Book of Common Prayer
56 To the Overseer. -- `On the Dumb Dove far off.' -- A secret treasure of David, in the Philistines' taking hold of him in Gath. Favour me, O God, for man swallowed me up, All the day fighting he oppresseth me,
2 Mine enemies have swallowed up all the day, For many [are] fighting against me, O most High,
3 The day I am afraid I am confident toward Thee.
4 In God I praise His word, in God I have trusted, I fear not what flesh doth to me.
5 All the day they wrest my words, Concerning me all their thoughts [are] for evil,
6 They assemble, they hide, they watch my heels, When they have expected my soul.
7 By iniquity they escape, In anger the peoples put down, O God.
8 My wandering Thou hast counted, Thou -- place Thou my tear in Thy bottle, Are they not in Thy book?
9 Then turn back do mine enemies in the day I call. This I have known, that God [is] for me.
10 In God I praise the word, In Jehovah I praise the word.
11 In God I trusted, I fear not what man doth to me,
12 On me, O God, [are] Thy vows, I repay thank-offerings to Thee.
13 For Thou hast delivered my soul from death, Dost Thou not my feet from falling? To walk habitually before God in the light of the living!
57 To the Overseer. -- `Destroy not.' -- A secret treasure of David, in his fleeing from the face of Saul into a cave. Favour me, O God, favour me, For in Thee is my soul trusting, And in the shadow of Thy wings I trust, Until the calamities pass over.
2 I call to God Most High, To God [who] is perfecting for me.
3 He sendeth from the heaven, and saveth me, He reproached -- who is panting after me. Selah. God sendeth forth His kindness and His truth.
4 My soul [is] in the midst of lions, I lie down [among] flames -- sons of men, Their teeth [are] a spear and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword.
5 Be Thou exalted above the heavens, O God, Above all the earth Thine honour.
6 A net they have prepared for my steps, Bowed down hath my soul, They have digged before me a pit, They have fallen into its midst. Selah.
7 Prepared is my heart, O God, Prepared is my heart, I sing and praise.
8 Awake, mine honour, awake, psaltery and harp, I awake the morning dawn.
9 I thank Thee among the peoples, O Lord, I praise Thee among the nations.
10 For great unto the heavens [is] Thy kindness, And unto the clouds Thy truth.
11 Be thou exalted above the heavens, O God. Above all the earth Thine honour!
58 To the Overseer. -- `Destroy not.' -- A secret treasure, by David. Is it true, O dumb one, righteously ye speak? Uprightly ye judge, O sons of men?
2 Even in heart ye work iniquities, In the land the violence of your hands ye ponder.
3 The wicked have been estranged from the womb, They have erred from the belly, speaking lies.
4 Their poison [is] as poison of a serpent, As a deaf asp shutting its ear,
5 Which hearkeneth not to the voice of whisperers, A charmer of charms most skilful.
6 O God, break their teeth in their mouth, The jaw-teeth of young lions break down, O Jehovah.
7 They are melted as waters, They go up and down for themselves, His arrow proceedeth as they cut themselves off.
8 As a snail that melteth he goeth on, [As] an untimely birth of a woman, They have not seen the sun.
9 Before your pots discern the bramble, As well the raw as the heated He whirleth away.
10 The righteous rejoiceth that he hath seen vengeance, His steps he washeth in the blood of the wicked.
11 And man saith: `Surely fruit [is] for the righteous: Surely there is a God judging in the earth!'
64 To the Overseer. -- A Psalm of David. Hear, O God, my voice, in my meditation, From the fear of an enemy Thou keepest my life,
2 Hidest me from the secret counsel of evil doers, From the tumult of workers of iniquity.
3 Who sharpened as a sword their tongue, They directed their arrow -- a bitter word.
4 To shoot in secret places the perfect, Suddenly they shoot him, and fear not.
5 They strengthen for themselves an evil thing, They recount of the hiding of snares, They have said, `Who doth look at it?'
6 They search out perverse things, `We perfected a searching search,' And the inward part of man, and the heart [are] deep.
7 And God doth shoot them [with] an arrow, Sudden have been their wounds,
8 And they cause him to stumble, Against them [is] their own tongue, Every looker on them fleeth away.
9 And all men fear, and declare the work of God, And His deed they have considered wisely.
10 The righteous doth rejoice in Jehovah, And hath trusted in Him, And boast themselves do all the upright of heart!
65 To the Overseer. -- A Psalm of David. A Song. To Thee, silence -- praise, O God, [is] in Zion, And to Thee is a vow completed.
2 Hearer of prayer, to Thee all flesh cometh.
3 Matters of iniquities were mightier than I, Our transgressions -- Thou dost cover them.
4 O the happiness of [him whom] Thou choosest, And drawest near, he inhabiteth Thy courts, We are satisfied with the goodness of Thy house, Thy holy temple.
5 By fearful things in righteousness Thou answerest us, O God of our salvation, The confidence of all far off ends of earth and sea.
6 Establishing mountains by His power, He hath been girded with might,
7 Restraining the noise of seas, the noise of their billows, And the multitude of the peoples.
8 And the inhabitants of the uttermost parts From Thy signs are afraid, The outgoings of morning and evening Thou causest to sing.
9 Thou hast inspected the earth, and waterest it, Thou makest it very rich, the rivulet of God [is] full of water, Thou preparest their corn, When thus Thou dost prepare it,
10 Its ridges have been filled, Deepened hath been its furrow, With showers Thou dost soften it, Its springing up Thou blessest.
11 Thou hast crowned the year of Thy goodness, And Thy paths drop fatness.
12 Drop do the pastures of a wilderness, And joy of the heights Thou girdest on.
13 Clothed have lambs the flock, And valleys are covered with corn, They shout -- yea, they sing!
14 And I saw, and lo, a Lamb having stood upon the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty-four thousands, having the name of his Father written upon their foreheads;
2 and I heard a voice out of the heaven, as a voice of many waters, and as a voice of great thunder, and a voice I heard of harpers harping with their harps,
3 and they sing, as it were, a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures, and the elders, and no one was able to learn the song except the hundred forty-four thousands, who have been bought from the earth;
4 these are they who with women were not defiled, for they are virgin; these are they who are following the Lamb whithersoever he may go; these were bought from among men -- a first-fruit to God and to the Lamb --
5 and in their mouth there was not found guile, for unblemished are they before the throne of God.
6 And I saw another messenger flying in mid-heaven, having good news age-during to proclaim to those dwelling upon the earth, and to every nation, and tribe, and tongue, and people,
7 saying in a great voice, `Fear ye God, and give to Him glory, because come did the hour of His judgment, and bow ye before Him who did make the heaven, and the land, and sea, and fountains of waters.'
8 And another messenger did follow, saying, `Fall, fall, did Babylon, the great city, because of the wine of the wrath of her whoredom she hath given to all nations to drink.'
9 And a third messenger did follow them, saying in a great voice, `If any one the beast doth bow before, and his image, and doth receive a mark upon his forehead, or upon his hand,
10 he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, that hath been mingled unmixed in the cup of His anger, and he shall be tormented in fire and brimstone before the holy messengers, and before the Lamb,
11 and the smoke of their torment doth go up to ages of ages; and they have no rest day and night, who are bowing before the beast and his image, also if any doth receive the mark of his name.
12 Here is endurance of the saints: here [are] those keeping the commands of God, and the faith of Jesus.'
13 And I heard a voice out of the heaven saying to me, `Write: Happy are the dead who in the Lord are dying from this time!' `Yes, (saith the Spirit,) That they may rest from their labours -- and their works do follow them!'
49 `Fire I came to cast to the earth, and what will I if already it was kindled?
50 but I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I pressed till it may be completed!
51 `Think ye that peace I came to give in the earth? no, I say to you, but rather division;
52 for there shall be henceforth five in one house divided -- three against two, and two against three;
53 a father shall be divided against a son, and a son against a father, a mother against a daughter, and a daughter against a mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.'
54 And he said also to the multitudes, `When ye may see the cloud rising from the west, immediately ye say, A shower doth come, and it is so;
55 and when -- a south wind blowing, ye say, that there will be heat, and it is;
56 hypocrites! the face of the earth and of the heaven ye have known to make proof of, but this time -- how do ye not make proof of [it]?
57 `And why, also, of yourselves, judge ye not what is righteous?
58 for, as thou art going away with thy opponent to the ruler, in the way give diligence to be released from him, lest he may drag thee unto the judge, and the judge may deliver thee to the officer, and the officer may cast thee into prison;
59 I say to thee, thou mayest not come forth thence till even the last mite thou mayest give back.'