Book of Common Prayer
Prayer to Frustrate Conspiracy Against Israel
A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.
83 Do(A) not keep silent, O God!
Do not hold Your peace,
And do not be still, O God!
2 For behold, (B)Your enemies make a [a]tumult;
And those who hate You have [b]lifted up their head.
3 They have taken crafty counsel against Your people,
And consulted together (C)against Your sheltered ones.
4 They have said, “Come, and (D)let us cut them off from being a nation,
That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”
5 For they have consulted together with one [c]consent;
They [d]form a confederacy against You:
6 (E)The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites;
Moab and the Hagrites;
7 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek;
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Assyria also has joined with them;
They have helped the children of Lot. Selah
9 Deal with them as with (F)Midian,
As with (G)Sisera,
As with Jabin at the Brook Kishon,
10 Who perished at En Dor,
(H)Who became as refuse on the earth.
11 Make their nobles like (I)Oreb and like Zeeb,
Yes, all their princes like (J)Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 Who said, “Let us take for ourselves
The pastures of God for a possession.”
13 (K)O my God, make them like the whirling dust,
(L)Like the chaff before the wind!
14 As the fire burns the woods,
And as the flame (M)sets the mountains on fire,
15 So pursue them with Your tempest,
And frighten them with Your storm.
16 Fill their faces with shame,
That they may seek Your name, O Lord.
17 Let them be [e]confounded and dismayed forever;
Yes, let them be put to shame and perish,
18 (N)That they may know that You, whose (O)name alone is the Lord,
Are (P)the Most High over all the earth.
The Happiness of Those Who Trust in God
A Psalm of David (A)when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.
34 I will (B)bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
4 I (C)sought the Lord, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 (D)The [a]angel of the Lord (E)encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.
8 Oh, (F)taste and see that the Lord is good;
(G)Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints!
There is no [b]want to those who fear Him.
10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
(H)But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me;
(I)I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 (J)Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking (K)deceit.
14 (L)Depart from evil and do good;
(M)Seek peace and pursue it.
15 (N)The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 (O)The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
(P)To [c]cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and (Q)the Lord hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 (R)The Lord is near (S)to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as [d]have a contrite spirit.
19 (T)Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
(U)But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 He guards all his bones;
(V)Not one of them is broken.
21 (W)Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous shall be [e]condemned.
22 The Lord (X)redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.
Prayer that the Lord Will Restore Favor to the Land
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm (A)of the sons of Korah.
85 Lord, You have been favorable to Your land;
You have (B)brought back the captivity of Jacob.
2 You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people;
You have covered all their sin. Selah
3 You have taken away all Your wrath;
You have turned from the fierceness of Your anger.
4 (C)Restore us, O God of our salvation,
And cause Your anger toward us to cease.
5 (D)Will You be angry with us forever?
Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?
6 Will You not (E)revive us again,
That Your people may rejoice in You?
7 Show us Your mercy, Lord,
And grant us Your salvation.
8 I will hear what God the Lord will speak,
For He will speak peace
To His people and to His saints;
But let them not turn back to [a]folly.
9 Surely (F)His salvation is near to those who fear Him,
(G)That glory may dwell in our land.
10 Mercy and truth have met together;
(H)Righteousness and peace have kissed.
11 Truth shall spring out of the earth,
And righteousness shall look down from heaven.
12 (I)Yes, the Lord will give what is good;
And our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before Him,
And shall make His footsteps our pathway.
Prayer for Mercy, with Meditation on the Excellencies of the Lord
A Prayer of David.
86 Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me;
For I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my [b]life, for I am holy;
You are my God;
Save Your servant who trusts in You!
3 Be merciful to me, O Lord,
For I cry to You all day long.
4 [c]Rejoice the soul of Your servant,
(J)For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
5 For (K)You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.
6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
And attend to the voice of my supplications.
7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon You,
For You will answer me.
8 (L)Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord;
Nor are there any works like Your works.
9 All nations whom You have made
Shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
And shall glorify Your name.
10 For You are great, and (M)do wondrous things;
(N)You alone are God.
11 (O)Teach me Your way, O Lord;
I will walk in Your truth;
[d]Unite my heart to fear Your name.
12 I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,
And I will glorify Your name forevermore.
13 For great is Your mercy toward me,
And You have delivered my soul from the depths of [e]Sheol.
14 O God, the proud have risen against me,
And a mob of violent men have sought my life,
And have not set You before them.
15 But (P)You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious,
Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.
16 Oh, turn to me, and have mercy on me!
Give Your strength to Your servant,
And save the son of Your maidservant.
17 Show me a sign for good,
That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed,
Because You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
27 Then a (A)man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: (B)‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house? 28 Did I not (C)choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer upon My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod before Me? And (D)did I not give to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire? 29 Why do you (E)kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My (F)dwelling place, and honor your sons more than (G)Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?’ 30 Therefore the Lord God of Israel says: (H)‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.’ But now the Lord says: (I)‘Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and (J)those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. 31 Behold, (K)the days are coming that I will cut off your [a]arm and the arm of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. 32 And you will see an enemy in My dwelling place, despite all the good which God does for Israel. And there shall not be (L)an old man in your house forever. 33 But any of your men whom I do not cut off from My altar shall consume your eyes and grieve your heart. And all the descendants of your house shall die in the flower of their age. 34 Now this shall be (M)a sign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: (N)in one day they shall die, both of them. 35 Then (O)I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. (P)I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before (Q)My anointed forever. 36 (R)And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and say, “Please, [b]put me in one of the priestly positions, that I may eat a piece of bread.” ’ ”
22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you (A)by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— 23 Him, (B)being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, (C)you [a]have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; 24 (D)whom God raised up, having [b]loosed the [c]pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. 25 For David says concerning Him:
(E)‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face,
For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad;
Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.
27 For You will not leave my soul in Hades,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see (F)corruption.
28 You have made known to me the ways of life;
You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’
29 “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you (G)of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Therefore, being a prophet, (H)and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, [d]according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, (I)that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. 32 (J)This Jesus God has raised up, (K)of which we are all witnesses. 33 Therefore (L)being exalted [e]to (M)the right hand of God, and (N)having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He (O)poured out this which you now see and hear.
34 “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself:
(P)‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
35 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’
36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
Jesus: How Can David Call His Descendant Lord?(A)
41 And He said to them, (B)“How can they say that the Christ is the Son of David? 42 Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms:
(C)‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
43 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’
44 Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord’; (D)how is He then his Son?”
Beware of the Scribes(E)
45 (F)Then, in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples, 46 (G)“Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, (H)love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, 47 (I)who devour widows’ houses, and for a (J)pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
The Widow’s Two Mites(K)
21 And He looked up (L)and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, 2 and He saw also a certain (M)poor widow putting in two (N)mites.[a] 3 So He said, “Truly I say to you (O)that this poor widow has put in more than all; 4 for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings [b]for God, but she out of her poverty put in (P)all the livelihood that she had.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.