Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 20[a]
Prayer for the King in Time of War
1 For the leader. A psalm of David.
I
2 The Lord answer you in time of distress;
the name of the God of Jacob defend you!
3 May he send you help from the sanctuary,
from Zion be your support.(A)
4 May he remember[b] your every offering,
graciously accept your burnt offering,
Selah
5 Grant what is in your heart,
fulfill your every plan.
6 May we shout for joy at your victory,[c]
raise the banners in the name of our God.
The Lord grant your every petition!
II
7 Now I know the Lord gives victory
to his anointed.(B)
He will answer him from the holy heavens
with a strong arm that brings victory.
8 Some rely on chariots, others on horses,
but we on the name of the Lord our God.(C)
9 They collapse and fall,
but we stand strong and firm.(D)
10 Lord, grant victory to the king;
answer when we call upon you.
Psalm 21[d]
Thanksgiving and Assurances for the King
1 For the leader. A psalm of David.
I
2 Lord, the king finds joy in your power;(E)
in your victory how greatly he rejoices!
3 You have granted him his heart’s desire;
you did not refuse the request of his lips.
Selah
4 For you welcomed him with goodly blessings;
you placed on his head a crown of pure gold.
5 He asked life of you;
you gave it to him,
length of days forever.(F)
6 Great is his glory in your victory;
majesty and splendor you confer upon him.
7 You make him the pattern of blessings forever,
you gladden him with the joy of your face.
8 For the king trusts in the Lord,
stands firm through the mercy of the Most High.
II
9 Your hand will find all your enemies;
your right hand will find your foes!
10 At the time of your coming
you will make them a fiery furnace.
Then the Lord in his anger will consume them,
devour them with fire.
11 Even their descendants you will wipe out from the earth,
their offspring from the human race.
12 Though they intend evil against you,
devising plots, they will not succeed,
13 For you will put them to flight;
you will aim at their faces with your bow.
III
14 Arise, Lord, in your power!(G)
We will sing and chant the praise of your might.
Psalm 110[a]
God Appoints the King both King and Priest
1 A psalm of David.
The Lord says to my lord:[b]
“Sit at my right hand,
while I make your enemies your footstool.”(A)
2 The scepter of your might:
the Lord extends your strong scepter from Zion.
Have dominion over your enemies!
3 Yours is princely power from the day of your birth.
In holy splendor before the daystar,
like dew I begot you.(B)
4 The Lord has sworn and will not waver:
“You are a priest forever in the manner of Melchizedek.”[c](C)
5 At your right hand is the Lord,
who crushes kings on the day of his wrath,(D)
6 Who judges nations, heaps up corpses,
crushes heads across the wide earth,
7 [d]Who drinks from the brook by the wayside
and thus holds high his head.(E)
Psalm 116[a]
Thanksgiving to God Who Saves from Death
I
1 I love the Lord, who listened
to my voice in supplication,
2 Who turned an ear to me
on the day I called.
3 I was caught by the cords of death;[b](A)
the snares of Sheol had seized me;
I felt agony and dread.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord,
“O Lord, save my life!”
II
5 Gracious is the Lord and righteous;
yes, our God is merciful.(B)
6 The Lord protects the simple;
I was helpless, but he saved me.
7 Return, my soul, to your rest;
the Lord has been very good to you.(C)
8 For my soul has been freed from death,
my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.(D)
9 I shall walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.[c](E)
III
10 [d]I kept faith, even when I said,
“I am greatly afflicted!”(F)
11 I said in my alarm,
“All men are liars!”(G)
12 How can I repay the Lord
for all the great good done for me?
13 I will raise the cup of salvation[e]
and call on the name of the Lord.
14 I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
15 [f]Dear in the eyes of the Lord
is the death of his devoted.(H)
16 Lord, I am your servant,
your servant, the child of your maidservant;(I)
you have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer a sacrifice of praise
and call on the name of the Lord.(J)
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord(K)
in the presence of all his people,
19 In the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Hallelujah!
Psalm 117[g]
The Nations Called to Praise
1 Praise the Lord, all you nations!
Extol him, all you peoples!(L)
2 His mercy for us is strong;
the faithfulness of the Lord is forever.
Hallelujah!
Second Woe
18 Woe to those who yearn
for the day of the Lord![a]
What will the day of the Lord mean for you?
It will be darkness, not light!(A)
19 As if someone fled from a lion
and a bear met him;
Or as if on entering the house
he rested his hand against the wall,
and a snake bit it.
20 Truly, the day of the Lord will be darkness, not light,
gloom without any brightness!
21 [b](B)I hate, I despise your feasts,
I take no pleasure in your solemnities.
22 Even though you bring me your burnt offerings and grain offerings
I will not accept them;
Your stall-fed communion offerings,
I will not look upon them.
23 Take away from me
your noisy songs;
The melodies of your harps,
I will not listen to them.
24 Rather let justice surge like waters,
and righteousness like an unfailing stream.
25 (C)Did you bring me sacrifices and grain offerings
for forty years in the desert, O house of Israel?(D)
26 Yet you will carry away Sukuth,[c] your king,
and Kaiwan, your star-image,
your gods that you have made for yourselves,(E)
27 As I exile you beyond Damascus,
says the Lord,
whose name is the God of hosts.
Exhortations. 17 But you, beloved, remember the words spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,(A) 18 for they told you,(B) “In [the] last time there will be scoffers who will live according to their own godless desires.”[a] 19 These are the ones who cause divisions; they live on the natural plane, devoid of the Spirit.(C) 20 But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the holy Spirit.(D) 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.(E) 22 On those who waver, have mercy;[b] 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; on others have mercy with fear,[c] abhorring even the outer garment stained by the flesh.
Doxology.[d] 24 To the one who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished and exultant, in the presence of his glory,(F) 25 to the only God, our savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory, majesty, power, and authority from ages past, now, and for ages to come. Amen.(G)
15 (A)Then the Pharisees[a] went off and plotted how they might entrap him in speech. 16 They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians,[b] saying, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion, for you do not regard a person’s status. 17 [c]Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” 18 Knowing their malice, Jesus said, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? 19 [d]Show me the coin that pays the census tax.” Then they handed him the Roman coin. 20 He said to them, “Whose image is this and whose inscription?” 21 (B)They replied, “Caesar’s.”[e] At that he said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” 22 When they heard this they were amazed, and leaving him they went away.
The Question About the Resurrection.[f]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.