Book of Common Prayer
A Plea for Justice
A Psalm of Asaph.
82 God (A)stands in the congregation of [a]the mighty;
He judges among (B)the [b]gods.
2 How long will you judge unjustly,
And (C)show partiality to the wicked? Selah
3 [c]Defend the poor and fatherless;
Do justice to the afflicted and (D)needy.
4 Deliver the poor and needy;
Free them from the hand of the wicked.
5 They do not know, nor do they understand;
They walk about in darkness;
All the (E)foundations of the earth are [d]unstable.
6 I said, (F)“You are [e]gods,
And all of you are children of the Most High.
7 But you shall die like men,
And fall like one of the princes.”
8 Arise, O God, judge the earth;
(G)For You shall inherit all nations.
A Song of Praise to the Lord for His Salvation and Judgment
A Psalm.
98 Oh, (A)sing to the Lord a new song!
For He has (B)done marvelous things;
His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.
2 (C)The Lord has made known His salvation;
(D)His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the [a]nations.
3 He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
(E)All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
4 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.
5 Sing to the Lord with the harp,
With the harp and the sound of a psalm,
6 With trumpets and the sound of a horn;
Shout joyfully before the Lord, the King.
The Coming Messenger
3 “Behold, (A)I send My messenger,
And he will (B)prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek,
Will suddenly come to His temple,
(C)Even the Messenger of the covenant,
In whom you delight.
Behold, (D)He is coming,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
2 “But who can endure (E)the day of His coming?
And (F)who can stand when He appears?
For (G)He is like a refiner’s fire
And like launderers’ soap.
3 (H)He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;
He will purify the sons of Levi,
And [a]purge them as gold and silver,
That they may (I)offer to the Lord
An offering in righteousness.
4 “Then (J)the offering of Judah and Jerusalem
Will be [b]pleasant to the Lord,
As in the days of old,
As in former years.
5 And I will come near you for judgment;
I will be a swift witness
Against sorcerers,
Against adulterers,
(K)Against perjurers,
Against those who (L)exploit wage earners and (M)widows and orphans,
And against those who turn away an alien—
Because they do not fear Me,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
John the Baptist Exalts Christ
22 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them (A)and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near (B)Salim, because there was much water there. (C)And they came and were baptized. 24 For (D)John had not yet been thrown into prison.
25 Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, (E)to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all (F)are coming to Him!”
27 John answered and said, (G)“A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, (H)‘I am not the Christ,’ but, (I)‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29 (J)He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but (K)the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 (L)He must increase, but I must decrease.
Prayer for Israel’s Restoration
To the Chief Musician. (A)Set to [a]“The Lilies.” A [b]Testimony of Asaph. A Psalm.
80 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
(B)You who lead Joseph (C)like a flock;
You who dwell between the cherubim, (D)shine forth!
2 Before (E)Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,
Stir up Your strength,
And come and save us!
4 O Lord God of hosts,
(H)How long will You be angry
Against the prayer of Your people?
5 (I)You have fed them with the bread of tears,
And given them tears to drink in great measure.
6 You have made us a strife to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 Restore us, O God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!
8 You have brought (J)a vine out of Egypt;
(K)You have cast out the [c]nations, and planted it.
9 You prepared room for it,
And caused it to take deep root,
And it filled the land.
10 The hills were covered with its shadow,
And the [d]mighty cedars with its (L)boughs.
11 She sent out her boughs to [e]the Sea,
And her branches to [f]the River.
12 Why have You (M)broken down her [g]hedges,
So that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit?
13 The boar out of the woods uproots it,
And the wild beast of the field devours it.
14 Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts;
(N)Look down from heaven and see,
And visit this vine
15 And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted,
And the branch that You made strong (O)for Yourself.
16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
(P)They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
17 (Q)Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.
18 Then we will not turn back from You;
Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.
19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!
2 (A)And when John had heard (B)in prison about the works of Christ, he [a]sent two of his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You (C)the Coming One, or do we look for another?”
4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5 (D)The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and (E)the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he who is not (F)offended because of Me.”
7 (G)As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? (H)A reed shaken by the wind? 8 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, (I)and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he of whom it is written:
(J)‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You.’
11 “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 (K)And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 (L)For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to receive it, he is (M)Elijah who is to come. 15 (N)He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
16 (O)“But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, 17 and saying:
‘We played the flute for you,
And you did not dance;
We mourned to you,
And you did not [b]lament.’
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a [c]winebibber, (P)a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ (Q)But wisdom is justified by her [d]children.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.