Book of Common Prayer
Trust in God Concerning the Treachery of Friends
To the Chief Musician. With [a]stringed instruments. A [b]Contemplation of David.
55 Give ear to my prayer, O God,
And do not hide Yourself from my supplication.
2 Attend to me, and hear me;
I (A)am[c] restless in my complaint, and moan noisily,
3 Because of the voice of the enemy,
Because of the oppression of the wicked;
(B)For they bring down trouble upon me,
And in wrath they hate me.
4 (C)My heart is severely pained within me,
And the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me,
And horror has overwhelmed me.
6 So I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest.
7 Indeed, I would 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 [d]tongues,
For I have seen (D)violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around it on its walls;
(E)Iniquity and trouble are also in the midst of it.
11 Destruction is in its midst;
(F)Oppression and deceit do not depart from its streets.
12 (G)For it is not an enemy who reproaches me;
Then I could bear it.
Nor is it one who hates me who has (H)exalted himself against me;
Then I could hide from him.
13 But it was you, a man my equal,
(I)My companion and my acquaintance.
14 We took sweet counsel together,
And (J)walked to the house of God in the throng.
15 Let death seize them;
Let them (K)go down alive into [e]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 (L)Evening and morning and at noon
I will pray, and cry aloud,
And He shall hear my voice.
18 He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me,
For (M)there were many against me.
19 God will hear, and afflict them,
(N)Even He who abides from of old. Selah
Because they do not change,
Therefore they do not fear God.
20 He has (O)put forth his hands against those who (P)were at peace with him;
He has broken his [f]covenant.
21 (Q)The words of his mouth were smoother than butter,
But war was in his heart;
His words were softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn swords.
The Lord’s Goodness to the Faithful
A Psalm of David.
138 I will praise You with my whole heart;
(A)Before the gods I will sing praises to You.
2 (B)I will worship (C)toward Your holy temple,
And praise Your name
For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have (D)magnified Your word above all Your name.
3 In the day when I cried out, You answered me,
And made me bold with strength in my soul.
4 (E)All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord,
When they hear the words of Your mouth.
5 Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
For great is the glory of the Lord.
6 (F)Though the Lord is on high,
Yet (G)He regards the lowly;
But the proud He knows from afar.
7 (H)Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand
Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
8 (I)The Lord will [a]perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;
(J)Do not forsake the works of Your hands.
God’s Perfect Knowledge of Man
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
139 O Lord, (K)You have searched me and known me.
2 (L)You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You (M)understand my thought afar off.
3 (N)You [b]comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, (O)You know it altogether.
5 You have [c]hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 (P)Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.
7 (Q)Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 (R)If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
(S)If I make my bed in [d]hell, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall [e]fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
12 Indeed, (T)the darkness [f]shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You [g]covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for [h]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 (U)My [i]frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
17 (V)How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.
19 Oh, that You would (W)slay the wicked, O God!
(X)Depart from me, therefore, you [j]bloodthirsty men.
20 For they (Y)speak against You wickedly;
[k]Your enemies take Your name in vain.
21 (Z)Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with [l]perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 (AA)Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
The Drought Ends
41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; (A)then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, 43 and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.”
So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.”
44 Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, [a]‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’ ”
45 Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. 46 Then the (B)hand of the Lord came upon Elijah; and he (C)girded[b] up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
Elijah Escapes from Jezebel
19 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had (D)executed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, (E)“So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” 3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs 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 [c]broom tree. And he (F)prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”
5 Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an [d]angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on [e]coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 And the [f]angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” 8 So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and (G)forty nights as far as (H)Horeb, the mountain of God.
Our Citizenship in Heaven
17 Brethren, (A)join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as (B)you have us for a pattern. 18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are (C)the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 (D)whose end is destruction, (E)whose god is their belly, and (F)whose glory is in their shame—(G)who set their mind on earthly things. 20 For (H)our citizenship is in heaven, (I)from which we also (J)eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 (K)who will transform our lowly body that it may be (L)conformed to His glorious body, (M)according to the working by which He is able even to (N)subdue all things to Himself.
Be Anxious for Nothing; Think These Thoughts
4 Therefore, my beloved and (O)longed-for brethren, (P)my joy and crown, so (Q)stand fast in the Lord, beloved.
Be United, Joyful, and in Prayer
2 I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche (R)to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 [a]And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who (S)labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in (T)the Book of Life.
4 (U)Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your [b]gentleness be known to all men. (V)The Lord is at hand.
6 (W)Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with (X)thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and (Y)the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
John Baptizes Jesus(A)
13 (B)Then Jesus came (C)from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”
15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.
16 (D)When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and [a]He saw (E)the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 (F)And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, (G)“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.