Book of Common Prayer
Michtam of David.
1 ¶ Preserve me, O God: for in thee I have put my trust.
2 I said unto the LORD, Thou art my goodness: I have no goodness apart from thee;
3 to the saints that are in the earth and to the excellent: all my delight is towards them.
4 The sorrows of those that hasten after another god shall be multiplied; their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.
5 The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup; thou dost maintain my lot.
6 The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a beautiful inheritance.
7 I will bless the LORD, who gives me counsel: my kidneys also instruct me in the night seasons.
8 ¶ I have set the LORD always before me: because when he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices: my flesh also shall rest secure.
10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in Sheol; neither wilt thou suffer thy Merciful One to see corruption.
11 Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; in thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
A Prayer of David.
1 ¶ Hear righteousness, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that does not go out of feigned lips.
2 Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold uprightness.
3 Thou hast proved my heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast refined me and hast found no iniquity; that which I thought did not pass through my mouth.
4 Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have observed the ways of the violent.
5 Sustain my steps in thy ways that my footsteps not slip.
6 I have called upon thee, because thou dost hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me and hear my speech.
7 Show thy mercy to be marvellous, O Saviour of those who put their trust in thee, from those that rise up against thy right hand.
8 ¶ Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me with the shadow of thy wings,
9 from the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.
10 They are closed in with their own fat; with their mouth they speak proudly.
11 They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes upon throwing us down to the earth
12 like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
13 Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, with thy sword;
14 from men, with thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, who have their portion in this life and whose belly thou dost fill with thy provision: they satisfy their sons and leave the rest to their family.
15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness.
To the Overcomer upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David.
1 ¶ My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me and from the words of my cry?
2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.
3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest in the midst of the praises of Israel.
4 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
5 They cried unto thee and were delivered: they trusted in thee and were not confounded.
6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men and despised of the people.
7 All those that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8 Turn him over to the LORD, let him deliver him, let him save him, seeing he delighted in him.
9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb; thou hast made me wait upon thee since I was upon my mother’s breasts.
10 I was cast upon thee from the womb; thou art my God from my mother’s belly.
11 ¶ Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round about.
13 They opened their mouth upon me as a ravening and a roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaves to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I may count all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
18 They part my garments among them and cast lots upon my vesture.
19 But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.
20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my life from the power of the dog.
21 Save me from the lion’s mouth and from the horns of the unicorns.
22 ¶ I will declare thy name unto my brethren; in the midst of the congregation I will praise thee.
23 Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
24 For he has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the poor in spirit; neither has he hid his face from him, but when he cried unto him, he heard.
25 My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation; I will pay my vows before those that fear him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied: those that seek him shall praise the LORD; your heart shall live for ever.
27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn unto the LORD; and all the families of the Gentiles shall worship before thee.
28 For the kingdom is the LORD’s, and he shall have dominion over the Gentiles.
29 All those that are fat upon earth shall eat and worship; all those that go down to the dust shall bow before him; and no one can keep his own soul alive.
30 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
31 They shall come and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he has done this.
28 ¶ And when they were escaped, then we knew that the island was called Melita. {or Malta}
2 And the barbarous people showed us no little kindness; for they kindled a great fire and received all of us because of the present rain and because of the cold.
3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out of the heat and fastened on his hand.
4 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet vengeance does not suffer him to live.
5 And he shook off the beast into the fire and felt no harm.
6 But they were waiting to see when he should have swollen or fallen down dead suddenly; but after they had waited a great while and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.
7 In the same quarters were possessions of a principal man of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and lodged us three days courteously.
8 And it came to pass that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of dysentery, to whom Paul entered in and prayed and laid his hands on him and healed him.
9 So when this was done, others also, who had diseases in the island, came and were healed,
10 who also honoured us with many gifts; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary.
11 ¶ And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose ensign was Castor and Pollux.
12 And landing at Syracuse, we tarried there three days.
13 And having gone around, we came to Rhegium, and after one day the south wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli,
14 where we found brethren, who asked us to tarry with them seven days, and so we went toward Rome.
15 And from there, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and The Three Taverns whom when Paul saw, he thanked God and took courage.
16 And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the praetorian prefect, but Paul was allowed to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him.
28 ¶ And it came to pass about eight days after these words, he took Peter and John and James and went up into the mountain to pray.
29 And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.
30 And, behold, two men talked with him, who were Moses and Elijah,
31 who appeared in majesty and spoke of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
32 But Peter and those that were with him were heavy with sleep, and when they awoke, they saw his glory and the two men that stood with him.
33 And it came to pass as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to remain here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for thee and one for Moses and one for Elijah, not knowing what he said.
34 While he was speaking this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they feared as they entered into the cloud.
35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son; hear him.
36 And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days any of those things which they had seen.
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