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.
An Appeal against the Devastation of the Land by the Enemy.
A [a]Maskil of Asaph.
74 God, why have You (A)rejected us forever?
Why does Your anger (B)smoke against the (C)sheep of Your [b]pasture?
2 Remember Your congregation, which You (D)purchased of old,
Which You have (E)redeemed to be the (F)tribe of Your inheritance;
And this Mount (G)Zion, where You have dwelt.
3 [c]Step toward the [d](H)irreparable ruins;
The enemy (I)has damaged everything in the sanctuary.
4 Your adversaries have (J)roared in the midst of Your meeting place;
They have set up their (K)own signs as (L)signs.
5 It [e]seems like one bringing up
His (M)axe into a [f]forest of trees.
6 And now they break down [g]all its (N)carved work
With axe and hammers.
7 They have [h](O)burned Your sanctuary [i]to the ground;
They have (P)defiled the dwelling place of Your name.
8 They (Q)said in their heart, “Let’s [j]completely [k]subdue them.”
They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9 We do not see our (R)signs;
There is (S)no longer any prophet,
Nor is there anyone among us who knows (T)how long.
10 How long, God, will the enemy (U)taunt You?
Shall the enemy (V)treat Your name disrespectfully forever?
11 Why (W)do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand?
Extend it from Your chest and (X)destroy them!
12 Yet God is (Y)my King from long ago,
Who performs acts of salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 [l]You (Z)divided the sea by Your strength;
[m]You (AA)broke the heads of the (AB)sea monsters [n]in the waters.
14 [o]You crushed the heads of [p](AC)Leviathan;
You gave him as food for the [q]creatures (AD)of the wilderness.
15 [r]You (AE)broke open springs and torrents;
[s]You (AF)dried up ever-flowing streams.
16 Yours is the day, Yours also is the night;
[t]You have (AG)prepared the [u]light and the sun.
17 [v]You have (AH)established all the boundaries of the earth;
[w]You have [x]created (AI)summer and winter.
18 Remember this, [y]Lord, that the enemy has (AJ)taunted You,
And a (AK)foolish people has treated Your name disrespectfully.
19 Do not give the soul of Your (AL)turtledove to the wild animal;
(AM)Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.
20 Consider the (AN)covenant;
For the (AO)dark places of the land are full of the places of violence.
21 May the (AP)oppressed person not return dishonored;
May the (AQ)afflicted and the needy praise Your name.
5 This is what the Lord says:
“(A)Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes (B)flesh his [a]strength,
And whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 For he will be like a (C)bush in the desert,
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A (D)land of salt that is not inhabited.
7 (E)Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose (F)trust is the Lord.
8 For he will be like a (G)tree planted by the water
That extends its roots by a stream,
And does not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of (H)drought,
Nor cease to yield fruit.
14 (A)Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;
(B)Save me and I will be saved,
For You are my (C)praise.
15 Look, they keep (D)saying to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come now!”
16 But as for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd following after You,
Nor have I longed for the disastrous day;
(E)You Yourself know that the utterance of my lips
Was in Your presence.
17 Do not be a (F)terror to me;
You are my (G)refuge in a day of disaster.
Think of Excellence
4 Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, [a]whom I (A)long to see, my joy and crown, (B)stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.
2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to [b](C)live in harmony in the Lord. 3 Indeed, true [c]companion, I ask you also, help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement as well as the rest of my (D)fellow workers, whose (E)names are in the book of life.
4 (F)Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. (G)The Lord is [d]near. 6 (H)Do not [e]be anxious about anything, but in everything by (I)prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And (J)the peace of God, which surpasses all [f]comprehension, will (K)guard your hearts and (L)minds in (M)Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, (N)whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is [g]lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen (O)in me, practice these things, and (P)the God of peace will be with you.
God’s Provisions
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last (Q)you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked an opportunity to act. 11 Not that I speak [h]from need, for I have learned to be [i](R)content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going (S)hungry, both of having abundance and (T)suffering need. 13 I can do all things [j]through Him who (U)strengthens me.
Jesus Foretells His Death
27 “(A)Now My soul has become troubled; and what am I to say? ‘(B)Father, save Me from (C)this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 (D)Father, glorify Your name.” Then a (E)voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 So the crowd who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “(F)An angel has spoken to Him!” 30 Jesus responded and said, “(G)This voice has not come for My sake, but for yours. 31 (H)Now judgment is upon this world; now (I)the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I (J)am lifted up from the earth, will (K)draw all people to Myself.” 33 Now He was saying this (L)to indicate what kind of death He was going to die. 34 The crowd then answered Him, “We have heard from (M)the Law that (N)the [a]Christ is to remain forever; and how is it that You say, ‘The (O)Son of Man must be (P)lifted up’? Who is this (Q)Son of Man?” 35 So Jesus said to them, “(R)For a little while longer (S)the Light is among you. (T)Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; also, the one who (U)walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the Light, (V)believe in the Light, so that you may become (W)sons of Light.”
These things Jesus proclaimed, and He went away and (X)hid Himself from them.
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