Book of Common Prayer
To the Overcomer, A Psalm of David.
1 ¶ Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man; preserve me from the man of violence.
2 Who devise evil in their heart; they are continually gathered together for war.
3 They have sharpened their tongue like a serpent; adders’ poison is under their lips. Selah.
4 Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the man of violence, who have purposed to overthrow my steps.
5 The proud have hid a snare for me and cords; they have spread a net; on the path they have set snares for me. Selah.
6 I said unto the LORD, Thou art my God: hear the voice of my supplications, O LORD.
7 O GOD the Lord, the strength of my saving health, cover thou my head in the day of battle.
8 ¶ Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; do not further his wicked thought lest they exalt themselves. Selah.
9 As for the head of those that compass me about, let the perversion of their own lips cover them.
10 Let burning coals fall upon them; let them be cast into the fire, into deep pits, that they not rise up again.
11 The man with an evil tongue shall not be established in the earth; evil shall hunt the man of violence to overthrow him.
12 I know that the LORD will effect the judgment of the poor and the judgment of the destitute.
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name; the upright shall dwell in thy presence.
Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave.
1 ¶ I shall cry unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice shall I ask the LORD for mercy.
2 I shall pour out my complaint before him; before him I shall tell of my trouble.
3 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou didst know my path. In the way in which I walked have they secretly laid a snare for me.
4 ¶ I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no one that would know me; I had no refuge; no one cared for my soul.
5 I cried unto thee, O LORD; I said, Thou art my hope and my portion in the land of the living.
6 Attend unto my cry, for I am brought very low; deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
7 Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name; the righteous shall feast with me; when thou shalt have weaned me.
A Psalm of David.
1 ¶ LORD, I have called unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee.
2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense, the gift of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
3 Set a watch, O LORD, upon my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
4 Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to do works with ungodliness with the men that work iniquity, and let me not eat of their dainties.
5 ¶ Let the righteous smite me in mercy, and let him reprove me: and let not a flattering evil prince anoint my head, for my prayer shall ever be against his evil.
6 Their judges shall be thrown down from strong places; they shall hearken unto my words; for they are sweet.
7 Our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol, as when one cuts and cleaves wood upon the earth.
8 Therefore mine eyes look unto thee, O GOD the Lord; in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute.
9 Keep me from the hands of the snare which they have laid for me, and from the snares of the workers of iniquity.
10 Let the wicked fall together into their own nets, whilst I pass on ahead forever.
A Psalm of David.
1 ¶ Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my supplications for the sake of thy truth; answer me for the sake of thy righteousness.
2 And enter not into judgment with thy slave; for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.
3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul; he has smitten my life down to the ground; he has made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.
4 Therefore my spirit has become overwhelmed within me; my heart within me has become desolate.
5 I remembered the days of old; I meditated on all thy works; I mused on the work of thy hands.
6 I stretched forth my hands unto thee; my soul thirsted after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.
7 ¶ Hear me speedily, O LORD; my spirit fails; hide not thy face from me lest I be like those that go down into the grave.
8 Cause me to hear thy mercy in the morning, for in thee do I trust; cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul unto thee.
9 Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies; I flee unto thee.
10 Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God. Let thy good Spirit lead me into the land of uprightness.
11 By thy name, O LORD, thou shalt give me life; by thy righteousness thou shalt bring my soul out of trouble.
12 And by thy mercy thou shalt scatter my enemies and destroy all the adversaries of my soul; for I am thy slave.
19 Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines had said, Lest peradventure the Hebrews make swords or spears.
20 But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen each man his share and his coulter and his axe and his mattock
21 and when they had nicks in the mattocks and the coulters and the forks and the axes, or to fix a goad.
22 So it came to pass in the day of battle that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan except with Saul and with Jonathan his son who had them.
23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the passage of Michmash.
14 ¶ Now it came to pass upon a day that Jonathan, the son of Saul, said unto the young man that bore his armour, Come and let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side. But he did not tell his father.
2 And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron, and the people that were with him were about six hundred men;
3 and Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD’s priest in Shiloh, was wearing the ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan was gone.
4 And between the passages by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side and a sharp rock on the other side; and the name of the one was Bozez and the name of the other Seneh.
5 The forefront of the one was situated northward over against Michmash and the other towards the Negev over against Gibeah.
6 And Jonathan said to the young man that bore his armour, Come and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised; peradventure the LORD will work for us, for it is not difficult for the LORD to save by many or by few.
7 And his armourbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thy heart; go. Behold, I am with thee according to thy will.
8 Then Jonathan said, Behold, we will go over unto these men, and we will show ourselves unto them.
9 If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you, then we will stand still in our place and will not go up unto them.
10 But if they say thus, Come up unto us, then we will go up, for the LORD has delivered them into our hand, and this shall be a sign unto us.
11 And both of them showed themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines; and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves.
12 And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armourbearer and said, Come up to us, and we will show you a thing. Then Jonathan said unto his armourbearer, Come up after me, for the LORD has delivered them into the hand of Israel.
13 And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet and his armourbearer after him; and they fell before Jonathan, and his armourbearer slew after him.
14 And that first slaughter which Jonathan and his armourbearer made was about twenty men within as it were a half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow.
15 And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people of the garrison; and those who had gone out to destroy the land, they also trembled, and the earth quaked, and there was fear of God.
9 ¶ And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, came unto the prince of the priests
2 and asked him for letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
3 And as he proceeded, he came near Damascus; and suddenly there shone round about him a light from heaven;
4 and falling to the earth, he heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me?
5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I AM Jesus whom thou dost persecute; it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what it behooves thee to do.
7 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing indeed the voice, but seeing no one.
8 Then Saul arose from the earth; and opening his eyes, he saw no one; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus
9 where he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
26 ¶ And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, {Gr. stauros – stake} that he might bear it after Jesus.
27 And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, who also bewailed and lamented him.
28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.
29 For, behold, the days are coming, in which they shall say, Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bare and the breasts which never gave suck.
30 Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.
31 For if they do these things in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?
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