Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Protection from the Wicked.
For the music director; for [a]flute accompaniment. A Psalm of David.
5 (A)Listen to my words, Lord,
Consider my (B)sighing.
2 Listen to (C)the sound of my cry for help, (D)my King and my God,
For to You I pray.
3 In the morning, Lord, [b]You will hear my voice;
In the (E)morning I will present my [c]prayer to You and be on the (F)watch.
4 For You are not a God (G)who takes pleasure in wickedness;
(H)No evil can dwell with You.
5 The (I)boastful will not (J)stand before Your eyes;
You (K)hate all who do injustice.
6 You (L)destroy those who speak lies;
The Lord loathes (M)the person of bloodshed and deceit.
7 But as for me, (N)by Your abundant graciousness I will enter Your house,
[d]At Your holy temple I will (O)bow in (P)reverence for You.
8 Lord, (Q)lead me (R)in Your righteousness (S)because of my enemies;
Make Your way [e]straight before me.
9 For there is (T)nothing [f]trustworthy in [g]their mouth;
Their (U)inward part is destruction itself.
Their (V)throat is an open grave;
They [h]flatter with their tongue.
10 Make them pay, God;
(W)Have them fall by their own schemes!
(X)Scatter them in the multitude of their wrongdoings,
For they are (Y)rebellious against You.
11 But (Z)rejoice, all who (AA)take refuge in You,
Sing for joy forever!
And [i]may You (AB)shelter them,
That those who (AC)love Your name may rejoice in You.
12 For You (AD)bless the righteous person, Lord,
You (AE)surround him with favor as with a shield.
Prayer for Mercy in Time of Trouble.
For the music director; with stringed instruments, [j]upon an eight-string lyre. A Psalm of David.
6 Lord, (AF)do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor discipline me in Your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am (AG)frail;
(AH)Heal me, Lord, for (AI)my bones are horrified.
3 And my (AJ)soul is greatly horrified;
But You, Lord—(AK)how long?
4 Return, Lord, (AL)rescue my [k]soul;
Save me because of Your mercy.
5 For (AM)there is no [l]mention of You in death;
In [m]Sheol, who will praise You?
A Prayer for the Overthrow of the Wicked.
10 Why (A)do You stand far away, Lord?
Why (B)do You hide [a]Yourself in times of trouble?
2 In (C)arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the needy;
[b]Let them be (D)caught in the plots which they have devised.
3 For the wicked (E)boasts of his (F)soul’s desire,
And [c]the greedy person curses and (G)shows disrespect to the Lord.
4 The wicked, [d]in his haughtiness, (H)does not seek Him.
(I)There is no God in all his schemes.
5 His ways (J)succeed at all times;
Yet Your judgments are on high, (K)out of his sight;
As for all his enemies, he snorts at them.
6 He says to himself, “(L)I will not be moved;
[e]Throughout the generations (M)I will not be in adversity.”
7 His (N)mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and (O)oppression;
(P)Under his tongue is harm and injustice.
8 He sits in the (Q)lurking places of the villages;
He (R)kills the innocent in the secret places;
His eyes [f]surreptitiously watch for the [g](S)unfortunate.
9 He lurks in secret like (T)a lion in his [h]lair;
He (U)lurks to catch (V)the needy;
He catches the needy when he pulls him into his (W)net.
10 Then he crushes the needy one, who cowers;
And [i]unfortunate people fall by his mighty power.
11 He (X)says to himself, “God has forgotten;
He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”
12 Arise, Lord; God, (Y)lift up Your hand.
(Z)Do not forget the humble.
13 Why has the wicked (AA)treated God disrespectfully?
He has said to himself, “[j]You will not require an account.”
14 You have seen it, for You have looked at (AB)harm and provocation to [k]take it into Your hand.
The [l](AC)unfortunate commits himself to You;
You have been the (AD)helper of the orphan.
15 (AE)Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,
[m](AF)Seek out his wickedness until You find none.
16 The Lord is (AG)King forever and ever;
(AH)Nations have perished from His land.
17 Lord, You have heard the (AI)desire of the humble;
You will (AJ)strengthen their heart, (AK)You will make Your ear attentive
18 To [n]vindicate the (AL)orphan and the (AM)oppressed,
So that mankind, which is of the earth, will no longer cause (AN)terror.
The Lord, a Refuge and Defense.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
11 In the Lord I (AO)take refuge;
How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your (AP)mountain?
2 For, behold, the wicked (AQ)bend the bow,
They have [o](AR)set their arrow on the string
To (AS)shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
3 If the (AT)foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?”
4 The Lord is in His (AU)holy temple; the [p]Lord’s (AV)throne is in heaven;
His (AW)eyes see, His eyelids test the sons of mankind.
5 The Lord (AX)tests the righteous and (AY)the wicked,
And His soul hates one who loves violence.
6 He will (AZ)rain [q]coals of fire upon the wicked,
(BA)And brimstone and (BB)burning wind will be the portion of (BC)their cup.
7 For the Lord is (BD)righteous, (BE)He loves [r]righteousness;
The upright will (BF)see His face.
The Scroll Is Replaced
27 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after the king had (A)burned the scroll and the words which (B)Baruch had written [a]at the dictation of Jeremiah, saying, 28 “(C)Take again another scroll and write on it all the previous words that were (D)on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah burned. 29 And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You have (E)burned this scroll, saying, ‘(F)Why have you written on it [b]that the (G)king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will make mankind and animals disappear from it?’” 30 Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: “He shall have (H)no one to sit on the throne of David, and his (I)dead body shall be thrown out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. 31 I will also (J)punish him, his [c]descendants, and his servants for their wrongdoing, and I will (K)bring on them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the people of Judah all the disaster that I have declared to them—but they did not listen.”’”
32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch the son of Neriah, and he (L)wrote on it at the [d]dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and many [e]similar words were added to them.
Jeremiah Warns against Trust in Pharaoh
37 Now (M)Zedekiah the son of Josiah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had (N)made king in the land of Judah, reigned as king in place of (O)Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. 2 But (P)neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.
Prophecy a Superior Gift
14 (A)Pursue love, yet earnestly (B)desire (C)spiritual gifts, but especially that you may (D)prophesy. 2 For the one who (E)speaks in a tongue does not speak to people, but to God; for no one [a]understands, but [b]in his spirit he speaks (F)mysteries. 3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for (G)edification, [c](H)exhortation, and consolation. 4 The one who (I)speaks in a tongue (J)edifies himself; but the one who (K)prophesies (L)edifies the church. 5 Now I wish that you all (M)spoke in tongues, but (N)rather that you would prophesy; and greater is the one who prophesies than the one who (O)speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive (P)edification.
6 But now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I speak to you either by way of (Q)revelation, or of (R)knowledge, or of (S)prophecy, or of (T)teaching? 7 Yet even lifeless instruments, whether flute or harp, in producing a sound, if they do not produce a distinction in the tones, how will it be known what is played on the flute or on the harp? 8 For if (U)the trumpet produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle? 9 So you too, unless you produce intelligible speech by the tongue, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will just be (V)talking to the air. 10 There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of [d]languages in the world, and none is incapable of meaning. 11 So if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be (W)unintelligible to the one who speaks, and the one who speaks will be unintelligible [e]to me. 12 So you too, since you are eager to possess [f]spiritual gifts, strive to excel for the (X)edification of the church.
A Hard Road Ahead of Them
16 “(A)Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be as (B)wary as serpents, and as (C)innocent as doves. 17 But be on guard against people, for they will hand you over to the (D)courts and flog you (E)in their synagogues; 18 and you will even be brought before governors and kings on My account, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 (F)But when they hand you over, (G)do not worry about how or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given you in that hour. 20 For (H)it is not you who are speaking, but it is the Spirit of your Father who is speaking [a]in you.
21 “Now (I)brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and (J)children will rise up against parents and [b]cause them to be put to death. 22 And (K)you will be hated by all because of My name, but (L)it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
23 “But whenever they (M)persecute you in [c]one city, flee to the [d]next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel (N)until the Son of Man comes.
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