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.
15 “So pay attention and watch [a]yourselves carefully—for you did not see any form [of God] on the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire— 16 so that you do not act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved or sculpted image [to worship] in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, 17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, or of any winged bird that flies in the [b]sky, 18 the likeness of anything that crawls on the ground, or of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth. 19 And beware that you do not raise your eyes toward heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, and let yourselves be led astray and worship them and serve them, [mere created bodies] which the Lord your God has allotted to [serve and benefit] all the peoples under the whole heaven. 20 But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron [smelting] furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people for His own possession, as [you are] this day.
21 “Now the Lord was angry with me [at the waters of Meribah] because of you, and He swore [an oath] that I would not cross the Jordan, and that I would not enter the good land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. 22 For I am going to die in this land, I am not going to cross the Jordan, but you shall cross over and take possession of this good land. 23 So be on your guard and watch yourselves, so that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He has made with you, and make for yourselves a carved or sculpted image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you. 24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire; He is a [c]jealous (impassioned) God [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely His].
Paul Defends His Apostleship
11 I wish you would bear with me [while I indulge] in a little foolishness; but indeed you are bearing with me [as you read this]. 2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy because I have promised you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.(A) 3 But I am afraid that, even as the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning, your minds may be corrupted and led away from the simplicity of [your sincere and] pure devotion to Christ.(B) 4 For [you seem willing to allow it] if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted. You tolerate all this beautifully [welcoming the deception]. 5 Yet I consider myself in no way inferior to the [so-called] [a]super-apostles. 6 But even if I am unskilled in speaking, yet I am not [untrained] in [b]knowledge [I know what I am talking about]; but we have made this evident to you in every way, in all things.
7 Or did I [perhaps] sin by humbling myself so that you might be exalted and honored, because I preached God’s gospel to you [c]free of charge? 8 I robbed other churches by accepting [more than their share of] financial support for my ministry to you. 9 And when I was with you and ran short [financially], I did not burden any of you; for what I needed was fully supplied by the brothers (Silas and Timothy) who came from Macedonia (the church at Philippi). So I kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so.(C) 10 As the truth of Christ is in me, my boast [of independence] will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia (southern Greece). 11 Why? Because I do not love you [or wish you well, or have regard for your welfare]? God knows [that I do]!
12 But what I am doing I will keep doing, [for I am determined to keep this independence] in order to cut off the claim of those who want an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things they brag about. 13 For such men are counterfeit apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, since Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 So it is no great surprise if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness, but their end will correspond with their deeds.
16 I repeat then, let no one think that I am foolish; but even if you do, at least accept me as foolish, so that I too may boast a little. 17 What I say in this confident boasting, I say not as the Lord would [with His authority], but foolishly. 18 Since many boast [of worldly things and brag] about human accomplishments, I will boast too. 19 [d]For you, being so wise, gladly tolerate and accept the foolish [like me]! 20 For you tolerate it if anyone makes you his slave; or devours you and your possessions; or takes advantage of you; or acts presumptuously; or hits you in the face. 21 To my shame, I must say, we have been too weak [in comparison to those pseudo-apostles who take advantage of you].
But in whatever anyone else dares to boast—I am speaking foolishly—I also dare to boast.
Fasting, The True Treasure, Wealth (Mammon)
16 “And whenever you are fasting, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they put on a sad and dismal face [like actors, discoloring their faces with ashes or dirt] so that their fasting may be seen by men. I assure you and most solemnly say to you, they [already] have their reward in full.(A) 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head [as you normally would to groom your hair] and wash your face 18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by people, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees [what is done] in secret will reward you.
19 “Do not store up for yourselves [material] treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart [your wishes, your desires; that on which your life centers] will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so if your eye is clear [spiritually perceptive], your whole body will be full of light [benefiting from God’s precepts]. 23 But if your eye is bad [spiritually blind], your whole body will be full of darkness [devoid of God’s precepts]. So if the [very] light inside you [your inner self, your heart, your conscience] is darkness, how great and terrible is that darkness!
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