Book of Common Prayer
56 To the Overseer. -- `On the Dumb Dove far off.' -- A secret treasure of David, in the Philistines' taking hold of him in Gath. Favour me, O God, for man swallowed me up, All the day fighting he oppresseth me,
2 Mine enemies have swallowed up all the day, For many [are] fighting against me, O most High,
3 The day I am afraid I am confident toward Thee.
4 In God I praise His word, in God I have trusted, I fear not what flesh doth to me.
5 All the day they wrest my words, Concerning me all their thoughts [are] for evil,
6 They assemble, they hide, they watch my heels, When they have expected my soul.
7 By iniquity they escape, In anger the peoples put down, O God.
8 My wandering Thou hast counted, Thou -- place Thou my tear in Thy bottle, Are they not in Thy book?
9 Then turn back do mine enemies in the day I call. This I have known, that God [is] for me.
10 In God I praise the word, In Jehovah I praise the word.
11 In God I trusted, I fear not what man doth to me,
12 On me, O God, [are] Thy vows, I repay thank-offerings to Thee.
13 For Thou hast delivered my soul from death, Dost Thou not my feet from falling? To walk habitually before God in the light of the living!
57 To the Overseer. -- `Destroy not.' -- A secret treasure of David, in his fleeing from the face of Saul into a cave. Favour me, O God, favour me, For in Thee is my soul trusting, And in the shadow of Thy wings I trust, Until the calamities pass over.
2 I call to God Most High, To God [who] is perfecting for me.
3 He sendeth from the heaven, and saveth me, He reproached -- who is panting after me. Selah. God sendeth forth His kindness and His truth.
4 My soul [is] in the midst of lions, I lie down [among] flames -- sons of men, Their teeth [are] a spear and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword.
5 Be Thou exalted above the heavens, O God, Above all the earth Thine honour.
6 A net they have prepared for my steps, Bowed down hath my soul, They have digged before me a pit, They have fallen into its midst. Selah.
7 Prepared is my heart, O God, Prepared is my heart, I sing and praise.
8 Awake, mine honour, awake, psaltery and harp, I awake the morning dawn.
9 I thank Thee among the peoples, O Lord, I praise Thee among the nations.
10 For great unto the heavens [is] Thy kindness, And unto the clouds Thy truth.
11 Be thou exalted above the heavens, O God. Above all the earth Thine honour!
58 To the Overseer. -- `Destroy not.' -- A secret treasure, by David. Is it true, O dumb one, righteously ye speak? Uprightly ye judge, O sons of men?
2 Even in heart ye work iniquities, In the land the violence of your hands ye ponder.
3 The wicked have been estranged from the womb, They have erred from the belly, speaking lies.
4 Their poison [is] as poison of a serpent, As a deaf asp shutting its ear,
5 Which hearkeneth not to the voice of whisperers, A charmer of charms most skilful.
6 O God, break their teeth in their mouth, The jaw-teeth of young lions break down, O Jehovah.
7 They are melted as waters, They go up and down for themselves, His arrow proceedeth as they cut themselves off.
8 As a snail that melteth he goeth on, [As] an untimely birth of a woman, They have not seen the sun.
9 Before your pots discern the bramble, As well the raw as the heated He whirleth away.
10 The righteous rejoiceth that he hath seen vengeance, His steps he washeth in the blood of the wicked.
11 And man saith: `Surely fruit [is] for the righteous: Surely there is a God judging in the earth!'
64 To the Overseer. -- A Psalm of David. Hear, O God, my voice, in my meditation, From the fear of an enemy Thou keepest my life,
2 Hidest me from the secret counsel of evil doers, From the tumult of workers of iniquity.
3 Who sharpened as a sword their tongue, They directed their arrow -- a bitter word.
4 To shoot in secret places the perfect, Suddenly they shoot him, and fear not.
5 They strengthen for themselves an evil thing, They recount of the hiding of snares, They have said, `Who doth look at it?'
6 They search out perverse things, `We perfected a searching search,' And the inward part of man, and the heart [are] deep.
7 And God doth shoot them [with] an arrow, Sudden have been their wounds,
8 And they cause him to stumble, Against them [is] their own tongue, Every looker on them fleeth away.
9 And all men fear, and declare the work of God, And His deed they have considered wisely.
10 The righteous doth rejoice in Jehovah, And hath trusted in Him, And boast themselves do all the upright of heart!
65 To the Overseer. -- A Psalm of David. A Song. To Thee, silence -- praise, O God, [is] in Zion, And to Thee is a vow completed.
2 Hearer of prayer, to Thee all flesh cometh.
3 Matters of iniquities were mightier than I, Our transgressions -- Thou dost cover them.
4 O the happiness of [him whom] Thou choosest, And drawest near, he inhabiteth Thy courts, We are satisfied with the goodness of Thy house, Thy holy temple.
5 By fearful things in righteousness Thou answerest us, O God of our salvation, The confidence of all far off ends of earth and sea.
6 Establishing mountains by His power, He hath been girded with might,
7 Restraining the noise of seas, the noise of their billows, And the multitude of the peoples.
8 And the inhabitants of the uttermost parts From Thy signs are afraid, The outgoings of morning and evening Thou causest to sing.
9 Thou hast inspected the earth, and waterest it, Thou makest it very rich, the rivulet of God [is] full of water, Thou preparest their corn, When thus Thou dost prepare it,
10 Its ridges have been filled, Deepened hath been its furrow, With showers Thou dost soften it, Its springing up Thou blessest.
11 Thou hast crowned the year of Thy goodness, And Thy paths drop fatness.
12 Drop do the pastures of a wilderness, And joy of the heights Thou girdest on.
13 Clothed have lambs the flock, And valleys are covered with corn, They shout -- yea, they sing!
7 Better [is] a name than good perfume, And the day of death than the day of birth.
2 Better to go unto a house of mourning, Than to go unto a house of banqueting, For that is the end of all men, And the living layeth [it] unto his heart.
3 Better [is] sorrow than laughter, For by the sadness of the face the heart becometh better.
4 The heart of the wise [is] in a house of mourning, And the heart of fools in a house of mirth.
5 Better to hear a rebuke of a wise man, Than [for] a man to hear a song of fools,
6 For as the noise of thorns under the pot, So [is] the laughter of a fool, even this [is] vanity.
7 Surely oppression maketh the wise mad, And a gift destroyeth the heart.
8 Better [is] the latter end of a thing than its beginning, Better [is] the patient of spirit, than the haughty of spirit.
9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry, For anger in the bosom of fools resteth.
10 Say not thou, `What was it, That the former days were better than these?' For thou hast not asked wisely of this.
11 Wisdom [is] good with an inheritance, And an advantage [it is] to those beholding the sun.
12 For wisdom [is] a defense, money [is] a defence, And the advantage of the knowledge of wisdom [is], She reviveth her possessors.
13 See the work of God, For who is able to make straight that which He made crooked?
14 In a day of prosperity be in gladness, And in a day of evil consider. Also this over-against that hath God made, To the intent that man doth not find anything after him.
12 Become as I [am] -- because I also [am] as ye brethren, I beseech you; to me ye did no hurt,
13 and ye have known that through infirmity of the flesh I did proclaim good news to you at the first,
14 and my trial that [is] in my flesh ye did not despise nor reject, but as a messenger of God ye did receive me -- as Christ Jesus;
15 what then was your happiness? for I testify to you, that if possible, your eyes having plucked out, ye would have given to me;
16 so that your enemy have I become, being true to you?
17 they are zealous for you -- [yet] not well, but they wish to shut us out, that for them ye may be zealous;
18 and [it is] good to be zealously regarded, in what is good, at all times, and not only in my being present with you;
19 my little children, of whom again I travail in birth, till Christ may be formed in you,
20 and I was wishing to be present with you now, and to change my voice, because I am in doubt about you.
21 And Jesus having come forth thence, withdrew to the parts of Tyre and Sidon,
22 and lo, a woman, a Canaanitess, from those borders having come forth, did call to him, saying, `Deal kindly with me, Sir -- Son of David; my daughter is miserably demonized.'
23 And he did not answer her a word; and his disciples having come to him, were asking him, saying -- `Let her away, because she crieth after us;'
24 and he answering said, `I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.'
25 And having come, she was bowing to him, saying, `Sir, help me;'
26 and he answering said, `It is not good to take the children's bread, and to cast to the little dogs.'
27 And she said, `Yes, sir, for even the little dogs do eat of the crumbs that are falling from their lords' table;'
28 then answering, Jesus said to her, `O woman, great [is] thy faith, let it be to thee as thou wilt;' and her daughter was healed from that hour.