Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 88
A Cry of Desperation
A song. A psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choir director: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.(A)
1 Lord, God of my salvation,
I cry out before you day and night.(B)
2 May my prayer reach your presence;
listen to my cry.(C)
3 For I have had enough troubles,
and my life is near Sheol.(D)
4 I am counted among those going down to the Pit.(E)
I am like a man without strength,(F)
5 abandoned[a] among the dead.
I am like the slain lying in the grave,(G)
whom you no longer remember,
and who are cut off from your care.[b](H)
6 You have put me in the lowest part of the Pit,
in the darkest places, in the depths.(I)
7 Your wrath weighs heavily on me;(J)
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.(K)Selah
8 You have distanced my friends from me;
you have made me repulsive to them.(L)
I am shut in and cannot go out.
9 My eyes are worn out from crying.(M)
Lord, I cry out to you all day long;(N)
I spread out my hands to you.(O)
10 Do you work wonders for the dead?
Do departed spirits rise up to praise you?(P)Selah
11 Will your faithful love be declared in the grave,
your faithfulness in Abaddon?(Q)
12 Will your wonders be known in the darkness
or your righteousness in the land of oblivion?(R)
13 But I call to you for help, Lord;
in the morning my prayer meets you.(S)
14 Lord, why do you reject me?(T)
Why do you hide your face from me?(U)
15 From my youth,
I have been suffering and near death.
I suffer your horrors; I am desperate.(V)
16 Your wrath sweeps over me;
your terrors destroy me.(W)
17 They surround me like water all day long;
they close in on me from every side.(X)
18 You have distanced loved one and neighbor from me;
darkness is my only friend.[c](Y)
Psalm 91
The Protection of the Most High
1 The one who lives under the protection of the Most High
dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.(A)
2 I will say[a] concerning the Lord, who is my refuge and my fortress,
my God in whom I trust:(B)
3 He himself will rescue you from the bird trap,(C)
from the destructive plague.
4 He will cover you with his feathers;
you will take refuge under his wings.(D)
His faithfulness will be a protective shield.(E)
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
the arrow that flies by day,(F)
6 the plague that stalks in darkness,
or the pestilence that ravages at noon.(G)
7 Though a thousand fall at your side
and ten thousand at your right hand,
the pestilence will not reach you.(H)
8 You will only see it with your eyes
and witness the punishment of the wicked.(I)
9 Because you have made the Lord—my refuge,(J)
the Most High—your dwelling place,(K)
10 no harm will come to you;
no plague will come near your tent.(L)
11 For he will give his angels orders concerning you,
to protect you in all your ways.(M)
12 They will support you with their hands
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.(N)
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the young lion and the serpent.(O)
14 Because he has his heart set on me,
I will deliver him;
I will protect him because he knows my name.(P)
15 When he calls out to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble.
I will rescue him and give him honor.(Q)
16 I will satisfy him with a long life(R)
and show him my salvation.(S)
Psalm 92
God’s Love and Faithfulness
A psalm. A song for the Sabbath day.
1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praise to your name, Most High,(T)
2 to declare your faithful love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,(U)
3 with a ten-stringed harp[b]
and the music of a lyre.(V)
4 For you have made me rejoice, Lord,
by what you have done;
I will shout for joy
because of the works of your hands.(W)
5 How magnificent are your works, Lord,
how profound your thoughts!(X)
6 A stupid person does not know,
a fool does not understand this:(Y)
7 though the wicked sprout like grass(Z)
and all evildoers flourish,
they will be eternally destroyed.(AA)
8 But you, Lord, are exalted forever.(AB)
9 For indeed, Lord, your enemies—
indeed, your enemies will perish;
all evildoers will be scattered.(AC)
10 You have lifted up my horn(AD)
like that of a wild ox;
I have been anointed[c] with the finest oil.(AE)
11 My eyes look at my enemies;
when evildoers rise against me,
my ears hear them.(AF)
12 The righteous thrive like a palm tree
and grow like a cedar tree in Lebanon.(AG)
13 Planted in the house of the Lord,
they thrive in the courts of our God.(AH)
14 They will still bear fruit in old age,
healthy and green,(AI)
15 to declare, “The Lord is just;
he is my rock,
and there is no unrighteousness in him.”(AJ)
Samuel’s Call
3 The boy Samuel served the Lord in Eli’s presence.(A) In those days the word of the Lord was rare and prophetic visions were not widespread.(B)
2 One day Eli, whose eyesight was failing,(C) was lying in his usual place. 3 Before the lamp of God had gone out,(D) Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was located.
4 Then the Lord called Samuel,[a] and he answered, “Here I am.” 5 He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
“I didn’t call,” Eli replied. “Go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
6 Once again the Lord called, “Samuel!”
Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
“I didn’t call, my son,” he replied. “Go back and lie down.”
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, because the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 Once again, for the third time, the Lord called Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 He told Samuel, “Go and lie down. If he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 The Lord came, stood there, and called as before, “Samuel, Samuel!”
Samuel responded, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
11 The Lord said to Samuel, “I am about to do something in Israel that will cause everyone who hears about it to shudder.[b](E) 12 On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I said about his family, from beginning to end.(F) 13 I told him that I am going to judge his family forever because of the iniquity he knows about: his sons are cursing God,[c] and he has not stopped them.(G) 14 Therefore, I have sworn to Eli’s family: The iniquity of Eli’s family will never be wiped out by either sacrifice or offering.”(H)
15 Samuel lay down until the morning; then he opened the doors of the Lord’s house. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, 16 but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.”
“Here I am,” answered Samuel.
17 “What was the message he gave you?” Eli asked. “Don’t hide it from me. May God punish you and do so severely if you hide anything from me that he told you.”(I) 18 So Samuel told him everything and did not hide anything from him. Eli responded, “He is the Lord. Let him do what he thinks is good.”(J)
19 Samuel grew.(K) The Lord was with him,(L) and he fulfilled everything Samuel prophesied.[d](M) 20 All Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a confirmed prophet of the Lord.(N) 21 The Lord continued to appear in Shiloh, because there he revealed himself to Samuel by his word.(O)
Call to Repentance
37 When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” (A)
38 Peter replied, “Repent(B) and be baptized,(C) each of you, in the name(D) of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off,(E) as many as the Lord our God will call.” 40 With many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt[a] generation!” (F) 41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.
A Generous and Growing Church
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching,(G) to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.(H)
43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles.(I) 44 Now all the believers were together and held all things in common.(J) 45 They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts,(K) 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number[b] those who were being saved.(L)
Destruction of the Temple Predicted
5 As(A) some were talking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, 6 “These things that you see—the days will come(B) when not one stone will be left on another that will not be thrown down.”(C)
Signs of the End of the Age
7 “Teacher,” they asked him, “so when will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” (D)
8 Then he said, “Watch out that you are not deceived.(E) For many will come in my name,(F) saying, ‘I am he,’(G) and, ‘The time is near.’ Don’t follow them.(H) 9 When you hear of wars and rebellions,[a] don’t be alarmed. Indeed, it is necessary that these things take place first, but the end won’t come right away.”
10 Then he told them, “Nation will be raised up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.(I) 11 There will be violent earthquakes,(J) and famines and plagues(K) in various places, and there will be terrifying sights and great signs from heaven.(L) 12 But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you(M) and persecute(N) you. They will hand you over to the synagogues(O) and prisons,(P) and you will be brought before kings and governors(Q) because of my name. 13 This will give you an opportunity to bear witness.(R) 14 Therefore make up your minds[b] not to prepare your defense ahead of time,(S) 15 for I will give you such words(T) and a wisdom(U) that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.(V) 16 You will even be betrayed by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends.(W) They will kill some of you. 17 You will be hated by everyone because of my name,(X) 18 but not a hair of your head will be lost.(Y) 19 By your endurance, gain[c] your lives.(Z)
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