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.
Zion Corrupted, to Be Redeemed
21 How the faithful city has become a (A)harlot,
She who was full of justice!
Righteousness once lodged in her,
But now murderers.
22 Your silver has become dross,
Your drink diluted with water.
23 Your (B)rulers are rebels
And companions of thieves;
Everyone (C)loves a bribe
And chases after rewards.
They (D)do not [a]defend the [b]orphan,
Nor does the widow’s plea come before them.
24 Therefore the Lord [c]God of hosts,
The (E)Mighty One of Israel, declares,
“Ah, I will be relieved of My adversaries
And (F)avenge Myself on My foes.
25 “I will also turn My hand against you,
And will (G)smelt away your dross as with lye
And will remove all your alloy.
26 “Then I will restore your (H)judges as at the first,
And your counselors as at the beginning;
After that you will be called the (I)city of righteousness,
A faithful city.”
27 Zion will be (J)redeemed with justice
And her [d]repentant ones with righteousness.
28 But [e]transgressors and sinners will be (K)crushed together,
And those who forsake the Lord will come to an end.
29 Surely [f]you will be ashamed of the [g](L)oaks which you have desired,
And you will be embarrassed at the (M)gardens which you have chosen.
30 For you will be like an [h]oak whose (N)leaf fades away
Or as a garden that has no water.
31 The strong man will become tinder,
His work also a spark.
Thus they shall both (O)burn together
And there will be (P)none to quench them.
Paul’s Ministry
2 For you yourselves know, brethren, that our [a](A)coming to you (B)was not in vain, 2 but after we had already suffered and been (C)mistreated in (D)Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God (E)to speak to you the (F)gospel of God amid much [b](G)opposition. 3 For our (H)exhortation does not come from (I)error or (J)impurity or [c]by way of (K)deceit; 4 (L)but just as we have been approved by God to be (M)entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, (N)not as pleasing men, but God who [d](O)examines our hearts. 5 For we never came [e]with flattering speech, as you know, nor with (P)a pretext for greed—(Q)God is witness— 6 nor did we (R)seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as (S)apostles of Christ [f]we might have [g]asserted our authority. 7 But we [h]proved to be [i](T)gentle [j]among you, (U)as a nursing mother [k]tenderly cares for her own children. 8 Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to (V)impart to you not only the (W)gospel of God but also our own [l]lives, because you had become [m]very dear to us.
9 For you recall, brethren, our (X)labor and hardship, how (Y)working night and day so as not to be a (Z)burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the (AA)gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and so is (AB)God, (AC)how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we [n]behaved toward you [o]believers; 11 just as you know how we were (AD)exhorting and encouraging and [p](AE)imploring each one of you as (AF)a father would his own children, 12 so that you would (AG)walk in a manner worthy of the God who (AH)calls you into His own kingdom and (AI)glory.
Parable of the Vine-growers
9 (A)And He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to [a]vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time. 10 At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him some of the produce of the vineyard; but the vine-growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 And he proceeded to send another slave; and they beat him also and treated him shamefully and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And he proceeded to send a third; and this one also they wounded and cast out. 13 The [b]owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will (B)respect him.’ 14 But when the vine-growers saw him, they reasoned with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the [c]owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and (C)destroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others.” When they heard it, they said, “(D)May it never be!” 17 But [d]Jesus looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written:
18 (G)Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”
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