Book of Common Prayer
A Sad Complaint
A song. A psalm of the sons of Korah [C descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22]. For the director of music. By the ·mahalath [C perhaps “sickness”; Ps. 53] ·leannoth [C perhaps related to a word for “affliction” or a word for “chant”]. A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of Heman the Ezrahite [C perhaps a wise man (1 Kin. 4:31) or a Levitical singer (1 Chr. 6:16, 33, 39, 43–44; 15:17, 19)].
88 Lord, you are the God who ·saves me [gives me victory].
I cry out to you day and night.
2 Receive my prayer,
and ·listen [L extend your ear] to my cry.
3 My life is full of ·troubles [hurt; harm],
and ·I am nearly dead [L my life approaches/touches Sheol; C the grave or the underworld].
4 They think I am ·on the way to my grave [L like someone who goes down into the Pit].
I am like a man with no strength.
5 I have been ·left as dead [L freed among the dead],
like a ·body [corpse] lying in a grave
whom you don’t remember anymore,
cut off from your ·care [L hand].
6 You have ·brought me close to death [L set me in a Pit below];
·I am almost in the dark place of the dead [L …in the deepest darkness].
7 You have ·been very angry with [L put your wrath on] me;
·all your waves crush me [L you have afflicted me with all your breakers]. ·
8 You have ·taken [moved] my friends away from me
and have made ·them hate me [me an abomination to them].
I am ·trapped [imprisoned] and cannot ·escape [get out].
9 My eyes ·are weak [waste away] from ·crying [affliction].
Lord, I have ·prayed [called] to you every day;
I have ·lifted [spread out] my hands to you [C in prayer].
10 Do you ·show [L do] your ·miracles [wonderful acts] for the dead?
Do their ·spirits [shades; departed] rise up and ·praise [thank] you? ·
11 Will your ·love [loyalty] be ·told [recounted] in the grave?
Will your ·loyalty [faithfulness] be told in ·the place of death [L Abaddon/Destruction]?
12 Will your ·miracles [wonderful acts] be known in the ·dark grave [L darkness]?
Will your ·goodness [righteousness] be known in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But, Lord, I have called out to you for help;
every morning ·I pray to you [L my prayer comes before you].
14 Lord, why do you reject me?
Why do you hide your face from me?
15 I have been ·weak [afflicted] and dying since I was young.
I suffer from your terrors, and I am ·helpless [or depressed].
16 ·You have been angry with me [L Your wrath has passed over me],
and your terrors have ·destroyed [or silenced] me.
17 They surround me daily like ·a flood [water; C representing chaos];
they ·are [go] all around me.
18 You have ·taken away [removed me from] my loved ones and friends.
Darkness is my only friend.
Safe in the Lord
91 Those who ·go to God Most High for safety [L dwell/sit in the shelter of God Most High]
will ·be protected by [lodge in the shade/shadow of] the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “You are my ·place of safety [refuge] and ·protection [fortress].
You are my God and I ·trust [have confidence in] you.”
3 God will ·save [protect] you from ·hidden traps [L the snare of the fowler]
and from deadly ·diseases [pestilence].
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you ·can hide [will find refuge; Deut. 32:11; Is. 31:5; Matt. 23:37; Luke 13:34].
His ·truth [faithfulness] will be your shield and ·protection [buckler; C a small shield].
5 You will not fear any ·danger by [terror at] night
or an arrow that flies during the day.
6 ·You will not be afraid of diseases [L …or the pestilence] that ·come [walks; stalks] in the dark
or ·sickness [L stings] that ·strikes [devastates; overpowers] at noon.
7 At your side one thousand people may ·die [L fall],
or even ten thousand ·right beside you [L at your right hand],
but ·you will not be hurt [L it will not touch you].
8 You will only ·watch [L look with your eyes]
and see the wicked ·punished [recompensed].
9 ·The Lord is your protection [L For you, Lord, are my refuge];
you have made God Most High your ·place of safety [dwelling place].
10 Nothing ·bad [evil; harmful] will ·happen to [befall] you;
no ·disaster [blow; or plague] will ·come to [approach] your ·home [L tent].
11 He has ·put his angels in charge of [L commanded his angels/messengers concerning] you
to ·watch over [keep; guard] ·you wherever you go [L all your ways].
12 They will ·catch you [lift you up] in their hands
so that you will not hit your foot on a rock [Matt. 4:6; Luke 4:10–11].
13 You will ·walk [tread] on lions and cobras;
you will ·step on [trample] strong lions and snakes.
14 The Lord says, “Whoever ·loves [desires] me, I will ·save [rescue].
I will ·protect [lift to safety] those who know ·me [L my name].
15 They will call to me, and I will answer them.
I will be with them in ·trouble [distress];
I will rescue them and ·honor [glorify] them.
16 I will ·give them a long, full life [L satisfy them with length of days],
and ·they will see how I can save [L show them my salvation/victory].”
Thanksgiving for God’s Goodness
A psalm. A song for the Sabbath day [Ex. 20:8–11; Deut. 5:12–15].
92 It is good to ·praise [thank] you, Lord,
to ·sing praises to [L make a psalm to the name of] God Most High.
2 It is good to ·tell of [proclaim] your ·love [loyalty] in the morning
and of your ·loyalty [faithfulness] at night.
3 It is good to praise you with the ten-stringed lyre
and ·with the soft-sounding [melody of the] harp.
4 Lord, you have made me ·happy [rejoice] by what you have done;
I will ·sing [shout] for joy about ·what your hands have done [L the works of your hand].
5 Lord, ·you have done such great things [L how great are your works]!
How deep are your thoughts [Is. 55:8; Rom. 11:33–34]!
6 ·Stupid [Senseless; Dull-witted] people don’t know these things,
and fools don’t understand.
7 Wicked people ·grow [may sprout] like the grass.
Evil people ·seem to do well [may blossom/flourish],
but they will be ·destroyed [doomed] forever.
8 But, Lord, you will be ·honored [exalted] forever.
9 Lord, surely your enemies,
surely your enemies will ·be destroyed [perish],
and all who do evil will be scattered.
10 But you have ·made me as strong as [exalted my horn like; C symbol of strength] an ox.
You have poured ·fine [rich; fresh] oils on me [C a gesture of hospitality].
11 When ·I [L my eyes] looked, I saw my enemies;
I heard the cries of those who ·are against me [L rose against me with evil; C he sees and hears the defeat of his enemies].
12 But ·good [righteous] people will ·grow [sprout] like palm trees [1:3; 52:8];
they will ·be tall [grow great] like the cedars of Lebanon [C trees that are strong, majestic, and long-lived].
13 Like trees planted in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord,
they will ·grow strong [sprout] in the courtyards of our God.
14 When they are old, they will still produce fruit;
they will be healthy and ·fresh [green; verdant].
15 They will ·say [proclaim] that the Lord is ·good [virtuous; full of integrity; upright].
He is my Rock [28:1; 42:9; 62:2; Deut. 32:4], and there is no wrong in him.
The Rider on the White Horse
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and there before me was a white horse. The rider [C Jesus] on the horse is called Faithful and True, and ·he is right when [with justice/righteousness] he judges and makes war [Ps. 96:13; 98:9]. 12 His eyes are like ·burning [blazing; flames of] fire [Dan. 10:6], and on his head are many ·crowns [diadems; royal crowns; C contrast 12:3; 13:1]. He has a name written on him, which no one but himself knows. 13 He is dressed in a ·robe [garment] dipped in blood [C indicating judgment; Is. 63:1–3], and his name is the Word of God [John 1:1]. 14 The armies of heaven, dressed in fine linen, white and ·clean [pure], were following him on white horses. 15 Out of the rider’s mouth comes a sharp sword [1:16] that he will use to ·defeat [strike down] the nations [Is. 11:4], and he will ·rule [or shepherd] them with a ·rod [staff; scepter] of iron [Ps. 2:9]. He will ·crush out [tread; stomp] the wine in the winepress of the ·terrible anger [furious wrath] of God the ·Almighty [All-powerful; 19:13; Is. 63:1–6]. 16 On his robe and on his upper leg was written this name: king of kings and lord of lords [17:14; Deut. 10:17; Dan. 2:47].
Peter Says Jesus Is the Christ(A)
13 When Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi [C 25 miles north of Lake Galilee near Mount Hermon], he asked his ·followers [disciples], “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They answered, “Some say you are John the Baptist. Others say you are Elijah [C some Jews expected Elijah to return in the end times; Mal. 4:5], and still others say you are Jeremiah or one of the prophets [Deut. 18:15].”
15 Then Jesus asked them, “·And [But] who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the ·Christ [Messiah], the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus answered, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because ·no person taught you that [L flesh and blood did not reveal this to you]. [L But; Rather] My Father in heaven ·showed you who I am [revealed it]. 18 So I tell you, you are Peter [C the Greek petros, like the Aramaic cephas, means “rock” or “stone”]. On this rock I will build my church, and the ·power of death [L gates of Hades/the underworld] will not be able to ·defeat [overpower; conquer; prevail against] it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; ·the things [and whatever] you ·don’t allow [forbid; L bind] on earth will be ·the things that God does not allow [forbidden/L bound in heaven], and ·the things [whatever] you ·allow [permit; L loose] on earth will be ·the things that God allows [permitted/L loosed in heaven].” 20 Then Jesus [sternly] warned his ·followers [disciples] not to tell anyone he was the ·Christ [Messiah].
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