Book of Common Prayer
Trust in God Concerning the Treachery of Friends
To the Chief Musician. With [a]stringed instruments. A [b]Contemplation of David.
55 Give ear to my prayer, O God,
And do not hide Yourself from my supplication.
2 Attend to me, and hear me;
I (A)am[c] restless in my complaint, and moan noisily,
3 Because of the voice of the enemy,
Because of the oppression of the wicked;
(B)For they bring down trouble upon me,
And in wrath they hate me.
4 (C)My heart is severely pained within me,
And the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me,
And horror has overwhelmed me.
6 So I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest.
7 Indeed, I would wander far off,
And remain in the wilderness. Selah
8 I would hasten my escape
From the windy storm and tempest.”
9 Destroy, O Lord, and divide their [d]tongues,
For I have seen (D)violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around it on its walls;
(E)Iniquity and trouble are also in the midst of it.
11 Destruction is in its midst;
(F)Oppression and deceit do not depart from its streets.
12 (G)For it is not an enemy who reproaches me;
Then I could bear it.
Nor is it one who hates me who has (H)exalted himself against me;
Then I could hide from him.
13 But it was you, a man my equal,
(I)My companion and my acquaintance.
14 We took sweet counsel together,
And (J)walked to the house of God in the throng.
15 Let death seize them;
Let them (K)go down alive into [e]hell,
For wickedness is in their dwellings and among them.
16 As for me, I will call upon God,
And the Lord shall save me.
17 (L)Evening and morning and at noon
I will pray, and cry aloud,
And He shall hear my voice.
18 He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me,
For (M)there were many against me.
19 God will hear, and afflict them,
(N)Even He who abides from of old. Selah
Because they do not change,
Therefore they do not fear God.
20 He has (O)put forth his hands against those who (P)were at peace with him;
He has broken his [f]covenant.
21 (Q)The words of his mouth were smoother than butter,
But war was in his heart;
His words were softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn swords.
A Plea for Relief from Oppressors
A [a]Contemplation of Asaph.
74 O God, why have You cast us off forever?
Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?
2 Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old,
The tribe of Your inheritance, which You have redeemed—
This Mount Zion where You have dwelt.
3 Lift up Your feet to the perpetual desolations.
The enemy has damaged everything in the sanctuary.
4 (A)Your enemies roar in the midst of Your meeting place;
(B)They set up their banners for signs.
5 They seem like men who lift up
Axes among the thick trees.
6 And now they break down its carved work, all at once,
With axes and hammers.
7 They have set fire to Your sanctuary;
They have defiled the dwelling place of Your name to the ground.
8 (C)They said in their hearts,
“Let us [b]destroy them altogether.”
They have burned up all the meeting places of God in the land.
9 We do not see our signs;
(D)There is no longer any prophet;
Nor is there any among us who knows how long.
10 O God, how long will the adversary [c]reproach?
Will the enemy blaspheme Your name forever?
11 (E)Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand?
Take it out of Your bosom and destroy them.
12 For (F)God is my King from of old,
Working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 (G)You divided the sea by Your strength;
You broke the heads of the [d]sea serpents in the waters.
14 You broke the heads of [e]Leviathan in pieces,
And gave him as food to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
15 (H)You broke open the fountain and the flood;
(I)You dried up mighty rivers.
16 The day is Yours, the night also is (J)Yours;
(K)You have prepared the light and the sun.
17 You have (L)set all the borders of the earth;
(M)You have made summer and winter.
18 Remember this, that the enemy has reproached, O Lord,
And that a foolish people has blasphemed Your name.
19 Oh, do not deliver the life of Your turtledove to the wild beast!
Do not forget the life of Your poor forever.
20 (N)Have respect to the covenant;
For the [f]dark places of the earth are full of the [g]haunts of [h]cruelty.
21 Oh, do not let the oppressed return ashamed!
Let the poor and needy praise Your name.
22 Arise, O God, plead Your own cause;
Remember how the foolish man [i]reproaches You daily.
23 Do not forget the voice of Your enemies;
The tumult of those who rise up against You increases continually.
5 Thus says the Lord:
(A)“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes (B)flesh his [a]strength,
Whose heart departs from the Lord.
6 For he shall be (C)like a shrub in the desert,
And (D)shall not see when good comes,
But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
(E)In a salt land which is not inhabited.
7 “Blessed(F) is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.
8 For he shall be (G)like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not [b]fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance
14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
Save me, and I shall be saved,
For (A)You are my praise.
15 Indeed they say to me,
(B)“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come now!”
16 As for me, (C)I have not hurried away from being a shepherd who follows You,
Nor have I desired the woeful day;
You know what came out of my lips;
It was right there before You.
17 Do not be a terror to me;
(D)You are my hope in the day of doom.
Be Anxious for Nothing; Think These Thoughts
4 Therefore, my beloved and (A)longed-for brethren, (B)my joy and crown, so (C)stand fast in the Lord, beloved.
Be United, Joyful, and in Prayer
2 I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche (D)to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 [a]And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who (E)labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in (F)the Book of Life.
4 (G)Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your [b]gentleness be known to all men. (H)The Lord is at hand.
6 (I)Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with (J)thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and (K)the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Meditate on These Things
8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are (L)true, whatever things are (M)noble, whatever things are (N)just, (O)whatever things are pure, whatever things are (P)lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and (Q)the God of peace will be with you.
Philippian Generosity
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last (R)your[c] care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, (S)to be content: 12 (T)I know how to [d]be abased, and I know how to [e]abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things (U)through [f]Christ who strengthens me.
Jesus Predicts His Death on the Cross
27 (A)“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? (B)But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name.”
(C)Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”
29 Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”
30 Jesus answered and said, (D)“This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now (E)the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, (F)if I am [a]lifted up from the earth, will draw (G)all peoples to Myself.” 33 (H)This He said, signifying by what death He would die.
34 The people answered Him, (I)“We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”
35 Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer (J)the light is with you. (K)Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; (L)he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become (M)sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and (N)was hidden from them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.