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.
Job: What Can I Say?
40 Then the Lord said to Job,
3 Then Job answered the Lord and said,
4 “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You?
I (C)lay my hand on my mouth.
5 “Once I have spoken, and (D)I will not answer;
Even twice, and I will add nothing more.”
God Questions Job
6 Then the (E)Lord answered Job out of the storm and said,
7 “Now (F)gird up your loins like a man;
I will (G)ask you, and you instruct Me.
8 “Will you really (H)annul My judgment?
Will you (I)condemn Me (J)that you may be justified?
9 “Or do you have an arm like God,
And can you (K)thunder with a voice like His?
10 “(L)Adorn yourself with eminence and dignity,
And clothe yourself with honor and majesty.
11 “Pour out (M)the overflowings of your anger,
And look on everyone who is (N)proud, and make him low.
12 “Look on everyone who is proud, and (O)humble him,
And (P)tread down the wicked [a]where they stand.
13 “(Q)Hide them in the dust together;
Bind [b]them in the hidden place.
14 “Then I will also [c]confess to you,
That your own right hand can save you.
God’s Power Shown in Creatures
15 “Behold now, [d]Behemoth, which (R)I made [e]as well as you;
He eats grass like an ox.
16 “Behold now, his strength in his loins
And his power in the muscles of his belly.
17 “He bends his tail like a cedar;
The sinews of his thighs are knit together.
18 “His bones are tubes of bronze;
His [f]limbs are like bars of iron.
19 “He is the (S)first of the ways of God;
Let his (T)maker bring near his sword.
20 “Surely the mountains (U)bring him food,
And all the beasts of the field (V)play there.
21 “Under the lotus plants he lies down,
In the covert of the reeds and the marsh.
22 “The lotus plants cover him with [g]shade;
The willows of the brook surround him.
23 “If a river [h]rages, he is not alarmed;
He is confident, though the (W)Jordan rushes to his mouth.
24 “Can anyone capture him [i]when he is on watch,
With [j]barbs can anyone pierce his nose?
Second Missionary Journey
36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brethren in (A)every city in which we proclaimed (B)the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take (C)John, called Mark, along with them also. 38 But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had (D)deserted them [a]in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 And there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took (E)Mark with him and sailed away to (F)Cyprus. 40 But Paul chose (G)Silas and left, being (H)committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord. 41 And he was traveling through (I)Syria and (J)Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
The Macedonian Vision
16 Paul came also to (K)Derbe and to (L)Lystra. And a disciple was there, named (M)Timothy, the son of a (N)Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, 2 and he was well spoken of by (O)the brethren who were in (P)Lystra and (Q)Iconium. 3 Paul wanted this man to [b]go with him; and he (R)took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering (S)the decrees which had been decided upon by (T)the apostles and (U)elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe. 5 So (V)the churches were being strengthened [c]in the faith, and were (W)increasing in number daily.
55 Now (A)the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover (B)to purify themselves. 56 So they (C)were seeking for Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?” 57 Now (D)the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him.
Mary Anoints Jesus
12 (E)Jesus, therefore, six days before (F)the Passover, came to (G)Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they made Him a supper there, and (H)Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. 3 (I)Mary then took a [a]pound of very costly (J)perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But (K)Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to [b]betray Him, *said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for [c]three hundred denarii and given to poor people?” 6 Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he (L)had the money box, he used to pilfer (M)what was put into it. 7 Therefore Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep [d]it for (N)the day of My burial. 8 (O)For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”
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