Book of Common Prayer
Cast Your Burden on the Lord
To the choirmaster: with (A)stringed instruments. A Maskil[a] of David.
55 (B)Give ear to my prayer, O God,
and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
2 Attend to me, and answer me;
I am restless (C)in my complaint and I (D)moan,
3 because of the noise of the enemy,
because of the oppression of the wicked.
For they (E)drop trouble upon me,
and in anger they bear a grudge against me.
4 My heart is in anguish within me;
(F)the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and trembling come upon me,
and (G)horror (H)overwhelms me.
6 And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;
7 (I)yes, I would wander far away;
I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
8 I would hurry to find a shelter
from (J)the raging wind and tempest.”
9 Destroy, O Lord, (K)divide their tongues;
for I see (L)violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around it
on its walls,
and (M)iniquity and trouble are within it;
11 ruin is in its midst;
(N)oppression and fraud
do not depart from its marketplace.
12 For it is not an enemy who taunts me—
then I could bear it;
it is not an adversary who (O)deals insolently with me—
then I could hide from him.
13 (P)But it is you, a man, my equal,
my companion, my familiar friend.
14 We used to take sweet counsel together;
within God's house we walked in (Q)the throng.
15 Let death steal over them;
let them go down to Sheol (R)alive;
for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.
16 But I call to God,
and the Lord will save me.
17 (S)Evening and (T)morning and at (U)noon
I (V)utter my complaint and moan,
and he hears my voice.
18 He redeems my soul in safety
from the battle that I wage,
for (W)many are arrayed against me.
19 God will give ear and humble them,
he who is (X)enthroned from of old, Selah
because they do not (Y)change
and do not fear God.
20 My companion[b] (Z)stretched out his hand against his friends;
he violated his covenant.
21 His (AA)speech was (AB)smooth as butter,
yet war was in his heart;
his words were softer than oil,
yet they were (AC)drawn swords.
Give Thanks to the Lord
Of David.
138 (A)I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before (B)the gods I sing your praise;
2 I bow down (C)toward your (D)holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word.[a]
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
my strength of soul you increased.[b]
4 (E)All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of your mouth,
5 and they shall sing of (F)the ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 (G)For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
but the haughty he knows from afar.
7 (H)Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you (I)preserve my life;
you (J)stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and your (K)right hand delivers me.
8 The Lord will (L)fulfill his purpose for me;
(M)your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
Do not forsake (N)the work of your hands.
Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
139 O Lord, you have (O)searched me and known me!
2 You (P)know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you (Q)discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, (R)you know it altogether.
5 You (S)hem me in, behind and before,
and (T)lay your hand upon me.
6 (U)Such knowledge is (V)too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 (W)Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where (X)shall I flee from your presence?
8 (Y)If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
(Z)If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall (AA)lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, (AB)“Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 (AC)even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
13 For you (AD)formed my inward parts;
you (AE)knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[c]
(AF)Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 (AG)My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in (AH)the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your (AI)book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are your (AJ)thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 (AK)If I would count them, they are more than (AL)the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
19 Oh that you would (AM)slay the wicked, O God!
O (AN)men of blood, (AO)depart from me!
20 They (AP)speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies (AQ)take your name in vain.[d]
21 (AR)Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not (AS)loathe those who (AT)rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
18 Moses erected the tabernacle. He laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars. 19 And he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 20 He (A)took the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark and set the mercy seat above on the ark. 21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle and (B)set up the veil of the screen, and screened (C)the ark of the testimony, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 22 (D)He put the table in the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil, 23 and arranged the bread on it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 24 (E)He put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle, 25 (F)and set up the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 26 (G)He put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the veil, 27 and burned fragrant incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 28 (H)He put in place the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 29 (I)And he set the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the (J)grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 30 (K)He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing, 31 with which Moses and (L)Aaron and his sons (M)washed their hands and their feet. 32 When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, as the Lord commanded Moses. 33 (N)And he erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So (O)Moses finished the work.
The Glory of the Lord
34 Then (P)the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and (Q)the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 Throughout all their journeys, (R)whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. 37 But (S)if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.
A Life Pleasing to God
4 Finally, then, brothers,[a] we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you (A)received from us (B)how you ought to walk and (C)to please God, just as you are doing, that you (D)do so more and more. 2 For (E)you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, (F)your sanctification:[b] (G)that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own (H)body[c] in holiness and (I)honor, 5 not in (J)the passion of lust (K)like the Gentiles (L)who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and (M)wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is (N)an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For (O)God has not called us for (P)impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore (Q)whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, (R)who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
9 Now concerning (S)brotherly love (T)you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been (U)taught by God (V)to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what (W)you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to (X)do this more and more, 11 and to aspire (Y)to live quietly, and (Z)to mind your own affairs, and (AA)to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may (AB)walk properly before (AC)outsiders and be dependent on no one.
Retaliation
38 (A)“You have heard that it was said, (B)‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, (C)Do not resist the one who is evil. But (D)if anyone (E)slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And (F)if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,[a] let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone (G)forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 (H)Give to the one who begs from you, and (I)do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
Love Your Enemies
43 (J)“You have heard that it was said, (K)‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, (L)Love your enemies and (M)pray for those who persecute you, 45 (N)so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and (O)sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 (P)For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers,[b] what more are you doing than others? Do not even (Q)the Gentiles do the same? 48 (R)You therefore must be (S)perfect, (T)as your heavenly Father is perfect.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.