Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer Against the Enemies
A song. A psalm of Asaph [C a Levitical musician, a descendant of Gershon, at the time of David; 1 Chr. 6:39; 15:17; 2 Chr. 5:12].
83 God, do not keep quiet;
God, do not be silent or still.
2 Your enemies are ·making noises [in tumult];
those who hate you ·are getting ready to attack [L raise up their head; 2:1].
3 They are making secret ·plans [plots] against your people;
they plot against those you ·love [cherish; treasure].
4 They say, “Come, let’s ·destroy them [wipe them out] as a nation.
Then no one will ever remember the name ‘Israel.’”
5 They ·are united in their plan [L plot with one mind/heart].
These have ·made an agreement [L cut a covenant/treaty] against you:
6 the ·families [L tents] of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
7 the people of Byblos, Ammon, Amalek,
Philistia, and inhabitants of Tyre.
8 Even Assyria has joined them
to ·help Ammon and Moab, the [L be the arm of the] descendants of Lot [C a list of traditional enemies of Israel]. ·
9 God, do to them what you did to Midian,
what you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon ·River [Wadi; Judg. 4–5].
10 They ·died [were destroyed] at Endor,
·and their bodies rotted [L like dung/manure] on the ground.
11 Do to their ·important leaders [princes; nobles] what you did to Oreb and Zeeb [Judg. 7:25].
Do to their princes what you did to Zebah and Zalmunna [Judg. 8:21].
12 They said, “Let’s take for ourselves
the pasturelands that belong to God.”
13 My God, make them like tumbleweed,
like chaff blown ·away by [before] the wind [C rootless and landless; 1:4].
14 Be like a fire that burns a forest
or like flames that blaze through the ·hills [mountains].
15 ·Chase [Pursue] them with your ·storm [tempest],
and ·frighten [terrify] them with your ·wind [hurricane].
16 ·Cover [L Fill] them with shame.
Then people will ·look for you [L seek your name], Lord.
17 Make them afraid and ashamed forever.
·Disgrace [Humiliate] them and destroy them.
18 Then they will know that ·you are the Lord [L the Lord is your name],
that only you are God Most High over all the earth.
The Lord the Shepherd
A psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd;
I ·have everything I need [L will lack nothing].
2 He ·lets me rest [makes me lie down] in green pastures.
He leads me to ·calm [quiet] water.
3 He ·gives me new strength [T renews my soul].
He leads me on paths that are ·right [righteous; or straight]
for the ·good [sake] of his ·name [reputation].
4 Even if I walk through ·a very dark valley [or the shadow of death],
I will ·not be afraid [T fear no evil],
because you are with me.
Your rod and your shepherd’s staff comfort me.
5 You prepare a ·meal [L table] for me
in ·front [the presence] of my enemies.
You ·pour oil of blessing on my head [anoint my head with oil; C oil was a means of refreshment in a hot, dry environment];
you ·fill my cup to overflowing [L make my cup overflow; C a cup of blessing].
6 Surely your goodness and ·love [loyalty; T mercy] will ·be with [pursue; T follow] me
all my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord ·forever [L for length of days].
A Song of Trust in God
Of David.
27 The Lord is my light [18:28; 43:3; Is. 9:2; John 1:4, 9; 8:12; 1 John 1:5] and ·the one who saves me [my salvation].
·So why should I fear anyone [L Whom should I fear]?
The Lord ·protects [L is the stronghold/refuge of] my life.
·So why [L Of whom] should I be afraid?
2 Evil people may try to ·destroy my body [L approach me and devour/consume my flesh].
My enemies and those who hate me ·are overwhelmed and defeated [L stumble and fall].
3 If an army ·surrounds [L camps around] me,
·I [L my heart] will not be afraid.
If war ·breaks out [rises against me],
I will ·trust [have confidence in] ·the Lord [L in this; Rom. 8:31–39].
4 I ask only one thing from the Lord.
This is what I ·want [L seek after]:
Let me ·live [dwell] in the Lord’s house [C the sanctuary]
all the days of my life.
Let me see the Lord’s beauty
and ·look with my own eyes [L make inquiry; C discover God’s will] at his Temple.
5 ·During danger [L In the day of trouble] he will ·keep me safe [L hide me] in his shelter.
He will ·hide [conceal] me in his Holy Tent,
or he will ·keep me safe [L set me high] on a ·high mountain [L rock].
6 My head is higher than my enemies around me.
I will offer joyful sacrifices in his Holy Tent [C the Tabernacle].
I will sing and praise the Lord.
7 Lord, hear ·me [L my voice] when I ·call [pray];
have mercy and answer me.
8 My heart said of you, “Go, ·worship him [L seek his face].”
So I ·come to worship you [L seek your face], Lord.
9 Do not ·turn away [L hide your face] from me.
Do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have helped me.
Do not push me away or ·leave me alone [abandon me],
God, my Savior.
10 If my father and mother ·leave [abandon] me,
the Lord will take me in.
11 Lord, teach me your ways,
and guide me ·to do what is right [L on a straight/right path]
because ·I have [L of my] enemies.
12 Do not hand me over to my enemies,
because ·they tell lies about [L false witnesses rise up against] me [Ex. 20:16]
and ·say they will hurt me [L they breathe out violence].
13 I truly believe
I will see the Lord’s goodness ·during my life [L in the land of the living].
14 ·Wait for [Hope in] the Lord’s help.
Be strong and let your heart be brave,
and ·wait for [hope in] the Lord’s help.
A Prayer for the Nation
For the director of music. A psalm of the sons of Korah [C descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22].
85 Lord, you ·have been kind to [delight in] your land;
you ·brought back [restored the fortunes of; C perhaps at the end of the exile] the people of Jacob [C another name for Israel].
2 You forgave the guilt of the people
and covered all their sins. ·
3 You ·stopped [drew back from] all your anger;
you turned back from your ·strong [burning] anger.
4 God our Savior, ·bring us back again [restore us again].
Stop being angry with us.
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you ·stay angry [draw out your anger against us] from now on?
6 Won’t you give us life again?
Your people would rejoice in you.
7 Lord, show us your ·love [loyalty],
and ·save us [L give to us your salvation/victory].
8 I will listen to what God the Lord says.
He has ·ordered [spoken; promised] ·peace [prosperity] for ·those who worship him [L his people, his saints/loyal ones].
Don’t let them go back to foolishness.
9 ·God will soon save those who respect him [L His salvation/victory is near to those who fear him; Prov. 1:7],
and his glory will ·be seen [L dwell] in our land.
10 ·Love [Loyalty] and ·truth [faithfulness] ·belong to God’s people [L meet];
·goodness [righteousness] and ·peace [prosperity] ·will be theirs [L kiss].
11 ·On earth people will be loyal to God [Faithfulness sprouts/blooms from the earth/land],
and ·God’s goodness [righteousness] will ·shine [look] down from heaven.
12 The Lord will give his ·goodness [or good gifts],
and the land will give its crops.
13 ·Goodness [Righteousness] will go before ·God [L him]
and prepare the way for ·him [L his steps].
A Cry for Help
A prayer of David.
86 Lord, ·listen to me [L incline your ear] and answer me.
I am poor and ·helpless [needy].
2 ·Protect [Guard] me, because I ·worship you [am loyal/holy/a saint].
My God, ·save me [give me victory], your servant who ·trusts [has confidence] in you.
3 Lord, ·have mercy on [be gracious to] me,
because I have called to you all day.
4 Give ·happiness [joy] to me, your servant,
because I ·give [lift up] my life to you, Lord.
5 Lord, you are ·kind [good] and forgiving
and have great ·love [loyalty] for those who call to you [Ex. 34:7].
6 Lord, ·hear [L give ear to] my prayer,
and ·listen [pay attention] ·when I ask for mercy [L to the sound of my supplication].
7 I call to you in ·times of trouble [L the day of my distress],
because you will answer me.
8 Lord, there is ·no god like you [L none like you among the gods; Ex. 15:11; 20:3]
and no works like yours.
9 Lord, all the nations you have made
will come and ·worship [bow down before] you.
They will ·honor you [L glorify your name].
10 You are great and you do ·miracles [wonderful acts].
Only you are God.
11 Lord, teach me ·what you want me to do [L your way],
and I will ·live [walk] ·by your truth [in your faithfulness].
·Teach me to respect you completely [L Give me an undivided heart to fear your name].
12 Lord, my God, I will ·praise [thank] you with all my heart,
and I will ·honor [glorify] your name forever.
13 You have great ·love [loyalty] for me.
You have ·saved [T delivered] me from ·death [L Sheol down below; C the grave or the underworld].
14 God, ·proud [arrogant] people ·are attacking [rise up against] me;
a ·gang [assembly] of ·cruel [violent] people ·is trying to kill me [seek my life].
They do not ·respect you [L set you before them].
15 But, Lord, you are a God who shows ·mercy [compassion] and is ·kind [merciful; compassionate].
You ·don’t become angry quickly [are patient/longsuffering].
You have great ·love [loyalty] and ·faithfulness [truth; Ex. 34:6–7].
16 Turn to me and ·have mercy [be gracious].
Give me, your servant, strength.
·Save [Give victory to] me, the son of your female servant.
17 ·Show [L Give] me a sign of your goodness.
When my enemies look, they will be ashamed.
You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
People in Heaven Praise God
19 After ·this vision and announcement [L these things] I heard ·what sounded like a great many people [L the loud voice/sound of a great crowd] in heaven saying:
“·Hallelujah! [C From the Hebrew meaning “Praise the Lord/Yahweh!]
Salvation, ·glory [honor], and power belong to our God,
2 because his judgments are true and ·right [just].
He has ·punished [judged] the [L great] ·prostitute [whore]
who ·made the earth evil [corrupted the earth] with her ·sexual sin [fornication].
He has ·paid her back for [avenged] the ·death [L blood] of his servants [which she shed; L by her hand].”
3 Again they said:
“Hallelujah [see 19:1]!
She is burning [C implied by the context], and her smoke will rise forever and ever.”
4 Then the twenty-four elders [4:4] and the four living creatures ·bowed [fell] down and worshiped God, who sits on the throne. They said:
“Amen [C meaning, “So be it!”], Hallelujah [see 19:1]!”
5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying:
“Praise our God, all ·you who serve him [his servants/slaves]
and all you who ·honor [L fear; Prov. 1:7] him, both small and great!”
6 Then I heard ·what sounded like a great many people [L the voice/sound of a great crowd], like the noise of ·flooding water [many waters], and like the noise of loud thunder. The people were saying:
“Hallelujah [19:1]!
[L For] Our Lord God, the ·Almighty [All-powerful], ·rules [reigns].
7 Let us rejoice and ·be happy [exult]
and give ·God [L him] ·glory [honor],
because the ·wedding [marriage] of the Lamb has come,
and the Lamb’s bride has made herself ready.
8 Fine linen, bright and ·clean [pure], was given to her to wear.”
(The fine linen ·means [is; stands for] the ·good things done by God’s holy people [L righteousness/righteous deeds of the saints/holy ones].)
9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: ·Blessed [Happy] are those who have been invited to the wedding ·meal [supper; banquet] of the Lamb!” And the angel said [L to me], “These are the true words of God.”
10 Then I ·bowed down [fell] at the angel’s feet to worship him, but he said to me, “·Do not worship me [Don’t do that!; L See, not]! I am a ·servant like you [fellow servant with you] and your brothers and sisters who have the ·message [witness; testimony] of Jesus. Worship God, because the ·message [witness; testimony] ·about [or from] Jesus ·is the spirit that gives all prophecy [or is the essence of true prophecy; or is Spirit-inspired prophecy; L is the spirit/Spirit of prophecy].”
The Leaders Ask for a Miracle(A)
16 The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus, wanting to ·trick [test] him. So they asked him to show them a ·miracle [sign] from ·God [L heaven; C possibly a sign in the sky, but more likely a Jewish way of saying “from God”].
2 Jesus answered,[a] “·At sunset [In the evening] you say we will have good weather, because the sky is red. 3 And in the morning you say that it will be ·a rainy day [stormy; bad weather], because the sky is red and ·dark [threatening; overcast]. You see ·these signs in [the appearance of] the sky and know ·what they mean [how to interpret them]. ·In the same way [or However; On the other hand], you ·see the things that I am doing now, but you don’t know their meaning [L cannot interpret the signs of the times]. 4 ·Evil and sinful people [L An evil/wicked and adulterous generation] ·ask for [seek; demand] a miracle as a sign, but they will not be given any sign, except the sign of Jonah [see 12:40; Jon. 1:17].” Then Jesus left them and went away.
Guard Against Wrong Teachings(B)
5 Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] went ·across the lake [L to the other side], but they had forgotten to bring bread. 6 Jesus said to them, “·Be careful [Watch out]! Beware of the ·yeast [leaven] of the Pharisees and the Sadducees [C yeast or leaven refers here to the dangerous permeating power of their influence].”
7 ·His followers [L They] discussed the meaning of this, saying, “He said this because we forgot to bring bread.”
8 Knowing what they were talking about, Jesus asked them, “Why are you ·talking [discussing; arguing] about not having bread? ·Your faith is small [What little faith you have!; T You of little faith]. 9 Do you still not understand? Remember the five loaves of bread that fed the five thousand? And remember that you filled many baskets with the leftovers? 10 Or the seven loaves of bread that fed the four thousand and the many [large] baskets you filled then also? 11 Why don’t you understand that I was not talking to you about bread? I am telling you to beware of the ·yeast [leaven] of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” 12 Then ·the followers [L they] understood that Jesus was not telling them to beware of the ·yeast [leaven] used in bread but to beware of the teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
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