Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 85
You Showed Favor to Your Land
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For the choir director. By the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
Past Goodness
1 You showed favor to your land, O Lord.
You restored Jacob.
2 You removed the guilt of your people. Interlude
You covered all their sin.
3 You put away all your wrath.
You turned from your burning anger.
Present Distress
4 Restore us, O God who saves us.
Put an end to your indignation with us.
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you extend your anger through all generations?
6 Will you not turn and revive us,
so that your people may rejoice in you?
Hope for the Future
7 Show us your mercy, O Lord,
and give us your salvation.
8 I will hear what the true God, the Lord, will say.
He indeed speaks peace to his people, to his favored ones,
but do not let them turn to foolish ways.
9 Surely his salvation is near for those who fear him,
so that glory may dwell in our land.
10 Mercy and truth meet together.
Righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Truth springs up from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.
12 The Lord will indeed give good things,
and our land will yield its harvest.
13 Righteousness walks in front of him.
It prepares the way for his footsteps.
Psalm 86
Guard My Life
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A prayer by David.
David’s Need and David’s Faith
1 Turn your ear, O Lord.
Answer me, for I am poor and needy.
2 Guard my life, for I am favored by you.[a]
You are my God.
Save your servant, who trusts in you.
3 Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for I call to you all day long.
4 Bring joy to the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
God’s Grace
5 Indeed, you, Lord, are good and forgiving
and abounding in mercy to all who call to you.
6 Give ear to my prayer, O Lord.
Pay attention to the sound of my cries for mercy.
God’s Ruling Power
7 In the day of my distress I will call to you,
because you will answer me.
8 There is no one like you among the gods, O Lord.
There are no deeds like your deeds.
9 All the nations you have made will come.
They will bow before you, O Lord,
and they will give glory to your name,
10 because you are great and do marvelous deeds.
You alone are God.
God’s Praise
11 Teach me your way, O Lord.
I will walk in your truth.
Give me wholehearted commitment to fear your name.
12 I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart,
and I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your mercy toward me,
and you have delivered my soul from “the lowest hell.”[b]
The Plea Repeated
14 God, the arrogant rise against me.
A mob of ruthless men seeks my life.
They pay no attention to you.
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in mercy and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and have mercy on me.
Give your strength to your servant.
Save the son of your maidservant.
17 Give a sign of your goodness for me.
Then those who hate me will see it and be put to shame,
because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
Psalm 91
The Shadow of Your Wings
The General Principle
1 One who lives in the shelter of the Most High
will stay in the shadow of the Almighty.
Application to Oneself
2 I will say to the Lord,
“My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.”
Application to Others
3 Surely he will rescue you from the fowler’s trap,
from the destructive plague.
4 With his feathers he will cover you,
and under his wings you will find refuge.
His truth will be your shield and armor.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the plague that prowls in the darkness,
nor the pestilence that destroys at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe it with your eyes.
You will see the punishment of the wicked.
Application to Oneself
9 Yes, you, Lord, are my refuge!
Application to Others
If you make the Most High your shelter,
10 evil will not overtake you.
Disaster will not come near your tent.
11 Yes, he will give a command to his angels concerning you,
to guard you in all your ways.
12 They will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra.
You will trample the young lion and the serpent.
God’s Promise of Delivery
14 The Lord says,[a]
Because he clings to me, I will rescue him.
I will protect him, because he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him.
I will be with him in distress.
I will deliver him and I will honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him,
and I will let him see my salvation.
Psalm 92
It Is Good to Praise the Lord
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A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath.
A Call to Praise
1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to make music to your name, O Most High,
2 to proclaim your mercy in the morning
and your faithfulness every night,
3 with a ten-stringed instrument and with a harp,
with a melody on a lyre.
The Blessings of Praise
4 Yes, you make me glad by your work, O Lord.
I sing loudly at the works of your hands.
5 How great are your works, O Lord.
Your thoughts are very deep!
The Folly and Fall of the Wicked
6 The senseless man does not know,
and the fool does not understand this—
7 when the wicked spring up like weeds,
and all evildoers bloom like flowers,
they will be destroyed forever.
Central Affirmation
8 But you are exalted forever, O Lord.
The Fall of the Wicked
9 Without a doubt your enemies, O Lord,
without a doubt your enemies will perish.
All evildoers will be scattered.
The Blessing of the Righteous
10 But you have raised my horn like that of a wild ox.[b]
I am drenched with fresh oil.[c]
11 My eyes have looked in triumph over my adversaries.
When evildoers rise against me, my ears hear their defeat.
12 The righteous will shoot up like a palm tree.
They will grow tall like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Planted in the house of the Lord,
they will shoot up in the courtyards of our God.
14 They will still produce fruit in old age.
They will stay fresh and green.
Closing Praise
15 Yes, they can proclaim, “The Lord is upright.
He is my Rock, and he does no wrong.”
28 The bright light that surrounded him looked like the rainbow that is in the clouds on a rainy day.
This was the appearance of the likeness of the Glory of the Lord. When I saw this, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice speaking.
Ezekiel’s Call
2 He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you.” 2 The Spirit entered into me as he spoke to me and brought me up to my feet. Then I heard him speaking to me.
3 He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the people of Israel,[a] to disloyal nations, who have been disloyal to me. They and their fathers have rebelled against me to this very day. 4 These children of mine are brazen-faced and hard-hearted. I am sending you to them, and you are to tell them that this is what the Lord God says. 5 Then, whether they listen or do not listen—for they are a rebellious house—then they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them, and do not be afraid of their words. Even though briers and thorns surround you and you are living with scorpions, do not be afraid of their words, and do not be intimidated by the look on their faces, for they are a rebellious house. 7 You are to speak my words to them whether they listen or they do not, for they are rebellious. 8 But you, son of man, listen to what I am telling you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.”
9 Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out toward me, and in it there was a rolled-up scroll. 10 He unrolled it in front of me, and there was writing on both sides. Written on it was: Laments, Groaning, and Woe.
3 Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat what you have received. Eat this scroll, and then go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 I opened my mouth, and he fed me the scroll.
3 Then he said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll that I am giving you.” I ate, and in my mouth it was sweet like honey.
Jesus Is Our High Priest
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest, who has gone through the heavens, namely, Jesus the Son of God, let us continue to hold on to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin. 16 So let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Our High Priest Is Like Melchizedek
5 To be sure, every high priest is chosen from the people and is appointed to represent the people in the things pertaining to God, so that he may offer gifts, as well as sacrifices, for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also weak in many ways. 3 And for this reason he is obligated to offer sacrifices for his own sins, just as he does for the people.
4 No one takes this honor on himself, but he is called by God, just as Aaron was. 5 In the same way, Christ did not take the glory of becoming a high priest on himself, but God said to him:
You are my Son.
Today I have begotten you.[a]
6 He also said the same thing in another place:
You are a priest forever, like Melchizedek.[b]
The Transfiguration
28 About eight days after he said these words, Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 While he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 Just then, two men, Moses and Elijah, were talking with him! 31 They appeared in glory and were talking about his departure,[a] which he was going to bring to fulfillment in Jerusalem.
32 Peter and those with him were weighed down with sleep, but when they were completely awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let’s make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not realize what he was saying.
34 While he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them. They were afraid as they went into the cloud. 35 Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love.[b] Listen to him!” 36 After the voice had spoken, they found Jesus alone. They kept this secret and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.