Book of Common Prayer
Pleading for Help and Grateful Trust in God.
For the music director; according to [a]Jonath elem rehokim. A [b]Mikhtam of David, [c]when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
56 Be gracious to me, God, for a man has [d](A)trampled upon me;
[e]Fighting all day long he (B)oppresses me.
2 My enemies have (C)trampled upon me all day long,
For [f]they are many who (D)fight proudly against me.
3 [g]When I am (E)afraid,
[h]I will (F)put my trust in You.
4 (G)In God, whose word I praise,
In God I have put my trust;
I shall not be afraid.
(H)What can mere [i]mortals do to me?
5 All day long they (I)distort my words;
All their [j](J)thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They [k](K)attack, they lurk,
They (L)watch my [l]steps,
As they have (M)waited to take my [m]life.
7 Because of their wickedness, will there be an (N)escape for them?
In anger (O)make the peoples fall down, God!
8 You (P)have taken account of my [n]miseries;
Put my (Q)tears in Your bottle.
Are they not in (R)Your book?
9 Then my enemies will (S)turn back (T)on the day when I call;
This I know, [o]that (U)God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
In the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 In God I have put my [p]trust, I shall not be afraid.
What can mankind do to me?
12 Your (V)vows are binding upon me, God;
I will render thanksgiving offerings to You.
13 For You have (W)saved my soul from death,
[q]Indeed (X)my feet from stumbling,
So that I may (Y)walk before God
In the (Z)light of the [r]living.
Prayer for Rescue from Persecutors.
For the music director; set to [s]Al-tashheth. A [t]Mikhtam of David, [u]when he fled from Saul in the cave.
57 Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me,
For my soul (AA)takes refuge in You;
And in the (AB)shadow of Your wings I will take refuge
Until destruction (AC)passes by.
2 I will cry to God Most High,
To God who (AD)accomplishes all things for me.
3 He will (AE)send from heaven and save me;
He rebukes the one who [v](AF)tramples upon me. Selah
God will send His [w](AG)favor and His truth.
4 My soul is among (AH)lions;
I must lie among those who devour,
Among sons of mankind whose (AI)teeth are spears and arrows,
And their (AJ)tongue is a sharp sword.
5 (AK)Be exalted above the heavens, God;
May Your glory be above all the earth.
6 They have prepared a (AL)net for my steps;
My soul is (AM)bowed down;
They (AN)dug a pit before me;
They themselves have (AO)fallen into the midst of it. Selah
7 (AP)My (AQ)heart is steadfast, God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!
8 Awake, (AR)my glory!
Awake, (AS)harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
9 (AT)I will praise You, Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to You among the [x]nations.
10 For Your (AU)goodness is great to the heavens
And Your [y]truth to the clouds.
11 (AV)Be exalted above the heavens, God;
May Your glory be above all the earth.
Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked.
For the music director; set to [z]Al-tashheth. A [aa]Mikhtam of David.
58 Do you indeed [ab]speak righteousness, you [ac]gods?
Do you (AW)judge [ad]fairly, you sons of mankind?
2 No, in heart you (AX)practice injustice;
On earth you (AY)clear a way for the violence of your hands.
3 The wicked have turned away (AZ)from the womb;
These who speak lies (BA)go astray from [ae]birth.
4 They have venom like the (BB)venom of a serpent;
Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,
5 So that it (BC)does not hear the voice of [af](BD)charmers,
Or a skillful caster of spells.
6 God, (BE)shatter their teeth in their mouth;
Break out the fangs of the young lions, Lord.
7 May they (BF)flow away like water that runs off;
When he [ag](BG)aims his arrows, may they be as [ah]headless shafts.
8 May they be like a snail which goes along in slime,
Like the (BH)miscarriage of a woman that never sees the sun.
9 Before your (BI)pots can feel the fire of thorns
He will (BJ)sweep them away with a whirlwind, the [ai]green and the burning alike.
Prayer for Rescue from Secret Enemies.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
64 Hear my voice, God, in (A)my [a]complaint;
(B)Protect my life from dread of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the (C)secret discussion of evildoers,
From the restlessness of (D)the workers of injustice,
3 Who (E)have sharpened their tongues like a sword.
They (F)aimed bitter speech as their arrows,
4 To (G)shoot [b]from concealment at the innocent;
Suddenly they shoot at him, and (H)do not fear.
5 They make firm for themselves an evil [c]purpose;
They [d]talk of (I)setting snares secretly;
They say, “(J)Who can see them?”
6 They [e]devise injustices, saying,
“We are [f]ready with a well-conceived plot”;
For the [g](K)inward thought and the heart of a person are [h]deep.
7 But (L)God [i]will shoot an arrow at them;
Suddenly [j]they will be wounded.
8 So [k]they [l]will (M)make him stumble;
(N)Their own tongue is against them;
All who see them will (O)shake their heads.
9 Then all people [m]will (P)fear,
And they [n]will (Q)declare the work of God,
And [o]will consider [p]what He has done.
10 The righteous person will be (R)glad in the Lord and (S)take refuge in Him;
And all the upright in heart will boast.
God’s Abundant Favor to Earth and Mankind.
For the music director. A Psalm of David. A Song.
65 There will be silence [q]before You, and praise in Zion, God,
And the (T)vow will be fulfilled for You.
2 You who hear prayer,
To You (U)all [r]mankind comes.
3 [s](V)Wrongdoings prevail against me;
As for our offenses, You [t](W)forgive them.
4 (X)Blessed is the one You (Y)choose and allow to approach You;
He will dwell in Your courtyards.
We will be (Z)satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Your holy temple.
5 By (AA)awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, (AB)God of our salvation,
You who are the trust of all the (AC)ends of the earth and the farthest [u](AD)sea;
6 Who (AE)establishes the mountains by His strength,
Who is (AF)encircled with might;
7 Who (AG)stills the roaring of the seas,
The roaring of their waves,
And the (AH)turmoil of the nations.
8 They who dwell at the (AI)ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs;
You make the [v]sunrise and the sunset shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and (AJ)cause it to overflow;
You greatly (AK)enrich it;
The [w](AL)stream of God is full of water;
You prepare their (AM)grain, for so You prepare [x]the earth.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
You [y]settle its ridges,
You soften it (AN)with showers,
You bless its growth.
11 You have crowned the year [z]with Your (AO)goodness,
And Your [aa]paths (AP)drip with fatness.
12 (AQ)The pastures of the wilderness drip,
And the (AR)hills encircle themselves with rejoicing.
13 The meadows are (AS)clothed with flocks
And the valleys are (AT)covered with grain;
They (AU)shout for joy, yes, they sing.
The Lamb and the 144,000 on Mount Zion
14 Then I looked, and behold, (A)the Lamb was standing on (B)Mount Zion, and with Him (C)144,000 who had (D)His name and the (E)name of His Father written (F)on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like (G)the sound of many waters and like the (H)sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of (I)harpists playing on their harps. 3 And they *sang [a](J)a new song before the throne and before the (K)four living creatures and the (L)elders; and (M)no one was able to learn the song except the (N)144,000 who had been (O)purchased from the earth. 4 (P)These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are celibate. These are the ones who (Q)follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been (R)purchased from mankind (S)as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. 5 And (T)no lie was found in their mouths; they are (U)blameless.
Vision of the Angel with the Gospel
6 And I saw another angel flying in (V)midheaven with (W)an eternal gospel to preach to (X)those who [b]live on the earth, and to (Y)every nation, tribe, language, and people; 7 and he said with a loud voice, “(Z)Fear God and (AA)give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who (AB)made the heaven and the earth, and sea and (AC)springs of waters.”
8 And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “[c](AD)Fallen, fallen is (AE)Babylon the great, she who has (AF)made all the nations drink of the (AG)wine of the [d]passion of her sexual immorality.”
Doom for Worshipers of the Beast
9 Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone (AH)worships the beast and his (AI)image, and receives a (AJ)mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink of the (AK)wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed [e]in full strength (AL)in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with (AM)fire and [f]brimstone in the presence of the (AN)holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the (AO)smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; (AP)they have no rest day and night, those who (AQ)worship the beast and his (AR)image, and [g]whoever receives the (AS)mark of his name.” 12 Here is (AT)the [h]perseverance of the [i]saints who (AU)keep the commandments of God and [j](AV)their faith in Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write: ‘(AW)Blessed are the dead who (AX)die in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes,” (AY)says the Spirit, “so that they may (AZ)rest from their labors, for their (BA)deeds follow with them.”
Christ Divides People
49 “I [a]have come to cast fire upon the earth; and [b]how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a (A)baptism [c]to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! 51 (B)Do you think that I came to provide peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; 52 for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, (C)father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
54 And He was also saying to the crowds, “(D)Whenever you see a cloud rising [d]in the west, you immediately say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out. 55 And whenever you feel a [e]south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a (E)hot day,’ and it turns out that way. 56 You hypocrites! (F)You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how is it that you do not know how to analyze this present time?
57 “And (G)why do you not even judge by yourselves what is right? 58 For (H)when you are going with your accuser to appear before the magistrate, on the way, make an effort to [f]settle with him, so that he does not drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid up [g]the very last [h](I)lepton.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.