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.
All the Tribes Are Guilty
3 Hear this word which the Lord has spoken against you, sons of Israel, against the entire [a](A)family which [b]He brought up from the land of Egypt:
2 “(B)You only have I [c]chosen among all the families of the earth;
Therefore I will [d](C)punish you for all your iniquities.”
3 Do two men walk together unless they have made an [e]appointment?
4 Does a (D)lion roar in the forest when he has no prey?
Does a young lion [f]growl from his den unless he has captured something?
5 Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground when there is no [g]bait in it?
Does a trap spring up from the earth when it captures nothing at all?
6 If a (E)trumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble?
If a (F)calamity occurs in a city has not the Lord done it?
7 [h]Surely the Lord [i]God does nothing
Unless He (G)reveals His secret counsel
To His servants the prophets.
8 A (H)lion has roared! Who will not fear?
The (I)Lord [j]God has spoken! (J)Who can but prophesy?
9 Proclaim on the citadels in (K)Ashdod and on the citadels in the land of Egypt and say, “Assemble yourselves on the (L)mountains of Samaria and see the great tumults within her and the (M)oppressions in her midst. 10 But they (N)do not know how to do what is right,” declares the Lord, “these who (O)hoard up [k]violence and devastation in their citadels.”
11 Therefore, thus says the Lord God,
12 Therefore, (A)I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in (B)the truth which is present with you. 13 I consider it (C)right, as long as I am in (D)this earthly dwelling, to (E)stir you up by way of reminder, 14 knowing that (F)the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, (G)as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will also be diligent that at any time after my (H)departure you will be able to call these things to mind.
Eyewitnesses
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised (I)tales when we made known to you the (J)power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were (K)eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an [a](L)utterance as this was [b]made to Him by the (M)Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”— 18 and we ourselves heard this [c]utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the (N)holy mountain.
19 [d]So we have (O)the prophetic word made more (P)sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to (Q)a lamp shining in a dark place, until the (R)day dawns and the (S)morning star arises (T)in your hearts. 20 But (U)know this first of all, that (V)no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for (W)no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men (X)moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
Cleansing the Temple
12 (A)And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the (B)money changers and the seats of those who were selling (C)doves. 13 And He *said to them, “It is written, ‘(D)My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a (E)robbers’ [a]den.”
14 And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and (F)He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the (G)Son of David,” they became indignant 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus *said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘(H)Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself’?” 17 And He left them and went out of the city to (I)Bethany, and spent the night there.
The Barren Fig Tree
18 (J)Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry. 19 Seeing a lone (K)fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He *said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree withered.
20 Seeing this, the disciples were amazed and asked, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?” 21 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, (L)if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And (M)all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
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