Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Relief from Tormentors
To the Chief Musician. Set to [a]“The Silent Dove in Distant Lands.” A Michtam of David when the (A)Philistines captured him in Gath.
56 Be (B)merciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up;
Fighting all day he oppresses me.
2 My enemies would (C)hound me all day,
For there are many who fight against me, O Most High.
3 Whenever I am afraid,
I will trust in You.
4 In God (I will praise His word),
In God I have put my trust;
(D)I will not fear.
What can flesh do to me?
5 All day they twist my words;
All their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They gather together,
They hide, they mark my steps,
When they lie in wait for my life.
7 Shall they escape by iniquity?
In anger cast down the peoples, O God!
8 You number my wanderings;
Put my tears into Your bottle;
(E)Are they not in Your book?
9 When I cry out to You,
Then my enemies will turn back;
This I know, because (F)God is for me.
10 In God (I will praise His word),
In the Lord (I will praise His word),
11 In God I have put my trust;
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God;
I will render praises to You,
13 (G)For You have delivered my soul from death.
Have You not kept my feet from falling,
That I may walk before God
In the (H)light of the living?
Prayer for Safety from Enemies(I)
To the Chief Musician. Set to [b]“Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam of David (J)when he fled from Saul into the cave.
57 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!
For my soul trusts in You;
(K)And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,
(L)Until these calamities have passed by.
2 I will cry out to God Most High,
To God (M)who performs all things for me.
3 (N)He shall send from heaven and save me;
He reproaches the one who [c]would swallow me up. Selah
God (O)shall send forth His mercy and His truth.
4 My soul is among lions;
I lie among the sons of men
Who are set on fire,
(P)Whose teeth are spears and arrows,
And their tongue a sharp sword.
5 (Q)Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.
6 (R)They have prepared a net for my steps;
My soul is bowed down;
They have dug a pit before me;
Into the midst of it they themselves have fallen. Selah
7 (S)My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and give praise.
8 Awake, (T)my glory!
Awake, lute and harp!
I will awaken the dawn.
9 (U)I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing to You among the [d]nations.
10 (V)For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens,
And Your truth unto the clouds.
11 (W)Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.
The Just Judgment of the Wicked
To the Chief Musician. Set to [e]“Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam of David.
58 Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones?
Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men?
2 No, in heart you work wickedness;
You weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.
3 (X)The wicked are estranged from the womb;
They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
4 (Y)Their poison is like the poison of a serpent;
They are like the deaf cobra that stops its ear,
5 Which will not (Z)heed the voice of charmers,
Charming ever so skillfully.
6 (AA)Break[f] their teeth in their mouth, O God!
Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
7 (AB)Let them flow away as waters which run continually;
When he bends his bow,
Let his arrows be as if cut in pieces.
8 Let them be like a snail which melts away as it goes,
(AC)Like a stillborn child of a woman, that they may not see the sun.
9 Before your (AD)pots can feel the burning thorns,
He shall take them away (AE)as with a whirlwind,
As in His living and burning wrath.
10 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the (AF)vengeance;
(AG)He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,
11 (AH)So that men will say,
“Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
Surely He is God who (AI)judges in the earth.”
Oppressed by the Wicked but Rejoicing in the Lord
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
64 Hear my voice, O God, in my [a]meditation;
Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity,
3 Who sharpen their tongue like a sword,
(A)And bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words,
4 That they may shoot in secret at the blameless;
Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.
5 They encourage themselves in an evil matter;
They talk of laying snares secretly;
(B)They say, “Who will see them?”
6 They devise iniquities:
“We have perfected a shrewd scheme.”
Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep.
7 But God shall shoot at them with an arrow;
Suddenly they shall be wounded.
8 So He will make them stumble over their own tongue;
(C)All who see them shall flee away.
9 All men shall fear,
And shall (D)declare the work of God;
For they shall wisely consider His doing.
10 (E)The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in Him.
And all the upright in heart shall glory.
Praise to God for His Salvation and Providence
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.
65 Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion;
And to You the [b]vow shall be performed.
2 O You who hear prayer,
(F)To You all flesh will come.
3 Iniquities prevail against me;
As for our transgressions,
You will (G)provide atonement for them.
4 (H)Blessed is the man You (I)choose,
And cause to approach You,
That he may dwell in Your courts.
(J)We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Of Your holy temple.
5 By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us,
O God of our salvation,
You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth,
And of the far-off seas;
6 Who established the mountains by His strength,
(K)Being clothed with power;
7 (L)You who still the noise of the seas,
The noise of their waves,
(M)And the tumult of the peoples.
8 They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs;
You make the outgoings of the morning and evening [c]rejoice.
9 You [d]visit the earth and (N)water it,
You greatly enrich it;
(O)The river of God is full of water;
You provide their grain,
For so You have prepared it.
10 You water its ridges abundantly,
You settle its furrows;
You make it soft with showers,
You bless its growth.
11 You crown the year with Your goodness,
And Your paths drip with abundance.
12 They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
And the little hills rejoice on every side.
13 The pastures are clothed with flocks;
(P)The valleys also are covered with grain;
They shout for joy, they also sing.
The Christian Home(A)
18 (B)Wives, submit to your own husbands, (C)as is fitting in the Lord.
19 (D)Husbands, love your wives and do not be (E)bitter toward them.
20 (F)Children, obey your parents (G)in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.
21 (H)Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
22 (I)Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. 23 (J)And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 24 (K)knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; (L)for[a] you serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and (M)there is no partiality.
Christian Graces; Final Greetings
4 Masters,(N) give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
Christian Graces
2 (O)Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it (P)with thanksgiving; 3 (Q)meanwhile praying also for us, that God would (R)open to us a door for the word, to speak (S)the [b]mystery of Christ, (T)for which I am also in chains, 4 that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
5 (U)Walk in (V)wisdom toward those who are outside, (W)redeeming the time. 6 Let your speech always be (X)with grace, (Y)seasoned with salt, (Z)that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
Final Greetings(AA)
7 (AB)Tychicus, a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. 8 (AC)I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that [c]he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts, 9 with (AD)Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you all things which are happening here.
10 (AE)Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with (AF)Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision; they have proved to be a comfort to me.
12 (AG)Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always (AH)laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand (AI)perfect and [d]complete in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has a great [e]zeal for you, and those who are in Laodicea, and those in Hierapolis. 14 (AJ)Luke the beloved physician and (AK)Demas greet you. 15 Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and [f]Nymphas and (AL)the church that is in [g]his house.
Closing Exhortations and Blessing
16 Now when (AM)this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. 17 And say to (AN)Archippus, “Take heed to (AO)the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.”
18 (AP)This salutation by my own hand—Paul. (AQ)Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Amen.
A Sinful Woman Forgiven
36 (A)Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. 37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, 38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, (B)“This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”
40 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”
So he said, “Teacher, say it.”
41 “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred (C)denarii, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”
And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” 44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no (D)water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45 You gave Me no (E)kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. 46 (F)You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 47 (G)Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
48 Then He said to her, (H)“Your sins are forgiven.”
49 And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, (I)“Who is this who even forgives sins?”
50 Then He said to the woman, (J)“Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.