your burnt offerings.
4 May he give you whatever your heart desires.
May he fulfill all your plans.
5 We will shout joyfully when God saves you.
In the name of our God we will lift up our banners.
May the Lord fulfill all your prayers.
The King’s Response
6 Now I know that the Lord saves his Anointed.[a]
He answers him from his holy heavens
with powerful acts of salvation from his right hand.
The People’s Prayer
7 Some rely on chariots, and some on horses,
but we rely on the name of the Lord our God.
8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
9 Lord, save the king! Answer us in the day we call!
Psalm 21
Thanksgiving for Victory
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For the choir director. A psalm by David.
The People Thank the Lord for Victory
1 O Lord, the king rejoices in your strength.
He joyfully celebrates salvation from you.
2 You have granted him what his heart desired. Interlude
You have not denied the request from his lips.
3 Yes, you meet him to give him great blessings.
You place a crown of pure gold on his head.
4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—
length of days, forever and ever.
5 He receives great glory through the salvation you gave.
You bestow splendor and majesty on him.
6 Surely you grant him blessings forever.
You make him glad with joy in your presence.
7 Surely the king trusts in the Lord,
and through the mercy of the Most High he will not be shaken.
The People Assure the King of Future Victory
8 Your hand will reach all your enemies.
Your right hand will reach those who hate you.
9 At the time when you appear, O Lord,
you will make them like a blazing furnace.
In his anger he will swallow them.
Fire will consume them.
10 You will cause their fruit to perish from the earth,
their seed[b] from among the children of Adam.
11 Indeed, they intend[c] evil against you.
They plan wicked schemes,
but they will not succeed,
12 because you will make them turn and run
when you get ready to aim your arrows at them.
The People Praise the Lord
13 Rise up, O Lord, in your strength.
We will sing and make music because of your might.
Psalm 110
The Lord’s Decree to My Lord
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By David. A psalm.
The First Decree of the Lord
1 The decree of the Lord to my lord:[a]
“Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies
a footstool under your feet.”
Description of King Messiah’s Rule
2 The Lord will stretch out your strong scepter from Zion.
Rule in the midst of your enemies.
3 Your people will be willing on the day of your power.
In majesty of holiness, from the womb of the dawn,
the dew of your youth will be yours.[b]
The Second Decree of the Lord
4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever, in the manner of Melchizedek.”
Description of King Messiah’s Rule
Psalm 116
Deliverance From Death
Overview
1 I love the Lord, because he hears my voice.
He hears my cry for mercy.
2 Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call to him all my days.
3 The ropes of death entangled me.
The walls of the grave hemmed me in.[a]
I found distress and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“Ah, Lord, please save my life!”
5 The Lord is gracious and righteous,
and our God is compassionate.
6 The Lord protects the inexperienced.[b]
In my weakness he saves me too.
Past Deliverance
7 Return, my soul, to your rest,
for the Lord has accomplished his purpose for you.
8 Indeed, you have delivered my soul from death,
my eye from weeping, my foot from stumbling,
9 so that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
10 I believed. Therefore, I have spoken:
“I am greatly afflicted.”
11 In my haste I said:
“All people are deceptive.”
Future Devotion
12 How can I repay the Lord for all his benefits to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation,
and I will call on[c] the name of the Lord.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord,
now in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his favored ones.
16 Ah, Lord, truly I am your servant.
I am your servant, the son of your maidservant.
You opened my chains.
17 To you I will sacrifice a thank offering,
and I will call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
here in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courtyards of the house of the Lord,
in the middle of Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 117
Praise the Lord
The Young Men Are Miraculously Saved by God
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed against Shadrak, Meshak, and Abednego. He said to heat the furnace seven times hotter than it was usually heated. 20 He ordered some men, who were soldiers from his army, to bind Shadrak, Meshak, and Abednego in order to throw them into the blazing fiery furnace. 21 So these men were bound in their coats, their pants, their turbans, and their other clothing, and they were thrown into the middle of the blazing fiery furnace. 22 Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace was extremely hot, those men who carried Shadrak, Meshak, and Abednego were killed by the intense heat of the fire. 23 But these three men, Shadrak, Meshak, and Abednego, who had been tied up, fell into the blazing fiery furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was startled and immediately stood up. He said to his advisors, “Didn’t we throw three men, who had been tied up, into the middle of the fire?”
They answered the king, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”
25 He said, “Look! I see four men, who are untied and walking around in the middle of the fire, unharmed. What is more, the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the blazing fiery furnace. He said, “Shadrak, Meshak, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out!” Then Shadrak, Meshak, and Abednego came out from the middle of the furnace. 27 The satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the royal advisors gathered together and looked at these men. The fire had no power over their bodies. Not a hair on their head was singed, their robes were not damaged, and the smell of fire had not stuck to them.
28 Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrak, Meshak, and Abednego, who sent his angel and saved his servants, who trusted in God and ignored the king’s command. They gave up their bodies and did not pay homage or worship any god except their God. 29 So I have issued an order that every people, nation, and language that speaks any blasphemy against the God of Shadrak, Meshak, and Abednego shall be cut to pieces, and his house shall be turned into a pile of rubble, because there is no other god who is able to save like this.”
30 Then the king promoted Shadrak, Meshak, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
Love One Another
11 This is the message you have heard from the beginning: Love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the Evil One and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own works were evil, while those of his brother were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers,[a] if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have crossed over from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love[b] remains in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. 16 This is how we have come to know love: Jesus[c] laid down his life for us. And we also should lay down our lives for our brothers. 17 Whoever has worldly wealth and sees his brother in need but closes his heart against him—how can God’s love remain in him? 18 Dear children, let us love not only with word or with our tongue, but also in action and truth.
The Devil Tempts Jesus
4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where he was tempted by the Devil for forty days. He did not eat anything during those days. When they came to an end, he was hungry. 3 The Devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered him, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”[a]
5 The Devil led him up to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 The Devil told him, “I will give you all this power and the glory of these kingdoms, because it has been entrusted to me, and I can give it to anyone I want. 7 So, if you worship me, it will all be yours.”
8 Jesus answered him, “It is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”[b]
9 The Devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here, 10 because it is written:
He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you.
11 And,
they will lift you up with their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”[c]
12 Jesus answered him, “It says: ‘You shall not test the Lord your God.’”[d]
13 When the Devil had finished every temptation, he left him until an opportune time.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.