Book of Common Prayer
I Cry Out Day and Night Before You
A Song. A Psalm of (A)the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to (B)Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil[a] of (C)Heman the Ezrahite.
88 O Lord, (D)God of my salvation,
I (E)cry out day and night before you.
2 Let my prayer come before you;
(F)incline your ear to my cry!
3 For my soul is full of troubles,
and (G)my life draws near to (H)Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who (I)go down to the pit;
I am a man who has no strength,
5 like one set loose among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom (J)you remember no more,
for they are (K)cut off from your hand.
6 You have put me in (L)the depths of the pit,
in the (M)regions dark and (N)deep.
7 Your wrath (O)lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with (P)all your waves. Selah
8 You have caused (Q)my companions to shun me;
you have made me (R)a horror[b] to them.
I am (S)shut in so that I cannot escape;
9 (T)my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O Lord;
I (U)spread out my hands to you.
10 Do you work wonders for the dead?
(V)Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12 Are your (W)wonders known in (X)the darkness,
or your righteousness in the land of (Y)forgetfulness?
13 But I, O Lord, cry (Z)to you;
(AA)in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 O Lord, why (AB)do you cast my soul away?
Why (AC)do you hide your face from me?
15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.[c]
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
your (AD)dreadful assaults destroy me.
17 They (AE)surround me like a flood (AF)all day long;
they (AG)close in on me together.
18 You have caused (AH)my beloved and my friend to shun me;
my companions have become darkness.[d]
My Refuge and My Fortress
91 He who dwells in (A)the shelter of the Most High
will abide in (B)the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say[a] to the Lord, “My (C)refuge and my (D)fortress,
my God, in whom I (E)trust.”
3 For he will deliver you from (F)the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will (G)cover you with his pinions,
and under his (H)wings you will (I)find refuge;
his (J)faithfulness is (K)a shield and buckler.
5 (L)You will not fear (M)the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
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 look with your eyes
and (N)see the recompense of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the Lord your (O)dwelling place—
the Most High, who is my (P)refuge[b]—
10 (Q)no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
(R)no plague come near your tent.
11 (S)For he will command his (T)angels concerning you
to (U)guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you (V)strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on (W)the lion and the (X)adder;
the young lion and (Y)the serpent you will (Z)trample underfoot.
14 “Because he (AA)holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he (AB)knows my name.
15 When he (AC)calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and (AD)honor him.
16 With (AE)long life I will satisfy him
and (AF)show him my salvation.”
How Great Are Your Works
A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath.
92 (AG)It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, (AH)O Most High;
2 to declare your (AI)steadfast love in (AJ)the morning,
and your (AK)faithfulness by (AL)night,
3 to the music of (AM)the lute and (AN)the harp,
to the melody of (AO)the lyre.
4 For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your (AP)work;
at (AQ)the works of your hands I sing for joy.
5 How (AR)great are your works, O Lord!
Your (AS)thoughts are very (AT)deep!
6 The stupid man cannot know;
the fool cannot understand this:
7 that though (AU)the wicked sprout like grass
and all (AV)evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction forever;
8 but you, O Lord, are (AW)on high forever.
9 For behold, your enemies, O Lord,
for behold, your enemies shall perish;
all evildoers shall be (AX)scattered.
10 But you have exalted my (AY)horn like that of (AZ)the wild ox;
you have (BA)poured over me[c] fresh oil.
11 My (BB)eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.
12 (BC)The righteous flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in (BD)the courts of our God.
14 They still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green,
15 (BE)to declare that the Lord is upright;
he is my (BF)rock, and there is (BG)no unrighteousness in him.
The Lord Calls Samuel
3 (A)Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. (B)And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.
2 At that time Eli, (C)whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. 3 (D)The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down (E)in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.
4 Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” 5 and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.
6 And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel (F)at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli (G)all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 (H)And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, (I)because his sons were blaspheming God,[a] (J)and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli (K)that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”
15 Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” 17 And Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. (L)May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, (M)“It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.”
19 (N)And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him (O)and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel (P)from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. 21 And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel (Q)at Shiloh (R)by the word of the Lord.
37 Now when (A)they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, (B)what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, (C)“Repent and (D)be baptized every one of you (E)in the name of Jesus Christ (F)for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive (G)the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For (H)the promise is for you and (I)for your children and for all (J)who are far off, everyone (K)whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, (L)“Save yourselves from this (M)crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and (N)there were added that day about three thousand souls.
The Fellowship of the Believers
42 And (O)they devoted themselves to the apostles' (P)teaching and the (Q)fellowship, to (R)the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe[a] came upon every soul, and (S)many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and (T)had all things in common. 45 And (U)they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, (V)attending the temple (W)together and (X)breaking bread in their homes, they received their food (Y)with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and (Z)having favor with all the people. And the Lord (AA)added to their number (AB)day by day those who (AC)were being saved.
Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple
5 (A)And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, 6 “As for these things that you see, (B)the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” 7 And they asked him, “Teacher, (C)when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” 8 And he said, (D)“See that you are not led astray. For (E)many will come in my name, saying, (F)‘I am he!’ and, (G)‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them. 9 And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be (H)terrified, for these things (I)must first take place, but the end will not be at once.”
Jesus Foretells Wars and Persecution
10 Then he said to them, (J)“Nation will rise against nation, and (K)kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great (L)earthquakes, and in various places (M)famines and pestilences. And there will be (N)terrors and great (O)signs from heaven. 12 But before all this (P)they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to (Q)the synagogues and (R)prisons, and you (S)will be brought before (T)kings and (U)governors for my name's sake. 13 (V)This will be your opportunity to bear witness. 14 Settle it therefore in your minds (W)not to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15 for (X)I will give you a mouth and (Y)wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or (Z)contradict. 16 You will be delivered up (AA)even by parents and brothers[a] and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. 17 (AB)You will be hated by all for my name's sake. 18 But (AC)not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your (AD)endurance you will gain your lives.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.