Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for Guidance and Protection
For the music director; with the flutes. A psalm of David.[a]
5 Hear my words, O Yahweh.
Give heed to my sighing.[b]
2 Listen to the sound of my pleading,[c] my king and my God,
for to you I pray.
3 O Yahweh, in the morning you will hear my voice.
In the morning I will set forth[d] my case to you and I will watch.[e]
4 For you are not a God who desires[f] wickedness.
Evil cannot dwell with you.
5 The boastful do not stand before[g] your eyes.
You hate all evildoers.
6 You destroy speakers of lies.[h]
A man of bloodshed[i] and deceit Yahweh abhors.
7 But as for me,[j] through the abundance of your steadfast love[k]
I will enter your house.[l]
I will bow down[m] toward your holy temple[n] in awe of you.
8 O Yahweh, lead me in your righteousness because of my enemies;
make straight before me your way.
9 For there is not anything reliable in his mouth;
their inner part is destruction.[o]
Their throat is an open grave;
with their tongue they speak deceit.[p]
10 Treat them as guilty, O God;
let them fall because of their plans.
Because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,
for they have rebelled against you.
11 But let all who take shelter in you rejoice.
Let them ever[q] sing for joy,
because[r] you spread protection over them;
And let those[s] who love your name exult in you.
12 For you bless the righteous.
O Yahweh, like a[t] shield you surround him with good favor.
An Appeal for Forgiveness and Deliverance
For the music director; with stringed instruments, on the Sheminith.[u]
A psalm of David.[v]
6 O Yahweh, do not rebuke me in your anger,
and do not discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O Yahweh, because I am feeble.
Heal me, O Yahweh, for my bones are terrified.
3 My soul is also very terrified.
But you, O Yahweh, how long?
4 Turn, O Yahweh; deliver my life.[w]
Save me for the sake of your steadfast love.[x]
5 For there is no remembrance of you in death.
In Sheol, who will give thanks to you?
6 I am weary with my groaning;
I flood[y] my bed every night.
With my tears I drench[z] my couch.
7 My eye wastes away because of vexation;
it grows old because of all my oppressors.
8 Depart from me, all workers of evil,
for Yahweh has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 Yahweh has heard my plea;
Yahweh has accepted my prayer.
10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and shall be very terrified.
They shall turn back; they shall suddenly be ashamed.
A Prayer for God to Throw down the Wicked
10 Why, O Yahweh, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide[a] during times of distress?
2 In arrogance the wicked persecutes[b] the poor.
Let them be caught in the schemes that they devised,
3 for the wicked boasts about the desire of his heart,[c]
and the one greedy for gain curses and treats Yahweh with contempt.
4 With bald-faced pride[d] the wicked will not seek God.
There is no God in any of his thoughts.
5 His ways[e] endure at all times.[f]
Your judgments are aloof from him.
As for all his enemies, he scoffs at them.
6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved
throughout all generations,[g] during which I will have no trouble.”
7 His mouth is filled with cursing,
with deceits and oppression;
under his tongue are trouble and evil.
8 He sits in ambush in villages;
in the hiding places he kills the innocent.
His eyes lurk[h] for the helpless.
9 He lies in ambush secretly,[i] like a lion in a thicket.
He lies in ambush to seize the poor;
he seizes the poor by catching him in his net.
10 He is crushed;[j] he is bowed down;[k]
so[l] the helpless host[m] falls by his might.[n]
11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten.
He has hidden his face.
He never sees.”
12 Rise up, O Yahweh;
O God, lift up your hand.
Do not forget the afflicted.
13 Why does the wicked treat God with contempt?
He says in his heart, “You will not call me to account.”
14 But you have seen; indeed you have noted trouble and grief
to take it into your hand.
The helpless abandons himself upon you;
you have been the helper for the orphan.
15 Break the arm of the wicked,
and as for the evil man—
seek out his wickedness until you find none.
16 Yahweh is king forever and ever;
the nations have perished from his land.
17 The longing of the afflicted you have heard, O Yahweh.
You will make their heart secure. You will listen attentively[o]
18 to render judgment for the fatherless and the oppressed
so that a mere mortal from the earth will no longer cause terror.
Confidence in Yahweh’s Righteousness
For the music director. Of David.[p]
11 In Yahweh I have taken refuge;
how can you say to my soul,
“Flee to your mountain like a bird”?
2 For look: The wicked string the bow.[q]
They have fitted their arrow to the string,
to shoot from the darkness
at the upright of heart.
3 When the foundations are destroyed
what can the righteous do?[r]
4 Yahweh is in his holy temple;
Yahweh is in the heavens on his throne.
His eyelids see;
they test the children of humankind.
5 Yahweh tests the righteous,
but the wicked and the lover of violence
his soul hates.
6 He will rain coals[s] on the wicked.
Burning sulfur and scorching wind
will be the portion of their cup.
7 For Yahweh is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds.
The upright shall see his face.
Purifying Jerusalem
21 How has a faithful city become like a whore?
Full of justice, righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers.
22 Your silver has become as dross;
Your wine is diluted with waters.
23 Your princes are rebels
and companions of thieves.
Every one loves a bribe
and runs after gifts.
They do not defend the orphan
and the legal dispute of the widow does not come before them.
24 Therefore, the declaration of the Lord Yahweh of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel:
“Ah, I will be relieved of my enemies,
and I will avenge myself on my foes.
25 And I will turn my hand against you;
I will purify your dross like lye,
and I will remove all of your tin.
26 And I will restore your judges, as at the first,
and your counselors, as at the beginning.
After this you will be called[a] the city of righteousness,
faithful city.
27 Zion will be redeemed by justice,
and those of her who repent, by righteousness.
28 But the destruction of rebels and sinners shall be together,
and those who forsake Yahweh will perish.
29 For you[b] will be ashamed of the oaks in which you delighted,
and you will be disgraced because of the gardens that you have chosen.
30 For you shall be like an oak withering its leaves,
and like a garden where there is no water for her.
31 And the strong man shall become like tinder,
and his work like a spark.
And both of them shall burn together,
and there is not one to quench them.”
Paul’s Approach to Ministry in Thessalonica
2 For you yourselves know, brothers, our reception with you, that it was not in vain, 2 but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, just as you know, we had the courage in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition. 3 For our exhortation is not from error or from impurity or with deceit, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, thus we speak, not as pleasing people but God, who examines our hearts. 5 For never[a] did we come with a word of flattery, just as you know, nor with a pretext of greediness (God is witness), 6 nor seeking glory from people, neither from you nor from others. 7 Although we could have insisted on our own importance[b][c] as apostles of Christ, yet we became infants in your midst, like a nursing mother cherishes her own children. 8 Longing for you in this way, we determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own souls, because you had become dear to us.
9 For you remember, brothers, our labor and hardship: working by night and day in order not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and righteously and blamelessly we became to you who believe, 11 just as you know how we treated each one of you, like a father his own children, 12 exhorting and consoling you and insisting that you live in a manner worthy of God, who calls you to his own kingdom and glory.
The Parable of the Tenant Farmers in the Vineyard
9 And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man[a] planted a vineyard, and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey for a long time. 10 And at the proper time he sent a slave to the tenant farmers, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenant farmers sent him away empty-handed after[b] beating him.[c] 11 And he proceeded to send another slave, but they beat and dishonored that one also, and[d] sent him[e] away empty-handed. 12 And he proceeded to send a third, but they wounded and[f] threw out this one also. 13 So the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when[g] the tenant farmers saw him, they began to reason[h] with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him so that the inheritance will become ours!’ 15 And they threw him out of the vineyard and[i] killed him.[j] What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy those tenant farmers and give the vineyard to others.” And when they[k] heard this,[l] they said, “May this never happen!” 17 But he looked intently at them and[m] said, “What then is this that is written:
‘The stone which the builders rejected,
this has become the cornerstone.’[n]
18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and the one on whom it falls—it will crush him!”
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