Book of Common Prayer
55 1 David being in great heaviness and distress, complaineth of the cruelty of Saul, 13 and of the falsehood of his familiar acquaintance, 17 Uttering the most ardent affections to move the Lord to pity him. 22 After, being assured of deliverance, he setteth forth the grace of God, as though he had already obtained his request.
To him that excelleth on Neginoth. A Psalm of David to give instruction.
1 Hear [a]my prayer, O God, and hide not thyself from my supplication.
2 Hearken unto me, and answer me: I mourn in my prayer, and make a noise,
3 For the [b]voice of the enemy, and for the vexation of the wicked, because [c]they have brought iniquity upon me, and furiously hate me.
4 Mine heart trembleth within me, and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.
5 Fear and trembling are come upon me, and an horrible fear hath [d]covered me.
6 And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove: then would I [e]fly away and rest.
7 Behold I would take my flight far off, and lodge in the wilderness. Selah.
8 He would make haste for my deliverance [f]from the stormy wind and tempest.
9 Destroy, O Lord, and [g]divide their tongues: for I have seen cruelty and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof, both [h]iniquity and mischief are in the midst of it.
11 Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets.
12 Surely mine [i]enemy did not defame me, for I could have borne it: neither did mine adversary exalt himself against me: for I would have hid me from him.
13 But it was thou, O man, even my [j]companion, my guide, and my familiar:
14 Which delighted in consulting together, and went into the house of God as companions.
15 Let death seize upon them: let them [k]go down quick into the grave: for wickedness is in their dwellings even in the midst of them.
16 But I will call unto God, and the Lord will save me.
17 Evening and morning, and at noon will I pray [l]and make a noise, and he will hear my voice.
18 He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for [m]many were with me.
19 God shall hear and afflict them, even he that reigneth of old, Selah: because they [n]have no changes, therefore they fear not God.
20 He [o]laid his hand upon such as be at peace with him, and he brake his covenant.
21 The words of his mouth were softer than butter, yet war was in his heart, his words were more gentle than oil, yet they were swords.
22 Cast thy [p]burden upon the Lord, and he shall nourish thee: he will not suffer the righteous to fall [q]forever.
23 And thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of corruption: the bloody, and deceitful men shall not live [r]half their days: but I will trust in thee.
138 1 David with great courage praiseth the goodness of God toward him, the which is so great, 4 That it is known to foreign princes, who shall praise the Lord together with him. 6 And he is assured to have the like comfort of God in the time following, as he had heretofore.
A Psalm of David.
1 I will praise thee with my whole heart: even before the [a]gods will I praise thee.
2 I will worship toward thine holy [b]Temple and praise thy Name, because of thy loving-kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy Name above all things by thy word.
3 When I called, then thou heardest me, and hast [c]increased strength in my soul.
4 All the [d]kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord: for they have heard the words of thy mouth.
5 And they shall sing of the ways of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord is great.
6 For the Lord is high, yet he beholdeth the lowly, but the proud he knoweth [e]afar off.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, yet wilt thou revive me: thou wilt stretch forth thine hand upon the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.
8 The Lord will [f]perform his work toward me: O Lord, thy mercy endureth forever: forsake not the works of thine hands.
139 1 David cleanseth his heart from all hypocrisy, showeth that there is nothing so hid, which God seeth not. 13 Which he confirmeth by the creation of man. 14 After declaring his zeal and fear of God, he professeth to be enemy to all them that contemn God.
To him that excelleth. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, thou hast tried me, and known me.
2 Thou knowest my [g]sitting and my rising: thou understandest my thought afar off.
3 Thou [h]compassest my paths, and my lying down, and art accustomed to all my ways.
4 For there is not a word in my [i]tongue, but lo, thou knowest it wholly, O Lord.
5 Thou holdest me strait behind and before, and layest thine [j]hand upon me.
6 Thy knowledge is too wonderful for me: it is so high that I cannot attain unto it.
7 Whither shall I go from thy [k]Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, thou art there: if I lie down in hell, thou art there.
9 Let me take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea:
10 Yet thither shall thine hand [l]lead me, and thy right hand hold me.
11 If I say, Yet the darkness shall hide me, even the night shall be [m]light about me.
12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee: but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and light are both alike.
13 For thou hast [n]possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise thee, for I am [o]fearfully and wondrously made: marvelous are thy works, and my soul knoweth it well.
15 My bones are not hid from thee, though I was made in a secret place, and fashioned [p]beneath in the earth.
16 Thine eyes did see me, when I was without form: [q]for in thy book were all things written, which in continuance were fashioned, when there was none of them before.
17 How [r]dear therefore are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they are more than the sand: when I awake, [s]I am still with thee.
19 Oh that thou wouldest [slay], O God, the wicked and bloody men, to whom I say, Depart ye from me:
20 Which speak wickedly of thee, and being thine enemies are lifted up in vain.
21 Do not I [t]hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? and do not I earnestly contend with those that rise up against thee?
22 I hate them with an unfeigned hatred, as they were mine utter enemies.
23 Try me, O God, and know mine heart: prove me and know my thoughts,
12 Now therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved, [a]put on the [b]bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering:
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel to another: even as Christ forgave, even so do ye.
14 And above all these things put on love, which is the [c]bond of perfectness.
15 And let the peace of God [d]rule in your hearts, to the which ye are called in [e]one body, and be ye thankful:
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you plenteously in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing your own selves, in [f]Psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with a grace in your hearts to the Lord,
17 (A)And whatsoever ye shall do, in word or deed, do all in the [g]Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God even the Father by him.
18 [a]And the disciples of John showed him of all these things.
19 So John called unto him two certain men of his disciples, and sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come, or shall we wait for another?
20 And when the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come, or shall we wait for another?
21 And [b]at that time, he cured many of their sicknesses, and plagues, and of evil spirits, and unto many blind men he gave sight freely.
22 And Jesus answered, and said unto them, Go your ways and show John, what things ye have seen and heard, that the blind see, the halt go, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor receive the Gospel.
23 And blessed is he, that shall not be offended in me.
24 [c]And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people of John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
25 But what went ye out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they which are gorgeously appareled, and live delicately, are in Kings’ courts.
26 But what went ye forth to see? A Prophet? yea, I say to you, and greater than a Prophet.
27 This is he of whom it is written, (A)Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
28 For I say unto you, there is no greater Prophet than John, among them that are begotten of women: nevertheless, he that is the least in the kingdom of God, is greater than he.
29 Then all the people that heard, and the Publicans [d]justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.
30 But the Pharisees and the expounders of the Law despised the counsel of God [e]against themselves, and were not baptized of him.
31 (B)[f]And the Lord said, Whereunto shall I liken the men of this generation? and what thing are they like unto?
32 They are like unto little children sitting in the marketplace, and crying one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced: we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.
33 For John Baptist came neither eating bread, nor drinking wine: and ye say, He hath the devil.
34 The Son of man is come, and eateth, and drinketh: and ye say, Behold, a man which is a glutton, and a drinker of wine, a friend of Publicans and sinners:
35 But wisdom is justified of all her children.
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