Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Protection from the Wicked.
For the music director; for [a]flute accompaniment. A Psalm of David.
5 (A)Listen to my words, Lord,
Consider my (B)sighing.
2 Listen to (C)the sound of my cry for help, (D)my King and my God,
For to You I pray.
3 In the morning, Lord, [b]You will hear my voice;
In the (E)morning I will present my [c]prayer to You and be on the (F)watch.
4 For You are not a God (G)who takes pleasure in wickedness;
(H)No evil can dwell with You.
5 The (I)boastful will not (J)stand before Your eyes;
You (K)hate all who do injustice.
6 You (L)destroy those who speak lies;
The Lord loathes (M)the person of bloodshed and deceit.
7 But as for me, (N)by Your abundant graciousness I will enter Your house,
[d]At Your holy temple I will (O)bow in (P)reverence for You.
8 Lord, (Q)lead me (R)in Your righteousness (S)because of my enemies;
Make Your way [e]straight before me.
9 For there is (T)nothing [f]trustworthy in [g]their mouth;
Their (U)inward part is destruction itself.
Their (V)throat is an open grave;
They [h]flatter with their tongue.
10 Make them pay, God;
(W)Have them fall by their own schemes!
(X)Scatter them in the multitude of their wrongdoings,
For they are (Y)rebellious against You.
11 But (Z)rejoice, all who (AA)take refuge in You,
Sing for joy forever!
And [i]may You (AB)shelter them,
That those who (AC)love Your name may rejoice in You.
12 For You (AD)bless the righteous person, Lord,
You (AE)surround him with favor as with a shield.
Prayer for Mercy in Time of Trouble.
For the music director; with stringed instruments, [j]upon an eight-string lyre. A Psalm of David.
6 Lord, (AF)do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor discipline me in Your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am (AG)frail;
(AH)Heal me, Lord, for (AI)my bones are horrified.
3 And my (AJ)soul is greatly horrified;
But You, Lord—(AK)how long?
4 Return, Lord, (AL)rescue my [k]soul;
Save me because of Your mercy.
5 For (AM)there is no [l]mention of You in death;
In [m]Sheol, who will praise You?
A Prayer for the Overthrow of the Wicked.
10 Why (A)do You stand far away, Lord?
Why (B)do You hide [a]Yourself in times of trouble?
2 In (C)arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the needy;
[b]Let them be (D)caught in the plots which they have devised.
3 For the wicked (E)boasts of his (F)soul’s desire,
And [c]the greedy person curses and (G)shows disrespect to the Lord.
4 The wicked, [d]in his haughtiness, (H)does not seek Him.
(I)There is no God in all his schemes.
5 His ways (J)succeed at all times;
Yet Your judgments are on high, (K)out of his sight;
As for all his enemies, he snorts at them.
6 He says to himself, “(L)I will not be moved;
[e]Throughout the generations (M)I will not be in adversity.”
7 His (N)mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and (O)oppression;
(P)Under his tongue is harm and injustice.
8 He sits in the (Q)lurking places of the villages;
He (R)kills the innocent in the secret places;
His eyes [f]surreptitiously watch for the [g](S)unfortunate.
9 He lurks in secret like (T)a lion in his [h]lair;
He (U)lurks to catch (V)the needy;
He catches the needy when he pulls him into his (W)net.
10 Then he crushes the needy one, who cowers;
And [i]unfortunate people fall by his mighty power.
11 He (X)says to himself, “God has forgotten;
He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”
12 Arise, Lord; God, (Y)lift up Your hand.
(Z)Do not forget the humble.
13 Why has the wicked (AA)treated God disrespectfully?
He has said to himself, “[j]You will not require an account.”
14 You have seen it, for You have looked at (AB)harm and provocation to [k]take it into Your hand.
The [l](AC)unfortunate commits himself to You;
You have been the (AD)helper of the orphan.
15 (AE)Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,
[m](AF)Seek out his wickedness until You find none.
16 The Lord is (AG)King forever and ever;
(AH)Nations have perished from His land.
17 Lord, You have heard the (AI)desire of the humble;
You will (AJ)strengthen their heart, (AK)You will make Your ear attentive
18 To [n]vindicate the (AL)orphan and the (AM)oppressed,
So that mankind, which is of the earth, will no longer cause (AN)terror.
The Lord, a Refuge and Defense.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
11 In the Lord I (AO)take refuge;
How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your (AP)mountain?
2 For, behold, the wicked (AQ)bend the bow,
They have [o](AR)set their arrow on the string
To (AS)shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
3 If the (AT)foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?”
4 The Lord is in His (AU)holy temple; the [p]Lord’s (AV)throne is in heaven;
His (AW)eyes see, His eyelids test the sons of mankind.
5 The Lord (AX)tests the righteous and (AY)the wicked,
And His soul hates one who loves violence.
6 He will (AZ)rain [q]coals of fire upon the wicked,
(BA)And brimstone and (BB)burning wind will be the portion of (BC)their cup.
7 For the Lord is (BD)righteous, (BE)He loves [r]righteousness;
The upright will (BF)see His face.
16 (A)Better is a little with [a]the fear of the Lord
Than great treasure, and turmoil with [b]the treasure.
17 (B)Better is a portion of [c]vegetables where there is love,
Than a (C)fattened ox served with hatred.
18 A (D)hot-tempered person stirs up strife,
But the (E)slow to anger (F)calms a dispute.
19 The way of the [d]lazy one is like a hedge of thorns,
But the path of the upright is a highway.
20 A (G)wise son makes a father glad,
But a foolish man (H)despises his mother.
21 Foolishness is joy to one who lacks [e]sense,
But a person of understanding (I)walks straight.
22 Without consultation, plans are frustrated,
But with many counselors they [f]succeed.
23 A (J)person has joy in an [g]apt answer,
And how delightful is a timely (K)word!
24 The (L)path of life leads upward for the wise,
So that he may keep away from [h]Sheol below.
25 The Lord will (M)tear down the house of the proud,
But He will (N)set the boundary of the (O)widow.
26 Evil plans are an abomination to the Lord,
But pleasant words are pure.
27 He who (P)profits illicitly troubles his own house,
But he who (Q)hates bribes will live.
28 The heart of the righteous (R)ponders how to answer,
But the (S)mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.
29 The Lord is (T)far from the wicked,
But He (U)hears the prayer of the righteous.
30 [i]Bright eyes gladden the heart;
Good news [j]refreshes the bones.
31 One whose ear listens to a life-giving rebuke
Will stay among the wise.
32 One who (V)neglects discipline (W)rejects himself,
But one who (X)listens to a rebuke acquires [k]understanding.
33 [l]The fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom,
And before honor comes humility.
An Unashamed Worker
14 Remind them of these things, and solemnly (A)exhort them in the presence of God not to (B)dispute about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the listeners. 15 Be diligent to (C)present yourself approved to God as a worker who [a]does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling (D)the word of truth. 16 But (E)avoid (F)worldly and empty chatter, for [b]it will lead to further ungodliness, 17 and their [c]talk will spread like [d]gangrene. Among them are (G)Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 men who have gone astray from the truth, claiming that (H)the resurrection has already taken place; and they are jeopardizing (I)the faith of some. 19 Nevertheless, the (J)firm foundation of God stands, having this (K)seal: “(L)The Lord knows those who are His;” and, “(M)Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to keep away from wickedness.”
20 Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver implements, but also implements of wood and of earthenware, and (N)some are for honor while others are for dishonor. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from (O)these things, he will be an implement for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, (P)prepared for every good work. 22 Now (Q)flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, (R)faith, love, and peace with those who (S)call on the Lord (T)from a pure heart. 23 But refuse foolish and ignorant (U)speculations, knowing that they (V)produce [e]quarrels. 24 (W)The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, (X)skillful in teaching, patient when wronged, 25 (Y)with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, (Z)if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to (AA)the knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from (AB)the snare of the devil, having been (AC)held captive [f]by him to do his will.
36 While you have the Light, (A)believe in the Light, so that you may become (B)sons of Light.”
These things Jesus proclaimed, and He went away and (C)hid Himself from them. 37 But though He had performed so many [a]signs in their sight, they still were not believing in Him. 38 This happened so that the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke would be fulfilled: “(D)Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” 39 For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, 40 “(E)He has blinded their eyes and He (F)hardened their heart, so that they will not see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and [b]be converted, and so I will not heal them.” 41 These things Isaiah said because (G)he saw His glory, and (H)he spoke about Him. 42 Nevertheless (I)many, even of (J)the rulers, believed in Him, but (K)because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, so that they would not be (L)excommunicated from the synagogue; 43 (M)for they loved the [c]approval of people rather than the [d]approval of God.
44 Now Jesus cried out and said, “(N)The one who believes in Me, does not believe only in Me, but also in Him who sent Me. 45 And (O)the one who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. 46 (P)I have come as Light into the world, so that no one who believes in Me will remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears My [e]teachings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for (Q)I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 (R)The one who rejects Me and does not [f]accept My [g]teachings has one who judges him: (S)the word which I spoke. That will judge him on (T)the last day. 49 (U)For I did not speak [h]on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me (V)has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that (W)His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak (X)just as the Father has told Me.”
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