Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 6
A Prayer for Mercy
For the choir director: with stringed instruments, according to Sheminith.(A) A Davidic psalm.
1 Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger;
do not discipline me in Your wrath.(B)
2 Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am weak;[a](C)
heal me,(D) Lord, for my bones are shaking;(E)
3 my whole being is shaken with terror.(F)
And You, Lord—how long?(G)
4 Turn, Lord! Rescue me;
save me because of Your faithful love.(H)
5 For there is no remembrance of You in death;
who can thank You in Sheol?(I)
Psalm 12
Oppression by the Wicked
For the choir director: according to Sheminith.(A) A Davidic psalm.
1 Help, Lord, for no faithful one remains;
the loyal have disappeared from the human race.(B)
2 They lie to one another;
they speak with flattering lips and deceptive hearts.(C)
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips
and the tongue that speaks boastfully.(D)
4 They say, “Through our tongues we have power;[a]
our lips are our own—who can be our master?”(E)
5 “Because of the oppression of the afflicted
and the groaning of the poor,
I will now rise up,” says the Lord.
“I will put the one who longs for it in a safe place.”(F)
6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in an earthen furnace,
purified seven times.(G)
Psalm 94
The Just Judge
1 Lord, God of vengeance—
God of vengeance, appear.(A)
2 Rise up, Judge of the earth;
repay the proud what they deserve.(B)
3 Lord, how long will the wicked—
how long will the wicked gloat?(C)
4 They pour out arrogant words;
all the evildoers boast.(D)
5 Lord, they crush Your people;
they afflict Your heritage.(E)
6 They kill the widow and the foreigner
and murder the fatherless.(F)
7 They say, “The Lord doesn’t see it.
The God of Jacob doesn’t pay attention.”(G)
8 Pay attention, you stupid people!
Fools, when will you be wise?(H)
9 Can the One who shaped the ear not hear,
the One who formed the eye not see?(I)
10 The One who instructs nations,
the One who teaches man knowledge—
does He not discipline?(J)
11 The Lord knows man’s thoughts;
they are meaningless.(K)
12 Lord, happy is the man You discipline
and teach from Your law(L)
13 to give him relief from troubled times
until a pit is dug for the wicked.(M)
14 The Lord will not forsake His people
or abandon His heritage,(N)
15 for justice will again be righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow[a] it.(O)
16 Who stands up for me against the wicked?
Who takes a stand for me against evildoers?(P)
17 If the Lord had not been my helper,
I would soon rest in the silence of death.(Q)
18 If I say, “My foot is slipping,”
Your faithful love will support me, Lord.(R)
19 When I am filled with cares,
Your comfort brings me joy.(S)
20 Can a corrupt throne—
one that creates trouble by law—
become Your ally?(T)
21 They band together against the life of the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death.(U)
22 But the Lord is my refuge;
my God is the rock of my protection.(V)
23 He will pay them back for their sins
and destroy them for their evil.
The Lord our God will destroy them.(W)
פ Pe
17 Zion stretches out her hands;
there is no one to comfort her.
The Lord has issued a decree against Jacob
that his neighbors should be his adversaries.
Jerusalem has become
something impure(A) among them.
צ Tsade
18 The Lord is just,
for I have rebelled against His command.(B)
Listen, all you people;
look at my pain.
My young men and women
have gone into captivity.(C)
ק Qof
19 I called to my lovers,(D)
but they betrayed me.
My priests and elders
perished in the city
while searching for food
to keep themselves alive.(E)
ר Resh
20 Lord, see how I am in distress.
I am churning within;(F)
my heart is broken,[a]
for I have been very rebellious.
Outside, the sword takes the children;
inside, there is death.(G)
שׁ Shin
21 People have heard me groaning,(H)
but there is no one to comfort me.
All my enemies have heard of my misfortune;
they are glad that You have caused it.(I)
Bring on the day You have announced,
so that they may become like me.(J)
ת Tav
22 Let all their wickedness come before You,
and deal with them
as You have dealt with me
because of all my transgressions.(K)
For my groans are many,
and I am sick at heart.
8 For we don’t want you to be unaware, brothers, of our affliction that took place in Asia:(A) we were completely overwhelmed—beyond our strength(B)—so that we even despaired(C) of life. 9 Indeed, we personally had a death sentence within ourselves, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God(D) who raises(E) the dead. 10 He has delivered(F) us from such a terrible death,(G) and He will deliver us. We have put our hope in Him that He will deliver us again 11 while you join in helping us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our[a] behalf for the gift that came to us through the prayers of many.
A Clear Conscience
12 For this is our confidence: The testimony(H) of our conscience(I) is that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you, with God-given sincerity and purity, not by fleshly[b] wisdom(J) but by God’s grace.(K) 13 Now we are writing nothing to you other than what you can read and also understand. I hope you will understand completely— 14 as you have partially understood us—that we are your reason for pride,(L) as you are ours,(M) in the day of our[c] Lord Jesus.(N)
A Visit Postponed
15 I planned with this confidence to come to you first,(O) so you could have a double benefit,[d] 16 and to go on to Macedonia(P) with your help, then come to you again from Macedonia and be given a start by you(Q) on my journey(R) to Judea.(S) 17 So when I planned this, was I irresponsible? Or what I plan, do I plan in a purely human[e](T) way so that I say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” simultaneously? 18 As God is faithful,(U) our message to you is not “Yes and no.” 19 For the Son of God,(V) Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silvanus[f](W) and Timothy—did not become “Yes and no”; on the contrary, a final “Yes” has come in Him.(X) 20 For every one of God’s promises(Y) is “Yes” in Him. Therefore, the “Amen”(Z) is also spoken through Him by us for God’s glory.(AA) 21 Now it is God who strengthens us, with you, in Christ and has anointed(AB) us. 22 He has also sealed us and given us the Spirit as a down payment(AC) in our hearts.(AD)
Messiah’s Authority Challenged
27 They(A) came again to Jerusalem.(B) As He was walking in the temple complex,(C) the chief priests, the scribes,(D) and the elders(E) came 28 and asked Him, “By what authority(F) are You doing these things? Who gave You this authority to do these things?”
29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question;(G) then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30 Was John’s baptism(H) from heaven or from men? Answer Me.”
31 They began to argue among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe(I) him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘From men’”—they were afraid of the crowd, because everyone thought that John was a genuine prophet.(J) 33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
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