Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 6
Do Not Rebuke Me in Your Anger
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For the choir director. With stringed instruments.
According to sheminith.[a] A psalm by David.
Anxious Prayer
1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger.
Do not discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am fading away.
Heal me, Lord, for my bones are trembling,
3 and my soul is terrified.
But you, O Lord—how long?
4 Turn, O Lord, and deliver my soul.
Save me because of your mercy.
5 For in death no one remembers you.
In the grave who praises you?
6 I am worn out from my groaning.
I flood my bed all night long.
With my tears I drench my couch.
7 My eyes are blurred by sorrow.
They are worn out because of all my foes.
Confident Trust
8 Turn away from me, all you evildoers,
because the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my cry for mercy.
The Lord accepts my prayer.
10 They will be put to shame.
All my enemies will be terrified.
They will turn back.
They will be put to shame in an instant.
Psalm 12
Proud Words vs. Pure Words
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For the choir director. According to sheminith.[a] A psalm by David.
The Proud Words of the Ungodly
1 Save us, Lord, for the merciful have disappeared.
The faithful have vanished from among mankind.
2 Everyone speaks falsehood to his neighbor.
Their flattering lips speak double-talk.[b]
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips.
May he cut off every tongue that speaks boastfully,
4 which says, “With our tongues we will establish our power.
We say what we please.[c] Who is lord over us?”
The Pure Words of the Lord
5 “Because of the destruction of the oppressed,
because of the groaning of the poor,
now I will rise up,” says the Lord.
“I will keep him safe from the one who puffs against him.”[d]
6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.
7 You, Lord, will keep them safe.
You will protect them from such people forever.
8 The wicked strut around
when depravity is honored by the children of Adam.
Psalm 94
The Lord Rules the Wicked
A Call for Vengeance
1 O Lord, God of vengeance,
God of vengeance, shine forth.
2 Rise up, O Judge of the earth.
Repay the proud with what they deserve.
3 How long will the wicked, O Lord,
how long will the wicked celebrate?
The Deeds of the Wicked
4 They gush. They speak arrogantly.
All the evildoers brag about themselves.
5 They crush your people, O Lord.
They oppress the people that belong to you.
6 They kill the widow and the alien.
They murder the fatherless.
7 Then they say, “The Lord[a] does not see.
The God of Jacob does not understand.”
8 Understand, you brutes among the people.
You fools, when will you become wise?
Relief for the Righteous
9 The one who planted the ear—will he not hear?
The one who formed the eye—will he not observe?
10 The one who disciplines nations—will he not rebuke them?
He is the one who teaches mankind knowledge.
11 The Lord knows the thoughts of mankind.
He knows that they are just vapor.
12 How blessed is the person whom you discipline, O Lord,
whom you teach from your law.
13 You grant him rest in days of trouble,
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not desert his people,
and he will never forsake those who are his own.
15 Then judgment will again be based on righteousness,
and all the upright in heart will pursue it.
16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked?
Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?
17 Unless the Lord had been my helper,
my soul would soon have dwelt in silence.
18 When I said, “My foot has slipped,”
your mercy, Lord, upheld me.
19 When my worries within me were many,
your comfort brought joy to my soul.
20 Can a destructive throne be allied with you,
one that creates injustice by its decrees?
21 They band together against the life of the righteous,
and they condemn innocent blood.
22 But the Lord has become my fortress,
and my God is the rock where I take refuge.
23 Then he will repay them for their iniquity,
and he will destroy them for their wickedness.
The Lord our God will destroy them.
Jeremiah’s Complaint
10 I am so miserable, my mother, that you gave birth to me.
I am the man with whom the whole land argues and quarrels.
I have not lent or borrowed, but everyone curses me.
The Lord’s Response to Jeremiah
11 The Lord said:
I will surely set you free for your own good.
I will surely make your enemies plead with you
in a time of trouble and in a time of distress.
12 Can anyone break iron—iron from the north—or bronze?
13 I will give away your wealth and your treasures as plunder, without cost, because of all your sins throughout all your territory. 14 I will make you serve your enemies in a land you do not know, for my anger is kindled in me, and you will burn continuously.
Jeremiah Responds
15 O Lord, you understand.
Remember me and care for me.
Take vengeance for me on those who persecute me.
You are slow to anger.
Do not take me away.
Keep in mind that for your sake I bear disgrace.
16 Your words came to me, and I devoured them.
Your words became my joy,
the delight of my heart,
because I bear your name,
O Lord God of Armies.
17 I did not sit with the band of partygoers,
nor did I celebrate with them.
I sat alone, because your hand was upon me.
You filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain unending?
Why is my wound incurable, refusing to heal?
Will you be as deceptive as an intermittent stream to me,
like a source of water that a person can’t depend on?
The Lord’s Response
19 Therefore this is what the Lord says.
If you repent, I will take you back,
so that you may stand before me.
If what you say is worthwhile and not worthless,
you will be my spokesman.
They must turn to you,
but you must not turn to them.
20 I will make you like a bronze wall to this people.
They will fight against you,
but they will not overcome you,
because I am with you to save you
and to rescue you, declares the Lord.
21 I will rescue you from the hand of the wicked,
and I will deliver you from the grasp of the ruthless.
15 Therefore, let all of us who are mature continue to think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this to you too. 16 Only let us think the same thing and[a] walk in line with what we already have attained.
17 Brothers, join together in imitating me and in paying attention to those who are walking according to the pattern we gave you. 18 To be sure, many walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. I told you about them often, and now I am saying it while weeping. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their appetite,[b] and their glory is in their shame. They are thinking only about earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. We are eagerly waiting for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 By the power that enables him to subject all things to himself, he will transform our humble bodies to be like his glorious body.
Death and Glory
20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew. Andrew came with Philip and told Jesus.
23 Jesus answered them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it continues to be one kernel. But if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 Anyone who loves his life destroys it. And the one who hates his life in this world will hold on to it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, let him follow me. And where I am, there my servant will be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.