Book of Common Prayer
Trust in God under Persecution
To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
56 Be gracious to me, O God,
for men trample upon me;
all day long foemen oppress me;
2 my enemies trample upon me all day long,
for many fight against me proudly.
3 When I am afraid,
I put my trust in thee.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust without a fear.
What can flesh do to me?
5 All day long they seek to injure my cause;
all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They band themselves together, they lurk,
they watch my steps.
As they have waited for my life,
7 so recompense[a] them for their crime;
in wrath cast down the peoples, O God!
8 Thou hast kept count of my tossings;
put thou my tears in thy bottle!
Are they not in thy book?
9 Then my enemies will be turned back
in the day when I call.
This I know, that[b] God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust without a fear.
What can man do to me?
12 My vows to thee I must perform, O God;
I will render thank offerings to thee.
13 For thou hast delivered my soul from death,
yea, my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life.
Praise and Assurance under Persecution
To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.
57 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in thee my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of thy wings I will take refuge,
till the storms of destruction pass by.
2 I cry to God Most High,
to God who fulfils his purpose for me.
3 He will send from heaven and save me,
he will put to shame those who trample upon me.Selah
God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness!
4 I lie in the midst of lions
that greedily devour[c] the sons of men;
their teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongues sharp swords.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let thy glory be over all the earth!
6 They set a net for my steps;
my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my way,
but they have fallen into it themselves.Selah
7 My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
8 Awake, my soul!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
9 I will give thanks to thee, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to thee among the nations.
10 For thy steadfast love is great to the heavens,
thy faithfulness to the clouds.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let thy glory be over all the earth!
Prayer for Vengeance
To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David.
58 Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?[d]
Do you judge the sons of men uprightly?
2 Nay, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands deal out violence on earth.
3 The wicked go astray from the womb,
they err from their birth, speaking lies.
4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.
6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths;
tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
7 Let them vanish like water that runs away;
like grass let them be trodden down and wither.[e]
8 Let them be like the snail which dissolves into slime,
like the untimely birth that never sees the sun.
9 Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!
10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who judges on earth.”
Prayer for Protection from Enemies
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
64 Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
preserve my life from dread of the enemy,
2 hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
from the scheming of evildoers,
3 who whet their tongues like swords,
who aim bitter words like arrows,
4 shooting from ambush at the blameless,
shooting at him suddenly and without fear.
5 They hold fast to their evil purpose;
they talk of laying snares secretly,
thinking, “Who can see us?[a]
6 Who can search out our crimes?[b]
We have thought out a cunningly conceived plot.”
For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep!
7 But God will shoot his arrow at them;
they will be wounded suddenly.
8 Because of their tongue he will bring them to ruin;[c]
all who see them will wag their heads.
9 Then all men will fear;
they will tell what God has wrought,
and ponder what he has done.
10 Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord,
and take refuge in him!
Let all the upright in heart glory!
Thanksgiving for Earth’s Bounty
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
65 Praise is due to thee,
O God, in Zion;
and to thee shall vows be performed,
2 O thou who hearest prayer!
To thee shall all flesh come
3 on account of sins.
When our transgressions prevail over us,[d]
thou dost forgive them.
4 Blessed is he whom thou dost choose and bring near,
to dwell in thy courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house,
thy holy temple!
5 By dread deeds thou dost answer us with deliverance,
O God of our salvation,
who art the hope of all the ends of the earth,
and of the farthest seas;
6 who by thy strength hast established the mountains,
being girded with might;
7 who dost still the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples;
8 so that those who dwell at earth’s farthest bounds
are afraid at thy signs;
thou makest the outgoings of the morning and the evening
to shout for joy.
9 Thou visitest the earth and waterest it,
thou greatly enrichest it;
the river of God is full of water;
thou providest their grain,
for so thou hast prepared it.
10 Thou waterest its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
11 Thou crownest the year with thy bounty;
the tracks of thy chariot drip with fatness.
12 The pastures of the wilderness drip,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.
Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom
9 “O God of my fathers and Lord of mercy,
who hast made all things by thy word,
7 Thou hast chosen me to be king of thy people
and to be judge over thy sons and daughters.
8 Thou hast given command to build a temple on thy holy mountain,
and an altar in the city of thy habitation,
a copy of the holy tent which thou didst prepare from the beginning.
9 With thee is wisdom, who knows thy works
and was present when thou didst make the world,
and who understands what is pleasing in thy sight
and what is right according to thy commandments.
10 Send her forth from the holy heavens,
and from the throne of thy glory send her,
that she may be with me and toil,
and that I may learn what is pleasing to thee.
11 For she knows and understands all things,
and she will guide me wisely in my actions
and guard me with her glory.
12 Then my works will be acceptable,
and I shall judge thy people justly,
and shall be worthy of the throne[a] of my father.
13 For what man can learn the counsel of God?
Or who can discern what the Lord wills?
14 For the reasoning of mortals is worthless,
and our designs are likely to fail,
15 for a perishable body weighs down the soul,
and this earthy tent burdens the thoughtful[b] mind.
16 We can hardly guess at what is on earth,
and what is at hand we find with labor;
but who has traced out what is in the heavens?
17 Who has learned thy counsel, unless thou hast given wisdom
and sent thy holy Spirit from on high?
18 And thus the paths of those on earth were set right,
and men were taught what pleases thee,
and were saved by wisdom.”
Rules for Christian Households
18 Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.
4 Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
Further Instructions
2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving; 3 and pray for us also, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison, 4 that I may make it clear, as I ought to speak.
5 Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer every one.
Final Greetings and Benediction
7 Tych′icus will tell you all about my affairs; he is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, 9 and with him Ones′imus, the faithful and beloved brother, who is one of yourselves. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.
10 Aristar′chus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, receive him), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 12 Ep′aphras, who is one of yourselves, a servant[a] of Christ Jesus, greets you, always remembering you earnestly in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in La-odice′a and in Hi-erap′olis. 14 Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you. 15 Give my greetings to the brethren at La-odice′a, and to Nympha and the church in her house. 16 And when this letter has been read among you, have it read also in the church of the La-odice′ans; and see that you read also the letter from La-odice′a. 17 And say to Archip′pus, “See that you fulfil the ministry which you have received in the Lord.”
18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my fetters. Grace be with you.
A Sinful Woman Forgiven
36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house, and took his place at table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “What is it, Teacher?” 41 “A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he forgave them both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, to whom he forgave more.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house, you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.