Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 20
Deliverance in Battle
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 May the Lord answer you in a day of trouble;(A)
may the name of Jacob’s God protect you.(B)
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and sustain you from Zion.(C)
3 May he remember all your offerings
and accept your burnt offering.(D)Selah
4 May he give you what your heart desires(E)
and fulfill your whole purpose.(F)
5 Let us shout for joy at your victory(G)
and lift the banner in the name of our God.(H)
May the Lord fulfill all your requests.(I)
6 Now I know that the Lord gives victory to his anointed;(J)
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with mighty victories from his right hand.(K)
7 Some take pride in chariots, and others in horses,
but we take pride in the name of the Lord our God.(L)
8 They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand firm.(M)
9 Lord, give victory to the king!(N)
May he[a] answer us on the day that we call.
Psalm 21
The King’s Victory
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 Lord, the king finds joy in your strength.
How greatly he rejoices in your victory!(O)
2 You have given him his heart’s desire(P)
and have not denied the request of his lips.(Q)Selah
3 For you meet him with rich blessings;
you place a crown of pure gold on his head.(R)
4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—
length of days forever and ever.(S)
5 His glory is great through your victory;
you confer majesty and splendor on him.(T)
6 You give him blessings forever;(U)
you cheer him with joy in your presence.(V)
7 For the king relies on the Lord;
through the faithful love of the Most High
he is not shaken.(W)
8 Your hand will capture all your enemies;
your right hand will seize those who hate you.(X)
9 You will make them burn
like a fiery furnace when you appear;
the Lord will engulf them in his wrath,
and fire will devour them.(Y)
10 You will wipe their progeny from the earth
and their offspring from the human race.[b](Z)
11 Though they intend to harm[c] you
and devise a wicked plan, they will not prevail.(AA)
12 Instead, you will put them to flight
when you ready your bowstrings to shoot at them.(AB)
13 Be exalted, Lord, in your strength;
we will sing and praise your might.(AC)
Psalm 110
The Priestly King
A psalm of David.
1 This is the declaration of the Lord
to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool.”(A)
2 The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion.
Rule[a] over your surrounding[b] enemies.(B)
3 Your people will volunteer
on your day of battle.[c](C)
In holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn,
the dew of your youth belongs to you.[d](D)
4 The Lord has sworn an oath and will not take it back:
“You are a priest forever
according to the pattern of Melchizedek.”(E)
Psalm 116
Thanks to God for Deliverance
1 I love the Lord because he has heard
my appeal for mercy.(A)
2 Because he has turned his ear to me,
I will call out to him as long as I live.(B)
3 The ropes of death were wrapped around me,
and the torments of Sheol overcame me;
I encountered trouble and sorrow.(C)
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“Lord, save me!” (D)
5 The Lord is gracious and righteous;
our God is compassionate.(E)
6 The Lord guards the inexperienced;
I was helpless, and he saved me.(F)
7 Return to your rest, my soul,
for the Lord has been good to you.(G)
8 For you, Lord, rescued me from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling.(H)
9 I will walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.(I)
10 I believed, even when I said,
“I am severely oppressed.”(J)
11 In my alarm I said,
“Everyone is a liar.”(K)
12 How can I repay the Lord
for all the good he has done for me?(L)
13 I will take the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord.(M)
14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.(N)
15 The death of his faithful ones
is valuable in the Lord’s sight.(O)
16 Lord, I am indeed your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your female servant.
You have loosened my bonds.(P)
17 I will offer you a thanksgiving sacrifice
and call on the name of the Lord.(Q)
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,(R)
19 in the courts of the Lord’s house—
within you, Jerusalem.(S)
Hallelujah!
Psalm 117
Universal Call to Praise
Water from the Rock
17 The entire Israelite community left the Wilderness of Sin, moving from one place to the next according to the Lord’s command. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.(A) 2 So the people complained to Moses, “Give us water to drink.”
“Why are you complaining to me?” Moses replied to them. “Why are you testing(B) the Lord?”
3 But the people thirsted there for water and grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you ever bring us up from Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” (C)
4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with these people? In a little while they will stone me!” (D)
5 The Lord answered Moses, “Go on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Take the staff you struck the Nile with in your hand and go. 6 I am going to stand there in front of you on the rock at Horeb; when you hit the rock, water(E) will come out of it and the people will drink.” Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 He named the place Massah[a] and Meribah[b](F) because the Israelites complained, and because they tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
The Amalekites Attack
8 At Rephidim, Amalek[c](G) came and fought against Israel. 9 Moses said to Joshua,(H) “Select some men for us and go fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with God’s staff in my hand.”
10 Joshua did as Moses had told him, and fought against Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 While Moses held up his hand,[d] Israel prevailed, but whenever he put his hand[e] down, Amalek prevailed.(I) 12 When Moses’s hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat down on it. Then Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down. 13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his army[f] with the sword.
14 The Lord then said to Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua: I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek under heaven.”(J)
15 And Moses built an altar(K) and named it, “The Lord Is My Banner.”[g] 16 He said, “Indeed, my hand is lifted up toward[h] the Lord’s throne. The Lord will be at war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
End-Time Ethics
7 The end of all things is near;(A) therefore, be alert and sober-minded(B) for prayer. 8 Above all, maintain constant love(C) for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins.[a](D) 9 Be hospitable(E) to one another without complaining. 10 Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others,(F) as good stewards of the varied grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, let it be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, let it be from the strength God provides,(G) so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
Christian Suffering
12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you, as if something unusual were happening to you.(H) 13 Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ,(I) so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed.(J) 14 If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ,(K) you are blessed, because the Spirit(L) of glory and of God[b] rests on you. 15 Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler.[c] 16 But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name.[d] 17 For the time has come for judgment(M) to begin with God’s household,(N) and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?
18 And if a righteous person is saved with difficulty,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?[e](O)
19 So then, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust themselves(P) to a faithful Creator while doing what is good.
Sorrow Turned to Joy
16 “In a little while,(A) you will no longer see me; (B) again in a little while, you will see me.”[a]
17 Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this he’s telling us: ‘In a little while, you will not see me; again in a little while, you will see me,’ and, ‘Because I am going to the Father’(C)?” 18 They said, “What is this he is saying,[b] ‘In a little while’? We don’t know what he’s talking about.”
19 Jesus knew they wanted to ask him, and so he said to them, “Are you asking one another about what I said, ‘In a little while, you will not see me; again in a little while, you will see me’? 20 Truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn,(D) but the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful,(E) but your sorrow will turn to joy. 21 When a woman is in labor, she has pain(F) because her time has come. But when she has given birth to a child,(G) she no longer remembers the suffering because of the joy that a person has been born into the world. 22 So you also have sorrow[c] now. But I will see you again. Your hearts will rejoice,(H) and no one will take away your joy from you.(I)
23 “In that day you will not ask me anything. Truly I tell you, anything you ask the Father in my name, he will give you.(J) 24 Until now you have asked for nothing in my name.(K) Ask and you will receive,(L) so that your joy may be complete.(M)
Jesus the Victor
25 “I have spoken these things to you in figures of speech. A time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but I will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 On that day you will ask(N) in my name, and(O) I am not telling you that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved(P) me and have believed that I came from God.[d](Q) 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”(R)
29 His disciples said, “Look, now you’re speaking plainly and not using any figurative language. 30 Now we know that you know everything(S) and don’t need anyone to question you. By this we believe that you came from God.”(T)
31 Jesus responded to them, “Do you now believe? 32 Indeed, an hour is coming, and has come,(U) when each of you will be scattered to his own home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.(V) 33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
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