Book of Common Prayer
To the director: To the tune “The Dove in the Distant Oak.” A miktam of David written when the Philistines captured him in Gath.
56 God, people have attacked me, so be merciful to me.
They have been chasing me all day, closing in to attack me.
2 My enemies come at me constantly.
There are too many fighters to count.[a]
3 When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
4 I trust God, so I am not afraid of what people can do to me!
I praise God for his promise to me.
5 My enemies are always twisting my words.
They are always making plans against me.
6 They hide together and watch every move I make,
hoping for some way to kill me.
7 God, send them away because of the bad things they did.
Show your anger and defeat those people.
8 You know I am very upset.
You know how much I have cried.
Surely you have kept an account of all my tears.
9 I know that when l call for help, my enemies will turn and run.
I know that because God is with me!
10 I praise God for his promise.
I praise the Lord for his promise to me.
11 I trust God, so I am not afraid
of what people can do to me!
12 God, I will keep the special promises I made to you.
I will give you my thank offering.
13 You saved me from death.
You kept me from being defeated.
So I will serve you in the light
that only the living can see.
To the director: To the tune “Don’t Destroy.” A miktam of David written when he escaped from Saul and went into the cave.
57 God, be merciful to me.
Be kind because my soul trusts in you.
I have come to you for protection,
while the trouble passes.
2 I pray to God Most High for help,
and he takes care of me completely!
3 From heaven he helps me and saves me.
He will punish the one who attacks me. Selah
God will remain loyal to me
and send his love to protect me.
4 My life is in danger.
My enemies are all around me.
They are like man-eating lions,
with teeth like spears or arrows
and tongues like sharp swords.
5 God, rise above the heavens!
Let all the world see your glory.
6 My enemies set a trap for my feet
to bring me down.
They dug a deep pit to catch me,
but they fell into it. Selah
7 God, I am ready, heart and soul,
to sing songs of praise.
8 Wake up, my soul!
Harps and lyres, wake up,
and let’s wake the dawn!
9 My Lord, I will praise you before all people.
I will sing praises about you to every nation.
10 Your faithful love is higher
than the highest clouds in the sky!
11 Rise above the heavens, God.
Let all the world see your glory.
To the director: To the tune “Don’t Destroy.” A miktam of David.
58 You judges are not being fair in your decisions.
You are not judging people fairly.
2 No, you only think of evil things to do.
You do violent crimes in this country.
3 Those wicked people started doing wrong as soon as they were born.
They have been liars from birth.
4 Their anger is as deadly as the poison of a snake.[b]
They shut their ears like a deaf cobra
5 that does not listen to the music of the snake charmers,
no matter how well they play.
6 God, they are like lions.
So, Lord, break their teeth.
7 May they disappear like water down a drain.
May they be crushed like weeds on a path.[c]
8 May they be like snails melting away as they move.
May they be like a baby born dead, who never saw the light of day.
9 May they be destroyed suddenly,
like the thorns that are burned to quickly heat a pot.
To the director: A song of David.
64 God, listen to my complaint.
Save me from the terrible threats of my enemies!
2 Protect me from the secret plans of the wicked.
Hide me from that gang of evil people.
3 They sharpen their tongues to use like swords.
They aim their poisonous words like arrows.
4 Suddenly, from their hiding places, they let their arrows fly.
They shoot to kill innocent people.
5 They encourage each other to do wrong.
They talk about setting traps and say, “No one will see them here!
6 No one will discover our crime.
We have the perfect plan!”
Yes, people can be very tricky and hard to understand.
7 But suddenly, God will shoot his arrows,
and those wicked people will be hit.
8 He will use their own words against them,
and they will be destroyed.
Then everyone who sees them
will shake their heads in amazement.
9 People will see what God has done.
They will tell other people about him.
Then everyone will learn more about God.
They will learn to fear and respect him.
10 Good people are happy to serve the Lord.
They depend on him to protect them.
All those who want to do right will praise him!
To the director: A praise song of David.
65 God in Zion, we praise you
and give you what we promised.
2 Anyone can come to you,
and you will listen to their prayers.
3 When our sins become too heavy for us,
you wipe them away.
4 Oh, how wonderful it is to be the people you chose
to come and stay in your Temple.
And we are so happy to have the wonderful things
that are in your Temple, your holy palace.
5 God, you answer our prayers and do what is right.
You do amazing things to save us.
People all over the world know they can trust in you,
even those who live across the sea.
6 You made the mountains.
We see your power all around us.
7 You can calm the roughest seas
or the nations raging around us.
8 People all around the world are amazed at the wonderful things you do.
You make all people, east and west, sing with joy.
9 You take care of the land.
You water it and make it fertile.
Your streams are always filled with water.
That’s how you make the crops grow.
10 You pour rain on the plowed fields;
you soak the fields with water.
You make the ground soft with rain,
and you make the young plants grow.
11 You start the new year with a good harvest.
You end the year with many crops.[a]
12 The desert and hills are covered with grass.
13 The pastures are covered with sheep.
The valleys are filled with grain.
Everything is singing and shouting for joy.
God Punished Israel
17 Wake up! Wake up!
Jerusalem, get up!
The Lord was very angry with you.
So you were punished.
It was like a cup of poison you had to drink,
and you drank it all.
18 Jerusalem had many people, but none of them became leaders for her. None of the children she raised became guides to lead her. 19 Troubles came to you, Jerusalem, in pairs: Your land was destroyed and lies in ruins, and your people suffered from famine and war.
But no one felt sorry for you or showed you mercy. 20 Your people became weak. They fell on the ground and lay there. They were lying on every street corner, like animals caught in a net. They were punished by the Lord’s anger until they could not accept any more punishment. When God said he would give them more punishment, they became very weak.
21 Listen to me, poor Jerusalem. You are weak like a drunk, but you are not drunk from wine. You are weak from that “cup of poison.”
22 Your God is the one who fights for his people. He is your Lord God, and he says to you, “Look, I am taking this ‘cup of poison’ away from you. It is full of my anger, and I am taking it out of your hand. You will not be punished by my anger again. 23 I will now use my anger to punish the people who hurt you. They tried to kill you. They told you, ‘Bow down before us, and we will walk on you.’ They forced you to bow down before them, and then they walked on your back like dirt. You were like a road for them to walk on.”
4 This is what I am saying: When young children inherit all that their father owned, they are still no different from his slaves. It doesn’t matter that they own everything. 2 While they are children, they must obey those who are chosen to care for them. But when they reach the age the father set, they are free. 3 It is the same for us. We were once like children, slaves to the useless rules[a] of this world. 4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, who was born from a woman and lived under the law. 5 God did this so that he could buy the freedom of those who were under the law. God’s purpose was to make us his children.
6 Since you are now God’s children, he has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts. The Spirit cries out, “ Abba,[b] Father.” 7 Now you are not slaves like before. You are God’s children, and you will receive everything he promised his children.
Paul’s Love for the Galatian Believers
8 In the past you did not know God. You were slaves to gods that were not real. 9 But now you know the true God. Really, though, it is God who knows you. So why do you turn back to the same kind of weak and useless rules you followed before? Do you want to be slaves to those things again? 10-11 It worries me that you follow teachings about special days, months, seasons, and years. I fear that my work for you has been wasted.
Jesus Helps a Non-Jewish Woman(A)
24 Jesus went from there to the area around Tyre. He did not want the people in that area to know he was there, so he went into a house. But he could not stay hidden. 25 A woman heard that he was there. Her little daughter had an evil spirit inside her. So the woman came to Jesus and bowed down near his feet. 26 She was not a Jew. She was born in Phoenicia, an area in Syria. She begged Jesus to force the demon out of her daughter.
27 Jesus told the woman, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs. First let the children eat all they want.”
28 She answered, “That is true, Lord. But the dogs under the table can eat the pieces of food that the children don’t eat.”
29 Then he told her, “That is a very good answer. You may go. The demon has left your daughter.”
30 The woman went home and found her daughter lying on the bed. The demon was gone.
Jesus Heals a Deaf Man
31 Then Jesus left the area around Tyre and went through Sidon. On his way to Lake Galilee he went through the area of the Ten Towns. 32 While he was there, some people brought a man to him who was deaf and could not talk clearly. The people begged Jesus to put his hand on the man to heal him.
33 Jesus led the man away from the people to be alone with him. He put his fingers in the man’s ears. Then he spit on a finger and put it on the man’s tongue. 34 Jesus looked up to the sky and with a loud sigh he said, “Ephphatha!” (This means “Open!”) 35 As soon as Jesus did this, the man was able to hear. He was able to use his tongue, and he began to speak clearly.
36 Jesus told the people not to tell anyone about this. But the more he told them not to say anything, the more people they told. 37 They were all completely amazed. They said, “Look at what he has done. It’s all good. He makes deaf people able to hear and gives a new voice to people who could not talk.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International