Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for God’s Mercy upon the Nation.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
85 O Lord, You have [at last] shown favor to Your land [of Canaan];
You have restored [from Babylon] the captives of Jacob (Israel).
2
You have forgiven the wickedness of Your people;
You have covered all their sin. Selah.
3
You have withdrawn all Your wrath,
You have turned away from Your burning anger.
4
Restore us, O God of our salvation,
And cause Your indignation toward us to cease.
5
Will You be angry with us forever?
Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?
6
Will You not revive us and bring us to life again,
That Your people may rejoice in You?
7
Show us Your lovingkindness, O Lord,
And grant us Your salvation.
8
I will hear [with expectant hope] what God the Lord will say,
For He will speak peace to His people, to His [a]godly ones—
But let them not turn again to folly.
9
Surely His salvation is near to those who [reverently] fear Him [and obey Him with submissive wonder],
That glory [the manifest presence of God] may dwell in our land.
10
Steadfast love and truth and faithfulness meet together;
Righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11
Truth springs from the earth,
And righteousness looks down from heaven.
12
Indeed, the Lord will give what is good,
And our land will yield its produce.
13
Righteousness will go before Him
And will make His footsteps into a way [in which to walk].
A Psalm of Supplication and Trust.
A Prayer of David.
86 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
For I am distressed and needy [I long for Your help].
2
Protect my life (soul), for I am godly and faithful;
O You my God, save Your servant, who trusts in You [believing in You and relying on You, confidently committing everything to You].
3
Be gracious and merciful to me, O Lord,
For to You I cry out all the day long.
4
Make Your servant rejoice,
For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul [all that I am—in prayer].
5
For You, O Lord, are good, and ready to forgive [our sins, sending them away, completely letting them go forever and ever];
And abundant in lovingkindness and overflowing in mercy to all those who call upon You.
6
Hear, O Lord, my prayer;
And listen attentively to the voice of my supplications (specific requests)!
7
In the day of my trouble I will call upon You,
For You will answer me.
8
There is no one like You among the gods, O Lord,
Nor are there any works [of wonder and majesty] like Yours.
9
All nations whom You have made shall come and kneel down in worship before You, O Lord,
And they shall glorify Your name.
10
For You are great and do wondrous works!
You alone are God.
11
Teach me Your way, O Lord,
I will walk and live in Your truth;
Direct my heart to fear Your name [with awe-inspired reverence and submissive wonder].(A)
12
I will give thanks and praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart;
And will glorify Your name forevermore.
13
For great is Your lovingkindness and graciousness toward me;
And You have rescued my life from the depths of Sheol [from death].
14
O God, arrogant and insolent men have risen up against me;
A band of violent men have sought my life,
And they have not set You before them.
15
But You, O Lord, are a God [who protects and is] merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.
16
Turn to me, and be gracious to me;
Grant Your strength [Your might and the power to resist temptation] to Your servant,
And save the son of Your handmaid.
17
Show me a sign of [Your] goodwill,
That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed,
Because You, O Lord, helped and comforted me.
Security of the One Who Trusts in the Lord.
91 He who [a]dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will remain secure and rest in the shadow of the Almighty [whose power no enemy can withstand].
2
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust [with great confidence, and on whom I rely]!”
3
For He will save you from the trap of the fowler,
And from the deadly pestilence.
4
He will cover you and completely protect you with His pinions,
And under His wings you will find refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and a wall.
5
You will not be afraid of the terror of night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6
Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction (sudden death) that lays waste at noon.
7
A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But danger will not come near you.
8
You will only [be a spectator as you] look on with your eyes
And witness the [divine] repayment of the wicked [as you watch safely from the shelter of the Most High].
9
Because you have made the Lord, [who is] my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,(A)
10
No evil will befall you,
Nor will any plague come near your tent.
11
For He will command His angels in regard to you,
To protect and defend and guard you in all your ways [of obedience and service].
12
They will lift you up in their hands,
So that you do not [even] strike your foot against a stone.(B)
13
You will tread upon the lion and cobra;
The young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.(C)
14
“Because he set his love on Me, therefore I will save him;
I will set him [securely] on high, because he knows My name [he confidently trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never abandon him, no, never].
15
“He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16
“With a long life I will satisfy him
And I will let him see My salvation.”
Praise for the Lord’s Goodness.
A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath day.
92 It is a good and delightful thing to give thanks to the Lord,
To sing praises to Your name, O Most High,
2
To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning
And Your faithfulness by night,
3
With an instrument of ten strings and with the harp,
With a solemn sound on the lyre.
4
For You, O Lord, have made me glad by Your works;
At the works of Your hands I joyfully sing.
5
How great are Your works, O Lord!
Your thoughts are very deep [beyond man’s understanding].
6
A senseless man [in his crude and uncultivated state] knows nothing,
Nor does a [self-righteous] fool understand this:
7
That though the wicked sprout up like grass
And all evildoers flourish,
They will be destroyed forever.
8
But You, Lord, are on high forever.
9
For behold, Your enemies, O Lord,
For behold, Your enemies will perish;
All who do evil will be scattered.
10
But my horn [my emblem of strength and power] You have exalted like that of a wild ox;
I am anointed with fresh oil [for Your service].
11
My eye has looked on my foes;
My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me.
12
The righteous will flourish like the date palm [long-lived, upright and useful];
They will grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic and stable].
13
Planted in the house of the Lord,
They will flourish in the courts of our God.
14
[Growing in grace] they will still thrive and bear fruit and prosper in old age;
They will flourish and be [b]vital and fresh [rich in trust and love and contentment];
15
[They are living memorials] to declare that the Lord is upright and faithful [to His promises];
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.(D)
Hannah’s Song of Thanksgiving
2 Hannah prayed and said,
“My heart rejoices and triumphs in the Lord;
My horn (strength) is lifted up in the Lord,
My mouth has opened wide [to speak boldly] against my enemies,
Because I rejoice in Your salvation.
2
“There is no one holy like the Lord,
There is no one besides You,
There is no Rock like our God.
3
“Do not go on boasting so very proudly,
Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth;
For the Lord is a God of knowledge,
And by Him actions are weighed (examined).
4
“The bows of the mighty are [a]broken,
But those who have stumbled equip themselves with strength.
5
“Those who were full hire themselves out for bread,
But those who were hungry cease [to hunger].
Even the barren [woman] gives birth to seven,
But she who has many children withers away.
6
“The Lord puts to death and makes alive;
He brings down to Sheol (the grave) and raises up [from the grave].
7
“The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
He brings low and He lifts up.
8
“He raises up the poor from the dust,
He lifts up the needy from the ash heap
To make them sit with nobles,
And inherit a seat of honor and glory;
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
And He set the land on them.
9
“He guards the feet of His godly (faithful) ones,
But the wicked ones are silenced and perish in darkness;
For a man shall not prevail by might.
10
“The adversaries of the Lord will be broken to pieces;
He will thunder against them in the heavens,
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
And He will give strength to His [b]king,
And will exalt the horn (strength) of His anointed.”(A)
Made Alive in Christ
2 And you [He made alive when you] were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you once walked. You were following the ways of this world [influenced by this present age], in accordance with the prince of the power of the air (Satan), the spirit who is now at work in the disobedient [the unbelieving, who fight against the purposes of God]. 3 Among these [unbelievers] we all once lived in the passions of our flesh [our behavior governed by the sinful self], indulging the desires of [a]human nature [without the Holy Spirit] and [the impulses] of the [sinful] mind. We were, by nature, children [under the sentence] of [God’s] wrath, just like the rest [of mankind]. 4 But God, being [so very] rich in mercy, because of His great and wonderful love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of our sins, He made us [spiritually] alive together with Christ (for by His grace—His undeserved favor and mercy—you have been saved from God’s judgment).(A) 6 And He raised us up together with Him [when we believed], and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, [because we are] in Christ Jesus, 7 [and He did this] so that in the ages to come He might [clearly] show the immeasurable and unsurpassed riches of His grace in [His] kindness toward us in Christ Jesus [by providing for our redemption]. 8 For it is by grace [God’s remarkable compassion and favor drawing you to Christ] that you have been saved [actually delivered from judgment and given eternal life] through faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [not through your own effort], but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God; 9 not as a result of [your] works [nor your attempts to keep the Law], so that no one will [be able to] boast or take credit in any way [for his salvation]. 10 For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us].(B)
22 Many will say to Me on that day [when I judge them], ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and driven out demons in Your name, and done many miracles in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them publicly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me [you are banished from My presence], you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands].’(A)
The Two Foundations
24 “So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, will be like a wise man [a far-sighted, practical, and sensible man] who built his house on the rock.(B) 25 And the rain fell, and the floods and torrents came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them, will be like a foolish (stupid) man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods and torrents came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great and complete was its fall.”
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