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.
Job’s Friends Are No Help
6 Then Job [a]answered,
2 “(A)Oh that my grief were actually weighed
And laid in the balances together with my calamity!
3 “For then it would be (B)heavier than the sand of the seas;
Therefore my words have been rash.
4 “For the (C)arrows of the Almighty are within me,
[b]Their (D)poison my spirit drinks;
The (E)terrors of God are arrayed against me.
8 “Oh that my request might come to pass,
And that God would grant my longing!
9 “Would that God were (A)willing to crush me,
That He would loose His hand and cut me off!
10 “But it is still my consolation,
And I rejoice in unsparing pain,
That I (B)have not [a]denied the words of the Holy One.
11 “What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is my end, that I should [b](C)endure?
12 “Is my strength the strength of stones,
Or is my flesh bronze?
13 “Is it that my (D)help is not within me,
And that [c](E)deliverance is driven from me?
21 “Indeed, you have now become such,
(A)You see a terror and are afraid.
Peter’s Ministry
32 Now as Peter was traveling through all those regions, he came down also to (A)the [a]saints who lived at [b](B)Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years, for he was paralyzed. 34 Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed.” Immediately he got up. 35 And all who lived at [c](C)Lydda and (D)Sharon saw him, and they (E)turned to the Lord.
36 Now in (F)Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated in Greek is called [d]Dorcas); this woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did. 37 And it happened [e]at that time that she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her body, they laid it in an (G)upper room. 38 Since Lydda was near (H)Joppa, (I)the disciples, having heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him, imploring him, “Do not delay in coming to us.” 39 So Peter arose and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the (J)upper room; and all the (K)widows stood beside him, weeping and showing all the [f]tunics and garments that Dorcas used to make while she was with them. 40 But Peter (L)sent them all out and (M)knelt down and prayed, and turning to the body, he said, “(N)Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up; and calling (O)the [g]saints and (P)widows, he presented her alive. 42 It became known all over (Q)Joppa, and (R)many believed in the Lord. 43 And Peter stayed many days in (S)Joppa with (T)a tanner named Simon.
60 Therefore many of His (A)disciples, when they heard this said, “(B)This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, (C)conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this (D)cause you to stumble? 62 What then if you see (E)the Son of Man (F)ascending to where He was before? 63 (G)It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; (H)the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64 But there are (I)some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus (J)knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and (K)who it was that would [a]betray Him. 65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have (L)said to you, that no one can come to Me unless (M)it has been granted him from the Father.”
Peter’s Confession of Faith
66 As a result of this many of His (N)disciples (O)withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. 67 So Jesus said to (P)the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” 68 (Q)Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have (R)words of eternal life. 69 We have believed and have come to know that You are (S)the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “(T)Did I Myself not choose you, (U)the twelve, and yet one of you is (V)a devil?” 71 Now He meant Judas (W)the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, (X)one of (Y)the twelve, [b]was going to betray Him.
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