Book of Common Prayer
55 Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not Thyself from my supplication.
2 Attend unto me and hear me; I mourn in my complaint and moan,
3 because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked; for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me.
4 My heart is sorely pained within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.
6 And I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! For then would I fly away and be at rest.
7 Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness; Selah
8 I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.”
9 Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues, for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof; mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it.
11 Wickedness is in the midst thereof; deceit and guile depart not from her streets.
12 For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it. Neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him.
13 But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide and mine acquaintance.
14 We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.
15 Let death seize upon them, and let them go down alive into hell; for wickedness is in their dwellings and among them.
16 As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me.
17 Evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice.
18 He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, for there were many with me.
19 God shall hear and afflict them, even He that abideth of old. Selah Because they have not changed, therefore they fear not God.
20 He hath put forth his hands against those that are at peace with him; he hath broken his covenant.
21 The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.
22 Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
23 But Thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction; bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in Thee.
138 I will praise Thee with my whole heart; before the gods will I sing praise unto Thee.
2 I will worship toward Thy holy temple, and praise Thy name for Thy lovingkindness and for Thy truth, for Thou hast magnified Thy word above all Thy name.
3 In the day when I cried, Thou answered me, and strengthened me with strength in my soul.
4 All the kings of the earth shall praise Thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of Thy mouth.
5 Yea, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 Though the Lord be high, yet hath He respect unto the lowly, but the proud He knoweth afar off.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me; Thou shalt stretch forth Thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and Thy right hand shall save me.
8 The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me; Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever; forsake not the works of Thine own hands.
139 O Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me.
2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising; Thou understandest my thought afar off.
3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue, but lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether.
5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid Thine hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
7 Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from Thy presence?
8 If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,” even the night shall be light about me.
12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from Thee, but the night shineth as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to Thee.
13 For Thou hast possessed my reins. Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well.
15 My substance was not hid from Thee when I was made in secret, and intricately wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being imperfect; and in Thy book all my members were written, which in continuity were fashioned, when as yet there were none of them.
17 How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with Thee.
19 Surely, Thou wilt slay the wicked, O God. Depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.
20 For they speak against Thee wickedly, and Thine enemies take Thy name in vain.
21 Do I not hate them, O Lord, that hate Thee? And am I not grieved with those that rise up against Thee?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them mine enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts.
41 And Elijah said unto Ahab, “Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.”
42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees,
43 and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times.
44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, “Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand.” And he said, “Go up, say unto Ahab, ‘Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.’”
45 And it came to pass in the meantime, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.
46 And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
19 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and also how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.”
3 And when he saw that, he arose and went for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am not better than my fathers.”
5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him and said unto him, “Arise and eat.”
6 And he looked, and behold, there was a cake baked on the coals and a cruse of water at his head. And he ate and drank, and lay down again.
7 And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for thee.”
8 And he arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark those who so walk, as ye have us for an example.
18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often and now tell you even with weeping, as the enemies of the cross of Christ.
19 Their end is destruction, their God is their belly, and their glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)
20 For our abiding is in Heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
21 who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.
4 Therefore, my dearly beloved and longedfor brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.
2 I beseech Euodias and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.
3 And I entreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women who labored with me in the Gospel, with Clement also and with my other fellow laborers, whose names are in the Book of Life.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, “Rejoice!”
5 Let your moderation be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Fret not about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
13 Then came Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan unto John to be baptized by him.
14 But John forbad Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by Thee, and comest Thou to me?”
15 And Jesus answering said unto him, “Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John suffered Him.
16 And Jesus, when He had been baptized, went up straightway out of the water. And lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon Him.
17 And lo, a voice came from Heaven, saying, “This Is My Beloved Son, In Whom I Am Well Pleased.”
Copyright © 1994 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc.