Book of Common Prayer
To the Overcomer upon: The silent dove in a distant land, Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath.
1 ¶ Be merciful unto me, O God, for man would swallow me up; he oppresses me fighting me daily.
2 My enemies would daily swallow me up, for they are many that fight against me, O thou most High.
3 When I am afraid, I will trust in thee.
4 In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
5 Every day my life is filled with sorrow; all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps when they wait for my soul.
7 Shall they escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the peoples, O God.
8 ¶ Thou tellest my wanderings; put my tears into thy bottle; are they not in thy book?
9 When I cry unto thee, then shall my enemies be turned back; in this I know that 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 of what man can do unto me.
12 Thy promises are upon me, O God; I will render praises unto thee.
13 For thou hast delivered my life from death; thou hast kept my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living.
To the Overcomer upon, Do not destroy, Michtam of David, when he fled from the presence of Saul in the cave.
1 ¶ Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusts in thee; and in the shadow of thy wings I will make my refuge until these calamities are overpast.
2 I will cry unto God most high, unto God that performs all things for me.
3 He shall send from the heavens and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.
4 My soul is among lions, and I lie even among those that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword.
5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.
6 They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down; they have dug a pit before me, into the midst of which they are fallen themselves. Selah.
7 ¶ My heart is ready, O God, my heart is willing; I will sing and give praise.
8 Awake, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp; I myself will arise early.
9 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing unto thee among the nations.
10 For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.
11 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.
To the Overcomer upon, Do not destroy, Michtam of David.
1 ¶ Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of Adam?
2 Yea, in heart ye work iniquity; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth.
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent; they are like the deaf adder that stops her ear,
5 which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.
6 ¶ Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth; break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD.
7 Let them melt away as waters which run continually; when he bends his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces.
8 As a snail which melts, let them pass away, like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the fire of the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath.
10 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous; verily there is a God that judges in the earth.
To the Overcomer, A Psalm of David.
1 ¶ Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer; preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked, from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:
3 Who whet their tongue like a sword and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words
4 That they may shoot in secret at the perfect; suddenly do they shoot at him and fear not.
5 They encourage themselves in an evil matter; they attempt to hide the snares; they say, Who shall see them?
6 They search out iniquities; they perfect and put into effect that which they have invented in the inward thought of each one of them and that which they have devised in their heart.
7 ¶ But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.
8 So they shall make their own council and agreements to fall upon themselves; all that see them shall flee away.
9 And all men shall fear and shall declare the work of God, for they shall understand his doing.
10 The righteous shall be glad in the LORD and shall become secure in him, and all the upright in heart shall glory in him.
To the Overcomer, A Psalm and Song of David.
1 ¶ Praise doth rest in thee, O God, in Sion and unto thee shall the vow be performed.
2 O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.
3 Words of iniquity overwhelmed me, but thou shalt purge away our rebellion.
4 Blessed is the man whom thou dost choose and cause to approach unto thee that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house even of thy holy temple.
5 With tremendous things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our saving health, who art the hope of all the ends of the earth and of those that are afar off upon the sea:
6 ¶ Thou art he who doth establish the mountains by thy strength, being girded with valour:
7 He who stills the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves and the tumult of the Gentiles.
8 They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy wonders; thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.
9 Thou dost visit the earth, and when thou hast caused it to want, thou dost greatly enrich it with the river of God, which is full of water; thou dost prepare their grain, according to thy will.
10 Thou dost water its rows abundantly; thou dost settle its furrows; thou dost make it soft with showers of rain; thou dost bless its sprouting.
11 Thou dost crown the year with thy goodness, and thy clouds distill fatness.
12 They fall upon the habitations of the wilderness; and the hills gird themselves with happiness.
13 The plains clothe themselves with sheep, and the valleys cover themselves with grain; they give shouts of triumph, they even sing.
18 ¶ Wives, be subject to your own husbands as it is fit in the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter against them.
20 Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.
21 Fathers, provoke not your children lest they become disheartened.
22 Slaves, in all things hearken unto your masters according to the flesh, not serving to be seen as those who only please men, but in simplicity of heart, fearing God;
23 And whatever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men,
24 knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ.
25 But he that does wrong shall receive the wrong which he has done, now that there is no respect of persons.
4 ¶ Masters, do that which is just and right with your slaves, knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.
2 ¶ Persevere in prayer and watch in the same with thanksgiving,
3 praying also together for us that God would open unto us the door of the word, to speak the mystery of the Christ, for which I am also in bonds,
4 that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
5 ¶ Walk in wisdom towards outsiders, winning the occasion.
6 Let your word be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer each one.
7 ¶ All my affairs shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother and a faithful servant and fellow slave in the Lord,
8 whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your affairs and comfort your hearts,
9 with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all the things which are happening here.
10 Aristarchus, my fellowprisoner, salutes you, and Mark, nephew to Barnabas, (concerning whom ye have received commandments, if he comes unto you, receive him),
11 and Jesus, who is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These only are my fellowworkers unto the kingdom of God, who have been a comfort unto me.
12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a slave of Christ, salutes you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand firm, perfect and fulfilled in all the will of God.
13 For I bear witness of him, that he has a great zeal for you and those that are in Laodicea and those in Hierapolis.
14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.
15 Salute the brethren who are in Laodicea and Nymphas and the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} which is in his house.
16 And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} of the Laodiceans, and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.
17 And say to Archippus, Take heed to fulfil the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord.
18 The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen.
36 ¶ And one of the Pharisees asked him if he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house and sat down to food.
37 And, behold, a woman who had been a sinner in the city, when she knew that Jesus sat at food in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
38 and stood at his feet behind him weeping and began to wash his feet with tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.
39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he spoke within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that touches him, for she is a sinner.
40 And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have something to say unto thee. And he said, Master, say on.
41 There was a certain creditor who had two debtors: the one owed five hundred denarius, and the other fifty.
42 And when they had nothing to pay, he released them both from their debt. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?
43 Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.
44 And he turned to the woman and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house, thou didst give me no water for my feet; but she has washed my feet with tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
45 Thou gavest me no kiss; but this woman since the time I came in has not ceased to kiss my feet.
46 Thou didst not anoint my head with oil; but this woman has anointed my feet with ointment.
47 Therefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.
48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
49 And those that sat at food with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgives sins also?
50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith has saved thee; go in peace.
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