Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 5[a]
Prayer for Divine Help
1 For the leader; with wind instruments. A psalm of David.
I
2 Give ear to my words, O Lord;
understand my sighing.(A)
3 Attend to the sound of my cry,
my king and my God!
For to you I will pray, Lord;
4 in the morning you will hear my voice;
in the morning I will plead before you and wait.(B)
II
5 You are not a god who delights in evil;
no wicked person finds refuge with you;
6 the arrogant cannot stand before your eyes.
You hate all who do evil;
7 you destroy those who speak falsely.(C)
A bloody and fraudulent man
the Lord abhors.
III
8 But I, through the abundance of your mercy,[b]
will enter into your house.
I will bow down toward your holy sanctuary
out of fear of you.(D)
9 Lord, guide me in your justice because of my foes;
make straight your way before me.(E)
IV
10 For there is no sincerity in their mouth;
their heart is corrupt.
Their throat[c] is an open grave;(F)
on their tongue are subtle lies.
11 Declare them guilty, God;
make them fall by their own devices.(G)
Drive them out for their many sins;
for they have rebelled against you.
V
12 Then all who trust in you will be glad
and forever shout for joy.(H)
You will protect them and those will rejoice in you
who love your name.
13 For you, Lord, bless the just one;
you surround him with favor like a shield.
Psalm 6[d]
Prayer in Distress
1 For the leader; with stringed instruments, “upon the eighth.”[e]
A psalm of David.
I
2 Do not reprove me in your anger, Lord,
nor punish me in your wrath.(I)
3 Have pity on me, Lord, for I am weak;
heal me, Lord, for my bones are shuddering.(J)
4 My soul too is shuddering greatly—
and you, Lord, how long…?[f](K)
5 Turn back, Lord, rescue my soul;
save me because of your mercy.
6 For in death there is no remembrance of you.
Who praises you in Sheol?[g](L)
II
7 I am wearied with sighing;
all night long I drench my bed with tears;
I soak my couch with weeping.
8 My eyes are dimmed with sorrow,
worn out because of all my foes.(M)
III
Psalm 10
I
1 Why, Lord, do you stand afar
and pay no heed in times of trouble?
2 Arrogant scoundrels pursue the poor;
they trap them by their cunning schemes.(A)
II
3 The wicked even boast of their greed;
these robbers curse and scorn the Lord.(B)
4 In their insolence the wicked boast:
“God does not care; there is no God.”(C)
5 Yet their affairs always succeed;
they ignore your judgment on high;
they sneer at all who oppose them.
6 They say in their hearts, “We will never fall;
never will we see misfortune.”
7 Their mouths are full of oaths, violence, and lies;
discord and evil are under their tongues.(D)
8 They wait in ambush near towns;
their eyes watch for the helpless
to murder the innocent in secret.(E)
9 They lurk in ambush like lions in a thicket,
hide there to trap the poor,
snare them and close the net.(F)
10 The helpless are crushed, laid low;
they fall into the power of the wicked,
11 Who say in their hearts, “God has forgotten,
shows no concern, never bothers to look.”(G)
III
12 Rise up, Lord! God, lift up your hand!
Do not forget the poor!
13 Why should the wicked scorn God,
say in their hearts, “God does not care”?
14 But you do see;
you take note of misery and sorrow;(H)
you take the matter in hand.
To you the helpless can entrust their cause;
you are the defender of orphans.(I)
15 Break the arm of the wicked and depraved;
make them account for their crimes;
let none of them survive.
IV
16 The Lord is king forever;(J)
the nations have vanished from his land.
17 You listen, Lord, to the needs of the poor;
you strengthen their heart and incline your ear.
18 You win justice for the orphaned and oppressed;(K)
no one on earth will cause terror again.
Psalm 11[a]
Confidence in the Presence of God
1 For the leader. Of David.
I
In the Lord I take refuge;
how can you say to me,
“Flee like a bird to the mountains!(L)
2 See how the wicked string their bows,
fit their arrows to the string
to shoot from the shadows at the upright of heart.(M)
3 [b]If foundations are destroyed,
what can the just one do?”
II
4 The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord’s throne is in heaven.(N)
God’s eyes keep careful watch;
they test the children of Adam.
5 The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked,
hates those who love violence,
6 And rains upon the wicked
fiery coals and brimstone,
a scorching wind their allotted cup.[c](O)
7 The Lord is just and loves just deeds;
the upright will see his face.
Chapter 6
Job’s First Reply. 1 Then Job answered and said:
2 Ah, could my anguish but be measured
and my calamity laid with it in the scales,
3 They would now outweigh the sands of the sea!
Because of this I speak without restraint.
4 For the arrows of the Almighty are in me,(A)
and my spirit drinks in their poison;
the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
8 Oh, that I might have my request,
and that God would grant what I long for:
9 Even that God would decide to crush me,
that he would put forth his hand and cut me off!
10 Then I should still have consolation
and could exult through unremitting pain,
because I have not transgressed the commands of the Holy One.
11 What strength have I that I should endure,
and what is my limit that I should be patient?
12 Have I the strength of stones,
or is my flesh of bronze?
13 Have I no helper,(A)
and has my good sense deserted me?
14 A friend owes kindness to one in despair,
though he has forsaken the fear of the Almighty.
15 My companions are undependable as a wadi,
as watercourses that run dry in the wadies;
21 It is thus that you have now become for me;[a]
you see a terrifying thing and are afraid.
Peter Heals Aeneas at Lydda. 32 As Peter was passing through every region, he went down to the holy ones living in Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been confined to bed for eight years, for he was paralyzed. 34 Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed.” He got up at once. 35 And all the inhabitants of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
Peter Restores Tabitha to Life. 36 Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated means Dorcas).[a] She was completely occupied with good deeds and almsgiving. 37 Now during those days she fell sick and died, so after washing her, they laid [her] out in a room upstairs. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs where all the widows came to him weeping and showing him the tunics and cloaks that Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40 Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to her body and said, “Tabitha, rise up.” She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up.(A) 41 He gave her his hand and raised her up, and when he had called the holy ones and the widows, he presented her alive. 42 This became known all over Joppa, and many came to believe in the Lord. 43 [b](B)And he stayed a long time in Joppa with Simon, a tanner.
60 Then many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” 61 Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock you? 62 What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?[a] 63 It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh[b] is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him.(A) 65 And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.”
66 As a result of this, many [of] his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. 67 Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”(B) 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you twelve? Yet is not one of you a devil?” 71 He was referring to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot; it was he who would betray him, one of the Twelve.(C)
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