Book of Common Prayer
Supplication for Deliverance and Grateful Trust in God.
For the choir director; according to [a]Jonath elem rehokim. A [b]Mikhtam of David, [c]when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
56 Be gracious to me, O God, for man has [d](A)trampled upon me;
[e]Fighting all day long he (B)oppresses me.
2 My foes have [f](C)trampled upon me all day long,
For [g]they are many who (D)fight proudly against me.
3 [h]When I am (E)afraid,
[i]I will (F)put my trust in You.
4 (G)In God, whose word I praise,
In God I have put my trust;
I shall not be afraid.
(H)What can mere [j]man do to me?
5 All day long they [k](I)distort my words;
All their [l](J)thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They [m](K)attack, they lurk,
They (L)watch my [n]steps,
As they have (M)waited to take my [o]life.
7 Because of wickedness, [p](N)cast them forth,
In anger (O)put down the peoples, O God!
8 You (P)have taken account of my wanderings;
Put my (Q)tears in Your bottle.
Are they not in (R)Your book?
9 Then my enemies will (S)turn back (T)in the day when I call;
This I know, [q]that (U)God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
In the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 In God I have put my [r]trust, I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 Your (V)vows are binding upon me, O God;
I will render thank offerings to You.
13 For You have (W)delivered my soul from death,
[s]Indeed (X)my feet from stumbling,
So that I may (Y)walk before God
In the (Z)light of the [t]living.
Prayer for Rescue from Persecutors.
For the choir director; set to [u]Al-tashheth. A [v]Mikhtam of David, [w]when he fled from Saul in the cave.
57 Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me,
For my soul (AA)takes refuge in You;
And in the (AB)shadow of Your wings I will take refuge
Until destruction (AC)passes by.
2 I will cry to God Most High,
To God who (AD)accomplishes all things for me.
3 He will (AE)send from heaven and save me;
He reproaches him who [x](AF)tramples upon me. [y]Selah.
God will send forth His (AG)lovingkindness and His [z]truth.
4 My soul is among (AH)lions;
I must lie among those who breathe forth fire,
Even the sons of men, whose (AI)teeth are spears and arrows
And their (AJ)tongue a sharp sword.
5 (AK)Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.
6 They have [aa]prepared a (AL)net for my steps;
My soul is (AM)bowed down;
They (AN)dug a pit before me;
They themselves have (AO)fallen into the midst of it. Selah.
7 (AP)My (AQ)heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!
8 Awake, (AR)my glory!
Awake, (AS)harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
9 (AT)I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to You among the [ab]nations.
10 For Your (AU)lovingkindness is great to the heavens
And Your [ac]truth to the clouds.
11 (AV)Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.
Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked.
For the choir director; set to [ad]Al-tashheth. A [ae]Mikhtam of David.
58 Do you indeed [af]speak righteousness, O [ag]gods?
Do you (AW)judge [ah]uprightly, O sons of men?
2 No, in heart you (AX)work unrighteousness;
On earth you (AY)weigh out the violence of your hands.
3 The wicked are estranged (AZ)from the womb;
These who speak lies (BA)go astray from [ai]birth.
4 They have venom like the (BB)venom of a serpent;
Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,
5 So that it (BC)does not hear the voice of [aj](BD)charmers,
Or a skillful caster of spells.
6 O God, (BE)shatter their teeth in their mouth;
Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord.
7 Let them (BF)flow away like water that runs off;
When he [ak](BG)aims his arrows, let them be as [al]headless shafts.
8 Let them be as a snail which [am]melts away as it goes along,
Like the (BH)miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun.
9 Before your (BI)pots can feel the fire of thorns
He will (BJ)sweep them away with a whirlwind, the [an]green and the burning alike.
Prayer for Deliverance from Secret Enemies.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
64 Hear my voice, O God, in (A)my [a]complaint;
(B)Preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the (C)secret counsel of evildoers,
From the tumult of (D)those who do iniquity,
3 Who (E)have sharpened their tongue like a sword.
They (F)aimed bitter speech as their arrow,
4 To (G)shoot [b]from concealment at the blameless;
Suddenly they shoot at him, and (H)do not fear.
5 They [c]hold fast to themselves an evil purpose;
They [d]talk of (I)laying snares secretly;
They say, “(J)Who can see them?”
6 They [e]devise injustices, saying,
“We are [f]ready with a well-conceived plot”;
For the [g](K)inward thought and the heart of a man are [h]deep.
7 But (L)God [i]will shoot at them with an arrow;
Suddenly [j]they will be wounded.
8 So [k]they [l]will (M)make him stumble;
(N)Their own tongue is against them;
All who see them will (O)shake the head.
9 Then all men [m]will (P)fear,
And they [n]will (Q)declare the work of God,
And [o]will consider [p]what He has done.
10 The righteous man will be (R)glad in the Lord and will (S)take refuge in Him;
And all the upright in heart will glory.
God’s Abundant Favor to Earth and Man.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song.
65 There will be silence [q]before You, and praise in Zion, O God,
And to You the (T)vow will be performed.
2 O You who hear prayer,
To You (U)all [r]men come.
3 [s](V)Iniquities prevail against me;
As for our transgressions, You [t](W)forgive them.
4 How (X)blessed is the one whom You (Y)choose and bring near to You
To dwell in Your courts.
We will be (Z)satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Your holy temple.
5 By (AA)awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, O (AB)God of our salvation,
You who are the trust of all the (AC)ends of the earth and of the farthest [u](AD)sea;
6 Who (AE)establishes the mountains by His strength,
Being (AF)girded with might;
7 Who (AG)stills the roaring of the seas,
The roaring of their waves,
And the (AH)tumult of the peoples.
8 They who dwell in the (AI)ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs;
You make the [v]dawn and the sunset shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and (AJ)cause it to overflow;
You greatly (AK)enrich it;
The [w](AL)stream of God is full of water;
You prepare their (AM)grain, for thus You prepare [x]the earth.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
You [y]settle its ridges,
You soften it (AN)with showers,
You bless its growth.
11 You have crowned the year [z]with Your [aa](AO)bounty,
And Your [ab]paths (AP)drip with fatness.
12 (AQ)The pastures of the wilderness drip,
And the (AR)hills gird themselves with rejoicing.
13 The meadows are (AS)clothed with flocks
And the valleys are (AT)covered with grain;
They (AU)shout for joy, yes, they sing.
16 The people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; 17 for the Lord our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of [a]bondage, and who did these great signs in our sight and preserved us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. 18 The Lord drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God.”
19 Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the Lord, (A)for He is a holy God. He is (B)a jealous God; (C)He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. 20 (D)If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.” 21 The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” 22 Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that (E)you have chosen for yourselves the Lord, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 “Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and (F)incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” 24 (G)The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and we will [b]obey His voice.” 25 (H)So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26 And Joshua (I)wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. 27 Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, (J)this stone shall be for a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke [c]to us; thus it shall be for a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God.” 28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance.
Joshua’s Death and Burial
29 It came about after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old. 30 And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in (K)Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of Mount Gaash.
31 (L)Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who [d]survived Joshua, and had known all the deeds of the Lord which He had done for Israel.
32 Now (M)they buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem, in the piece of ground (N)which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred [e]pieces of money; and they became the inheritance of Joseph’s sons. 33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him [f]at Gibeah of (O)Phinehas his son, which was given him in the hill country of Ephraim.
Greetings and Love Expressed
16 I (A)commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a [a]servant of the church which is at (B)Cenchrea; 2 that you (C)receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the [b](D)saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, [c]and of myself as well.
3 Greet (E)Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers (F)in (G)Christ Jesus, 4 who for my life risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles; 5 also greet (H)the church that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the (I)first convert to Christ from [d](J)Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and [e]Junias, my (K)kinsmen and my (L)fellow prisoners, who are outstanding among the apostles, who also [f]were (M)in Christ before me. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker (N)in Christ, and Stachys my beloved. 10 Greet Apelles, the approved (O)in Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus. 11 Greet Herodion, my (P)kinsman. Greet those of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord. 12 Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, workers in the Lord. Greet Persis the beloved, who has worked hard in the Lord. 13 Greet (Q)Rufus, a choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brethren with them. 15 Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all (R)the [g]saints who are with them. 16 (S)Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.
24 When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that (A)a riot was starting, he took water and (B)washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of (C)this Man’s blood; (D)see to that yourselves.” 25 And all the people said, “(E)His blood shall be on us and on our children!” 26 Then he released Barabbas [a]for them; but after having Jesus (F)scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.
Jesus Is Mocked
27 (G)Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into (H)the [b]Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman [c](I)cohort around Him. 28 They stripped Him and (J)put a scarlet robe on Him. 29 (K)And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a [d]reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “(L)Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 (M)They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. 31 (N)After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.
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