Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 95
1 Come,(A) let us sing for joy(B) to the Lord;
let us shout aloud(C) to the Rock(D) of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him(E) with thanksgiving(F)
and extol him with music(G) and song.
3 For the Lord is the great God,(H)
the great King(I) above all gods.(J)
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,(K)
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.(L)
6 Come, let us bow down(M) in worship,(N)
let us kneel(O) before the Lord our Maker;(P)
7 for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,(Q)
the flock under his care.
Today, if only you would hear his voice,
8 “Do not harden your hearts(R) as you did at Meribah,[a](S)
as you did that day at Massah[b] in the wilderness,(T)
9 where your ancestors tested(U) me;
they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
10 For forty years(V) I was angry with that generation;
I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,(W)
and they have not known my ways.’(X)
11 So I declared on oath(Y) in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’”(Z)
Psalm 88[a]
A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth.[b] A maskil[c] of Heman the Ezrahite.
1 Lord, you are the God who saves me;(A)
day and night I cry out(B) to you.
2 May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.
3 I am overwhelmed with troubles(C)
and my life draws near to death.(D)
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;(E)
I am like one without strength.(F)
5 I am set apart with the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
who are cut off(G) from your care.
6 You have put me in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths.(H)
7 Your wrath(I) lies heavily on me;
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.[d](J)
8 You have taken from me my closest friends(K)
and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined(L) and cannot escape;(M)
9 my eyes(N) are dim with grief.
I call(O) to you, Lord, every day;
I spread out my hands(P) to you.
10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do their spirits rise up and praise you?(Q)
11 Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness(R) in Destruction[e]?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
13 But I cry to you for help,(S) Lord;
in the morning(T) my prayer comes before you.(U)
14 Why, Lord, do you reject(V) me
and hide your face(W) from me?
15 From my youth(X) I have suffered(Y) and been close to death;
I have borne your terrors(Z) and am in despair.(AA)
16 Your wrath(AB) has swept over me;
your terrors(AC) have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like a flood;(AD)
they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken from me friend(AE) and neighbor—
darkness is my closest friend.
Psalm 27
Of David.
1 The Lord is my light(A) and my salvation(B)—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold(C) of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?(D)
2 When the wicked advance against me
to devour[a] me,
it is my enemies and my foes
who will stumble and fall.(E)
3 Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;(F)
though war break out against me,
even then I will be confident.(G)
4 One thing(H) I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,(I)
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble(J)
he will keep me safe(K) in his dwelling;
he will hide me(L) in the shelter of his sacred tent
and set me high upon a rock.(M)
6 Then my head will be exalted(N)
above the enemies who surround me;(O)
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice(P) with shouts of joy;(Q)
I will sing(R) and make music(S) to the Lord.
7 Hear my voice(T) when I call, Lord;
be merciful to me and answer me.(U)
8 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!(V)”
Your face, Lord, I will seek.
9 Do not hide your face(W) from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;(X)
you have been my helper.(Y)
Do not reject me or forsake(Z) me,
God my Savior.(AA)
10 Though my father and mother forsake me,
the Lord will receive me.
11 Teach me your way,(AB) Lord;
lead me in a straight path(AC)
because of my oppressors.(AD)
12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses(AE) rise up against me,
spouting malicious accusations.
21 “Have pity on me, my friends,(A) have pity,
for the hand of God has struck(B) me.
22 Why do you pursue(C) me as God does?(D)
Will you never get enough of my flesh?(E)
23 “Oh, that my words were recorded,
that they were written on a scroll,(F)
24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool(G) on[a] lead,
or engraved in rock forever!(H)
25 I know that my redeemer[b](I) lives,(J)
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.[c]
26 And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet[d] in[e] my flesh I will see God;(K)
27 I myself will see him
with my own eyes(L)—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns(M) within me!
A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God
4 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.(A) 2 For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.[a](B) 3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,
And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. 4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.”[c](D) 5 And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”(E)
6 Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience,(F) 7 God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:
8 For if Joshua had given them rest,(H) God would not have spoken(I) later about another day. 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works,[e](J) just as God did from his.(K) 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.(L)
12 For the word of God(M) is alive(N) and active.(O) Sharper than any double-edged sword,(P) it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.(Q) 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.(R) Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Jesus the Great High Priest
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest(S) who has ascended into heaven,[f](T) Jesus the Son of God,(U) let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.(V) 15 For we do not have a high priest(W) who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are(X)—yet he did not sin.(Y) 16 Let us then approach(Z) God’s throne of grace with confidence,(AA) so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Life Through the Spirit
8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation(A) for those who are in Christ Jesus,(B) 2 because through Christ Jesus(C) the law of the Spirit who gives life(D) has set you[a] free(E) from the law of sin(F) and death. 3 For what the law was powerless(G) to do because it was weakened by the flesh,[b](H) God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh(I) to be a sin offering.[c](J) And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement(K) of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.(L)
5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires;(M) but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.(N) 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death,(O) but the mind governed by the Spirit is life(P) and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God;(Q) it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh(R) cannot please God.
9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh(S) but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.(T) And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,(U) they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you,(V) then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life[d] because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead(W) is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies(X) because of[e] his Spirit who lives in you.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.