Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for Help in Despondency
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath Leannoth.” A [a]Contemplation of (A)Heman the Ezrahite.
88 O Lord, (B)God of my salvation,
I have cried out day and night before You.
2 Let my prayer come before You;
[b]Incline Your ear to my cry.
3 For my soul is full of troubles,
And my life (C)draws near to the grave.
4 I am counted with those who (D)go[c] down to the pit;
(E)I am like a man who has no strength,
5 [d]Adrift among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom You remember no more,
And who are cut off from Your hand.
6 You have laid me in the lowest pit,
In darkness, in the depths.
7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
And You have afflicted me with all (F)Your waves. Selah
8 (G)You have [e]put away my acquaintances far from me;
You have made me an abomination to them;
(H)I am shut up, and I cannot get out;
9 My eye wastes away because of affliction.
(I)Lord, I have called daily upon You;
I have stretched out my hands to You.
10 Will You work wonders for the dead?
Shall [f]the dead arise and praise You? Selah
11 Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave?
Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction?
12 Shall Your wonders be known in the dark?
And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But to You I have cried out, O Lord,
And in the morning my prayer comes before You.
14 Lord, why do You cast off my soul?
Why do You hide Your face from me?
15 I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth;
I suffer Your terrors;
I am distraught.
16 Your fierce wrath has gone over me;
Your terrors have [g]cut me off.
17 They came around me all day long like water;
They engulfed me altogether.
18 (J)Loved one and friend You have put far from me,
And my acquaintances into darkness.
Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God
91 He (A)who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide (B)under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 (C)I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”
3 Surely (D)He shall deliver you from the snare of the [a]fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
4 (E)He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and [b]buckler.
5 (F)You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
8 Only (G)with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the Lord, who is (H)my refuge,
Even the Most High, (I)your dwelling place,
10 (J)No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
11 (K)For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they shall [c]bear you up,
(L)Lest you [d]dash your foot against a stone.
13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will [e]set him on high, because he has (M)known My name.
15 He shall (N)call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be (O)with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With [f]long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.”
Praise to the Lord for His Love and Faithfulness
A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath day.
92 It is (P)good to give thanks to the Lord,
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
2 To (Q)declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,
And Your faithfulness every night,
3 (R)On an instrument of ten strings,
On the lute,
And on the harp,
With harmonious sound.
4 For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work;
I will triumph in the works of Your hands.
5 (S)O Lord, how great are Your works!
(T)Your thoughts are very deep.
6 (U)A senseless man does not know,
Nor does a fool understand this.
7 When (V)the wicked [g]spring up like grass,
And when all the workers of iniquity flourish,
It is that they may be destroyed forever.
8 (W)But You, Lord, are on high forevermore.
9 For behold, Your enemies, O Lord,
For behold, Your enemies shall perish;
All the workers of iniquity shall (X)be scattered.
10 But (Y)my [h]horn You have exalted like a wild ox;
I have been (Z)anointed with fresh oil.
11 (AA)My eye also has seen my desire on my enemies;
My ears hear my desire on the wicked
Who rise up against me.
12 (AB)The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Those who are planted in the house of the Lord
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They shall still bear fruit in old age;
They shall be [i]fresh and [j]flourishing,
15 To declare that the Lord is upright;
(AC)He is my rock, and (AD)there is no unrighteousness in Him.
Samuel’s First Prophecy
3 Now (A)the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And (B)the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. 2 And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow (C)so dim that he could not see, 3 and before (D)the lamp of God went out in the [a]tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, 4 that the Lord called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!” 5 So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”
And he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And he went and lay down.
6 Then the Lord called yet again, “Samuel!”
So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 (Now Samuel (E)did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him.)
8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.”
Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, (F)‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.”
11 Then the Lord said to Samuel: “Behold, I will do something in Israel (G)at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 In that day I will perform against Eli (H)all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 (I)For I have told him that I will (J)judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because (K)his sons made themselves vile, and he (L)did not [b]restrain them. 14 And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house (M)shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”
15 So Samuel lay down until [c]morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision. 16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!”
He answered, “Here I am.”
17 And he said, “What is the word that the Lord spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. (N)God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you.” 18 Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, (O)“It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him.”
19 So Samuel (P)grew, and (Q)the Lord was with him (R)and let none of his words [d]fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel (S)from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been [e]established as a prophet of the Lord. 21 Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by (T)the word of the Lord.
37 Now when they heard this, (A)they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
38 Then Peter said to them, (B)“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the [a]remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and (C)to your children, and (D)to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
A Vital Church Grows
40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this [b]perverse generation.” 41 Then those who [c]gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 (E)And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ [d]doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and (F)many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and (G)had all things in common, 45 and [e]sold their possessions and goods, and (H)divided[f] them among all, as anyone had need.
46 (I)So continuing daily with one accord (J)in the temple, and (K)breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And (L)the Lord added [g]to the church daily those who were being saved.
Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple(A)
5 (B)Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was [a]adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said, 6 “These things which you see—the days will come in which (C)not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down.”
The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age(D)
7 So they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?”
8 And He said: (E)“Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ [b]Therefore do not [c]go after them. 9 But when you hear of (F)wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.”
10 (G)Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 And there will be great (H)earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. 12 (I)But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and (J)prisons. (K)You will be brought before kings and rulers (L)for My name’s sake. 13 But (M)it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. 14 (N)Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will [d]answer; 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom (O)which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or [e]resist. 16 (P)You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put (Q)some of you to death. 17 And (R)you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. 18 (S)But not a hair of your head shall be lost. 19 By your patience possess your souls.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.