Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for the Destruction of the Treacherous.
For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A [a]Maskil of David.
55 (A)Give ear to my prayer, O God;
And (B)do not hide Yourself from my supplication.
2 Give (C)heed to me and answer me;
I am restless in my (D)complaint and [b](E)am surely 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)bear 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 overwhelmed me.
6 I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and [e](M)be at rest.
7 “Behold, I would wander far away,
I would (N)lodge in the wilderness. [f]Selah.
8 “I would hasten to my place of refuge
From the (O)stormy wind and tempest.”
9 [g]Confuse, O 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 iniquity and mischief are in her midst.
11 (R)Destruction is in her midst;
(S)Oppression and deceit do not depart from her [h]streets.
12 For it is (T)not an enemy who reproaches me,
Then I could bear 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 [i]my equal,
My (V)companion and my [j](W)familiar friend;
14 We who had sweet [k]fellowship together
(X)Walked in the house of God in the throng.
15 Let [l]death come (Y)deceitfully upon them;
Let them (Z)go down alive to [m]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 murmur,
And He will hear my voice.
18 He will (AE)redeem my soul in peace [n]from the battle which is against me,
For they are (AF)many who strive with me.
19 God will (AG)hear and [o]answer them—
Even the one (AH)who [p]sits enthroned from of old— Selah.
With whom there [q]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 [r](AK)violated his covenant.
21 His [s]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 praises to You before the (B)gods.
2 I will bow down (C)toward Your holy temple
And (D)give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your [a]truth;
For You have (E)magnified Your [b]word [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, O 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)though the Lord is exalted,
Yet He (L)regards the lowly,
But the (M)haughty He knows from afar.
7 Though I (N)walk in the midst of trouble, You will [d](O)revive me;
You will (P)stretch forth 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)lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting;
(T)Do not forsake the (U)works of Your hands.
God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
139 O Lord, You have (V)searched me and known me.
2 You (W)know [e]when I sit down and [f]when I rise up;
You (X)understand my thought from afar.
3 You [g](Y)scrutinize my [h]path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4 [i]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, You (Z)know it all.
5 You have (AA)enclosed me behind and before,
And (AB)laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such (AC)knowledge is (AD)too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to 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 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 lay 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 the (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)formed my [m]inward parts;
You (AM)wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, for [n]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
(AN)Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My [o](AO)frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the (AP)depths of the earth;
16 Your (AQ)eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in (AR)Your book were all written
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 to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would (AU)outnumber the sand.
When (AV)I awake, I am still with You.
19 O that You would (AW)slay the wicked, O God;
(AX)Depart from me, therefore, (AY)men of bloodshed.
20 For they (AZ)speak [p]against You wickedly,
And Your enemies [q](BA)take Your name in vain.
21 Do I not (BB)hate those who hate You, O 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.
9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Let your hands be (A)strong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the (B)prophets, those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, to the end that the temple might be built. 10 For before those days there was (C)no wage for man or any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no [a](D)peace because of [b]his enemies, and I (E)set all men one against another. 11 But now I will (F)not [c]treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares the Lord of hosts. 12 ‘For there will be (G)peace for the seed: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce and the heavens will give their (H)dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit (I)all these things. 13 It will come about that just as you were a (J)curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a (K)blessing. Do not fear; let your (L)hands be strong.’
14 “For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Just as I (M)purposed to do harm to you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘and I have not (N)relented, 15 so I have again purposed in these days to (O)do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. (P)Do not fear! 16 These are the things which you should do: speak the (Q)truth to one another; (R)judge with truth and judgment for peace in your [d]gates. 17 Also let none of you (S)devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love [e](T)perjury; for all these are what I (U)hate,’ declares the Lord.”
The First Seal—Rider on White Horse
6 Then I saw when the (A)Lamb broke one of the (B)seven seals, and I heard one of the (C)four living creatures saying as with a (D)voice of thunder, “Come[a].” 2 I looked, and behold, a (E)white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and (F)a crown was given to him, and he went out (G)conquering and to conquer.
The Second Seal—War
3 When He broke the second seal, I heard the (H)second living creature saying, “Come[b].” 4 And another, (I)a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to (J)take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.
The Third Seal—Famine
5 When He broke the third seal, I heard the (K)third living creature saying, “Come[c].” I looked, and behold, a (L)black horse; and he who sat on it had a (M)pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard something like a voice in the center of the (N)four living creatures saying, “A [d]quart of wheat for a [e]denarius, and three [f]quarts of barley for a [g]denarius; and (O)do not damage the oil and the wine.”
The Fourth Seal—Death
7 When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the (P)fourth living creature saying, “Come[h].” 8 I looked, and behold, an [i](Q)ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name (R)Death; and (S)Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, (T)to kill with sword and with famine and with [j]pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.
The Fifth Seal—Martyrs
9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw (U)underneath the (V)altar the (W)souls of those who had been slain (X)because of the word of God, and because of the (Y)testimony which they had maintained; 10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “(Z)How long, O [k](AA)Lord, (AB)holy and true, [l]will You refrain from (AC)judging and avenging our blood on (AD)those who dwell on the earth?” 11 And (AE)there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should (AF)rest for a little while longer, (AG)until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be (AH)completed also.
The Sixth Seal—Terror
12 I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great (AI)earthquake; and the (AJ)sun became black as (AK)sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; 13 and (AL)the stars of the sky fell to the earth, (AM)as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. 14 (AN)The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and (AO)every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 Then (AP)the kings of the earth and the great men and the [m]commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; 16 and they *(AQ)said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the [n]presence of Him (AR)who sits on the throne, and from the (AS)wrath of the Lamb; 17 for (AT)the great day of their wrath has come, and (AU)who is able to stand?”
The Judgment
31 “But when (A)the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then (B)He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be (C)gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, (D)as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep (E)on His right, and the goats (F)on the left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, (G)inherit the kingdom prepared for you (H)from the foundation of the world. 35 For (I)I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; (J)I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 (K)naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you (L)visited Me; (M)I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 (N)The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, (O)to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘(P)Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the (Q)eternal fire which has been prepared for (R)the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44 Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not [a]take care of You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 These will go away into (S)eternal punishment, but the righteous into (T)eternal life.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.