Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer About a False Friend
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of David.
55 God, ·listen [L give ear] to my prayer
and do not ·ignore [hide from] my ·cry for help [supplication].
2 Pay attention to me and answer me.
·I am troubled and [My cares give me no peace and I am] upset
3 by ·what the enemy says [L the voice/sound of my enemy]
and ·how the wicked look at me [before the stares/or because of the afflictions of my enemy].
They bring troubles down on me,
and in anger they ·attack [persecute; or hate] me.
4 ·I am frightened inside [L My heart writhes inside me];
the terror of death has ·attacked [L fallen on] me.
5 ·I am scared and shaking [Fear and trembling come on me],
and ·terror [shuddering] ·grips [overwhelms] me.
6 I said, “·I wish [O that] I had wings like a dove.
Then I would fly away and rest.
7 I would ·wander [flee] far away
and stay in the ·desert [wilderness]. ·
8 I would hurry to my place of escape,
far away from the raging wind and ·storm [tempest].”
9 Lord, ·destroy [or frustrate; or check; or confuse; L swallow] and ·confuse [confound; L divide] their ·words [speech; or plans; L tongues; Gen. 11:1–9],
because I see violence and ·fighting [strife; contention; accusation] in the city.
10 Day and night they are all around its walls,
and evil and trouble are everywhere inside.
11 Destruction is ·everywhere in the city [L in its midst];
·trouble [oppression] and ·lying [deception] never leave its ·streets [public square].
12 It was not an enemy ·insulting [scorning; reproaching] me.
I could ·stand [bear] that.
It was not someone who hated me who insulted me.
I could hide from him.
13 But it is you, a person like me,
my companion and good friend.
14 We had ·a good friendship [sweet fellowship together]
and walked ·together [or noisily; or quietly; or with the crowd] to God’s ·Temple [L house].
15 Let death ·take away [L rise up on] ·my enemies [L them].
Let them ·die while they are still young [L go down to the grave/underworld/Sheol while they are living]
because evil ·lives with them [L is their home within them].
16 But I will call to God for help,
and the Lord will ·save me [give me victory].
17 Morning, noon, and ·night [L evening] I ·am troubled and upset [sigh and moan],
but he will listen to ·me [L my voice].
18 Many are against me,
but he ·keeps me safe [L redeems/ransoms me whole/in peace] in battle.
19 God who ·lives forever [or is enthroned from of old]
will hear me and ·punish [L humble] them. ·
But they will not change;
they do not fear God [Prov. 1:7].
20 ·The one who was my friend attacks his friends [L He sends his hand against his friend]
and ·breaks [violates; profanes] his ·promises [covenant; treaty].
21 His words are ·slippery like [L smoother than] butter,
but war is in his heart.
His words are ·smoother [softer] than oil,
but they cut like ·knives [unsheathed swords; Prov. 5:3–4].
22 ·Give [L Cast; Throw] your ·worries [burden; L that which he has given you] to the Lord,
and he will ·take care of [sustain] you.
He will never let ·good [righteous] people ·down [L be moved].
23 But, God, you will bring down
the wicked to the ·grave [deepest pit; L pit of corruption].
Murderers and ·liars [deceivers] will ·live
only half a lifetime [L not live half their days].
But I will ·trust [have confidence] in you.
A Hymn of Thanksgiving
A psalm of David.
138 Lord, I will ·thank [praise] you with all my heart;
I will ·sing [make a psalm] to you before the gods.
2 I will bow down facing your holy Temple,
and I will ·thank [praise] ·you [L your name] for your ·love [loyalty] and ·loyalty [faithfulness].
You have ·made your name and your word
greater than anything [L exalted your word above all your name].
3 On the day I ·called [prayed] to you, you answered me.
You ·made me strong and brave [L have emboldened/encouraged my soul with strength].
4 Lord, let all the kings of the earth ·praise [thank] you
when they hear the words ·you speak [L of your mouth].
5 They will sing about ·what the Lord has done [L the way of the Lord],
because the Lord’s glory [C his manifest presence] is great.
6 Though the Lord is ·supreme [exalted],
he ·takes care of [looks on] ·those who are humble [the lowly],
but he ·stays away from the proud [L perceives the proud from far away].
7 Lord, ·even when I have trouble all around me [L if I walk in the midst of distress],
you will keep me alive.
When my enemies are angry,
you will ·reach down [L send out your hand] and save me by your ·power [L right hand].
8 Lord, you ·do everything [fulfill/accomplish your plan] for me.
Lord, your ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
Do not ·leave [abandon; forsake] us, ·whom you made [L the work of your hands].
God Knows Everything
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
139 Lord, you have ·examined [investigated; searched] me
and know all about me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I ·get up [rise].
You ·know [understand] my thoughts ·before I think them [L from afar].
3 You ·know [L measure] ·where I go [L my path] and ·where I lie down [L my lying down].
You ·know [are familiar with] ·everything I do [L all my path].
4 Lord, even ·before I say a word [L when no word is on my tongue],
you already know ·it [L all of it].
5 You ·are all around me [L hem me in]—in front and in back—
and have put your hand on me.
6 Your knowledge is ·amazing [wonderful; or overwhelming] to me;
it is ·more than I can understand [too high/unattainable. I am not able to grasp it; Rom. 11:33].
7 Where can I go to get away from your Spirit?
Where can I ·run [flee] from you?
8 If I ·go [climb] up to the heavens, you are there.
If I ·lie down [spread out; make my bed] in ·the grave [L Sheol; C the grave or the underworld], you are there.
9 If I rise with the ·sun in the east [L wings of the dawn]
and settle in the ·west beyond [L back of] the sea,
10 even there ·you [L your hand] would guide me.
With your right hand you would ·hold [grab; seize] me.
11 I could say, “The darkness will ·hide [cover] me.
Let the light around me turn into night.”
12 But even the darkness is not dark to you.
The night ·is as light as [shines like] the day;
darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You ·made [created] my ·whole being [inward parts];
you ·formed [knitted] me in my mother’s ·body [belly; womb].
14 I ·praise [thank] you because you made me in an ·amazing [awesome] and wonderful way.
What you have done is wonderful.
I know this very well.
15 ·You saw my bones being formed [L My bones were not hidden from you]
as I ·took shape [was made] in ·my mother’s body [L secret].
When I was ·put together [L woven] ·there [L in the depths of the earth],
16 ·you [L your eyes] saw my ·body as it was formed [L embyro].
All the days ·planned [L formed] for me
were written in your book
·before I was one day old [not one of them existed].
17 God, your thoughts are precious to me.
·They are so many [L How vast are their sum; Job 42:3]!
18 If I could count them,
they would be more than all the grains of sand.
When I ·wake up [or come to the end],
I am still with you.
19 God, I wish you would kill the wicked!
Get away from me, you ·murderers [L people of blood]!
20 They ·say evil things about [make evil plans against] you.
Your enemies ·use your name thoughtlessly [L lift in vain; Ex. 20:7].
21 Lord, ·I hate [L Do I not hate…?] those who hate you;
·I hate [L Do I not abhor…?] those who rise up against you.
22 I ·feel only hate for them [L hate them with a perfect/complete hatred];
they are my enemies.
23 God, ·examine [investigate; search; v. 1] me and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
The Rain Comes Again
41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Now, go, eat, and drink, ·because a heavy rain is coming [L for there is the sound of rushing rain].” 42 So King Ahab went to eat and drink. At the same time Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel, where he bent down to the ground with his ·head [L face] between his knees.
43 Then Elijah said to his servant, “Go and look toward the sea.”
The servant went and looked. “I see nothing,” he said.
Elijah told him to go and look again. This happened seven times. 44 The seventh time, the servant said, “I see a small cloud, the size of a ·human fist [man’s hand], ·coming [rising] from the sea.”
Elijah told the servant, “Go to Ahab and tell him to get his chariot ready and go ·home [L down] now. Otherwise, the rain will stop him.”
45 After a short time the sky ·was covered with dark [grew black with] clouds. The wind began to blow, and soon a ·heavy [torrential] rain began to fall [C showing that it was the Lord, not Baal, that supplied the rain]. Ahab got in his chariot and started back to Jezreel. 46 ·The Lord gave his power to [L The hand of the Lord was on] Elijah, who ·tightened his clothes around him [T girded up his loins] and ·ran ahead of King [outran] Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
Elijah Runs Away
19 King Ahab told Jezebel every thing Elijah had done and how Elijah had killed all the prophets with a sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods ·punish me terribly [deal severely with me, and worse; L do to me, and even more] if by this time tomorrow I don’t ·kill you just as you killed those prophets [L make your life like the life of one of them].”
3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life, taking his servant with him. When they came to Beersheba in Judah, Elijah left his servant there. 4 Then Elijah ·walked [journeyed] for a whole day into the ·desert [wilderness]. He sat down under a ·bush [juniper/broom tree] and asked to die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he prayed. “·Let me die [L Take my life]. I am no better than my ·ancestors [fathers; C that is, he is as good as dead, as they already are].” 5 Then he lay down under the tree and slept.
Suddenly an ·angel [messenger] came to him and touched him. “Get up and eat,” the angel said. 6 Elijah saw near his head a loaf baked over ·coals [hot stones] and a jar of water, so he ate and drank. Then he ·went back to sleep [L lay down again].
7 The Lord’s ·angel [messenger] came to him a second time. The angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat. If you don’t, the journey will be too ·hard [much] for you.” 8 So Elijah got up and ate and drank. The food made him strong enough to walk for forty days and nights to Mount ·Sinai [L Horeb; Ex. 3:1, 17:6; 19:18], the mountain of God.
17 Brothers and sisters, ·all of you should try to follow my example [L become imitators of me] and ·to copy [L watch closely; pay attention to] those who ·live [walk] the way we ·showed [modeled it for] you. 18 [L For] Many people ·live [walk] like enemies of the cross of Christ. I have often told you about them, and ·it makes me cry to [L with tears I] tell you about them now. 19 ·In the end, they will be destroyed [Their end/destiny is destruction]. ·They do whatever their bodies want [L Their god is their stomach/belly], ·they are proud of their shameful acts [L their glory is in their shame], and they think only about earthly things. 20 But our ·homeland [or citizenship] is in heaven, and we are waiting for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven. 21 By his power to ·rule [L subject to himself] all things, he will ·change [transform; transfigure] our humble bodies and make them like his own glorious body.
What the Christians Are to Do
4 [L Therefore; So then] My brothers and sisters, ·I love you and want to see you [L my beloved and longed-for ones]. ·You bring me joy and make me proud of you [L …my joy and crown; 1 Thess. 2:19; C a wreath bestowed for victory or honor], so stand ·strong [firm] in the Lord as I have told you, ·dear friends [beloved].
2 I ·ask [urge; encourage; exhort] Euodia and Syntyche [C two women in the Philippian congregation] to agree in the Lord. 3 And I ask you, my ·faithful [true; genuine] ·friend [companion; L yoke-partner; C possibly a proper name: Syzygos], to help these women. They ·served [struggled; labored] with me in telling the ·Good News [Gospel], together with Clement and ·others who worked with me [L the rest of my coworkers], whose names are written in the book of life [Rev. 3:5; 21:27].
4 ·Be full of joy [Rejoice] in the Lord always. I will say again, ·be full of joy [rejoice].
5 Let everyone see that you are ·gentle [kind; considerate; patient]. The Lord is ·coming soon [or close at hand; L near]. 6 Do not ·worry [be anxious] about anything, but pray and ·ask God for everything you need [or make your requests known to God], always giving thanks. 7 And God’s peace, which ·is so great we cannot understand it [transcends/surpasses all comprehension], will ·keep [guard] your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Jesus Is Baptized by John(A)
13 ·At that time [Then] Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River ·and wanted John to baptize him [L to be baptized by John]. 14 But John tried to ·stop [deter; dissuade; prevent] him, saying, “·Why do [Do] you come to me to be baptized? I need to be baptized by you!”
15 Jesus answered, “Let it ·be this way for [happen] now. ·We should do all things that are God’s will [or In this way we will do what God requires; L For thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness].” So John ·agreed to baptize Jesus [gave in; consented; allowed it].
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water. Then ·heaven [the sky/heavens] opened, and he saw God’s Spirit ·coming down [descending and lighting/settling] on him like a dove [C either in the form of a dove, or in bird-like descent]. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my ·Son, whom I love [dearly beloved Son; Ps. 2:7; Gen. 22:2], and I am ·very [well] pleased with him [Is. 42:1].”
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