Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 56
A Call for God’s Protection
For the choir director: according to “A Silent Dove Far Away.”[a] A Davidic Miktam. When the Philistines seized him in Gath.(A)
1 Be gracious to me, God, for man tramples me;
he fights and oppresses me all day long.
2 My adversaries trample me all day,
for many arrogantly fight against me.[b](B)
3 When I am afraid,
I will trust in You.(C)
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?(D)
5 They twist my words all day long;
all their thoughts against me are evil.(E)
6 They stir up strife,[c] they lurk;
they watch my steps
while they wait to take my life.(F)
7 Will they escape in spite of such sin?
God, bring down the nations in wrath.(G)
8 You Yourself have recorded my wanderings.[d]
Put my tears in Your bottle.
Are they not in Your records?(H)
9 Then my enemies will retreat on the day when I call.(I)
This I know: God is for me.(J)
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?(K)
12 I am obligated by vows[e] to You, God;
I will make my thank offerings to You.(L)
13 For You delivered me from death,
even my feet from stumbling,
to walk before God in the light of life.(M)
Psalm 57
Praise for God’s Protection
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.”[f] A Davidic Miktam. When he fled before Saul into the cave.(N)
1 Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me,
for I take refuge in You.
I will seek refuge in the shadow of Your wings
until danger passes.(O)
2 I call to God Most High,
to God who fulfills His purpose for me.[g](P)
3 He reaches down from heaven and saves me,
challenging the one who tramples me.(Q)
God sends His faithful love and truth.(R)
4 I am surrounded by lions;
I lie down with those who devour men.
Their teeth are spears and arrows;
their tongues are sharp swords.(S)
5 God, be exalted above the heavens;
let Your glory be over the whole earth.(T)
6 They prepared a net for my steps;
I was despondent.
They dug a pit ahead of me,
but they fell into it!(U)
7 My heart is confident, God, my heart is confident.
I will sing; I will sing praises.(V)
8 Wake up, my soul![h]
Wake up, harp and lyre!
I will wake up the dawn.(W)
9 I will praise You, Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to You among the nations.(X)
10 For Your faithful love is as high as the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches the clouds.(Y)
11 God, be exalted above the heavens;(Z)
let Your glory be over the whole earth.(AA)
Psalm 58
A Cry against Injustice
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.”[i] A Davidic Miktam.
1 Do you really speak righteously, you mighty ones?[j]
Do you judge people fairly?(AB)
2 No, you practice injustice in your hearts;
with your hands you weigh out violence in the land.(AC)
3 The wicked go astray from the womb;
liars err from birth.(AD)
4 They have venom like the venom of a snake,
like the deaf cobra that stops up its ears,(AE)
5 that does not listen to the sound of the charmers
who skillfully weave spells.(AF)
6 God, knock the teeth out of their mouths;
Lord, tear out the young lions’ fangs.(AG)
7 They will vanish like water that flows by;
they will aim their useless arrows.[k][l](AH)
8 Like a slug that moves along in slime,
like a woman’s miscarried child,
they will not see the sun.(AI)
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—
whether green or burning—
He will sweep them away.[m](AJ)
10 The righteous one will rejoice
when he sees the retribution;(AK)
he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.(AL)
11 Then people will say,
“Yes, there is a reward for the righteous!
There is a God who judges on earth!”(AM)
Psalm 64
Protection from Evildoers
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.
1 God, hear my voice when I complain.(A)
Protect my life from the terror of the enemy.(B)
2 Hide me from the scheming of wicked people,(C)
from the mob of evildoers,(D)
3 who sharpen their tongues like swords
and aim bitter words like arrows,(E)
4 shooting from concealed places at the innocent.
They shoot at him suddenly and are not afraid.(F)
5 They encourage each other in an evil plan;[a][b]
they talk about hiding traps and say,
“Who will see them?”[c](G)
6 They devise crimes and say,
“We have perfected a secret plan.”(H)
The inner man and the heart are mysterious.
7 But God will shoot them with arrows;
suddenly, they will be wounded.(I)
8 They will be made to stumble;
their own tongues work against them.
All who see them will shake their heads.(J)
9 Then everyone will fear
and will tell about God’s work,
for they will understand what He has done.(K)
10 The righteous one rejoices in the Lord
and takes refuge in Him;
all those who are upright in heart
will offer praise.(L)
Psalm 65
God’s Care for the Earth
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm. A song.
1 Praise is rightfully Yours,[d]
God, in Zion;
vows to You will be fulfilled.(M)
2 All humanity will come to You,
the One who hears prayer.(N)
3 Iniquities overwhelm me;
only You can atone for[e] our rebellions.(O)
4 How happy is the one You choose
and bring near to live in Your courts!
We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
the holiness of Your temple.[f](P)
5 You answer us in righteousness,
with awe-inspiring works,
God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the distant seas.(Q)
6 You establish the mountains by Your[g] power,
robed with strength.(R)
7 You silence the roar of the seas,
the roar of their waves,
and the tumult of the nations.(S)
8 Those who live far away are awed by Your signs;
You make east and west shout for joy.(T)
9 You visit the earth and water it abundantly,
enriching it greatly.
God’s stream is filled with water,
for You prepare the earth[h] in this way,
providing people with grain.(U)
10 You soften it with showers and bless its growth,
soaking its furrows and leveling its ridges.(V)
11 You crown the year with Your goodness;
Your ways overflow with plenty.[i](W)
12 The wilderness pastures overflow,
and the hills are robed with joy.(X)
13 The pastures are clothed with flocks
and the valleys covered with grain.(Y)
They shout in triumph; indeed, they sing.(Z)
The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
19 The two angels entered Sodom(A) in the evening as Lot was sitting at Sodom’s gate. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them. He bowed with his face to the ground 2 and said, “My lords, turn aside to your servant’s house, wash your feet, and spend the night. Then you can get up early and go on your way.”
“No,” they said. “We would rather spend the night in the square.” 3 But he urged them so strongly that they followed him and went into his house. He prepared a feast and baked unleavened bread for them, and they ate.
4 Before they went to bed, the men of the city of Sodom, both young and old, the whole population, surrounded the house. 5 They called out to Lot and said, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have sex with them!”(B)
6 Lot went out to them at the entrance and shut the door behind him. 7 He said, “Don’t do this evil, my brothers. 8 Look, I’ve got two daughters who haven’t had sexual relations with a man.(C) I’ll bring them out to you, and you can do whatever you want[a] to them. However, don’t do anything to these men, because they have come under the protection of my roof.”
9 “Get out of the way!” they said, adding, “This one came here as a foreigner, but he’s acting like a judge!(D) Now we’ll do more harm to you than to them.” They put pressure on Lot and came up to break down the door. 10 But the angels[b] reached out, brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11 They struck the men who were at the entrance of the house, both young and old, with a blinding light so that they were unable to find the entrance.(E)
12 Then the angels[c] said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here: a son-in-law, your sons and daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of this place, 13 for we are about to destroy this place because the outcry against its people is so great before the Lord, that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”(F)
14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were going to marry[d] his daughters. “Get up,” he said. “Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city!”(G) But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
15 At daybreak the angels urged Lot on: “Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment[e] of the city.” 16 But he hesitated. Because of the Lord’s compassion for him, the men grabbed his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters. Then they brought him out and left him outside the city.
17 As soon as the angels got them outside, one of them[f] said, “Run for your lives! Don’t look back and don’t stop anywhere on the plain! Run to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”
18 But Lot said to them, “No, my lords[g]—please. 19 Your servant has indeed found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness by saving my life. But I can’t run to the mountains; the disaster will overtake me, and I will die. 20 Look, this town is close enough for me to run to. It is a small place. Please let me go there—it’s only a small place, isn’t it?—so that I can survive.”
21 And he said to him, “All right,[h] I’ll grant your request[i] about this matter too and will not demolish the town you mentioned. 22 Hurry up! Run there, for I cannot do anything until you get there.” Therefore the name of the city is Zoar.[j](H)
23 The sun had risen over the land when Lot reached Zoar. 24 Then out of the sky the Lord rained burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord.(I) 25 He demolished these cities, the entire plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and whatever grew on the ground. 26 But his wife looked back and became a pillar of salt.(J)
27 Early in the morning Abraham went to the place where he had stood before the Lord.(K) 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain, and he saw that smoke was going up from the land like the smoke of a furnace. 29 So it was, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, He remembered Abraham and brought Lot out of the middle of the upheaval when He demolished the cities where Lot had lived.
Heroes of Faith
11 Now faith is the reality[a] of what is hoped for, the proof[b] of what is not seen.(A) 2 For our ancestors won God’s approval by it.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was[c] created by God’s command,[d](B) so that what is seen has been made from things that are not visible.
4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith.(C)
5 By faith Enoch was taken away so he did not experience death, and he was not to be found because God took him away.[e] For prior to his removal he was approved, since he had pleased God.(D) 6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.
7 By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.(E)
8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went out to a place he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was going.(F) 9 By faith he stayed as a foreigner in the land of promise, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, coheirs of the same promise.(G) 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.(H)
11 By faith even Sarah herself, when she was unable to have children, received power to conceive offspring, even though she was past the age, since she[f] considered that the One who had promised was faithful.(I) 12 Therefore from one man—in fact, from one as good as dead—came offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as innumerable as the grains of sand by the seashore.(J)
27 Don’t work for the food that perishes(A) but for the food that lasts for eternal life,(B) which the Son of Man(C) will give you, because God the Father(D) has set His seal of approval on Him.”
28 “What can we do to perform the works of God?” they asked.
29 Jesus replied, “This is the work(E) of God—that you believe in the One He has sent.”(F)
30 “What sign then are You going to do so we may see and believe You?” they asked. “What are You going to perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna(G) in the wilderness,(H) just as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”[a](I)[b]
32 Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Moses(J) didn’t give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the real bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 Then they said, “Sir, give us this bread always!”
35 “I am(K) the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to Me(L) will ever be hungry,(M) and no one who believes in Me(N) will ever be thirsty(O) again. 36 But as I told you, you’ve seen Me,[c] and yet you do not believe. 37 Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out.(P) 38 For I have come down from heaven,(Q) not to do My will, but the will of Him(R) who sent Me. 39 This is the will of Him who sent Me: that I should lose none of those He has given Me but should raise(S) them up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of My Father:(T) that everyone who sees the Son(U) and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise(V) him up on the last day.”
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