Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for the Destruction of the Treacherous.
For the music director; on stringed instruments. A [a]Maskil of David.
55 (A)Listen to my prayer, God;
And (B)do not hide Yourself from my pleading.
2 Give Your (C)attention to me and answer me;
I am restless in my (D)complaint and [b](E)severely distracted,
3 Because of the voice of the enemy,
Because of the (F)pressure of the wicked;
For they (G)bring down [c]trouble upon me
And in anger they (H)hold a grudge against me.
4 My (I)heart is in anguish within me,
And the terrors of (J)death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and (K)trembling come upon me,
And [d](L)horror has [e]overwhelmed me.
6 I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and [f](M)be at rest.
7 Behold, I would flee far away,
I would (N)spend my nights in the wilderness. Selah
8 I would hurry to my place of refuge
From the (O)stormy wind and heavy gale.”
9 Confuse them, Lord, (P)divide their tongues,
For I have seen (Q)violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around her upon her walls,
And evil and harm are in her midst.
11 (R)Destruction is in her midst;
(S)Oppression and deceit do not depart from her [g]streets.
12 For it is (T)not an enemy who taunts me,
Then I could endure it;
Nor is it one who hates me who (U)has exalted himself against me,
Then I could hide myself from him.
13 But it is you, a man [h]my equal,
My (V)companion and my (W)confidant;
14 We who had sweet [i]fellowship together,
(X)Walked in the house of God among the commotion.
15 May [j]death come (Y)deceitfully upon them;
May they (Z)go down alive to [k]Sheol,
For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.
16 As for me, I shall (AA)call upon God,
And the Lord will save me.
17 (AB)Evening and (AC)morning and at (AD)noon, I will complain and moan,
And He will hear my voice.
18 He will (AE)redeem my soul in peace [l]from the battle which is against me,
For they are (AF)many who are aggressive toward me.
19 God will (AG)hear and humiliate them—
Even the one (AH)who [m]sits enthroned from ancient times— Selah
With whom there [n]is no change,
And who (AI)do not fear God.
20 He has put forth his hands against (AJ)those who were at peace with him;
He has [o](AK)violated his covenant.
21 His [p]speech was (AL)smoother than butter,
But his heart was war;
His words were (AM)softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn (AN)swords.
Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Favor.
A Psalm of David.
138 (A)I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing Your praises before the (B)gods.
2 I will bow down (C)toward Your holy temple
And (D)give thanks to Your name for Your mercy and Your [a]truth;
For You have (E)made Your [b]word great [c]according to all Your name.
3 On the day I (F)called, You answered me;
You made me bold with (G)strength in my soul.
4 (H)All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, Lord,
When they have heard the words of Your mouth.
5 And they will (I)sing of the ways of the Lord,
For (J)great is the glory of the Lord.
6 For (K)the Lord is exalted,
Yet He (L)looks after the lowly,
But He knows the (M)haughty from afar.
7 Though I (N)walk in the midst of trouble, You will [d](O)revive me;
You will (P)reach out with Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will (Q)save me.
8 The Lord will (R)accomplish what concerns me;
Your (S)faithfulness, Lord, is everlasting;
(T)Do not abandon the (U)works of Your hands.
God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
139 Lord, You have (V)searched me and known me.
2 You (W)know [e]when I sit down and [f]when I get up;
You (X)understand my thought from far away.
3 You [g](Y)scrutinize my [h]path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 [i]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, Lord, You (Z)know it all.
5 You have (AA)encircled me behind and in front,
And (AB)placed Your hand upon me.
6 Such (AC)knowledge is (AD)too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot comprehend it.
7 (AE)Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 (AF)If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in [j]Sheol, behold, (AG)You are there.
9 If I take up the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will (AH)lead me,
And Your right hand will take hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the (AI)darkness will [k]overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even (AJ)darkness is not dark [l]to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
(AK)Darkness and light are alike to You.
13 For You (AL)created my innermost parts;
You (AM)wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, because [m]I am awesomely and wonderfully made;
(AN)Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My [n](AO)frame was not hidden from You
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully formed in the (AP)depths of the earth;
16 Your (AQ)eyes have seen my formless substance;
And in (AR)Your book were written
All the (AS)days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
17 How precious also are Your (AT)thoughts for me, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them, they would (AU)outnumber the sand.
When (AV)I awake, I am still with You.
19 If only You would (AW)put the wicked to death, God;
(AX)Leave me, (AY)you men of bloodshed.
20 For they (AZ)speak [o]against You wickedly,
And Your enemies [p](BA)take Your name in vain.
21 Do I not (BB)hate those who hate You, Lord?
And do I not (BC)loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.
8 If you see (A)oppression of the poor and (B)denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be (C)shocked at the [a]sight; for one [b]official watches over another [c]official, and there are higher [d]officials over them. 9 After all, a king who cultivates the field is beneficial to the land.
The Foolishness of Riches
10 (D)One who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor one who loves abundance with its income. This too is futility. 11 (E)When good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the advantage to their owners except to [e]look at them? 12 The sleep of the laborer is (F)sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the [f]full stomach of the rich person does not allow him to sleep.
13 There is a sickening evil which I have seen under the sun: (G)wealth being [g]hoarded by its owner to his detriment. 14 When that wealth was lost through bad business and he had fathered a son, then there was nothing [h]to support him. 15 (H)As he came naked from his mother’s womb, so he will return as he came. He will (I)take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand. 16 This also is a sickening evil: exactly as a person [i]is born, so will he [j]die. (J)What then is the advantage for him who (K)labors for the wind? 17 All his life (L)he also eats in darkness with (M)great irritation, sickness, and anger.
18 Here is what I have seen to be (N)good and [k]fitting: to eat, to drink, and [l]enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he labors under the sun during the few [m]years of his life which God has given him; for this is his [n](O)reward. 19 Furthermore, as for every person to whom (P)God has given riches and wealth, He has also (Q)given him the opportunity to [o]enjoy them and to receive his [p]reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the (R)gift of God. 20 For he will not often call to mind the [q]years of his life, because (S)God keeps [r]him busy with the joy of his heart.
23 But before faith came, [a]we were kept in custody under the Law, (A)being confined for the faith that was destined to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our [b](B)guardian to lead us to Christ, so that (C)we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a [c](D)guardian. 26 For you are all (E)sons and daughters of God through faith in (F)Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were (G)baptized into Christ have (H)clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 (I)There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is [d]neither male nor female; for (J)you are all one in (K)Christ Jesus. 29 And if (L)you [e]belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s [f]descendants, heirs according to (M)promise.
Sonship in Christ
4 Now I say, as long as the heir is a [g]child, he does not differ at all from a slave, although he is [h]owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and [i]managers until the [j]date set by the father. 3 So we too, when we were children, were held (N)in bondage under the [k](O)elementary principles of the world. 4 But when (P)the fullness of the time came, God sent His Son, (Q)born of a woman, born (R)under [l]the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under [m]the Law, that we might receive the adoption as (S)sons and daughters. 6 Because you are sons, (T)God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “(U)Abba! [n]Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and (V)if a son, then an heir [o]through God.
8 However at that time, (W)when you did not know God, you were (X)slaves to (Y)those which by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be (Z)known by God, (AA)how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless [p](AB)elementary principles, to which you want to be enslaved all over again? 10 You (AC)meticulously observe days and months and seasons and years. 11 I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored [q]over you in vain.
Tradition and Commandment
15 (A)Then some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus (B)from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they (C)do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” 3 And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves also break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘(D)Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘(E)The one who speaks evil of father or mother is to [a]be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been [b]given to God,” 6 he is not to [c]honor his father or mother.’ And by this you have invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you, by saying:
8 ‘(F)This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
9 And in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as (G)doctrines the commandments of men.’”
10 After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand! 11 (H)It is not what enters the mouth that defiles the person, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles the person.”
12 Then the disciples came and *said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were [d]offended when they heard this statement?” 13 But He answered and said, “(I)Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. 14 Leave them alone; (J)they are blind guides [e]of blind people. And (K)if a person who is blind guides another who is blind, both will fall into a pit.”
The Heart of Mankind
15 Peter [f]said to Him, “(L)Explain the parable to us.” 16 [g]Jesus said, “Are you also still lacking in understanding? 17 Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is [h]eliminated? 18 But (M)the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and those things defile the person. 19 (N)For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, acts of adultery, other immoral sexual acts, thefts, false testimonies, and [i]slanderous statements. 20 These are the things that defile the person; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the person.”
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