Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 55
For the Music Director. With stringed instruments. A Contemplative Maskil of David.
1 Give ear to my prayer, O God,
and do not hide Yourself from my supplication.
2 Attend to me, and answer me;
I am restless in my complaint, and I murmur,
3 because of the voice of the enemy,
because of the pressure of the wicked,
for they cause trouble to drop on me,
and in wrath they have animosity against me.
4 My heart is in pain within me,
and the terrors of death have fallen on me.
5 Fear and trembling come into me,
and horror has overwhelmed me.
6 I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
For then I would fly away and be at rest.
7 Indeed, then I would wander far off,
and remain in the wilderness. Selah
8 I would hasten my escape
from the windy storm and tempest.”
9 Confuse, O Lord, divide their tongues,
for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around it on its walls;
trouble and sorrow are in its midst.
11 Destruction is in its midst;
oppression and treachery do not depart from its streets.
12 For it is not an enemy who reproaches me;
then I could bear it.
Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me;
then I could hide from him.
13 But it was you, my peer,
my guide, and my acquaintance.
14 We took pleasant counsel together,
and walked to the house of God in company.
15 May death surprise them,
and may their lives go down to Sheol,
for wickedness is in their dwellings and among them.
16 As for me, I will call on God,
and the Lord will save me.
17 Evening and morning and at noon,
I will make my complaint and murmur,
and He will hear my voice.
18 He has ransomed my life in peace
from the battle against me,
for there were many against me.
19 God will hear and afflict them,
even He who sits enthroned from of old. Selah
Because they do not change,
therefore they do not fear God.
20 My friend has set his hands against those at peace with him;
he has violated his covenant.
21 The words of his mouth were smoother than butter,
but battle was in his heart;
his words were softer than oil,
yet they were drawn swords.
22 Cast your burden on the Lord,
and He will sustain you;
He will never allow
the righteous to be moved.
23 But You, O God, will cast the wicked down
into the pit of destruction;
men of blood and deceitful men
will not live out half their days.
But I will trust in You.
Psalm 138
A Psalm of David.
1 I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before the gods I will sing Your praise.
2 I will worship toward Your holy temple,
and praise Your name
for Your lovingkindness and for Your truth;
for You have exalted Your word
above all Your name.
3 On the day I called, You answered me,
and strengthened me in my soul.
4 All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of Your mouth.
5 Indeed, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 Though the Lord is exalted, yet He has concern for the lowly,
but the proud one He knows from a distance.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
You will preserve me;
You stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and Your right hand saves me.
8 The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me;
Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;
do not forsake the works of Your hands.
Psalm 139
For the Music Director. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, You have searched me
and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I get up;
You understand my thought from far off.
3 You search my path and my lying down
and are aware of all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue,
but behold, O Lord, You know it fully.
5 You put Yourself behind and before me,
and keep Your hand on me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is lofty, and I cannot fathom it.
7 Where shall I go from Your spirit,
or where shall I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell at the end of the sea,
10 even there Your hand shall guide me,
and Your right hand shall take hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light shall be as night about me,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to You,
but the night shines as the day,
for the darkness is like light to You.
13 You brought my inner parts into being;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise you, for You made me with fear and wonder;
marvelous are Your works,
and You know me completely.
15 My frame was not hidden from You
when I was made in secret,
and intricately put together in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw me unformed,
yet in Your book
all my days were written,
before any of them came into being.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them,
they are more in number than the sand;
when I awake,
I am still with You.
19 If only You would slay the wicked, O God!
O violent men, depart from me.
20 For they speak against You with malice,
and Your enemies take your name in vain.
21 Do I not hate those, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not abhor those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
try me, and know my concerns,
2 Moses proclaimed to all Israel, and said to them:
You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and all his servants and to all his land— 3 the great temptations which your eyes have seen, those signs and great wonders. 4 Yet to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see, and ears to hear. 5 I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandal has not worn out on your foot. 6 You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink, so that you might know that I am the Lord your God.
7 When you came to this place, Sihon, the king of Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan, came out against us to battle, and we defeated them. 8 We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and to half of the tribe of Manasseh.
9 Therefore, keep the words of this covenant and do them, so that you may prosper in all you do. 10 Today all of you stand before the Lord your God, the heads of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel, 11 your little ones, your wives, and your foreigners who are in your camp, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water— 12 so that you should enter into a covenant with the Lord your God, and into His oath, which the Lord your God is making with you today. 13 Today He will establish that you are His people and that He is your God, just as He has said to you and He has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 14 It is not with you alone that I am making this covenant and this oath, 15 but with him who stands here with us today before the Lord our God, and with him who is not here with us today
The Offering for the Saints
9 It is redundant for me to write to you concerning the ministry to the saints. 2 I know your willingness, for which I boast of you to those in Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago, and your zeal has stirred up most of them. 3 Yet I have sent the brothers, lest our boasting of you might be in vain in this case, that, as I said, you may be ready; 4 and lest if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we (not to mention you) should be ashamed of this confident boasting. 5 Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brothers to go ahead to you and arrange beforehand your bountiful gift you previously promised, that it might be prepared as a gift, not as a matter of greed.
6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Let every man give according to the purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or out of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 God is able to make all grace abound toward you, so that you, always having enough of everything, may abound to every good work. 9 As it is written:
“He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor;
His righteousness remains forever.”[a]
10 Now He who supplies seed to the sower and supplies bread for your food will also multiply your seed sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness. 11 So you will be enriched in everything to all bountifulness, which makes us give thanks to God.
12 For the administration of this service not only supplies the need of the saints, but is abundant also through many thanksgivings to God. 13 Meanwhile, through the performance of this ministry, they glorify God for the profession of your faith in the gospel of Christ and for your liberal sharing with them and with all others. 14 And in their prayer for you, they long for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you. 15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.
Little Children Blessed(A)
15 They also brought infants to Him that He might touch them. When the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Permit the little children to come to Me, and do not hinder them. For to such belongs the kingdom of God. 17 Truly, I say to you, whoever will not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will in no wise enter it.”
The Rich Ruler(B)
18 A certain ruler asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good, except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and your mother.[a]”
21 He said, “All these I have kept since my youth.”
22 When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “Yet you lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow Me.”
23 When he heard this he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. 24 When Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 Those who heard this said, “Who then can be saved?”
27 He said, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”
28 Peter said, “Look, we have left everything and followed You.”
29 He said to them, “Truly, I tell you, there is no man who has left his home or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who shall not receive many times more in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.