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.
Israel Exhorted
51 “(A)Listen to Me, you who (B)pursue righteousness,
Who seek the Lord:
Look to the (C)rock from which you were cut,
And to the [a]quarry from which you were dug.
2 Look to (D)Abraham your father
And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain;
When he (E)was only one I called him,
Then I blessed him and multiplied him.”
3 Indeed, (F)the Lord will comfort Zion;
He will comfort all her (G)ruins.
And He will make her (H)wilderness like (I)Eden,
And her desert like the (J)garden of the Lord.
(K)Joy and gladness will be found in her,
Thanksgiving and the sound of a melody.
4 “(L)Pay attention to Me, My people,
And listen to Me, My [b]nation;
For a (M)law will go out from Me,
And I will bring My (N)justice as a (O)light of the peoples.
5 My (P)righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth,
And My (Q)arms will judge the peoples;
The (R)coastlands will wait for Me,
And they will wait expectantly for My (S)arm.
6 (T)Raise your eyes to the sky,
Then look to the earth beneath;
For the (U)sky will vanish like smoke,
And the (V)earth will wear out like a garment
And its inhabitants will die [c]in the same way.
But My (W)salvation will be forever,
And My righteousness will not fail.
7 (X)Listen to Me, you who know righteousness,
A people in whose (Y)heart is My Law;
Do not fear the (Z)taunting of [d]people,
Nor be terrified of their abuses.
8 For the (AA)moth will eat them like a garment;
Yes, the (AB)moth will eat them like wool.
But My (AC)righteousness will be forever,
And My salvation to all generations.”
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.
Followers of Tradition
7 (A)The Pharisees and some of the scribes *gathered to Him after they came (B)from Jerusalem, 2 and saw that some of His disciples were eating their bread with [a](C)unholy hands, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the other Jews do not eat unless they [b]carefully wash their hands, thereby holding firmly to the (D)tradition of the elders; 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they [c]completely cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received as traditions to firmly hold, such as the [d]washing of (E)cups, pitchers, and copper pots.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes *asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk in accordance with the (F)tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with [e](G)unholy hands?” 6 But He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘(H)This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
7 (I)And in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the (J)tradition of men.”
9 He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your (K)tradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘(L)Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘(M)The one who speaks evil of father or mother, is [f]certainly to be put to death’; 11 but you say, ‘If a person says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is (N)Corban (that is, [g]given to God),’ 12 you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother; 13 thereby invalidating the word of God by your (O)tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”
The Heart of Mankind
14 After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside the person which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which come out of the person are what defile the person[h].”
17 And when He later entered a house, away from the crowd, (P)His disciples asked Him about the parable. 18 And He *said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding as well? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the person from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and [i]is eliminated?” (Thereby He declared (Q)all foods (R)clean.) 20 And He was saying, “(S)That which comes out of the person, that is what defiles the person. 21 For from within, out of the [j]hearts of people, come the evil thoughts, acts of sexual immorality, thefts, murders, acts of adultery, 22 deeds of greed, wickedness, deceit, indecent behavior, [k](T)envy, slander, [l]pride, and foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile the person.”
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