Book of Common Prayer
Pleading for Help and Grateful Trust in God.
For the music director; according to [a]Jonath elem rehokim. A [b]Mikhtam of David, [c]when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
56 Be gracious to me, God, for a man has [d](A)trampled upon me;
[e]Fighting all day long he (B)oppresses me.
2 My enemies have (C)trampled upon me all day long,
For [f]they are many who (D)fight proudly against me.
3 [g]When I am (E)afraid,
[h]I will (F)put my trust in You.
4 (G)In God, whose word I praise,
In God I have put my trust;
I shall not be afraid.
(H)What can mere [i]mortals do to me?
5 All day long they (I)distort my words;
All their [j](J)thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They [k](K)attack, they lurk,
They (L)watch my [l]steps,
As they have (M)waited to take my [m]life.
7 Because of their wickedness, will there be an (N)escape for them?
In anger (O)make the peoples fall down, God!
8 You (P)have taken account of my [n]miseries;
Put my (Q)tears in Your bottle.
Are they not in (R)Your book?
9 Then my enemies will (S)turn back (T)on the day when I call;
This I know, [o]that (U)God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
In the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 In God I have put my [p]trust, I shall not be afraid.
What can mankind do to me?
12 Your (V)vows are binding upon me, God;
I will render thanksgiving offerings to You.
13 For You have (W)saved my soul from death,
[q]Indeed (X)my feet from stumbling,
So that I may (Y)walk before God
In the (Z)light of the [r]living.
Prayer for Rescue from Persecutors.
For the music director; set to [s]Al-tashheth. A [t]Mikhtam of David, [u]when he fled from Saul in the cave.
57 Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me,
For my soul (AA)takes refuge in You;
And in the (AB)shadow of Your wings I will take refuge
Until destruction (AC)passes by.
2 I will cry to God Most High,
To God who (AD)accomplishes all things for me.
3 He will (AE)send from heaven and save me;
He rebukes the one who [v](AF)tramples upon me. Selah
God will send His [w](AG)favor and His truth.
4 My soul is among (AH)lions;
I must lie among those who devour,
Among sons of mankind whose (AI)teeth are spears and arrows,
And their (AJ)tongue is a sharp sword.
5 (AK)Be exalted above the heavens, God;
May Your glory be above all the earth.
6 They have prepared a (AL)net for my steps;
My soul is (AM)bowed down;
They (AN)dug a pit before me;
They themselves have (AO)fallen into the midst of it. Selah
7 (AP)My (AQ)heart is steadfast, God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!
8 Awake, (AR)my glory!
Awake, (AS)harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
9 (AT)I will praise You, Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to You among the [x]nations.
10 For Your (AU)goodness is great to the heavens
And Your [y]truth to the clouds.
11 (AV)Be exalted above the heavens, God;
May Your glory be above all the earth.
Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked.
For the music director; set to [z]Al-tashheth. A [aa]Mikhtam of David.
58 Do you indeed [ab]speak righteousness, you [ac]gods?
Do you (AW)judge [ad]fairly, you sons of mankind?
2 No, in heart you (AX)practice injustice;
On earth you (AY)clear a way for the violence of your hands.
3 The wicked have turned away (AZ)from the womb;
These who speak lies (BA)go astray from [ae]birth.
4 They have venom like the (BB)venom of a serpent;
Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,
5 So that it (BC)does not hear the voice of [af](BD)charmers,
Or a skillful caster of spells.
6 God, (BE)shatter their teeth in their mouth;
Break out the fangs of the young lions, Lord.
7 May they (BF)flow away like water that runs off;
When he [ag](BG)aims his arrows, may they be as [ah]headless shafts.
8 May they be like a snail which goes along in slime,
Like the (BH)miscarriage of a woman that never sees the sun.
9 Before your (BI)pots can feel the fire of thorns
He will (BJ)sweep them away with a whirlwind, the [ai]green and the burning alike.
Prayer for Rescue from Secret Enemies.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
64 Hear my voice, God, in (A)my [a]complaint;
(B)Protect my life from dread of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the (C)secret discussion of evildoers,
From the restlessness of (D)the workers of injustice,
3 Who (E)have sharpened their tongues like a sword.
They (F)aimed bitter speech as their arrows,
4 To (G)shoot [b]from concealment at the innocent;
Suddenly they shoot at him, and (H)do not fear.
5 They make firm for themselves an evil [c]purpose;
They [d]talk of (I)setting snares secretly;
They say, “(J)Who can see them?”
6 They [e]devise injustices, saying,
“We are [f]ready with a well-conceived plot”;
For the [g](K)inward thought and the heart of a person are [h]deep.
7 But (L)God [i]will shoot an arrow at them;
Suddenly [j]they will be wounded.
8 So [k]they [l]will (M)make him stumble;
(N)Their own tongue is against them;
All who see them will (O)shake their heads.
9 Then all people [m]will (P)fear,
And they [n]will (Q)declare the work of God,
And [o]will consider [p]what He has done.
10 The righteous person will be (R)glad in the Lord and (S)take refuge in Him;
And all the upright in heart will boast.
God’s Abundant Favor to Earth and Mankind.
For the music director. A Psalm of David. A Song.
65 There will be silence [q]before You, and praise in Zion, God,
And the (T)vow will be fulfilled for You.
2 You who hear prayer,
To You (U)all [r]mankind comes.
3 [s](V)Wrongdoings prevail against me;
As for our offenses, You [t](W)forgive them.
4 (X)Blessed is the one You (Y)choose and allow to approach You;
He will dwell in Your courtyards.
We will be (Z)satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Your holy temple.
5 By (AA)awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, (AB)God of our salvation,
You who are the trust of all the (AC)ends of the earth and the farthest [u](AD)sea;
6 Who (AE)establishes the mountains by His strength,
Who is (AF)encircled with might;
7 Who (AG)stills the roaring of the seas,
The roaring of their waves,
And the (AH)turmoil of the nations.
8 They who dwell at the (AI)ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs;
You make the [v]sunrise and the sunset shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and (AJ)cause it to overflow;
You greatly (AK)enrich it;
The [w](AL)stream of God is full of water;
You prepare their (AM)grain, for so You prepare [x]the earth.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
You [y]settle its ridges,
You soften it (AN)with showers,
You bless its growth.
11 You have crowned the year [z]with Your (AO)goodness,
And Your [aa]paths (AP)drip with fatness.
12 (AQ)The pastures of the wilderness drip,
And the (AR)hills encircle themselves with rejoicing.
13 The meadows are (AS)clothed with flocks
And the valleys are (AT)covered with grain;
They (AU)shout for joy, yes, they sing.
Job Says What Can I Say?
40 Then the Lord said to Job,
3 Then Job answered the Lord and said,
4 “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I say in response to You?
I (C)put my hand on my mouth.
5 I have spoken once, and (D)I will not reply;
Or twice, and I will add nothing more.”
God Questions Job
6 Then the (E)Lord answered Job from the whirlwind and said,
7 “Now [b](F)tighten the belt on your waist like a man;
I will (G)ask you, and you instruct Me.
8 Will you really (H)nullify My judgment?
Will you (I)condemn Me (J)so that you may be justified?
9 Or do you have an arm like God,
And can you (K)thunder with a voice like His?
10 “(L)Adorn yourself with pride and dignity,
And clothe yourself with honor and majesty.
11 Let out your (M)outbursts of anger,
And look at everyone who is (N)arrogant, and humble him.
12 Look at everyone who is arrogant, and (O)humble him,
And (P)trample down the wicked [c]where they stand.
13 (Q)Hide them together in the dust;
Imprison [d]them in the hidden place.
14 Then I will also [e]confess to you,
That your own right hand can save you.
God’s Power Shown in Creatures
15 “Behold, [f]Behemoth, which (R)I made [g]as well as you;
He eats grass like an ox.
16 Behold, his strength in his waist,
And his power in the muscles of his belly.
17 He hangs his tail like a cedar;
The tendons of his thighs are knit together.
18 His bones are tubes of bronze;
His [h]limbs are like bars of iron.
19 “He is the (S)first of the ways of God;
Let his (T)Maker bring His sword near.
20 Indeed the [i]mountains (U)bring him food,
And all the animals of the field (V)play there.
21 He lies down under the lotus plants,
In the hiding place of the reeds and the marsh.
22 The lotus plants cover him with [j]shade;
The willows of the brook surround him.
23 If a river [k]rages, he is not alarmed;
He is confident, though the (W)Jordan rushes to his mouth.
24 Can anyone capture him [l]when he is on watch,
Can anyone pierce his nose with barbs?
Second Missionary Journey
36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return and visit the brothers and sisters in (A)every city in which we proclaimed (B)the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take (C)John, called Mark, along with them also. 38 But Paul was of the opinion that they should not take along with them this man who had (D)deserted them [a]in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 Now it turned into such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took (E)Mark with him and sailed away to (F)Cyprus. 40 But Paul chose (G)Silas, and left after being (H)entrusted by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 And he was traveling through (I)Syria and (J)Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
The Macedonian Vision
16 Now Paul also came to (K)Derbe and to (L)Lystra. And a disciple was there, named (M)Timothy, the son of a (N)Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, 2 and he was well spoken of by (O)the brothers and sisters who were in (P)Lystra and (Q)Iconium. 3 Paul wanted this man to leave with him; and he (R)took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering (S)the ordinances for them to follow which had been determined by (T)the apostles and (U)elders in Jerusalem. 5 So (V)the churches were being strengthened [b]in the faith, and were (W)increasing in number daily.
55 Now (A)the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem from the country prior to the Passover, (B)in order to [a]purify themselves. 56 So they (C)were looking for Jesus, and saying to one another as they stood in the temple area, “What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?” 57 Now (D)the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might arrest Him.
Mary Anoints Jesus
12 (E)Therefore, six days before (F)the Passover, Jesus came to (G)Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they made Him a dinner there, and (H)Martha was serving; and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. 3 (I)Mary then took a [b]pound of very expensive (J)perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But (K)Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, the one who intended to [c]betray Him, *said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred [d]denarii and the proceeds given to poor people?” 6 Now he said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he (L)kept the money box, he used to [e]steal from (M)what was put into it. 7 Therefore Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it [f]for (N)the day of My burial. 8 (O)For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”
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