Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 55
Betrayal by a Friend
For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A Davidic Maskil.
1 God, listen to my prayer
and do not ignore[a] my plea for help.(A)
2 Pay attention to me and answer me.(B)
I am restless and in turmoil with my complaint,(C)
3 because of the enemy’s voice,
because of the pressure[b] of the wicked.
For they bring down disaster on me[c]
and harass me in anger.(D)
4 My heart shudders within me;(E)
terrors of death sweep over me.
5 Fear and trembling grip me;
horror has overwhelmed me.(F)
6 I said, “If only I had[d] wings like a dove!
I would fly away and find rest.(G)
7 How far away I would flee;
I would stay in the wilderness.(H)
8 I would hurry to my shelter
from the raging wind and the storm.”(I)
9 Lord, confuse[e] and confound their speech,[f](J)
for I see violence and strife in the city;
10 day and night they make the rounds on its walls.
Crime and trouble are within it;(K)
11 destruction is inside it;
oppression and deceit never leave its marketplace.(L)
12 Now it is not an enemy who insults me—
otherwise I could bear it;
it is not a foe who rises up against me—
otherwise I could hide from him.
13 But it is you, a man who is my peer,
my companion and good friend!(M)
14 We used to have close fellowship;
we walked with the crowd into the house of God.(N)
15 Let death take them by surprise;(O)
let them go down to Sheol alive,
because evil is in their homes and within them.(P)
16 But I call to God,
and the Lord will save me.(Q)
17 I complain and groan morning, noon, and night,(R)
and He hears my voice.(S)
18 Though many are against me,
He will redeem me from my battle unharmed.(T)
19 God, the One enthroned from long ago,(U)
will hear and will humiliate them
because they do not change
and do not fear God.(V)
20 My friend(W) acts violently
against those at peace with him;(X)
he violates his covenant.(Y)
21 His buttery words are smooth,[g]
but war is in his heart.
His words are softer than oil,
but they are drawn swords.(Z)
Psalm 138
A Thankful Heart
Davidic.
1 I will give You thanks with all my heart;(A)
I will sing Your praise before the heavenly beings.[a](B)
2 I will bow down toward Your holy temple
and give thanks to Your name
for Your constant love and truth.
You have exalted Your name
and Your promise above everything else.(C)
3 On the day I called, You answered me;
You increased strength within me.[b](D)
4 All the kings on earth will give You thanks, Lord,
when they hear what You have promised.[c](E)
5 They will sing of the Lord’s ways,
for the Lord’s glory is great.(F)
6 Though the Lord is exalted,
He takes note of the humble;
but He knows the haughty from a distance.(G)
7 If I walk into the thick of danger,
You will preserve my life
from the anger of my enemies.(H)
You will extend Your hand;
Your right hand will save me.(I)
8 The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me.(J)
Lord, Your love is eternal;
do not abandon the work of Your hands.(K)
Psalm 139
The All-Knowing, Ever-Present God
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.
1 Lord, You have searched me and known me.(L)
2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up;
You understand my thoughts from far away.(M)
3 You observe my travels and my rest;
You are aware of all my ways.(N)
4 Before a word is on my tongue,
You know all about it, Lord.(O)
5 You have encircled me;
You have placed Your hand on me.(P)
6 This extraordinary knowledge is beyond me.
It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.(Q)
7 Where can I go to escape Your Spirit?
Where can I flee from Your presence?(R)
8 If I go up to heaven, You are there;(S)
if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.(T)
9 If I live at the eastern horizon
or settle at the western limits,[d]
10 even there Your hand will lead me;
Your right hand will hold on to me.(U)
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me,
and the light around me will be night”(V)—
12 even the darkness is not dark to You.
The night shines like the day;
darkness and light are alike to You.(W)
13 For it was You who created my inward parts;[e]
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.(X)
14 I will praise You
because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made.[f][g]
Your works are wonderful,
and I know this very well.(Y)
15 My bones were not hidden from You
when I was made in secret,
when I was formed in the depths of the earth.(Z)
16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless;
all my days were written in Your book and planned
before a single one of them began.(AA)
17 God, how difficult[h] Your thoughts are
for me to comprehend;
how vast their sum is!
18 If I counted them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand;(AB)
when I wake up,[i] I am still with You.(AC)
19 God, if only You would kill the wicked—
you bloodthirsty men, stay away from me(AD)—
20 who invoke You deceitfully.
Your enemies swear by You falsely.(AE)
21 Lord, don’t I hate those who hate You,
and detest those who rebel against You?
22 I hate them with extreme hatred;
I consider them my enemies.(AF)
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my concerns.(AG)
The Realities of Wealth
8 If you see oppression of the poor(A) and perversion of justice and righteousness in the province, don’t be astonished at the situation,(B) because one official protects another official, and higher officials protect them. 9 The profit from the land is taken by all; the king is served by the field.[a](C)
10 The one who loves money is never satisfied with money, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile. 11 When good things increase, the ones who consume them multiply; what, then, is the profit to the owner, except to gaze at them with his eyes? 12 The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich permits him no sleep.
13 There is a sickening tragedy I have seen under the sun: wealth kept by its owner to his harm.(D) 14 That wealth was lost in a bad venture, so when he fathered a son, he was empty-handed. 15 As he came from his mother’s womb, so he will go again, naked as he came;(E) he will take nothing for his efforts that he can carry in his hands. 16 This too is a sickening tragedy: exactly as he comes, so he will go. What does the one gain(F) who struggles for the wind?(G) 17 What is more, he eats in darkness all his days,(H) with much sorrow, sickness, and anger.
18 Here is what I have seen to be good:(I) it is appropriate to eat, drink, and experience good in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of his life God has given him, because that is his reward.(J) 19 God has also given riches and wealth to every man,(K) and He has allowed him to enjoy them, take his reward, and rejoice in his labor.(L) This is a gift of God,(M) 20 for he does not often consider the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.
23 Before this faith(A) came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed.(B) 24 The law, then, was our guardian[a] until Christ,(C) so that we could be justified by faith. 25 But since that faith(D) has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
Sons and Heirs
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ like a garment.(E) 28 There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free,(F) male or female;(G) for you are all one(H) in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs(I) according to the promise.(J) 4 1 Now I say that as long as the heir(K) is a child, he differs in no way from a slave, though he is the owner(L) of everything. 2 Instead, he is under guardians and stewards until the time set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were in slavery under the elemental forces[b] of the world.(M) 4 When the time came to completion, God sent His Son,(N) born of a woman,(O) born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.(P) 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son(Q) into our[c] hearts, crying, “Abba,(R) Father!”(S) 7 So you are no longer a slave(T) but a son,(U) and if a son, then an heir(V) through God.
Paul’s Concern for the Galatians
8 But in the past, when you didn’t know God,(W) you were enslaved to things[d] that by nature are not gods. 9 But now, since you know God,(X) or rather have become known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and bankrupt(Y) elemental forces?(Z) Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? 10 You observe special days, months, seasons, and years.(AA) 11 I am fearful for you, that perhaps my labor for you has been wasted.
The Tradition of the Elders
15 Then(A) Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked,(B) 2 “Why do Your disciples(C) break the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat!”[a](D)
3 He answered them, “And why do you break God’s commandment because of your tradition? 4 For God said:[b]
Honor your father and your mother;(E)[c] and,
The one who speaks evil of father or mother
must be put to death.(F)[d]
5 But you say, ‘Whoever tells his father or mother, “Whatever benefit you might have received from me is a gift committed to the temple”— 6 he does not have to honor his father.’[e] In this way, you have revoked God’s word[f] because of your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said:
8 These people[g] honor Me with their lips,
but their heart is far from Me.
9 They worship Me in vain,
teaching as doctrines the commands of men.”(G)[h]
Defilement Is from Within
10 Summoning the crowd, He told them, “Listen and understand: 11 It’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles(H) a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”(I)
12 Then the disciples came up and told Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard this statement?”
13 He replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted.(J) 14 Leave them alone! They are blind guides.[i] And if the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”(K)
15 Then Peter replied to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”(L)
16 “Are even you still lacking in understanding?” He[j] asked. 17 “Don’t you realize[k] that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated?[l] 18 But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a man.(M) 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies,(N) blasphemies.(O) 20 These are the things that defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”(P)
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