Book of Common Prayer
The Hope of the Faithful, and the Messiah’s Victory
A (A)Michtam of David.
16 Preserve[a] me, O God, for in You I put my trust.
2 O my soul, you have said to the Lord,
“You are my Lord,
(B)My goodness is nothing apart from You.”
3 As for the saints who are on the earth,
“They are the excellent ones, in (C)whom is all my delight.”
4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god;
Their drink offerings of (D)blood I will not offer,
(E)Nor take up their names on my lips.
5 O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You [b]maintain my lot.
6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Yes, I have a good inheritance.
7 I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel;
My [c]heart also instructs me in the night seasons.
8 (F)I have set the Lord always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will [d]rest in hope.
10 (G)For You will not leave my soul in [e]Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to [f]see corruption.
11 You will show me the (H)path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Prayer with Confidence in Final Salvation
A Prayer of David.
17 Hear a just cause, O Lord,
Attend to my cry;
Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips.
2 Let my vindication come from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright.
3 You have tested my heart;
You have visited me in the night;
(I)You have [g]tried me and have found [h]nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth shall not (J)transgress.
4 Concerning the works of men,
By the word of Your lips,
I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.
5 (K)Uphold my steps in Your paths,
That my footsteps may not slip.
6 (L)I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God;
Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.
7 Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,
O You who [i]save those who trust in You
From those who rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the [j]apple of Your eye;
Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,
9 From the wicked who oppress me,
From my deadly enemies who surround me.
10 They have closed up their (M)fat hearts;
With their mouths they (N)speak proudly.
11 They have now surrounded us in our steps;
They have set their eyes, crouching down to the earth,
12 As a lion is eager to tear his prey,
And like a young lion lurking in secret places.
13 Arise, O Lord,
Confront him, cast him down;
Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword,
14 With Your hand from men, O Lord,
From men of the world who have their portion in this life,
And whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure.
They are satisfied with children,
And leave the rest of their possession for their babes.
The Suffering, Praise, and Posterity of the Messiah
To the Chief Musician. Set to [a]“The Deer of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David.
22 My (A)God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Why are You so far from helping Me,
And from the words of My groaning?
2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season, and am not silent.
3 But You are holy,
Enthroned in the (B)praises of Israel.
4 Our fathers trusted in You;
They trusted, and You delivered them.
5 They cried to You, and were delivered;
(C)They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.
6 But I am (D)a worm, and no man;
(E)A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
7 (F)All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They [b]shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8 “He(G) [c]trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him;
(H)Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”
9 (I)But You are He who took Me out of the womb;
You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.
10 I was cast upon You from birth.
From My mother’s womb
(J)You have been My God.
11 Be not far from Me,
For trouble is near;
For there is none to help.
12 (K)Many bulls have surrounded Me;
Strong bulls of (L)Bashan have encircled Me.
13 (M)They [d]gape at Me with their mouths,
Like a raging and roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water,
(N)And all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It has melted [e]within Me.
15 (O)My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And (P)My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
(Q)They[f] pierced My hands and My feet;
17 I can count all My bones.
(R)They look and stare at Me.
18 (S)They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.
19 But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me;
O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
20 Deliver Me from the sword,
(T)My[g] precious life from the power of the dog.
21 (U)Save Me from the lion’s mouth
And from the horns of the wild oxen!
(V)You have answered Me.
22 (W)I will declare Your name to (X)My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 (Y)You who fear the Lord, praise Him!
All you [h]descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But (Z)when He cried to Him, He heard.
25 (AA)My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;
(AB)I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.
Let your heart live forever!
27 All the ends of the world
Shall remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the [i]nations
Shall worship before [j]You.
28 (AC)For the kingdom is the Lord’s,
And He rules over the nations.
29 (AD)All the prosperous of the earth
Shall eat and worship;
(AE)All those who go down to [k]the dust
Shall bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep himself alive.
30 A posterity shall serve Him.
It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,
31 They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born,
That He has done this.
7 Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, (A)“Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. 8 And the Lord, (B)He is the One who goes before you. (C)He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”
The Law to Be Read Every Seven Years
9 So Moses wrote this law (D)and delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi, (E)who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 And Moses commanded them, saying: “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the (F)year of release, (G)at the Feast of Tabernacles, 11 when all Israel comes to (H)appear before the Lord your God in the (I)place which He chooses, (J)you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 (K)Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the Lord your God and carefully observe all the words of this law, 13 and that their children, (L)who have not known it, (M)may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess.”
24 So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book, when they were finished, 25 that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying: 26 “Take this Book of the Law, (A)and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there (B)as a witness against you; 27 (C)for I know your rebellion and your (D)stiff neck. If today, while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the Lord, then how much more after my death? 28 Gather to me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their hearing (E)and call heaven and earth to witness against them. 29 For I know that after my death you will (F)become utterly corrupt, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you. And (G)evil will befall you (H)in the latter days, because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands.”
The Song of Moses
30 Then Moses spoke in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song until they were ended:
The Song of Moses
32 “Give (I)ear, O heavens, and I will speak;
And hear, O (J)earth, the words of my mouth.
2 Let (K)my [a]teaching drop as the rain,
My speech distill as the dew,
(L)As raindrops on the tender herb,
And as showers on the grass.
3 For I proclaim the (M)name of the Lord:
(N)Ascribe greatness to our God.
4 He is (O)the Rock, (P)His work is perfect;
For all His ways are justice,
(Q)A God of truth and (R)without injustice;
Righteous and upright is He.
Israel Needs the Gospel
10 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for [a]Israel is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness (A)that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of (B)God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own (C)righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 4 For (D)Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, (E)“The man who does those things shall live by them.” 6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, (F)“Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) 7 or, (G)“ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? (H)“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that (I)if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, (J)“Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For (K)there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for (L)the same Lord over all (M)is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For (N)“whoever calls (O)on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
The Great Tribulation(A)
15 (B)“Therefore when you see the (C)‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (D)(whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But (E)woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For (F)then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; (G)but for the [a]elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
23 (H)“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For (I)false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, (J)if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.
26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 (K)For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 (L)For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
The Coming of the Son of Man(M)
29 (N)“Immediately after the tribulation of those days (O)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 (P)Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, (Q)and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 (R)And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His [b]elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.