Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 56
A Call for God’s Protection
For the choir director: according to “A Silent Dove Far Away.”[a] A Davidic Miktam. When the Philistines seized him in Gath.(A)
1 Be gracious to me, God, for man tramples me;
he fights and oppresses me all day long.
2 My adversaries trample me all day,
for many arrogantly fight against me.[b](B)
3 When I am afraid,
I will trust in You.(C)
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?(D)
5 They twist my words all day long;
all their thoughts against me are evil.(E)
6 They stir up strife,[c] they lurk;
they watch my steps
while they wait to take my life.(F)
7 Will they escape in spite of such sin?
God, bring down the nations in wrath.(G)
8 You Yourself have recorded my wanderings.[d]
Put my tears in Your bottle.
Are they not in Your records?(H)
9 Then my enemies will retreat on the day when I call.(I)
This I know: God is for me.(J)
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?(K)
12 I am obligated by vows[e] to You, God;
I will make my thank offerings to You.(L)
13 For You delivered me from death,
even my feet from stumbling,
to walk before God in the light of life.(M)
Psalm 57
Praise for God’s Protection
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.”[f] A Davidic Miktam. When he fled before Saul into the cave.(N)
1 Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me,
for I take refuge in You.
I will seek refuge in the shadow of Your wings
until danger passes.(O)
2 I call to God Most High,
to God who fulfills His purpose for me.[g](P)
3 He reaches down from heaven and saves me,
challenging the one who tramples me.(Q)
God sends His faithful love and truth.(R)
4 I am surrounded by lions;
I lie down with those who devour men.
Their teeth are spears and arrows;
their tongues are sharp swords.(S)
5 God, be exalted above the heavens;
let Your glory be over the whole earth.(T)
6 They prepared a net for my steps;
I was despondent.
They dug a pit ahead of me,
but they fell into it!(U)
7 My heart is confident, God, my heart is confident.
I will sing; I will sing praises.(V)
8 Wake up, my soul![h]
Wake up, harp and lyre!
I will wake up the dawn.(W)
9 I will praise You, Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to You among the nations.(X)
10 For Your faithful love is as high as the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches the clouds.(Y)
11 God, be exalted above the heavens;(Z)
let Your glory be over the whole earth.(AA)
Psalm 58
A Cry against Injustice
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.”[i] A Davidic Miktam.
1 Do you really speak righteously, you mighty ones?[j]
Do you judge people fairly?(AB)
2 No, you practice injustice in your hearts;
with your hands you weigh out violence in the land.(AC)
3 The wicked go astray from the womb;
liars err from birth.(AD)
4 They have venom like the venom of a snake,
like the deaf cobra that stops up its ears,(AE)
5 that does not listen to the sound of the charmers
who skillfully weave spells.(AF)
6 God, knock the teeth out of their mouths;
Lord, tear out the young lions’ fangs.(AG)
7 They will vanish like water that flows by;
they will aim their useless arrows.[k][l](AH)
8 Like a slug that moves along in slime,
like a woman’s miscarried child,
they will not see the sun.(AI)
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—
whether green or burning—
He will sweep them away.[m](AJ)
10 The righteous one will rejoice
when he sees the retribution;(AK)
he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.(AL)
11 Then people will say,
“Yes, there is a reward for the righteous!
There is a God who judges on earth!”(AM)
Psalm 64
Protection from Evildoers
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.
1 God, hear my voice when I complain.(A)
Protect my life from the terror of the enemy.(B)
2 Hide me from the scheming of wicked people,(C)
from the mob of evildoers,(D)
3 who sharpen their tongues like swords
and aim bitter words like arrows,(E)
4 shooting from concealed places at the innocent.
They shoot at him suddenly and are not afraid.(F)
5 They encourage each other in an evil plan;[a][b]
they talk about hiding traps and say,
“Who will see them?”[c](G)
6 They devise crimes and say,
“We have perfected a secret plan.”(H)
The inner man and the heart are mysterious.
7 But God will shoot them with arrows;
suddenly, they will be wounded.(I)
8 They will be made to stumble;
their own tongues work against them.
All who see them will shake their heads.(J)
9 Then everyone will fear
and will tell about God’s work,
for they will understand what He has done.(K)
10 The righteous one rejoices in the Lord
and takes refuge in Him;
all those who are upright in heart
will offer praise.(L)
Psalm 65
God’s Care for the Earth
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm. A song.
1 Praise is rightfully Yours,[d]
God, in Zion;
vows to You will be fulfilled.(M)
2 All humanity will come to You,
the One who hears prayer.(N)
3 Iniquities overwhelm me;
only You can atone for[e] our rebellions.(O)
4 How happy is the one You choose
and bring near to live in Your courts!
We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
the holiness of Your temple.[f](P)
5 You answer us in righteousness,
with awe-inspiring works,
God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the distant seas.(Q)
6 You establish the mountains by Your[g] power,
robed with strength.(R)
7 You silence the roar of the seas,
the roar of their waves,
and the tumult of the nations.(S)
8 Those who live far away are awed by Your signs;
You make east and west shout for joy.(T)
9 You visit the earth and water it abundantly,
enriching it greatly.
God’s stream is filled with water,
for You prepare the earth[h] in this way,
providing people with grain.(U)
10 You soften it with showers and bless its growth,
soaking its furrows and leveling its ridges.(V)
11 You crown the year with Your goodness;
Your ways overflow with plenty.[i](W)
12 The wilderness pastures overflow,
and the hills are robed with joy.(X)
13 The pastures are clothed with flocks
and the valleys covered with grain.(Y)
They shout in triumph; indeed, they sing.(Z)
Two Visions
11 Then the word of the Lord came to me, asking, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”(A)
I replied, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”
12 The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I watch over My word to accomplish it.”(B) 13 Again the word of the Lord came to me inquiring, “What do you see?”
And I replied, “I see a boiling pot,(C) its lip tilted from the north to the south.”
14 Then the Lord said to me, “Disaster will be poured out[a] from the north(D) on all who live in the land. 15 Indeed, I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north.”(E)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
They will come, and each king will set up his throne
at the entrance to Jerusalem’s gates.
They will attack all her surrounding walls
and all the other cities of Judah.
16 “I will pronounce My judgments against them for all the evil they did when they abandoned Me to burn incense to other gods and to worship the works of their own hands.(F)
17 “Now, get ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them(G) or I will cause you to cower before them. 18 Today, I am the One who has made you a fortified city,(H) an iron pillar, and bronze walls(I) against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the population. 19 They will fight against you but never prevail over you,(J) since I am with you to rescue you.”(K)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
God’s Good News for Rome
1 Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle[a](A) and singled out(B) for God’s good news(C)— 2 which He promised long ago(D) through His prophets(E) in the Holy Scriptures— 3 concerning His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was a descendant of David[b](F) according to the flesh(G) 4 and who has been declared to be the powerful(H) Son of God(I) by the resurrection from the dead according to the Spirit of holiness.[c] 5 We have received grace and apostleship(J) through Him to bring about[d] the obedience(K) of faith[e] among all the nations,[f](L) on behalf of His name, 6 including yourselves who also belong to Jesus Christ by calling:(M)
7 To all who are in Rome, loved by God,(N) called(O) as saints.(P)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul’s Desire to Visit Rome
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because the news of your faith[g] is being reported in all the world.(Q) 9 For God, whom I serve with my spirit(R) in telling the good news about His Son, is my witness(S) that I constantly mention you,(T) 10 always asking in my prayers that if it is somehow in God’s will, I may now at last succeed in coming to you.(U) 11 For I want very much to see you,(V) so I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, 12 that is, to be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.
13 Now I want you to know,[h](W) brothers, that I often planned to come to you (but was prevented until now(X)) in order that I might have a fruitful ministry[i] among you,(Y) just as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am obligated both to Greeks and barbarians,[j](Z) both to the wise and the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the good news(AA) to you also who are in Rome.
The Ripened Harvest
27 Just then His disciples arrived, and they were amazed that He was talking with a woman. Yet no one said, “What do You want?” or “Why are You talking with her?”
28 Then the woman left her water jar, went into town, and told the men, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could this be the Messiah?”(A) 30 They left the town and made their way to Him.(B)
31 In the meantime the disciples kept urging Him, “Rabbi,(C) eat something.”
32 But He said, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.”
33 The disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought Him something to eat?”
34 “My food is to do the will of Him(D) who sent Me(E) and to finish His work,”(F) Jesus told them. 35 “Don’t you say, ‘There are still four more months, then comes the harvest’? Listen to what I’m telling you: Open[a] your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ready[b] for harvest. 36 The reaper is already receiving pay and gathering fruit for eternal life,(G) so the sower and reaper can rejoice together. 37 For in this case the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’(H) 38 I sent you to reap what you didn’t labor for; others have labored, and you have benefited from[c] their labor.”
The Savior of the World
39 Now many Samaritans(I) from that town believed in Him because of what the woman said[d] when she testified,(J) “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 Therefore, when the Samaritans came to Him,(K) they asked Him to stay with them, and He stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of what He said.[e] 42 And they told the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior(L) of the world.”[f]
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