Book of Common Prayer
56 Be merciful unto me, O God, for man would swallow me up; he, fighting daily, oppresseth me.
2 Mine enemies would daily swallow me up, for they are many that fight against me, O Thou Most High.
3 In the time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee.
4 In God I will praise His word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
5 Every day they wrest my words; all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps as they lie in wait for my soul.
7 Shall they escape by iniquity? In Thine anger cast down the people, O God.
8 Thou countest my wanderings; put Thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?
9 When I cry unto Thee, then shall mine enemies turn back! This I know, for God is for me.
10 In God will I praise His word; in the Lord will I praise His word.
11 In God have I put my trust; I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.
12 Thy vows are upon me, O God; I will render praises unto Thee.
13 For Thou hast delivered my soul from death; wilt Thou not deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?
57 Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me, for my soul trusteth in Thee. Yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge until these calamities pass by.
2 I will cry unto God Most High, unto God that performeth all things for me.
3 He shall send from heaven and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up; Selah God shall send forth His mercy and His truth.
4 My soul is among lions, and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
5 Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Thy glory be above all the earth.
6 They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down. They have dug a pit before me, into the midst whereof they themselves are fallen. Selah
7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise.
8 Awake, my glory! Awake, psaltery and harp! I myself will awaken early.
9 I will praise Thee, O Lord, among the people; I will sing unto Thee among the nations.
10 For Thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and Thy truth unto the clouds.
11 Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Thy glory be above all the earth.
58 Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?
2 Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh out violence by your hands in the earth.
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent; they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear,
5 which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charm they ever so wisely.
6 Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth; break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord!
7 Let them melt away as waters which run continually; when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces.
8 As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the thorns, He shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in His wrath.
10 The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance; he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,
11 so that a man shall say, “Verily there is a reward for the righteous; verily He is a God that judgeth on the earth.”
64 Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer; preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked, from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity,
3 who whet their tongue like a sword and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words,
4 that they may shoot in secret at the perfect; suddenly do they shoot at him and fear not.
5 They encourage each other in an evil purpose; they commune in laying snares privily; they say, “Who shall see them?”
6 They search out iniquities, they conduct a diligent search; both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep.
7 But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.
8 So shall they make their own tongue to fall upon themselves; all that see them shall flee away.
9 And all men shall fear and shall declare the work of God, for they shall wisely consider His doing.
10 The righteous shall be glad in the Lord and shall trust in Him, and all the upright in heart shall glory.
65 Praise waiteth for Thee, O God, in Zion; and unto Thee shall the vow be performed.
2 O Thou that hearest prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come.
3 Iniquities prevail against me; as for our transgressions, Thou shalt purge them away.
4 Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest and causest to approach unto Thee, that he may dwell in Thy courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Thy house, even of Thy holy temple.
5 By fearsome deeds of righteousness wilt Thou answer us, O God of our salvation, who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth and of them that are afar off upon the sea,
6 who by His strength setteth fast the mountains, being girded with power,
7 who stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves and the tumult of the people.
8 They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at Thy signs; Thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.
9 Thou visitest the earth and waterest it; Thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water; Thou preparest them corn when Thou hast so provided it.
10 Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly, Thou settlest the furrows thereof; Thou makest it soft with showers, Thou blessest the sprouting thereof.
11 Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness, and Thy paths drip with fatness.
12 They drip upon the pastures of the wilderness, and the little hills rejoice on every side.
13 The pastures are clothed with flocks, the valleys also are covered over with corn. They shout for joy, they also sing.
2 And it came to pass after this that David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?” And the Lord said unto him, “Go up.” And David said, “Whither shall I go up?” And He said, “Unto Hebron.”
2 So David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail, Nabal’s wife the Carmelite.
3 And his men who were with him did David bring up, every man with his household; and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.
4 And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, “The men of Jabeshgilead were those who buried Saul.”
5 And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabeshgilead, and said unto them, “Blessed be ye of the Lord, that ye have shown this kindness unto your lord, even unto Saul, and have buried him.
6 And now the Lord show kindness and truth unto you; and I also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing.
7 Therefore now, let your hands be strengthened and be ye valiant; for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”
8 But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul’s host, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim,
9 and made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel.
10 Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David.
11 And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
36 And some days later, Paul said unto Barnabas, “Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the Word of the Lord, and see how they do.”
37 And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.
38 But Paul thought it not good to take him with them, as he had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them in the work.
39 And the contention was so sharp between them that they parted asunder, one from the other; and so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus.
40 And Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren unto the grace of God.
41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
16 Then Paul came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a certain woman who was a Jewess who believed, but whose father was a Greek.
2 He was well reported of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium.
3 Him Paul wanted to have go forth with him, and took and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those quarters, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered unto them the decrees to keep, that had been ordained by the apostles and elders who were at Jerusalem.
5 And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.
14 And King Herod heard of Him, for His name was spread abroad. And he said, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and therefore these mighty works show forth themselves in him.”
15 Others said, “It is Elijah,” and others said, “It is a prophet, or like one of the prophets.”
16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “It is John, whom I beheaded; he is risen from the dead.”
17 For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and had bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; for he had married her.
18 For John had said unto Herod, “It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife.”
19 Therefore Herodias had an inward grudge against him and would have killed him, but she could not;
20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and holy, and kept him safe. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.
21 And when a convenient day had come, when Herod on his birthday gave a supper for his lords, high officers, and chief officials of Galilee,
22 and when the daughter of the said Herodias came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, “Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it to thee.”
23 And he swore unto her, “Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it to thee, unto the half of my kingdom.”
24 And she went forth and said unto her mother, “What shall I ask?” And Herodias said, “The head of John the Baptist.”
25 And she came back straightway with haste unto the king and asked, saying, “I will that thou give me at once on a charger the head of John the Baptist.”
26 And the king was exceedingly sorry, yet for his oath’s sake and for their sakes who sat with him, he would not reject her.
27 And immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded John’s head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison,
28 and brought his head on a charger and gave it to the damsel; and the damsel gave it to her mother.
29 And when John’s disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse and laid it in a tomb.
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