Book of Common Prayer

Psalm 16

A Poem of David; [probably] intended to record memorable thoughts.

¹ Keep and protect me, O God, for in You I have found refuge, and in You do I put my trust and hide myself.

² I say to the Lord, You are my Lord; I have no good beside or beyond You.

³ As for the godly (the saints) who are in the land, they are the excellent, the noble, and the glorious, in whom is all my delight.

⁴ Their sorrows shall be multiplied who choose another god; their drink offerings of blood will I not offer or take their names upon my lips.

⁵ The Lord is my chosen and assigned portion, my cup; You hold and maintain my lot.

⁶ The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good heritage.

⁷ I will bless the Lord, Who has given me counsel; yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons.

⁸ I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

⁹ Therefore my heart is glad and my glory [my inner self] rejoices; my body too shall rest and confidently dwell in safety,

¹⁰ For You will not abandon me to Sheol (the place of the dead), neither will You suffer Your holy one [Holy One] to see corruption.^(A)

¹¹ You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.^(B)

Psalm 17

A Prayer of David.

¹ Hear the right (my righteous cause), O Lord; listen to my shrill, piercing cry! Give ear to my prayer, that comes from unfeigned and guileless lips.

² Let my sentence of vindication come from You! May Your eyes behold the things that are just and upright.

³ You have proved my heart; You have visited me in the night; You have tried me and find nothing [no evil purpose in me]; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.

⁴ Concerning the works of men, by the word of Your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent (the paths of the destroyer).

⁵ My steps have held closely to Your paths [to the tracks of the One Who has gone on before]; my feet have not slipped.

⁶ I have called upon You, O God, for You will hear me; incline Your ear to me and hear my speech.

⁷ Show Your marvelous loving-kindness, O You Who save by Your right hand those who trust and take refuge in You from those who rise up against them.

⁸ Keep and guard me as the pupil of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings

⁹ From the wicked who despoil and oppress me, my deadly adversaries who surround me.

¹⁰ They are enclosed in their own prosperity and have shut up their hearts to pity; with their mouths they make exorbitant claims and proudly and arrogantly speak.

¹¹ They track us down in each step we take; now they surround us; they set their eyes to cast us to the ground,

¹² Like a lion greedy and eager to tear his prey, and as a young lion lurking in hidden places.

¹³ Arise, O Lord! Confront and forestall them, cast them down! Deliver my life from the wicked by Your sword,

¹⁴ From men by Your hand, O Lord, from men of this world [these poor moths of the night] whose portion in life is idle and vain. Their bellies are filled with Your hidden treasure [what You have stored up]; their children are satiated, and they leave the rest [of their] wealth to their babes.

¹⁵ As for me, I will continue beholding Your face in righteousness (rightness, justice, and right standing with You); I shall be fully satisfied, when I awake [to find myself] beholding Your form [and having sweet communion with You].

Psalm 134

A Song of ^[a]Ascents.

¹ Behold, bless (affectionately and gratefully praise) the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, [singers] who by night stand in the house of the Lord.^(A)

² Lift up your hands in holiness and to the sanctuary and bless the Lord [affectionately and gratefully praise Him]!

³ The Lord bless you out of Zion, even He Who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 135

¹ Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!) Praise the name of the Lord; praise Him, O you servants of the Lord!

² You who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God,

³ Praise the Lord! For the Lord is good; sing praises to His name, for He is gracious and lovely!

⁴ For the Lord has chosen [the descendants of] Jacob for Himself, Israel for His peculiar possession and treasure.^(B)

⁵ For I know that the Lord is great and that our Lord is above all gods.

⁶ Whatever the Lord pleases, that has He done in the heavens and on earth, in the seas and all deeps—

⁷ Who causes the vapors to arise from the ends of the earth, Who makes lightnings for the rain, Who brings the wind out of His storehouses;

⁸ Who smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast;^(C)

⁹ Who sent signs and wonders into the midst of you, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh and all his servants;

¹⁰ Who smote nations many and great and slew mighty kings—

¹¹ Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan.

¹² [The Lord] gave their land as a heritage, a heritage to Israel His people.

¹³ Your name, O Lord, endures forever, Your fame, O Lord, throughout all ages.

¹⁴ For the Lord will judge and vindicate His people, and He will delay His judgments [manifesting His righteousness and mercy] and take into favor His servants [those who meet His terms of separation unto Him].^(D)

¹⁵ The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.

¹⁶ [Idols] have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not;

¹⁷ They have ears, but they hear not, nor is there any breath in their mouths.

¹⁸ Those who make [idols] are like them; so is everyone who trusts in and relies on them.^(E)

¹⁹ Bless (affectionately and gratefully praise) the Lord, O house of Israel; bless the Lord, O house of Aaron [God’s ministers].

²⁰ Bless the Lord, O house of Levi [the dedicated tribe]; you who reverently and worshipfully fear the Lord, bless the Lord [affectionately and gratefully praise Him]!^(F)

²¹ Blessed out of Zion be the Lord, Who dwells [with us] at Jerusalem! Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

3 Nebuchadnezzar the king [caused to be] made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits or ninety feet and its breadth six cubits or nine feet. He set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

² Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the satraps, the deputies, the governors, the judges and chief stargazers, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs and lawyers, and all the chief officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had [caused to be] set up.

³ Then the satraps, the deputies, the governors, the judges and chief stargazers, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs and lawyers, and all the chief officials of the provinces were gathered together for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

⁴ Then the herald cried aloud, You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages,

⁵ That when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, dulcimer or bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

⁶ And whoever does not fall down and worship shall that very hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

⁷ Therefore, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, dulcimer or bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

⁸ Therefore at that time certain men of Chaldean descent came near and brought [malicious] accusations against the Jews.

⁹ They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever!

¹⁰ You, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, dulcimer or bagpipe, and every kind of music shall fall down and worship the golden image,

¹¹ And that whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

¹² There are certain Jews whom you have appointed and set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.

¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; and these men were brought before the king.

¹⁴ [Then] Nebuchadnezzar said to them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image which I have set up?

¹⁵ Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, dulcimer or bagpipe, and every kind of music to fall down and worship the image which I have made, very good. But if you do not worship, you shall be cast at once into the midst of a burning fiery furnace, and who is that god who can deliver you out of my hands?

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, it is not necessary for us to answer you on this point.

¹⁷ If our God Whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.

¹⁸ But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up!^(A)

3 See what [^[a]an incredible] quality of love the Father has given (shown, bestowed on) us, that we should [be permitted to] be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are! The reason that the world does not know (recognize, acknowledge) us is that it does not know (recognize, acknowledge) Him.

² Beloved, we are [even here and] now God’s children; it is not yet disclosed (made clear) what we shall be [hereafter], but we know that when He comes and is manifested, we shall [^[b]as God’s children] resemble and be like Him, for we shall see Him ^[c]just as He [really] is.

³ And everyone who has this hope [resting] on Him cleanses (purifies) himself just as He is pure (chaste, undefiled, guiltless).

⁴ Everyone who commits (practices) sin is guilty of lawlessness; for [that is what] sin is, lawlessness (the breaking, violating of God’s law by transgression or neglect—being unrestrained and unregulated by His commands and His will).

⁵ You know that He appeared in visible form and became Man to take away [upon Himself] sins, and in Him there is no sin [^[d]essentially and forever].

⁶ No one who abides in Him [who lives and remains ^[e]in communion with and in obedience to Him—deliberately, knowingly, and ^[f]habitually] commits (practices) sin. No one who [habitually] sins has either seen or known Him [recognized, perceived, or understood Him, or has had an experiential acquaintance with Him].

^7 [g]Boys (lads), let no one deceive and lead you astray. He who practices righteousness [who is upright, conforming to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action, living a consistently conscientious life] is righteous, even as He is righteous.

⁸ [But] he who commits sin [who practices evildoing] is of the devil [takes his character from the evil one], for the devil has sinned (violated the divine law) from the beginning. The reason the Son of God was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the works the devil [has done].

⁹ No one born (begotten) of God [deliberately, knowingly, and ^[h]habitually] practices sin, for God’s nature abides in him [His principle of life, the divine sperm, remains permanently within him]; and he cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten) of God.

¹⁰ By this it is made clear who take their nature from God and are His children and who take their nature from the devil and are his children: no one who does not practice righteousness [who does not conform to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action] is of God; neither is anyone who does not love his brother (his fellow ^[i]believer in Christ).

¹⁵ As the people were in suspense and waiting expectantly, and everybody reasoned and questioned in their hearts concerning John, whether he perhaps might be the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

¹⁶ John answered them all by saying, I baptize you with water; but He Who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of Whose sandals I am not fit to unfasten. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

¹⁷ His winnowing shovel (fork) is in His hand to thoroughly clear and cleanse His [threshing] floor and to gather the wheat and store it in His granary, but the chaff He will burn with fire that cannot be extinguished.

¹⁸ So with many other [various] appeals and admonitions he preached the good news (the Gospel) to the people.

¹⁹ But Herod the tetrarch, who had been [repeatedly] told about his fault and reproved with rebuke ^[a]producing conviction by [John] for [having] Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the wicked things that Herod had done,

²⁰ Added this to them all—that he shut up John in prison.

²¹ Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized, and [while He was still] praying, the [visible] heaven was opened

²² And the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven, saying, You are My Son, My Beloved! In You I am well pleased and find delight!^(A)