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.
Joshua’s Farewell Address
23 Now it came about after many days, when the Lord had given (A)rest to Israel from all their enemies on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years, 2 that (B)Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders, their heads, their judges, and their officers, and said to them, “I am old, advanced in years. 3 And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you, for (C)the Lord your God is He who has been fighting for you. 4 See, (D)I have apportioned to you these nations which remain as an inheritance for your tribes, with all the nations which I have eliminated, from the Jordan even to the Great Sea toward the [a]west. 5 And the Lord your God, He will thrust them away from you and [b](E)drive them from you; and (F)you will take possession of their land, just as the Lord your God [c]promised you. 6 (G)Be very determined, then, to keep and do everything that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, so that you will not turn aside from it to the right or to the left, 7 so that you will not [d]associate with these nations, these which remain with you, or (H)mention the name of their gods, or (I)make anyone swear by them, or (J)serve them, or bow down to them. 8 But you are to cling to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day. 9 (K)For the Lord has [e]driven out great and mighty nations from before you; and as for you, (L)no one has stood against you to this day. 10 (M)One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the Lord your God is (N)He who fights for you, just as He [f]promised you. 11 So take great care for yourselves that you love the Lord your God. 12 For if you ever go back and (O)cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain with you, and (P)intermarry with them, so that you [g]associate with them and they with you, 13 know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to [h]drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a (Q)snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the Lord your God has given you.
14 “Now behold, today (R)I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that (S)not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; they all have [i]been fulfilled for you, not [j]one of them has failed. 15 But it will come about that just as all the good words which the Lord your God spoke to you have come upon you, so (T)the Lord will bring upon you [k]all the warnings, until He has eliminated you from this good land which the Lord your God has given you. 16 (U)When you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and you go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from the good land which He has given you.”
25 but now, (A)I am going to Jerusalem, (B)serving the [a]saints. 26 For (C)Macedonia and (D)Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the [b]saints in Jerusalem. 27 For they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For (E)if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to do them a service also in material things. 28 Therefore, when I have finished this, and (F)have [c]put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will (G)go on by way of you to Spain. 29 I know that when (H)I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.
30 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by (I)the love of the Spirit, to (J)strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, 31 that I may be (K)rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my (L)service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the [d](M)saints; 32 so that (N)I may come to you in joy by (O)the will of God and relax in your company. 33 Now (P)the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Jesus before Pilate
11 (A)Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “So You are the (B)King of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “(C)It is as you say.” 12 And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, (D)He did not offer any answer. 13 Then Pilate *said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they are testifying against You?” 14 And still (E)He did not answer him in regard to even a single [a]charge, so the governor was greatly amazed.
15 (F)Now at the Passover Feast the governor was accustomed to release for the [b]people any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16 And at that time they were holding a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus (G)who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that it was because of envy that [c]they had handed Him over.
19 And (H)while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “See that you have nothing to do with that (I)righteous Man; for [d]last night I suffered greatly (J)in a dream because of Him.” 20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to (K)ask for Barabbas, and to put Jesus to death. 21 And the governor [e]said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” 22 Pilate *said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus (L)who is called Christ?” They all *said, “[f]Crucify Him!” 23 But he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” Yet they kept shouting all the more, saying, “[g]Crucify Him!”
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