Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Deliverance and Confidence in God
For the music director, according to The Silent Dove of Distant Lands.
Of David. A miktam.
When the Philistines seized him in Gath.[a]
56 Be gracious to me, O God, because humankind has trampled me;
fighting all the day he oppresses me.
2 My enemies[b] trample all day,
because many are attacking me proudly.
3 When[c] I fear, I trust you.
4 God, whose word I praise,
God I trust; I do not fear.
What can mere flesh do to me?
5 All day they twist my words;
all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They attack,[d] they hide, they watch my steps,[e]
as they lie in wait for my life.
7 Because of iniquity will they escape?
In anger cast down the peoples, O God.
8 You have kept count of my wonderings.
Put my tears in your bottle;
are they not in your book?
9 Then my enemies will turn back when[f] I call.[g]
This I know because[h] God is for me.
10 God, whose word I praise,
Yahweh, whose word I praise,
11 God I trust; I do not fear.
What can mere humankind do to me?
12 My vows to you, O God, are binding upon me.
I will pay thank offerings to you,
13 because you have delivered my soul from death.
Have you not kept my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of the living?
Prayer for Rescue from Enemies
For the music director, according to Do Not Destroy.
Of David. A miktam.
When he fled from Saul into the cave.[i]
57 Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me,
because in you my soul takes refuge.
In the shadow of your wings I will take refuge
until destruction passes by.
2 I will call to God Most High,
to God who accomplishes things concerning me.
3 He will send from heaven and save me;
he will reproach the one who tramples me. Selah
God will send his loyal love and his faithfulness.
4 My soul is among lions.
I lie down among those who devour—
the children[j] of humankind whose teeth are spears and arrows
and whose tongues are sharp swords.
5 Be exalted above the heavens, O God.
Let your glory be above all the earth.
6 They have set a net for my steps;
my soul is bowed down.
They have dug a pit before me;
they have fallen into the midst of it. Selah
7 My heart is steadfast, O God;
My heart is steadfast.
I will sing and give praise.
8 Awake, my glory;
Awake, harp and lyre.
I will awake the dawn.[k]
9 I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord;
I will give you praise among the nations.
10 Because your loyal love is high to the heavens,
and your faithfulness to the clouds.
11 Be exalted above the heavens, O God.
Let your glory be above all the earth.
Judgment on the Wicked
For the music director, according to Do not Destroy.
Of David. A miktam.[l]
58 Do you really speak what is right when silent?[m]
Do you judge fairly the children of humankind?[n]
2 No, in your heart you plan injustices;
in the land[o] you weigh out the violence of your hands.
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb.
They go astray from the belly, speaking lies.
4 Their venom is like snake venom;
They are like a deaf viper that closes its ear
5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
or the skilled caster of spells.
6 O God, break their teeth in their mouth.
Break off the fangs of the young lions, O Yahweh.
7 Let them run away like water that runs off.
When he bends the bow, let his arrows be as though they were cut off.[p]
8 Let them be like a snail that melts away as it goes;
like the stillborn of woman that do not see the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of a thornbush,
whether green or dry,[q] he will sweep it away.[r]
10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 And people[s] will say, “Surely there is a reward[t] for the righteous.
Surely there is a God who judges in the land.”[u]
A Plea for Divine Retribution
For the music director. A psalm of David.[a]
64 Hear my voice, O God, in my lamenting.
Preserve my life from the fear of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret plots[b] of evildoers,
from the unrest of those who do iniquity,
3 who sharpen their tongue like a sword.
They bend their bow to shoot their arrows—bitter words,
4 to shoot from[c] their[d] hiding places at the blameless.
Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.
5 They encourage themselves in the evil matter.
They talk of secretly laying snares.
They say, “Who will see them?”
6 They carefully plot[e] injustices saying,
“We have perfected the perfect plot!”[f]
Both the inner thought[g] and heart of a man are deep.
7 But God will shoot them;
with an arrow they will suddenly be wounded.
8 [h] And they who would cause him[i] to stumble,
their own tongue will be against them.
All who gaze on them will shake.[j]
9 And then[k] all men[l] will fear,
and will declare the working of God,
and will understand his doing.
10 The righteous will rejoice in Yahweh and take refuge in him,
and all the upright in heart will boast.
Thanksgiving for God’s Provision
For the music director. A psalm of David. A song.[m]
65 Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion,
and to you the vow shall be fulfilled.
2 O you who hear prayer,
to you all flesh will come.
3 Iniquities[n] prevail over me.
As for our transgressions, you will forgive[o] them.
4 Blessed is one whom you choose and bring near,
that he may abide in your courts.
We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
your holy temple.
5 By awesome deeds in righteousness you will answer us,
O God of our salvation,
you who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth
and of the far-off seas,
6 who established the mountains by his strength,
the one who is girded with might,
7 who stills the roar of the seas,
the roar of their waves,
and the commotion of the peoples,
8 so that[p] the inhabitants of the farthest reaches are in awe of your signs.
You make the dawn and sunset sing for joy.
9 You care for[q] the land[r] and water it;
you greatly enrich it.
The stream of God is filled with waters.
You provide their grain,
for so you have established it.
10 You drench its furrows,
penetrating its ridges.
With rains you soften it;
its growth you bless.
11 You crown the year with your bounty,[s]
and your wagon paths drip with richness.[t]
12 They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
and the hills gird themselves with joy.
13 The pasturelands put on flocks,
and the valleys clothe themselves with grain.
They shout in triumph;
they even sing.
The Lamb and the 144,000 on Mount Zion
14 And I looked, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him one hundred forty-four thousand who had his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the sound that I heard was like harpists playing on their harps. 3 And they were singing something like a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders, and no one was able to learn the song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who had been bought from the earth.
4 These are those who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were bought from humanity as first fruits to God and to the Lamb, 5 and in their mouth a lie was not found; they are blameless.
The Three Angels and Their Messages
6 And I saw another angel flying directly overhead[a], having an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who reside on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and language and people, 7 saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship the one who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and the springs of water!”
8 And another second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who caused all the nations to drink from the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”
9 And another third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself also will drink of the wine of the anger of God that has been mixed full strength in the cup of his wrath, and will be tortured with fire and sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torture went up forever and ever[b], and those who worshiped the beast and his image did not have rest day and night, along with anyone who received[c] the mark of his name. 12 Here is the patient endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith in Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write:
‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “in order that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow after them.”
Not Peace, But a Sword of Divisiveness
49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish that it had been kindled already! 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how I am distressed until it is accomplished! 51 Do you think that I have come to grant peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52 For from now on there will be five in one household, divided three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
The Signs of the Times
54 And he also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud coming up in the west, you say at once, ‘A rainstorm is coming,’ and so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be burning heat,’ and it happens. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to evaluate the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how is it you do not know how to evaluate this present time?
Settle Accounts Quickly
57 And why do you not also judge for yourselves what is right? 58 For as you are going with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to come to a settlement with him on the way, so that he will not drag you to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the bailiff, and the bailiff will throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid back even the last cent!”[a]
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