Book of Common Prayer
56 Be merciful unto me, O God, for man would swallow me up; he, fighting daily, oppresseth me.
2 Mine enemies would daily swallow me up, for they are many that fight against me, O Thou Most High.
3 In the time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee.
4 In God I will praise His word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
5 Every day they wrest my words; all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps as they lie in wait for my soul.
7 Shall they escape by iniquity? In Thine anger cast down the people, O God.
8 Thou countest my wanderings; put Thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?
9 When I cry unto Thee, then shall mine enemies turn back! This I know, for God is for me.
10 In God will I praise His word; in the Lord will I praise His word.
11 In God have I put my trust; I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.
12 Thy vows are upon me, O God; I will render praises unto Thee.
13 For Thou hast delivered my soul from death; wilt Thou not deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?
57 Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me, for my soul trusteth in Thee. Yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge until these calamities pass by.
2 I will cry unto God Most High, unto God that performeth all things for me.
3 He shall send from heaven and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up; Selah God shall send forth His mercy and His truth.
4 My soul is among lions, and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
5 Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Thy glory be above all the earth.
6 They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down. They have dug a pit before me, into the midst whereof they themselves are fallen. Selah
7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise.
8 Awake, my glory! Awake, psaltery and harp! I myself will awaken early.
9 I will praise Thee, O Lord, among the people; I will sing unto Thee among the nations.
10 For Thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and Thy truth unto the clouds.
11 Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Thy glory be above all the earth.
58 Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?
2 Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh out violence by your hands in the earth.
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent; they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear,
5 which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charm they ever so wisely.
6 Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth; break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord!
7 Let them melt away as waters which run continually; when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces.
8 As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the thorns, He shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in His wrath.
10 The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance; he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,
11 so that a man shall say, “Verily there is a reward for the righteous; verily He is a God that judgeth on the earth.”
64 Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer; preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked, from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity,
3 who whet their tongue like a sword and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words,
4 that they may shoot in secret at the perfect; suddenly do they shoot at him and fear not.
5 They encourage each other in an evil purpose; they commune in laying snares privily; they say, “Who shall see them?”
6 They search out iniquities, they conduct a diligent search; both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep.
7 But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.
8 So shall they make their own tongue to fall upon themselves; all that see them shall flee away.
9 And all men shall fear and shall declare the work of God, for they shall wisely consider His doing.
10 The righteous shall be glad in the Lord and shall trust in Him, and all the upright in heart shall glory.
65 Praise waiteth for Thee, O God, in Zion; and unto Thee shall the vow be performed.
2 O Thou that hearest prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come.
3 Iniquities prevail against me; as for our transgressions, Thou shalt purge them away.
4 Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest and causest to approach unto Thee, that he may dwell in Thy courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Thy house, even of Thy holy temple.
5 By fearsome deeds of righteousness wilt Thou answer us, O God of our salvation, who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth and of them that are afar off upon the sea,
6 who by His strength setteth fast the mountains, being girded with power,
7 who stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves and the tumult of the people.
8 They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at Thy signs; Thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.
9 Thou visitest the earth and waterest it; Thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water; Thou preparest them corn when Thou hast so provided it.
10 Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly, Thou settlest the furrows thereof; Thou makest it soft with showers, Thou blessest the sprouting thereof.
11 Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness, and Thy paths drip with fatness.
12 They drip upon the pastures of the wilderness, and the little hills rejoice on every side.
13 The pastures are clothed with flocks, the valleys also are covered over with corn. They shout for joy, they also sing.
7 A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.
2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting; for that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to his heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.
6 For as is the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.
7 Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad, and a bribe destroyeth the heart.
8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry, for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
10 Say not thou, “Why were the former days better than these?” For thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this.
11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance, and by it there is profit to them that see the sun.
12 For wisdom is a safeguard, as money is a safeguard, but the excellency of knowledge is that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.
13 Consider the work of God; for who can make straight that which He hath made crooked?
14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider this: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.
12 Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am, for I am as ye are. Ye have not injured me at all.
13 Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the Gospel unto you at the first.
14 And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected, but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.
15 Where is then the blessedness ye spoke of? For I bear you record that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes and have given them to me.
16 Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?
17 They zealously seek after you, but for no good; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might seek after them.
18 But it is good to be zealously sought after, always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.
19 My little children, over whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
20 I desire to be present with you now and to change my tone; for I stand in doubt of you.
21 Then Jesus went thence and departed into the region of Tyre and Sidon.
22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same region and cried unto Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Thou Son of David! My daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.”
23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and besought Him, saying, “Send her away, for she crieth after us.”
24 But He answered and said, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord help me.”
26 But He answered and said, “It is not meet to take children’s bread and cast it to dogs.”
27 And she said, “Truth, Lord; yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, “O woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
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