Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Protection from the Wicked.
For the choir director; for [a]flute accompaniment. A Psalm of David.
5 (A)Give ear to my words, O Lord,
Consider my [b](B)groaning.
2 Heed (C)the sound of my cry for help, (D)my King and my God,
For to You I pray.
3 In the morning, O Lord, [c]You will hear my voice;
In the (E)morning I will order my [d]prayer to You and eagerly (F)watch.
4 For You are not a God (G)who takes pleasure in wickedness;
(H)No evil [e]dwells with You.
5 The (I)boastful shall not (J)stand before Your eyes;
You (K)hate all who do iniquity.
6 You (L)destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors (M)the man of bloodshed and deceit.
7 But as for me, (N)by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house,
[f]At Your holy temple I will (O)bow in (P)reverence for You.
8 O Lord, (Q)lead me (R)in Your righteousness (S)because of [g]my foes;
Make Your way [h]straight before me.
9 There is (T)nothing [i]reliable in [j]what they say;
Their (U)inward part is destruction itself.
Their (V)throat is an open grave;
They [k]flatter with their tongue.
10 Hold them guilty, O God;
(W)By their own devices let them fall!
In the multitude of their transgressions (X)thrust them out,
For they are (Y)rebellious against You.
11 But let all who (Z)take refuge in You (AA)be glad,
Let them ever sing for joy;
And [l]may You (AB)shelter them,
That those who (AC)love Your name may exult in You.
12 For it is You who (AD)blesses the righteous man, O Lord,
You (AE)surround him with favor as with a shield.
Prayer for Mercy in Time of Trouble.
For the choir director; with stringed instruments, [m]upon an eight-string lyre. A Psalm of David.
6 O Lord, (AF)do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor chasten me in Your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am (AG)pining away;
(AH)Heal me, O Lord, for (AI)my bones are dismayed.
3 And my (AJ)soul is greatly dismayed;
But You, O Lord—(AK)how long?
4 Return, O Lord, (AL)rescue my [n]soul;
Save me because of Your lovingkindness.
5 For (AM)there is no [o]mention of You in death;
In [p]Sheol who will give You thanks?
A Prayer for the Overthrow of the Wicked.
10 Why (A)do You stand afar off, O Lord?
Why (B)do You hide [a]Yourself in times of trouble?
2 In (C)pride the wicked [b]hotly pursue the afflicted;
[c]Let them be (D)caught in the plots which they have devised.
3 For the wicked (E)boasts of his (F)heart’s desire,
And [d]the greedy man curses and (G)spurns the Lord.
4 The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, (H)does not seek Him.
All his [e]thoughts are, “(I)There is no God.”
5 His ways [f](J)prosper at all times;
Your judgments are on high, (K)out of his sight;
As for all his adversaries, he snorts at them.
6 He says to himself, “(L)I will not be moved;
[g]Throughout all generations (M)I will not be in adversity.”
7 His (N)mouth is full of curses and deceit and (O)oppression;
(P)Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness.
8 He sits in the (Q)lurking places of the villages;
In the hiding places he (R)kills the innocent;
His eyes [h]stealthily watch for the [i](S)unfortunate.
9 He lurks in a hiding place as (T)a lion in his [j]lair;
He (U)lurks to catch (V)the afflicted;
He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his (W)net.
10 He [k]crouches, he [l]bows down,
And the [m]unfortunate fall [n]by his mighty ones.
11 He (X)says to himself, “God has forgotten;
He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”
12 Arise, O Lord; O God, (Y)lift up Your hand.
(Z)Do not forget the afflicted.
13 Why has the wicked (AA)spurned God?
He has said to himself, “You will not require it.”
14 You have seen it, for You have beheld (AB)mischief and vexation to [o]take it into Your hand.
The [p](AC)unfortunate commits himself to You;
You have been the (AD)helper of the orphan.
15 (AE)Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,
[q](AF)Seek out his wickedness until You find none.
16 The Lord is (AG)King forever and ever;
(AH)Nations have perished from His land.
17 O Lord, You have heard the (AI)desire of the [r]humble;
You will (AJ)strengthen their heart, (AK)You will incline Your ear
18 To [s]vindicate the (AL)orphan and the (AM)oppressed,
So that man who is of the earth will no longer cause (AN)terror.
The Lord a Refuge and Defense.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
11 In the Lord I (AO)take refuge;
How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your (AP)mountain;
2 For, behold, the wicked (AQ)bend the bow,
They [t](AR)make ready their arrow upon the string
To (AS)shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
3 If the (AT)foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?”
4 The Lord is in His (AU)holy temple; the [u]Lord’s (AV)throne is in heaven;
His (AW)eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
5 The Lord (AX)tests the righteous and (AY)the wicked,
And the one who loves violence His soul hates.
6 Upon the wicked He will (AZ)rain [v]snares;
(BA)Fire and brimstone and (BB)burning wind will be the portion of (BC)their cup.
7 For the Lord is (BD)righteous, (BE)He loves [w]righteousness;
The upright will (BF)behold His face.
The Scroll Is Replaced
27 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after the king had (A)burned the scroll and the words which (B)Baruch had written at the dictation of Jeremiah, saying, 28 “(C)Take again another scroll and write on it all the former words that were (D)on the first scroll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah burned. 29 And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord, “You have (E)burned this scroll, saying, ‘(F)Why have you written on it [a]that the (G)king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will make man and beast to cease from it?’” 30 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah, “He shall have (H)no one to sit on the throne of David, and his (I)dead body shall be cast out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. 31 I will also (J)punish him and his [b]descendants and his servants for their iniquity, and I will (K)bring on them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the men of Judah all the calamity that I have declared to them—but they did not listen.”’”
32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the son of Neriah, the scribe, and he (L)wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and many [c]similar words were added to them.
Jeremiah Warns against Trust in Pharaoh
37 Now (M)Zedekiah the son of Josiah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had (N)made king in the land of Judah, reigned as king in place of (O)Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. 2 But (P)neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.
Prophecy a Superior Gift
14 (A)Pursue love, yet (B)desire earnestly (C)spiritual gifts, but especially that you may (D)prophesy. 2 For one who (E)speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one [a]understands, but [b]in his spirit he speaks (F)mysteries. 3 But one who prophesies speaks to men for (G)edification and (H)exhortation and consolation. 4 One who (I)speaks in a tongue (J)edifies himself; but one who (K)prophesies (L)edifies the church. 5 Now I wish that you all (M)spoke in tongues, but (N)even more that you would prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies than one who (O)speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive (P)edifying.
6 But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what will I profit you unless I speak to you either by way of (Q)revelation or of (R)knowledge or of (S)prophecy or of (T)teaching? 7 Yet even lifeless things, either flute or harp, in producing a sound, if they do not produce a distinction in the tones, how will it be known what is played on the flute or on the harp? 8 For if (U)the [c]bugle produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle? 9 So also you, unless you utter by the tongue speech that is clear, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be (V)speaking into the air. 10 There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of [d]languages in the world, and no kind is without meaning. 11 If then I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be to the one who speaks a [e](W)barbarian, and the one who speaks will be a [f]barbarian [g]to me. 12 So also you, since you are zealous of [h]spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the (X)edification of the church.
A Hard Road before Them
16 “(A)Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so [a]be (B)shrewd as serpents and (C)innocent as doves. 17 But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the (D)courts and scourge you (E)in their synagogues; 18 and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 (F)But when they hand you over, (G)do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. 20 For (H)it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
21 “(I)Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and (J)children will rise up against parents and [b]cause them to be put to death. 22 (K)You will be hated by all because of My name, but (L)it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
23 “But whenever they (M)persecute you in [c]one city, flee to [d]the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel (N)until the Son of Man comes.
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