Book of Common Prayer
The Hope of the Faithful, and the Messiah’s Victory
A (A)Michtam of David.
16 Preserve[a] me, O God, for in You I put my trust.
2 O my soul, you have said to the Lord,
“You are my Lord,
(B)My goodness is nothing apart from You.”
3 As for the saints who are on the earth,
“They are the excellent ones, in (C)whom is all my delight.”
4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god;
Their drink offerings of (D)blood I will not offer,
(E)Nor take up their names on my lips.
5 O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You [b]maintain my lot.
6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Yes, I have a good inheritance.
7 I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel;
My [c]heart also instructs me in the night seasons.
8 (F)I have set the Lord always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will [d]rest in hope.
10 (G)For You will not leave my soul in [e]Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to [f]see corruption.
11 You will show me the (H)path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Prayer with Confidence in Final Salvation
A Prayer of David.
17 Hear a just cause, O Lord,
Attend to my cry;
Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips.
2 Let my vindication come from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright.
3 You have tested my heart;
You have visited me in the night;
(I)You have [g]tried me and have found [h]nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth shall not (J)transgress.
4 Concerning the works of men,
By the word of Your lips,
I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.
5 (K)Uphold my steps in Your paths,
That my footsteps may not slip.
6 (L)I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God;
Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.
7 Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,
O You who [i]save those who trust in You
From those who rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the [j]apple of Your eye;
Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,
9 From the wicked who oppress me,
From my deadly enemies who surround me.
10 They have closed up their (M)fat hearts;
With their mouths they (N)speak proudly.
11 They have now surrounded us in our steps;
They have set their eyes, crouching down to the earth,
12 As a lion is eager to tear his prey,
And like a young lion lurking in secret places.
13 Arise, O Lord,
Confront him, cast him down;
Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword,
14 With Your hand from men, O Lord,
From men of the world who have their portion in this life,
And whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure.
They are satisfied with children,
And leave the rest of their possession for their babes.
The Suffering, Praise, and Posterity of the Messiah
To the Chief Musician. Set to [a]“The Deer of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David.
22 My (A)God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Why are You so far from helping Me,
And from the words of My groaning?
2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season, and am not silent.
3 But You are holy,
Enthroned in the (B)praises of Israel.
4 Our fathers trusted in You;
They trusted, and You delivered them.
5 They cried to You, and were delivered;
(C)They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.
6 But I am (D)a worm, and no man;
(E)A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
7 (F)All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They [b]shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8 “He(G) [c]trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him;
(H)Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”
9 (I)But You are He who took Me out of the womb;
You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.
10 I was cast upon You from birth.
From My mother’s womb
(J)You have been My God.
11 Be not far from Me,
For trouble is near;
For there is none to help.
12 (K)Many bulls have surrounded Me;
Strong bulls of (L)Bashan have encircled Me.
13 (M)They [d]gape at Me with their mouths,
Like a raging and roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water,
(N)And all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It has melted [e]within Me.
15 (O)My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And (P)My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
(Q)They[f] pierced My hands and My feet;
17 I can count all My bones.
(R)They look and stare at Me.
18 (S)They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.
19 But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me;
O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
20 Deliver Me from the sword,
(T)My[g] precious life from the power of the dog.
21 (U)Save Me from the lion’s mouth
And from the horns of the wild oxen!
(V)You have answered Me.
22 (W)I will declare Your name to (X)My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 (Y)You who fear the Lord, praise Him!
All you [h]descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But (Z)when He cried to Him, He heard.
25 (AA)My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;
(AB)I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.
Let your heart live forever!
27 All the ends of the world
Shall remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the [i]nations
Shall worship before [j]You.
28 (AC)For the kingdom is the Lord’s,
And He rules over the nations.
29 (AD)All the prosperous of the earth
Shall eat and worship;
(AE)All those who go down to [k]the dust
Shall bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep himself alive.
30 A posterity shall serve Him.
It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,
31 They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born,
That He has done this.
Zedekiah’s Fears and Jeremiah’s Advice
14 Then Zedekiah the king sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance of the house of the Lord. And the king said to Jeremiah, “I will (A)ask you something. Hide nothing from me.”
15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”
16 So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, “As the Lord lives, (B)who made our very souls, I will not put you to death, nor will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.”
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you surely (C)surrender[a] (D)to the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul shall live; this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. 18 But if you do not [b]surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans; they shall burn it with fire, and (E)you shall not escape from their hand.’ ”
19 And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have (F)defected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they (G)abuse me.”
20 But Jeremiah said, “They shall not deliver you. Please, obey the voice of the Lord which I speak to you. So it shall be (H)well with you, and your soul shall live. 21 But if you refuse to [c]surrender, this is the word that the Lord has shown me: 22 ‘Now behold, all the (I)women who are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be surrendered to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say:
“Your close friends have [d]set upon you
And prevailed against you;
Your feet have sunk in the mire,
And they have [e]turned away again.”
23 ‘So they shall surrender all your wives and (J)children to the Chaldeans. (K)You shall not escape from their hand, but shall be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon. And you shall cause this city to be burned with fire.’ ”
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die. 25 But if the princes hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you and say to you, ‘Declare to us now what you have said to the king, and also what the king said to you; do not hide it from us, and we will not put you to death,’ 26 then you shall say to them, (L)‘I presented my request before the king, that he would not make me return (M)to Jonathan’s house to die there.’ ”
27 Then all the princes came to Jeremiah and asked him. And he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been heard. 28 Now (N)Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken. And he was there when Jerusalem was taken.
The Risen Christ, Faith’s Reality(A)
15 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel (B)which I preached to you, which also you received and (C)in which you stand, 2 (D)by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless (E)you believed in vain.
3 For (F)I delivered to you first of all that (G)which I also received: that Christ died for our sins (H)according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day (I)according to the Scriptures, 5 (J)and that He was seen by [a]Cephas, then (K)by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have [b]fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then (L)by all the apostles. 8 (M)Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.
9 For I am (N)the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because (O)I persecuted the church of God. 10 But (P)by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, (Q)yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11 Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
John the Baptist Sends Messengers to Jesus(A)
11 Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to (B)teach and to preach in their cities.
2 (C)And when John had heard (D)in prison about the works of Christ, he [a]sent two of his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You (E)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 (F)The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and (G)the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he who is not (H)offended because of Me.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.