Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 31[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
31 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter.
Never let me be humiliated.
Vindicate me by rescuing me.[b]
2 Listen to me.[c]
Quickly deliver me.
Be my protector and refuge,[d]
a stronghold where I can be safe.[e]
3 For you are my high ridge[f] and my stronghold;
for the sake of your own reputation[g] you lead me and guide me.[h]
4 You will free me[i] from the net they hid for me,
for you are my place of refuge.
5 Into your hand I entrust my life;[j]
you will rescue[k] me, O Lord, the faithful God.
6 I hate those who serve worthless idols,[l]
but I trust in the Lord.
7 I will be happy and rejoice in your faithfulness,
because you notice my pain
and you are aware of how distressed I am.[m]
8 You do not deliver me over to the power of the enemy;
you enable me to stand[n] in a wide open place.
9 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress!
My eyes grow dim[o] from suffering.[p]
I have lost my strength.[q]
10 For my life nears its end in pain;
my years draw to a close as I groan.[r]
My strength fails me because of[s] my sin,
and my bones become brittle.[t]
11 Because of all my enemies, people disdain me;[u]
my neighbors are appalled by my suffering[v]—
those who know me are horrified by my condition;[w]
those who see me in the street run away from me.
12 I am forgotten, like a dead man no one thinks about;[x]
I am regarded as worthless, like a broken jar.[y]
13 For I hear what so many are saying,[z]
the terrifying news that comes from every direction.[aa]
When they plot together against me,
they figure out how they can take my life.
14 But I trust in you, O Lord!
I declare, “You are my God!”
15 You determine my destiny.[ab]
Rescue me from the power of my enemies and those who chase me.
16 Smile[ac] on your servant.
Deliver me because of your faithfulness.
17 O Lord, do not let me be humiliated,
for I call out to you.
May evil men be humiliated.
May they go wailing to the grave.[ad]
18 May lying lips be silenced—
lips[ae] that speak defiantly against the innocent[af]
with arrogance and contempt.
19 How great is your favor,[ag]
which you store up for your loyal followers.[ah]
In plain sight of everyone you bestow it on those who take shelter[ai] in you.[aj]
20 You hide them with you, where they are safe from the attacks[ak] of men;[al]
you conceal them in a shelter, where they are safe from slanderous attacks.[am]
21 The Lord deserves praise[an]
for he demonstrated his amazing faithfulness to me when I was besieged by enemies.[ao]
22 I jumped to conclusions and said,[ap]
“I am cut off from your presence!”[aq]
But you heard my plea for mercy when I cried out to you for help.
23 Love the Lord, all you faithful followers[ar] of his!
The Lord protects those who have integrity,
but he pays back in full the one who acts arrogantly.[as]
24 Be strong and confident,[at]
all you who wait on the Lord.
Psalm 35[a]
By David.
35 O Lord, fight[b] those who fight with me.
Attack those who attack me.
2 Grab your small shield and large shield,[c]
and rise up to help me.
3 Use your spear and lance[d] against[e] those who chase me.
Assure me with these words:[f] “I am your deliverer.”
4 May those who seek my life be embarrassed and humiliated.
May those who plan to harm me be turned back and ashamed.[g]
5 May they be[h] like wind-driven chaff,
as the angel of the Lord[i] attacks them.[j]
6 May their path be[k] dark and slippery,
as the angel of the Lord chases them.
7 I did not harm them, but they hid a net to catch me
and dug a pit to trap me.[l]
8 Let destruction take them by surprise.[m]
Let the net they hid catch them.
Let them fall into destruction.[n]
9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord
and be happy because of his deliverance.[o]
10 With all my strength I will say,[p]
“O Lord, who can compare to you?
You rescue[q] the oppressed from those who try to overpower them,[r]
the oppressed and needy from those who try to rob them.”[s]
11 Violent men perjure themselves,[t]
and falsely accuse me.[u]
12 They repay me evil for the good I have done;[v]
I am overwhelmed with sorrow.[w]
13 When they were sick, I wore sackcloth,[x]
and refrained from eating food.[y]
(If I am lying, may my prayers go unanswered.)[z]
14 I mourned for them as I would for a friend or my brother.[aa]
I bowed down[ab] in sorrow as if I were mourning for my mother.[ac]
15 But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together;
they gathered together to ambush me.[ad]
They tore at me without stopping to rest.[ae]
16 When I tripped, they taunted me relentlessly,[af]
and tried to bite me.[ag]
17 O Lord, how long are you going to watch this?
Rescue[ah] me[ai] from their destructive attacks;
guard my life[aj] from the young lions.
18 Then I will give you thanks in the great assembly;[ak]
I will praise you before a large crowd of people.[al]
19 Do not let those who are my enemies for no reason[am] gloat[an] over me.
Do not let those who hate me without cause carry out their wicked schemes.[ao]
20 For they do not try to make peace with others,[ap]
but plan ways to deceive those who live peacefully in the land.[aq]
21 They are ready to devour me;[ar]
they say, “Aha! Aha! We’ve got you!”[as]
22 But you take notice,[at] Lord; do not be silent!
O Lord, do not remain far away from me.
23 Rouse yourself, wake up[au] and vindicate me.[av]
My God and Lord, defend my just cause.[aw]
24 Vindicate me by your justice, O Lord my God.
Do not let them gloat[ax] over me.
25 Do not let them say to themselves,[ay] “Aha! We have what we wanted!”[az]
Do not let them say, “We have devoured him.”
26 May those who rejoice in my troubles be totally embarrassed and ashamed.[ba]
May those who arrogantly taunt me be covered with shame and humiliation.[bb]
27 May those who desire my vindication shout for joy and rejoice.
May they continually say,[bc] “May the Lord be praised,[bd] for he wants his servant to be secure.”[be]
28 Then I will tell others about your justice,[bf]
and praise you all day long.[bg]
10 The Lord again spoke to Ahaz: 11 “Ask for a confirming sign from the Lord your God. You can even ask for something miraculous.”[a] 12 But Ahaz responded, “I don’t want to ask; I don’t want to put the Lord to a test.”[b] 13 So Isaiah replied,[c] “Pay attention,[d] family[e] of David.[f] Do you consider it too insignificant to try the patience of men? Is that why you are also trying the patience of my God? 14 For this reason the Lord himself will give you a confirming sign.[g] Look, this[h] young woman[i] is about to conceive[j] and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him[k] Immanuel.[l] 15 He will eat sour milk[m] and honey, which will help him know how[n] to reject evil and choose what is right. 16 Here is why this will be so:[o] Before the child knows how to reject evil and choose what is right, the land[p] whose two kings you fear will be desolate.[q] 17 The Lord will bring on you, your people, and your father’s family a time[r] unlike any since Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria!”[s]
18 At that time[t] the Lord will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.[u] 19 All of them will come and make their home[v] in the ravines between the cliffs and in the crevices of the cliffs, in all the thorn bushes, and in all the watering holes.[w] 20 At that time[x] the Lord will use a razor hired from the banks of the Euphrates River,[y] the king of Assyria, to shave the hair off the head and private parts;[z] it will also shave off the beard. 21 At that time[aa] a man will keep alive a young cow from the herd and a couple of goats. 22 From the abundance of milk they produce,[ab] he will have sour milk for his meals. Indeed, everyone left in the heart of the land will eat sour milk and honey. 23 At that time[ac] every place where there had been 1,000 vines worth 1,000 silver shekels will be overrun[ad] with thorns and briers. 24 With bow and arrow[ae] people will hunt[af] there, for the whole land will be covered[ag] with thorns and briers. 25 They will stay away from all the hills that were cultivated for fear of the thorns and briers.[ah] Cattle will graze there, and sheep will trample on them.[ai]
Call to Stand Firm
13 But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters[a] loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning[b] for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 He called you to this salvation[c] through our gospel, so that you may possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.[d] 15 Therefore, brothers and sisters,[e] stand firm and hold on to the traditions that we taught you, whether by speech or by letter.[f] 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you[g] in every good thing you do or say.[h]
Request for Prayer
3 Finally, pray for us, brothers and sisters,[i] that the Lord’s message[j] may spread quickly and be honored[k] as in fact it was among you, 2 and that we may be delivered from perverse and evil people. For not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, and he[l] will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. 4 And we are confident about you in the Lord that you are both doing—and will do—what we are commanding. 5 Now may the Lord direct your hearts toward the love of God[m] and the endurance of Christ.[n]
The Lord’s Supper
14 Now[a] when the hour came, Jesus[b] took his place at the table[c] and the apostles joined[d] him. 15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired[e] to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again[f] until it is fulfilled[g] in the kingdom of God.”[h] 17 Then[i] he took a cup,[j] and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit[k] of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”[l] 19 Then[m] he took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body[n] which is given for you.[o] Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And in the same way he took[p] the cup after they had eaten,[q] saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant[r] in my blood.
A Final Discourse
21 “But look, the hand of the one who betrays[s] me is with me on the table.[t] 22 For the Son of Man is to go just as it has been determined,[u] but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” 23 So[v] they began to question one another as to which of them it could possibly be who would do this.
24 A dispute also started[w] among them over which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.[x] 25 So[y] Jesus[z] said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’[aa] 26 Not so with you;[ab] instead the one who is greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader[ac] like the one who serves.[ad] 27 For who is greater, the one who is seated at the table,[ae] or the one who serves? Is it not[af] the one who is seated at the table? But I am among you as one[ag] who serves.
28 “You are the ones who have remained[ah] with me in my trials. 29 Thus[ai] I grant[aj] to you a kingdom,[ak] just as my Father granted to me, 30 that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit[al] on thrones judging[am] the twelve tribes of Israel.
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