Book of Common Prayer
Prayer to Frustrate Conspiracy Against Israel
A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.
83 Do(A) not keep silent, O God!
Do not hold Your peace,
And do not be still, O God!
2 For behold, (B)Your enemies make a [a]tumult;
And those who hate You have [b]lifted up their head.
3 They have taken crafty counsel against Your people,
And consulted together (C)against Your sheltered ones.
4 They have said, “Come, and (D)let us cut them off from being a nation,
That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”
5 For they have consulted together with one [c]consent;
They [d]form a confederacy against You:
6 (E)The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites;
Moab and the Hagrites;
7 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek;
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Assyria also has joined with them;
They have helped the children of Lot. Selah
9 Deal with them as with (F)Midian,
As with (G)Sisera,
As with Jabin at the Brook Kishon,
10 Who perished at En Dor,
(H)Who became as refuse on the earth.
11 Make their nobles like (I)Oreb and like Zeeb,
Yes, all their princes like (J)Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 Who said, “Let us take for ourselves
The pastures of God for a possession.”
13 (K)O my God, make them like the whirling dust,
(L)Like the chaff before the wind!
14 As the fire burns the woods,
And as the flame (M)sets the mountains on fire,
15 So pursue them with Your tempest,
And frighten them with Your storm.
16 Fill their faces with shame,
That they may seek Your name, O Lord.
17 Let them be [e]confounded and dismayed forever;
Yes, let them be put to shame and perish,
18 (N)That they may know that You, whose (O)name alone is the Lord,
Are (P)the Most High over all the earth.
The Happiness of Those Who Trust in God
A Psalm of David (A)when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.
34 I will (B)bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
4 I (C)sought the Lord, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 (D)The [a]angel of the Lord (E)encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.
8 Oh, (F)taste and see that the Lord is good;
(G)Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints!
There is no [b]want to those who fear Him.
10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
(H)But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me;
(I)I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 (J)Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking (K)deceit.
14 (L)Depart from evil and do good;
(M)Seek peace and pursue it.
15 (N)The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 (O)The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
(P)To [c]cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and (Q)the Lord hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 (R)The Lord is near (S)to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as [d]have a contrite spirit.
19 (T)Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
(U)But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 He guards all his bones;
(V)Not one of them is broken.
21 (W)Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous shall be [e]condemned.
22 The Lord (X)redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.
Prayer that the Lord Will Restore Favor to the Land
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm (A)of the sons of Korah.
85 Lord, You have been favorable to Your land;
You have (B)brought back the captivity of Jacob.
2 You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people;
You have covered all their sin. Selah
3 You have taken away all Your wrath;
You have turned from the fierceness of Your anger.
4 (C)Restore us, O God of our salvation,
And cause Your anger toward us to cease.
5 (D)Will You be angry with us forever?
Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?
6 Will You not (E)revive us again,
That Your people may rejoice in You?
7 Show us Your mercy, Lord,
And grant us Your salvation.
8 I will hear what God the Lord will speak,
For He will speak peace
To His people and to His saints;
But let them not turn back to [a]folly.
9 Surely (F)His salvation is near to those who fear Him,
(G)That glory may dwell in our land.
10 Mercy and truth have met together;
(H)Righteousness and peace have kissed.
11 Truth shall spring out of the earth,
And righteousness shall look down from heaven.
12 (I)Yes, the Lord will give what is good;
And our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before Him,
And shall make His footsteps our pathway.
Prayer for Mercy, with Meditation on the Excellencies of the Lord
A Prayer of David.
86 Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me;
For I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my [b]life, for I am holy;
You are my God;
Save Your servant who trusts in You!
3 Be merciful to me, O Lord,
For I cry to You all day long.
4 [c]Rejoice the soul of Your servant,
(J)For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
5 For (K)You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.
6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
And attend to the voice of my supplications.
7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon You,
For You will answer me.
8 (L)Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord;
Nor are there any works like Your works.
9 All nations whom You have made
Shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
And shall glorify Your name.
10 For You are great, and (M)do wondrous things;
(N)You alone are God.
11 (O)Teach me Your way, O Lord;
I will walk in Your truth;
[d]Unite my heart to fear Your name.
12 I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,
And I will glorify Your name forevermore.
13 For great is Your mercy toward me,
And You have delivered my soul from the depths of [e]Sheol.
14 O God, the proud have risen against me,
And a mob of violent men have sought my life,
And have not set You before them.
15 But (P)You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious,
Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.
16 Oh, turn to me, and have mercy on me!
Give Your strength to Your servant,
And save the son of Your maidservant.
17 Show me a sign for good,
That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed,
Because You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
Dissension of Aaron and Miriam
12 Then (A)Miriam and Aaron [a]spoke (B)against Moses because of the [b]Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for (C)he had married an Ethiopian woman. 2 So they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through (D)Moses? (E)Has He not spoken through us also?” And the Lord (F)heard it. 3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)
4 (G)Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!” So the three came out. 5 (H)Then the Lord came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward. 6 Then He said,
“Hear now My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I, the Lord, make Myself known to him (I)in a vision;
I speak to him (J)in a dream.
7 Not so with (K)My servant Moses;
(L)He is faithful in all (M)My house.
8 I speak with him (N)face to face,
Even (O)plainly,[c] and not in [d]dark sayings;
And he sees (P)the form of the Lord.
Why then (Q)were you not afraid
To speak against My servant Moses?”
9 So the anger of the Lord was aroused against them, and He departed. 10 And when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, (R)suddenly Miriam became (S)leprous, as white as snow. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam, and there she was, a leper. 11 So Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord! Please (T)do not lay [e]this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned. 12 Please (U)do not let her be as one dead, whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb!”
13 So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “Please (V)heal her, O God, I pray!”
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but (W)spit in her face, would she not be shamed seven days? Let her be (X)shut[f] out of the camp seven days, and afterward she may be received again.” 15 (Y)So Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days, and the people did not journey till Miriam was brought in again. 16 And afterward the people moved from (Z)Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.
12 For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law 13 (for (A)not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; 14 for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show the (B)work of the law written in their hearts, their (C)conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) 16 (D)in the day when God will judge the secrets of men (E)by Jesus Christ, (F)according to my gospel.
The Jews Guilty as the Gentiles
17 [a]Indeed (G)you are called a Jew, and (H)rest[b] on the law, (I)and make your boast in God, 18 and (J)know His will, and (K)approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, 19 and (L)are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, (M)having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. 21 (N)You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? 22 You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, (O)do you rob temples? 23 You who (P)make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? 24 For (Q)“the name of God is (R)blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep(A)
10 “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven (B)their angels always (C)see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11 (D)For[a] the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.
12 (E)“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? 13 And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 Even so it is not the (F)will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
Dealing with a Sinning Brother
15 “Moreover (G)if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, (H)you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that (I)‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a (J)heathen and a tax collector.
18 “Assuredly, I say to you, (K)whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19 (L)“Again[b] I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, (M)it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered (N)together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.