Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for protection from the wicked.
For the Chief Musician; with the [a]Nehiloth. A Psalm of David.
5 Give ear to my words, O Jehovah,
Consider my meditation.
2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God;
For unto thee do I pray.
3 O Jehovah, in the morning shalt thou hear my voice;
In the morning will I order my prayer unto thee, and will keep watch.
4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness:
[b]Evil shall not sojourn with thee.
5 [c]The arrogant shall not stand in thy sight:
Thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
6 Thou wilt destroy them that speak lies:
Jehovah abhorreth the blood-thirsty and deceitful man.
7 But as for me, in the abundance of thy lovingkindness will I come into thy house:
In thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.
8 Lead me, O Jehovah, in thy righteousness because of [d]mine enemies;
Make thy way [e]straight before my face.
9 For there is no [f]faithfulness in their mouth;
Their inward part is [g]very wickedness;
Their throat is an open sepulchre;
They [h]flatter with their tongue.
10 Hold them guilty, O God;
Let them fall [i]by their own counsels;
Thrust them out in the multitude of their transgressions;
For they have rebelled against thee.
11 [j]But let all those that take refuge in thee rejoice,
Let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them:
Let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
12 For thou wilt bless the righteous;
O Jehovah, thou wilt compass him with favor as with a shield.
Prayer for mercy in time of trouble.
For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments, set to [k]the Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
6 O Jehovah, rebuke me not in thine anger,
Neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
2 Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah; for I am withered away:
O Jehovah, heal me; for my bones are troubled.
3 My soul also is sore troubled:
And thou, O Jehovah, how long?
4 Return, O Jehovah, deliver my soul:
Save me for thy lovingkindness’ sake.
5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee:
In Sheol who shall give thee thanks?
6 I am weary with my groaning;
Every night make I my bed to swim;
I water my couch with my tears.
7 Mine eye wasteth away because of grief;
It waxeth old because of all mine adversaries.
8 Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity;
For Jehovah hath heard the voice of my weeping.
9 Jehovah hath heard my supplication;
Jehovah will receive my prayer.
10 All mine enemies shall be put to shame and sore troubled:
They shall turn back, they shall be put to shame suddenly.
A prayer for the overthrow of the wicked.
10 Why standest thou afar off, O Jehovah?
Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
2 In the pride of the wicked [a]the poor [b]is hotly pursued;
[c]Let them be taken in the devices that they have conceived.
3 For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire,
And [d]the covetous renounceth, yea, [e]contemneth Jehovah.
4 The wicked, in the pride of his countenance, saith, He will not require it.
All his thoughts are, There is no God.
5 His ways are [f]firm at all times;
Thy judgments are far above out of his sight:
As for all his adversaries, he puffeth at them.
6 He saith in his heart, I shall not be moved;
To all generations I shall not be in adversity.
7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and [g]oppression:
Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.
8 He sitteth in the lurking-places of the villages;
In the secret places doth he murder the innocent;
His eyes are privily set against the [h]helpless.
9 He lurketh in secret as a lion in his covert;
He lieth in wait to catch the poor:
He doth catch the poor, when he draweth him in his net.
10 [i]He croucheth, he boweth down,
And the [j]helpless fall by his strong ones.
11 He saith in his heart: God hath forgotten;
He hideth his face, he will never see it.
12 Arise, O Jehovah; O God, lift up thy hand:
Forget not the [k]poor.
13 Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God,
And say in his heart, Thou wilt not require it?
14 Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest [l]mischief and spite, [m]to requite it with thy hand:
The [n]helpless committeth himself unto thee;
Thou hast been the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break thou the arm of the wicked;
And as for the evil man, seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
16 Jehovah is King for ever and ever:
The [o]nations are perished out of his land.
17 Jehovah, thou hast heard the desire of the meek:
Thou wilt [p]prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear;
18 To judge the fatherless and the oppressed,
That man who is of the earth may be terrible no more.
Jehovah a refuge and defence.
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
11 In Jehovah do I take refuge:
How say ye to my soul,
Flee [q]as a bird to your mountain;
2 For, lo, the wicked bend the bow,
They make ready their arrow upon the string,
That they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart;
3 [r]If the foundations be destroyed,
What can the righteous do?
4 Jehovah is in his holy temple;
Jehovah, his throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
5 Jehovah trieth the righteous;
But the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
6 Upon the wicked he will rain snares;
Fire and brimstone and burning wind shall be the portion of their cup.
7 For Jehovah is righteous; he loveth [s]righteousness:
[t]The upright shall behold his face.
21 How is the faithful city become a harlot! she that was full of justice! righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers. 22 Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water. 23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; every one loveth bribes, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
24 Therefore saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies; 25 and I will [a]turn my hand upon thee, and [b]thoroughly purge away thy dross, and will take away all thy [c]tin; 26 and I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called The city of righteousness, a faithful town. 27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and [d]her converts with righteousness. 28 But the [e]destruction of transgressors and sinners shall be together, and they that forsake Jehovah shall be consumed. 29 For they shall be ashamed of the [f]oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen. 30 For ye shall be as [g]an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water. 31 And the strong shall be as tow, and his work as a spark; and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.
2 For yourselves, brethren, know our entering in unto you, that it hath not been found vain: 2 but having suffered before and been shamefully treated, as ye know, at Philippi, we waxed bold in our God to speak unto you the [a]gospel of God in much conflict. 3 For our exhortation is not of error, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile: 4 but even as we have been approved of God to be intrusted with the [b]gospel, so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God who proveth our hearts. 5 For neither at any time were we found using words of flattery, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness, God is witness; 6 nor seeking glory of men, neither from you nor from others, when we might have [c]claimed authority as apostles of Christ. 7 But we were [d]gentle in the midst of you, as when a nurse cherisheth her own children: 8 even so, being affectionately desirous of you, we were well pleased to impart unto you, not the [e]gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were become very dear to us. 9 For ye remember, brethren, our labor and travail: working night and day, that we might not burden any of you, we preached unto you the [f]gospel of God. 10 Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and righteously and unblamably we behaved ourselves toward you that believe: 11 as ye know how we dealt with each one of you, as a father with his own children, exhorting you, and encouraging you, and testifying, 12 to the end that ye should walk worthily of God, who [g]calleth you into his own kingdom and glory.
9 And he began to speak unto the people this parable: A man planted a vineyard, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into another country for a long time. 10 And at the season he sent unto the husbandmen a [a]servant, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. 11 And he sent yet another [b]servant: and him also they beat, and handled him shamefully, and sent him away empty. 12 And he sent yet a third: and him also they wounded, and cast him forth. 13 And the lord of the vineyard said, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; it may be they will reverence him. 14 But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned one with another, saying, This is the heir; let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. 15 And they cast him forth out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do unto them? 16 He will come and destroy these husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. And when they heard it, they said, [c]God forbid. 17 But he looked upon them, and said, What then is this that is written,
[d]The stone which the builders rejected,
The same was made the head of the corner?
18 Every one that falleth on that stone shall be broken to pieces; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will scatter him as dust.
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