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 Remnant Will Return
20 On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer depend on the one who struck them, but they will faithfully depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.(A)
21 The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob,
to the Mighty God.
22 Israel, even if your people were as numerous
as the sand of the sea,
only a remnant of them will return.(B)
Destruction has been decreed;
justice overflows.
23 For throughout the land
the Lord God of Hosts
is carrying out a destruction that was decreed.
24 Therefore, the Lord God of Hosts says this: “My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear Assyria, though he strikes you with a rod and raises his staff over you as the Egyptians did. 25 In just a little while My wrath will be spent and My anger will turn to their destruction.” 26 And the Lord of Hosts will brandish a whip against him as He did when He struck Midian at the rock of Oreb;(C) and He will raise His staff over the sea as He did in Egypt.
God Will Judge Assyria
27 On that day
his burden will fall from your shoulders,
and his yoke from your neck.
The yoke will be broken because of fatness.[a]
17 But you, dear friends, remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18 they told you, “In the end time(A) there will be scoffers(B) walking according to their own ungodly desires.” 19 These people create divisions and are unbelievers,[a](C) not having the Spirit.
Exhortation and Benediction
20 But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit,(D) 21 keep yourselves in the love of God,(E) expecting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life. 22 Have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire;(F) have mercy on others but with fear,(G) hating(H) even the garment(I) defiled by the flesh.
24 Now to Him(J) who is able to protect you from stumbling(K) and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless(L) and with great joy, 25 to the only(M) God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord,[b] be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time,[c] now and forever. Amen.
The Messiah’s Herald
3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,[a] while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,(A) Herod was tetrarch[b] of Galilee,(B) his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturea[c] and Trachonitis,[d] and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,[e] 2 during the high priesthood of Annas(C) and Caiaphas,(D) God’s word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.(E) 3 He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan,(F) preaching a baptism of repentance[f] for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:
A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
Prepare the way for the Lord;
make His paths straight!
5 Every valley will be filled,
and every mountain and hill will be made low;[g]
the crooked will become straight,
the rough ways smooth,
6 and everyone[h] will see the salvation of God.(G)[i]
7 He then said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers!(H) Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don’t start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’(I) for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones! 9 Even now the ax is ready to strike[j] the root of the trees! Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”(J)
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