Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Protection from the Wicked.
To the Chief Musician; on wind instruments. A Psalm of David.
5 Listen to my words, O Lord,
Consider my groaning and sighing.
2
Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God,
For to You I pray.
3
In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice;
In the morning I will prepare [a prayer and a sacrifice] for You and watch and wait [for You to speak to my heart].
4
For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness;
No evil [person] dwells with You.
5
The boastful and the arrogant will not stand in Your sight;
You hate all who do evil.
6
You destroy those who tell lies;
The Lord detests and rejects the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
7
But as for me, I will enter Your house through the abundance of Your steadfast love and tender mercy;
At Your holy temple I will bow [obediently] in reverence for You.
8
O Lord, lead me in Your righteousness because of my enemies;
Make Your way straight (direct, right) before me.
9
For there is nothing trustworthy or reliable or truthful in what they say;
Their heart is destruction [just a treacherous chasm, a yawning gulf of lies].
Their throat is an open grave;
They [glibly] flatter with their [silken] tongue.(A)
10
Hold them guilty, O God;
Let them fall by their own designs and councils!
Cast them out because of the abundance of their transgressions,
For they are mutinous and have rebelled against You.
11
But let all who take refuge and put their trust in You rejoice,
Let them ever sing for joy;
Because You cover and shelter them,
Let those who love Your name be joyful and exult in You.
12
For You, O Lord, bless the righteous man [the one who is in right standing with You];
You surround him with favor as with a shield.
Prayer for Mercy in Time of Trouble.
To the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments, set [possibly] an octave below. A Psalm of David.
6 O Lord, do not rebuke or punish me in Your anger,
Nor discipline me in Your wrath.
2
Have mercy on me and be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am weak (faint, frail);
Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed and anguished.
3
My soul [as well as my body] is greatly dismayed.
But as for You, O Lord—how long [until You act on my behalf]?
4
Return, O Lord, rescue my soul;
Save me because of Your [unfailing] steadfast love and mercy.
5
For in death there is no mention of You;
In Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) who will praise You and give You thanks?
6
I am weary with my groaning;
Every night I soak my bed with tears,
I drench my couch with my weeping.
7
My eye grows dim with grief;
It grows old because of all my enemies.
8
Depart from me, all you who do evil,
For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.(B)
9
The Lord has heard my supplication [my plea for grace];
The Lord receives my prayer.
10
Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly horrified;
Let them turn back, let them suddenly be ashamed [of what they have done].
A Prayer for the Overthrow of the Wicked.
10 Why do You stand far away, O Lord?
Why do You hide [Yourself, veiling Your eyes] in times of trouble?
2
In pride and arrogance the wicked hotly pursue and persecute the afflicted;
Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.
3
For the wicked boasts and sings the praises of his heart’s desire,
And the greedy man curses and spurns [and even despises] the Lord.
4
The wicked, in the haughtiness of his face, will not seek nor inquire for Him;
All his thoughts are, “There is no God [so there is no accountability or punishment].”
5
His ways prosper at all times;
Your judgments [Lord] are on high, out of his sight [so he never thinks about them];
As for all his enemies, he sneers at them.
6
He says to himself, “I will not be moved;
For throughout all generations I will not be in adversity [for nothing bad will happen to me].”
7
His mouth is full of curses and deceit (fraud) and oppression;
Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness [injustice and sin].
8
He lurks in ambush in the villages;
In hiding places he kills the innocent;
He lies in wait for the unfortunate [the unhappy, the poor, the helpless].
9
He lurks in a hiding place like a lion in his lair;
He lies in wait to catch the afflicted;
He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his net.
10
He crushes [his prey] and crouches;
And the unfortunate fall by his mighty claws.
11
He says to himself, “God has [quite] forgotten;
He has hidden His face; He will never see my deed.”
12
Arise, O Lord! O God, lift up Your hand [in judgment];
Do not forget the suffering.
13
Why has the wicked spurned and shown disrespect to God?
He has said to himself, “You will not require me to account.”
14
You have seen it, for You have noted mischief and vexation (irritation) to take it into Your hand.
The unfortunate commits himself to You;
You are the helper of the fatherless.
15
Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,
Seek out his wickedness until You find no more.
16
The Lord is King forever and ever;
The nations will perish from His land.
17
O Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble and oppressed;
You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear to hear,
18
To vindicate and obtain justice for the fatherless and the oppressed,
So that man who is of the earth will no longer terrify them.
The Lord a Refuge and Defense.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
11 In the Lord I take refuge [and put my trust];
How can you say to me, “Flee like a bird to your mountain;
2
For look, the wicked are bending the bow;
They take aim with their arrow on the string
To shoot [by stealth] in darkness at the upright in heart.
3
“If the foundations [of a godly society] are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?”
4
The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven.
His eyes see, His eyelids test the children of men.(A)
5
The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked,
And His soul hates the [malevolent] one who loves violence.(B)
6
Upon the wicked (godless) He will rain coals of fire;
Fire and [a]brimstone and a dreadful scorching wind will be the portion of their cup [of doom].
7
For the Lord is [absolutely] righteous, He loves righteousness (virtue, morality, justice);
The upright shall see His face.
The King’s Forgotten Dream
2 In the second year (604 b.c.) of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams which troubled and disturbed his spirit and [interfered with] his ability to sleep. 2 Then the king gave a command to call the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the [a]Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 3 The king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled and anxious to know the [content and meaning of the] dream.”
4 Then the Chaldeans said to the king in [b]Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” 5 The king replied to the Chaldeans, “My command is firm and unchangeable: if you do not reveal to me the [content of the] dream along with its interpretation, you shall be cut into pieces and your houses shall be made a heap of rubbish. 6 But if you tell [me] the [content of the] dream along with its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and its interpretation.” 7 They answered again, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will explain its interpretation [to you].” 8 The king replied, “I know for certain that you are bargaining for time, because you have seen that my command [to you] is firm and irrevocable. 9 If you will not reveal to me the [content of the] dream, there is but one sentence for you; for you have [already] prepared lying and corrupt words [and you have agreed together] to speak [them] before me [hoping to delay your execution] until the situation is changed. Therefore, tell me the dream [first], and then I will know [with confidence] that you can give me its interpretation.” 10 The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king this matter, for no king, lord or ruler has ever asked such a thing as this of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. 11 Furthermore, what the king demands is an unusual and difficult thing indeed! No one except the gods can reveal it to the king, and their dwelling is not with [mortal] flesh.”
12 Because of this the king was indignant and extremely furious and gave a command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree went out that the wise men were to be killed; and they looked for Daniel and his companions to put them to death.
14 Then Daniel replied with discretion and wisdom to Arioch, the captain of the king’s [c]bodyguard, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon; 15 he said to Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so harsh and urgent?” Then Arioch explained the matter to Daniel. 16 So Daniel went in and asked the king to appoint a date and give him time, so that he might reveal to the king the interpretation of the dream.
Christ Is Our Advocate
2 My little children (believers, dear ones), I am writing you these things so that you will not sin and violate God’s law. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate [who will intercede for us] with the Father: Jesus Christ the righteous [the upright, the just One, who conforms to the Father’s will in every way—purpose, thought, and action]. 2 And He [that same Jesus] is the propitiation for our sins [the atoning sacrifice that holds back the wrath of God that would otherwise be directed at us because of our sinful nature—our worldliness, our lifestyle]; and not for ours alone, but also for [the sins of all believers throughout] the whole world.
3 And this is how we know [daily, by experience] that we have come to know Him [to understand Him and be more deeply acquainted with Him]: if we habitually keep [focused on His precepts and obey] His commandments (teachings). 4 Whoever says, “I have come to know Him,” but does not habitually keep [focused on His precepts and obey] His commandments (teachings), is a liar, and the truth [of the divine word] is not in him. 5 But whoever habitually keeps His word and obeys His precepts [and treasures His message in its entirety], in him the love of God has truly been perfected [it is completed and has reached maturity]. By this we know [for certain] that we are in Him: 6 whoever says he lives in Christ [that is, whoever says he has accepted Him as God and Savior] ought [as a moral obligation] to walk and conduct himself just as He walked and conducted Himself.
7 Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the message which you have heard [before from us].(A) 8 On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true and realized in Christ and in you, because the darkness [of moral blindness] is clearing away and the true Light [the revelation of God in Christ] is already shining. 9 The one who says he is in the Light [in consistent fellowship with Christ] and yet [a]habitually hates (works against) his brother [in Christ] is in the darkness until now. 10 The one who [b]loves and unselfishly seeks the best for his [believing] brother lives in the Light, and in him there is no occasion for stumbling or offense [he does not hurt the cause of Christ or lead others to sin]. 11 But the one who habitually hates (works against) his brother [in Christ] is in [spiritual] darkness and is walking in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
12 While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and protected them, and not one of them was lost except [a]the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.(A)
The Disciples in the World
13 But now I am coming to You; and I say these things [while I am still] in the world so that they may experience My joy made full and complete and perfect within them [filling their hearts with My delight]. 14 I have given to them Your word [the message You gave Me]; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world and do not belong to the world, just as I am not of the world and do not belong to it. 15 I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but that You keep them and protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth [set them apart for Your purposes, make them holy]; Your word is truth. 18 Just as You commissioned and sent Me into the world, I also have commissioned and sent them (believers) into the world. 19 For their sake [b]I sanctify Myself [to do Your will], so that they also may be sanctified [set apart, dedicated, made holy] in [Your] truth.
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