Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Protection from the Wicked.
For the choir director; for [a]flute accompaniment. A Psalm of David.
5 (A)Give ear to my words, O Lord,
Consider my [b](B)groaning.
2 Heed (C)the sound of my cry for help, (D)my King and my God,
For to You I pray.
3 In the morning, O Lord, [c]You will hear my voice;
In the (E)morning I will order my [d]prayer to You and eagerly (F)watch.
4 For You are not a God (G)who takes pleasure in wickedness;
(H)No evil [e]dwells with You.
5 The (I)boastful shall not (J)stand before Your eyes;
You (K)hate all who do iniquity.
6 You (L)destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors (M)the man of bloodshed and deceit.
7 But as for me, (N)by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house,
[f]At Your holy temple I will (O)bow in (P)reverence for You.
8 O Lord, (Q)lead me (R)in Your righteousness (S)because of [g]my foes;
Make Your way [h]straight before me.
9 There is (T)nothing [i]reliable in [j]what they say;
Their (U)inward part is destruction itself.
Their (V)throat is an open grave;
They [k]flatter with their tongue.
10 Hold them guilty, O God;
(W)By their own devices let them fall!
In the multitude of their transgressions (X)thrust them out,
For they are (Y)rebellious against You.
11 But let all who (Z)take refuge in You (AA)be glad,
Let them ever sing for joy;
And [l]may You (AB)shelter them,
That those who (AC)love Your name may exult in You.
12 For it is You who (AD)blesses the righteous man, O Lord,
You (AE)surround him with favor as with a shield.
Prayer for Mercy in Time of Trouble.
For the choir director; with stringed instruments, [m]upon an eight-string lyre. A Psalm of David.
6 O Lord, (AF)do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor chasten me in Your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am (AG)pining away;
(AH)Heal me, O Lord, for (AI)my bones are dismayed.
3 And my (AJ)soul is greatly dismayed;
But You, O Lord—(AK)how long?
4 Return, O Lord, (AL)rescue my [n]soul;
Save me because of Your lovingkindness.
5 For (AM)there is no [o]mention of You in death;
In [p]Sheol who will give You thanks?
A Prayer for the Overthrow of the Wicked.
10 Why (A)do You stand afar off, O Lord?
Why (B)do You hide [a]Yourself in times of trouble?
2 In (C)pride the wicked [b]hotly pursue the afflicted;
[c]Let them be (D)caught in the plots which they have devised.
3 For the wicked (E)boasts of his (F)heart’s desire,
And [d]the greedy man curses and (G)spurns the Lord.
4 The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, (H)does not seek Him.
All his [e]thoughts are, “(I)There is no God.”
5 His ways [f](J)prosper at all times;
Your judgments are on high, (K)out of his sight;
As for all his adversaries, he snorts at them.
6 He says to himself, “(L)I will not be moved;
[g]Throughout all generations (M)I will not be in adversity.”
7 His (N)mouth is full of curses and deceit and (O)oppression;
(P)Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness.
8 He sits in the (Q)lurking places of the villages;
In the hiding places he (R)kills the innocent;
His eyes [h]stealthily watch for the [i](S)unfortunate.
9 He lurks in a hiding place as (T)a lion in his [j]lair;
He (U)lurks to catch (V)the afflicted;
He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his (W)net.
10 He [k]crouches, he [l]bows down,
And the [m]unfortunate fall [n]by his mighty ones.
11 He (X)says to himself, “God has forgotten;
He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”
12 Arise, O Lord; O God, (Y)lift up Your hand.
(Z)Do not forget the afflicted.
13 Why has the wicked (AA)spurned God?
He has said to himself, “You will not require it.”
14 You have seen it, for You have beheld (AB)mischief and vexation to [o]take it into Your hand.
The [p](AC)unfortunate commits himself to You;
You have been the (AD)helper of the orphan.
15 (AE)Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,
[q](AF)Seek out his wickedness until You find none.
16 The Lord is (AG)King forever and ever;
(AH)Nations have perished from His land.
17 O Lord, You have heard the (AI)desire of the [r]humble;
You will (AJ)strengthen their heart, (AK)You will incline Your ear
18 To [s]vindicate the (AL)orphan and the (AM)oppressed,
So that man who is of the earth will no longer cause (AN)terror.
The Lord a Refuge and Defense.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
11 In the Lord I (AO)take refuge;
How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your (AP)mountain;
2 For, behold, the wicked (AQ)bend the bow,
They [t](AR)make ready their arrow upon the string
To (AS)shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
3 If the (AT)foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?”
4 The Lord is in His (AU)holy temple; the [u]Lord’s (AV)throne is in heaven;
His (AW)eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
5 The Lord (AX)tests the righteous and (AY)the wicked,
And the one who loves violence His soul hates.
6 Upon the wicked He will (AZ)rain [v]snares;
(BA)Fire and brimstone and (BB)burning wind will be the portion of (BC)their cup.
7 For the Lord is (BD)righteous, (BE)He loves [w]righteousness;
The upright will (BF)behold His face.
24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “(A)I have sinned; (B)I have indeed transgressed the [a]command of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice. 25 Now therefore, (C)please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.” 26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for (D)you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 As Samuel turned to go, (E)Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. 28 So Samuel said to him, “(F)The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. 29 Also the [b](G)Glory of Israel (H)will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.” 30 Then he said, “I have sinned; (I)but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and go back with me, (J)that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel went back following Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag, the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him [c]cheerfully. And Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 33 But Samuel said, “(K)As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hewed Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to (L)Ramah, but Saul went up to his house at (M)Gibeah of Saul. 35 (N)Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death; for Samuel (O)grieved over Saul. And the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.
Peter’s Ministry
32 Now as Peter was traveling through all those regions, he came down also to (A)the [a]saints who lived at [b](B)Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years, for he was paralyzed. 34 Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed.” Immediately he got up. 35 And all who lived at [c](C)Lydda and (D)Sharon saw him, and they (E)turned to the Lord.
36 Now in (F)Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated in Greek is called [d]Dorcas); this woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did. 37 And it happened [e]at that time that she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her body, they laid it in an (G)upper room. 38 Since Lydda was near (H)Joppa, (I)the disciples, having heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him, imploring him, “Do not delay in coming to us.” 39 So Peter arose and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the (J)upper room; and all the (K)widows stood beside him, weeping and showing all the [f]tunics and garments that Dorcas used to make while she was with them. 40 But Peter (L)sent them all out and (M)knelt down and prayed, and turning to the body, he said, “(N)Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up; and calling (O)the [g]saints and (P)widows, he presented her alive. 42 It became known all over (Q)Joppa, and (R)many believed in the Lord. 43 And Peter stayed many days in (S)Joppa with (T)a tanner named Simon.
56 Then they returned and (A)prepared spices and perfumes.
And (B)on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
The Resurrection
24 (C)But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of (D)the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, (E)two men suddenly (F)stood near them in dazzling clothing; 5 and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? 6 He is not here, but He (G)has [a]risen. Remember how He spoke to you (H)while He was still in Galilee, 7 saying that (I)the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” 8 And (J)they remembered His words, 9 and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now they were (K)Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to (L)the apostles. 11 But these words appeared [b]to them as nonsense, and they (M)would not believe them.
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