Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 20[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
20 May the Lord answer[b] you[c] when you are in trouble;[d]
may the God of Jacob[e] make you secure.
2 May he send you help from his temple;[f]
from Zion may he give you support.
3 May he take notice of[g] all your offerings;
may he accept[h] your burnt sacrifice. (Selah)
4 May he grant your heart’s desire;[i]
may he bring all your plans to pass.[j]
5 Then we will shout for joy over your[k] victory;
we will rejoice[l] in the name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your requests.
6 Now I am sure[m] that the Lord will deliver[n] his chosen king;[o]
he will intervene for him[p] from his holy, heavenly temple,[q]
and display his mighty ability to deliver.[r]
7 Some trust in chariots and others in horses,[s]
but we[t] depend on[u] the Lord our God.
8 They will fall down,[v]
but we[w] will stand firm.[x]
9 The Lord will deliver the king;[y]
he will answer us[z] when we call to him for help![aa]
Psalm 21[ab]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
21 O Lord, the king rejoices in the strength you give;[ac]
he takes great delight in the deliverance you provide.[ad]
2 You grant[ae] him his heart’s desire;
you do not refuse his request.[af] (Selah)
3 For you bring him[ag] rich[ah] blessings;[ai]
you place a golden crown on his head.
4 He asked you to sustain his life,[aj]
and you have granted him long life and an enduring dynasty.[ak]
5 Your deliverance brings him great honor;[al]
you give him majestic splendor.[am]
6 For you grant him lasting blessings;
you give him great joy by allowing him into your presence.[an]
7 For the king trusts[ao] in the Lord,
and because of the Most High’s[ap] faithfulness he is not shaken.[aq]
8 You[ar] prevail over[as] all your enemies;
your power is too great for those who hate you.[at]
9 You burn them up like a fiery furnace[au] when you appear.[av]
The Lord angrily devours them;[aw]
the fire consumes them.
10 You destroy their offspring[ax] from the earth,
their descendants[ay] from among the human race.[az]
11 Yes,[ba] they intend to do you harm;[bb]
they dream up a scheme,[bc] but they do not succeed.[bd]
12 For you make them retreat[be]
when you aim your arrows at them.[bf]
13 Rise up, O Lord, in strength![bg]
We will sing and praise[bh] your power.
Psalm 110[a]
A psalm of David.
110 Here is the Lord’s proclamation[b] to my lord:[c]
“Sit down at my right hand[d] until I make your enemies your footstool.”[e]
2 The Lord[f] extends[g] your dominion[h] from Zion.
Rule in the midst of your enemies.
3 Your people willingly follow you[i] when you go into battle.[j]
On the holy hills[k] at sunrise[l] the dew of your youth[m] belongs to you.[n]
4 The Lord makes this promise on oath[o] and will not revoke it:[p]
“You are an eternal priest[q] after the pattern of[r] Melchizedek.”[s]
5 O Lord,[t] at your right hand
he strikes down[u] kings in the day he unleashes his anger.[v]
6 He executes judgment[w] against[x] the nations.
He fills the valleys with corpses;[y]
he shatters their heads over the vast battlefield.[z]
7 From the stream along the road he drinks;
then he lifts up his head.[aa]
Psalm 116[a]
116 I love the Lord
because he heard my plea for mercy,[b]
2 and listened to me.[c]
As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help.[d]
3 The ropes of death tightened around me,[e]
the snares[f] of Sheol confronted me.
I was confronted[g] with trouble and sorrow.
4 I called on the name of the Lord,
“Please, Lord, rescue my life!”
5 The Lord is merciful and fair;
our God is compassionate.
6 The Lord protects[h] the untrained;[i]
I was in serious trouble[j] and he delivered me.
7 Rest once more, my soul,[k]
for the Lord has vindicated you.[l]
8 Yes,[m] Lord,[n] you rescued my life from death,
kept my eyes from tears
and my feet from stumbling.
9 I will serve[o] the Lord
in the land[p] of the living.
10 I had faith when I said,
“I am severely oppressed.”
11 I rashly declared,[q]
“All men are liars.”
12 How can I repay the Lord
for all his acts of kindness to me?
13 I will celebrate my deliverance,[r]
and call on the name of the Lord.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people.
15 The Lord values
the lives of his faithful followers.[s]
16 Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your female servant.[t]
You saved me from death.[u]
17 I will present a thank offering to you,
and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people,
19 in the courts of the Lord’s temple,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 117[v]
Water at Massah and Meribah
17 [a] The whole community[b] of the Israelites traveled on their journey[c] from the wilderness of Sin according to the Lord’s instruction, and they pitched camp in Rephidim.[d] Now[e] there was no water for the people to drink.[f] 2 So the people contended[g] with Moses, and they said, “Give us water to drink!”[h] Moses said to them, “Why do you contend[i] with me? Why do you test[j] the Lord?” 3 But the people were very thirsty[k] there for water, and they murmured against Moses and said, “Why in the world[l] did you bring us up from Egypt—to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?”[m]
4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What will I do with[n] this people?—a little more[o] and they will stone me!”[p] 5 The Lord said to Moses, “Go over before the people;[q] take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile and go. 6 I will be standing[r] before you there on[s] the rock in Horeb, and you will strike[t] the rock, and water will come out of it so that the people may drink.”[u] And Moses did so in plain view[v] of the elders of Israel.
7 He called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contending of the Israelites and because of their testing the Lord,[w] saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Victory over the Amalekites
8 [x] Amalek came[y] and attacked[z] Israel in Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our[aa] men and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”
10 So Joshua fought against Amalek just as Moses had instructed him,[ab] and Moses and Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses would raise his hands,[ac] then Israel prevailed, but whenever he would rest[ad] his hands, then Amalek prevailed. 12 When[ae] the hands of Moses became heavy,[af] they took a stone and put it under him, and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other,[ag] and so his hands were steady[ah] until the sun went down. 13 So Joshua destroyed[ai] Amalek and his army[aj] with the sword.[ak]
14 The Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in the[al] book, and rehearse[am] it in Joshua’s hearing;[an] for I will surely wipe out[ao] the remembrance[ap] of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 Moses built an altar, and he called it “The Lord is my Banner,”[aq] 16 for he said, “For a hand was lifted up to the throne of the Lord[ar]—that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”[as]
Service, Suffering, and Judgment
7 For the culmination of all things is near. So be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of prayer.[a] 8 Above all keep[b] your love for one another fervent,[c] because love covers a multitude of sins.[d] 9 Show hospitality[e] to one another without complaining. 10 Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another[f] as good stewards of the varied grace of God. 11 Whoever speaks, let it be with[g] God’s words.[h] Whoever serves, do so with the strength[i] that God supplies, so that in everything God will be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong[j] the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
12 Dear friends, do not be astonished[k] that a trial by fire is occurring among you,[l] as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice in the degree that you have shared in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed[m] you may also rejoice and be glad.[n] 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory,[o] who is the Spirit of God,[p] rests[q] on you. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or thief or criminal or as a troublemaker.[r] 16 But if you suffer as a Christian,[s] do not be ashamed, but glorify[t] God that you bear such a name.[u] 17 For it is time for judgment to begin, starting with the house[v] of God. And if it starts with us, what will be the fate[w] of those who are disobedient to the gospel of God? 18 And if the righteous are barely saved, what will become of[x] the ungodly and sinners?[y] 19 So then let those who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator as they do good.[z]
16 In a little while you[a] will see me no longer; again after a little while, you[b] will see me.”[c]
17 Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What is the meaning of what he is saying,[d] ‘In a little while you[e] will not see me; again after a little while, you[f] will see me,’ and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?”[g] 18 So they kept on repeating,[h] “What is the meaning of what he says,[i] ‘In a little while’?[j] We do not understand[k] what he is talking about.”[l]
19 Jesus could see[m] that they wanted to ask him about these things,[n] so[o] he said to them, “Are you asking[p] each other about this—that I said, ‘In a little while you[q] will not see me; again after a little while, you[r] will see me’? 20 I tell you the solemn truth,[s] you will weep[t] and wail,[u] but the world will rejoice; you will be sad,[v] but your sadness will turn into[w] joy. 21 When a woman gives birth, she has distress[x] because her time[y] has come, but when her child is born, she no longer remembers the suffering because of her joy that a human being[z] has been born into the world.[aa] 22 So also you have sorrow[ab] now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.[ac] 23 At that time[ad] you will ask me nothing. I tell you the solemn truth,[ae] whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.[af] 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive it,[ag] so that your joy may be complete.
25 “I have told you these things in obscure figures of speech;[ah] a time[ai] is coming when I will no longer speak to you in obscure figures, but will tell you[aj] plainly[ak] about the Father. 26 At that time[al] you will ask in my name, and I do not say[am] that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.[an] 28 I came from the Father and entered into the world, but in turn,[ao] I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”[ap]
29 His disciples said, “Look, now you are speaking plainly[aq] and not in obscure figures of speech![ar] 30 Now we know that you know everything[as] and do not need anyone[at] to ask you anything.[au] Because of this[av] we believe that you have come from God.”
31 Jesus replied,[aw] “Do you now believe? 32 Look, a time[ax] is coming—and has come—when you will be scattered, each one to his own home,[ay] and I will be left alone.[az] Yet[ba] I am not alone, because my Father[bb] is with me. 33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering,[bc] but take courage[bd]—I have conquered the world.”[be]
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