Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for the Destruction of the Treacherous.
For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A [a]Maskil of David.
55 (A)Give ear to my prayer, O God;
And (B)do not hide Yourself from my supplication.
2 Give (C)heed to me and answer me;
I am restless in my (D)complaint and [b](E)am surely distracted,
3 Because of the voice of the enemy,
Because of the (F)pressure of the wicked;
For they (G)bring down [c]trouble upon me
And in anger they (H)bear a grudge against me.
4 My (I)heart is in anguish within me,
And the terrors of (J)death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and (K)trembling come upon me,
And [d](L)horror has overwhelmed me.
6 I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and [e](M)be at rest.
7 “Behold, I would wander far away,
I would (N)lodge in the wilderness. [f]Selah.
8 “I would hasten to my place of refuge
From the (O)stormy wind and tempest.”
9 [g]Confuse, O Lord, (P)divide their tongues,
For I have seen (Q)violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around her upon her walls,
And iniquity and mischief are in her midst.
11 (R)Destruction is in her midst;
(S)Oppression and deceit do not depart from her [h]streets.
12 For it is (T)not an enemy who reproaches me,
Then I could bear it;
Nor is it one who hates me who (U)has exalted himself against me,
Then I could hide myself from him.
13 But it is you, a man [i]my equal,
My (V)companion and my [j](W)familiar friend;
14 We who had sweet [k]fellowship together
(X)Walked in the house of God in the throng.
15 Let [l]death come (Y)deceitfully upon them;
Let them (Z)go down alive to [m]Sheol,
For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.
16 As for me, I shall (AA)call upon God,
And the Lord will save me.
17 (AB)Evening and (AC)morning and at (AD)noon, I will complain and murmur,
And He will hear my voice.
18 He will (AE)redeem my soul in peace [n]from the battle which is against me,
For they are (AF)many who strive with me.
19 God will (AG)hear and [o]answer them—
Even the one (AH)who [p]sits enthroned from of old— Selah.
With whom there [q]is no change,
And who (AI)do not fear God.
20 He has put forth his hands against (AJ)those who were at peace with him;
He has [r](AK)violated his covenant.
21 His [s]speech was (AL)smoother than butter,
But his heart was war;
His words were (AM)softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn (AN)swords.
Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Favor.
A Psalm of David.
138 (A)I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing praises to You before the (B)gods.
2 I will bow down (C)toward Your holy temple
And (D)give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your [a]truth;
For You have (E)magnified Your [b]word [c]according to all Your name.
3 On the day I (F)called, You answered me;
You made me bold with (G)strength in my soul.
4 (H)All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O Lord,
When they have heard the words of Your mouth.
5 And they will (I)sing of the ways of the Lord,
For (J)great is the glory of the Lord.
6 For (K)though the Lord is exalted,
Yet He (L)regards the lowly,
But the (M)haughty He knows from afar.
7 Though I (N)walk in the midst of trouble, You will [d](O)revive me;
You will (P)stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will (Q)save me.
8 The Lord will (R)accomplish what concerns me;
Your (S)lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting;
(T)Do not forsake the (U)works of Your hands.
God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
139 O Lord, You have (V)searched me and known me.
2 You (W)know [e]when I sit down and [f]when I rise up;
You (X)understand my thought from afar.
3 You [g](Y)scrutinize my [h]path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4 [i]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, You (Z)know it all.
5 You have (AA)enclosed me behind and before,
And (AB)laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such (AC)knowledge is (AD)too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
7 (AE)Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 (AF)If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in [j]Sheol, behold, (AG)You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will (AH)lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the (AI)darkness will [k]overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even the (AJ)darkness is not dark [l]to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
(AK)Darkness and light are alike to You.
13 For You (AL)formed my [m]inward parts;
You (AM)wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, for [n]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
(AN)Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My [o](AO)frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the (AP)depths of the earth;
16 Your (AQ)eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in (AR)Your book were all written
The (AS)days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
17 How precious also are Your (AT)thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would (AU)outnumber the sand.
When (AV)I awake, I am still with You.
19 O that You would (AW)slay the wicked, O God;
(AX)Depart from me, therefore, (AY)men of bloodshed.
20 For they (AZ)speak [p]against You wickedly,
And Your enemies [q](BA)take Your name in vain.
21 Do I not (BB)hate those who hate You, O Lord?
And do I not (BC)loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.
David Learns of Saul’s Death
1 Now it came about after (A)the death of Saul, when David had returned from (B)the slaughter of the Amalekites, that David remained two days in Ziklag. 2 On the third day, behold, (C)a man came out of the camp from Saul, (D)with his clothes torn and [a]dust on his head. And it came about when he came to David that (E)he fell to the ground and prostrated himself. 3 Then David said to him, “From where do you come?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” 4 David said to him, “(F)How did things go? Please tell me.” And he said, “The people have fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.” 5 So David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” 6 The young man who told him said, “By chance I happened to be on (G)Mount Gilboa, and behold, (H)Saul was leaning on his spear. And behold, the chariots and the horsemen pursued him closely. 7 When he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I said, ‘Here I am.’ 8 He said to me, ‘Who are you?’ And I [b]answered him, ‘(I)I am an Amalekite.’ 9 Then he said to me, ‘Please stand beside me and kill me, for agony has seized me because my [c]life still lingers in me.’ 10 So I stood beside him (J)and killed him, because I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. And (K)I took the crown which was on his head and the bracelet which was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”
11 Then (L)David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so also did all the men who were with him. 12 They mourned and wept and (M)fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan and for the people of the Lord and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. 13 David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?” And he [d]answered, “(N)I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite.” 14 Then David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid (O)to stretch out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” 15 And David called one of the young men and said, “Go, [e]cut him down.” (P)So he struck him and he died. 16 David said to him, “(Q)Your blood is on your head, for (R)your mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’”
22 Then it seemed good to (A)the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to (B)Antioch with Paul and Barnabas—Judas called Barsabbas, and (C)Silas, leading men among (D)the brethren, 23 and they [a]sent this letter by them,
“(E)The apostles and the brethren who are elders, to (F)the brethren in (G)Antioch and (H)Syria and (I)Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, (J)greetings.
24 “Since we have heard that (K)some [b]of our number to whom we gave no instruction have (L)disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls, 25 (M)it seemed good to us, having [c]become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have [d](N)risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 “Therefore we have sent (O)Judas and (P)Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth. 28 “For (Q)it seemed good to (R)the Holy Spirit and to (S)us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: 29 that you abstain from (T)things sacrificed to idols and from (U)blood and from (V)things strangled and from (W)fornication; [e]if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.”
30 So when they were sent away, (X)they went down to Antioch; and having gathered the [f]congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its [g]encouragement. 32 (Y)Judas and (Z)Silas, also being (AA)prophets themselves, [h]encouraged and strengthened (AB)the brethren with a lengthy message. 33 After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brethren (AC)in peace to those who had (AD)sent them out. 34 [[i]But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.] 35 But (AE)Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and (AF)preaching with many others also, (AG)the word of the Lord.
Teaching at Nazareth
6 (A)Jesus went out from there and *came into [a](B)His hometown; and His disciples *followed Him. 2 When the Sabbath came, He began (C)to teach in the synagogue; and the (D)many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such [b]miracles as these performed by His hands? 3 Is not this (E)the carpenter, (F)the son of Mary, and brother of [c]James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not (G)His sisters here with us?” And they took (H)offense at Him. 4 Jesus said to them, “(I)A prophet is not without honor except in [d](J)his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.” 5 And He could do no [e]miracle there except that He (K)laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He wondered at their unbelief.
(L)And He was going around the villages teaching.
The Twelve Sent Out
7 (M)And (N)He *summoned the twelve and began to send them out (O)in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits; 8 (P)and He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff—no bread, no [f]bag, no money in their belt— 9 but [g]to wear sandals; and He added, “Do not put on two [h]tunics.” 10 And He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you [i]leave town. 11 Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, (Q)shake the dust [j]off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.” 12 (R)They went out and [k]preached that men should repent. 13 And they were casting out many demons and (S)were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.
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