Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 5
The Refuge of the Righteous
For the choir director: with the flutes. A psalm of David.
1 Listen to my words, Lord;
consider my sighing.(A)
2 Pay attention to the sound of my cry,(B)
my King and my God,(C)
for I pray to you.
3 In the morning,(D) Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I plead my case to you(E) and watch expectantly.
4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil cannot dwell with you.(F)
5 The boastful cannot stand in your sight;(G)
you hate all evildoers.(H)
6 You destroy those who tell lies;(I)
the Lord abhors violent and treacherous people.(J)
7 But I enter your house
by the abundance of your faithful love;(K)
I bow down toward your holy temple
in reverential awe of you.(L)
8 Lord, lead me in your righteousness(M)
because of my adversaries;
make your way straight before me.(N)
9 For there is nothing reliable in what they say;(O)
destruction is within them;
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongues.(P)
10 Punish them, God;
let them fall by their own schemes.(Q)
Drive them out(R) because of their many crimes,
for they rebel against you.(S)
11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;(T)
let them shout for joy forever.
May you shelter them,(U)
and may those who love your name boast about you.(V)
12 For you, Lord, bless the righteous one;
you surround him with favor like a shield.(W)
Psalm 6
A Prayer for Mercy
For the choir director: with stringed instruments, according to Sheminith.(X) A psalm of David.
1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger;
do not discipline me in your wrath.(Y)
2 Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am weak;[a](Z)
heal me,(AA) Lord, for my bones are shaking;(AB)
3 my whole being is shaken with terror.(AC)
And you, Lord—how long?(AD)
4 Turn, Lord! Rescue me;
save me because of your faithful love.(AE)
5 For there is no remembrance of you in death;
who can thank you in Sheol?(AF)
Psalm 10
Need for God’s Justice
1 Lord,[a][b] why do you stand so far away?(A)
Why do you hide in times of trouble?(B)
2 In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue their victims;
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.(C)
3 For the wicked one boasts about his own cravings;(D)
the one who is greedy curses[c] and despises the Lord.(E)
4 In all his scheming,
the wicked person arrogantly thinks,[d]
“There’s no accountability,
since there’s no God.”(F)
5 His ways are always secure;[e]
your lofty judgments have no effect on him;[f]
he scoffs at all his adversaries.(G)
6 He says to himself, “I will never be moved—
from generation to generation I will be without calamity.”(H)
7 Cursing, deceit, and violence fill his mouth;
trouble and malice are under his tongue.(I)
8 He waits in ambush near settlements;(J)
he kills the innocent in secret places.
His eyes are on the lookout for the helpless;(K)
9 he lurks in secret like a lion in a thicket.
He lurks in order to seize a victim;
he seizes a victim and drags him in his net.
10 So he is oppressed and beaten down;
helpless people fall because of the wicked one’s strength.(L)
11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten;
he hides his face and will never see.”(M)
12 Rise up, Lord God! Lift up your hand.(N)
Do not forget the oppressed.(O)
13 Why has the wicked person despised God?
He says to himself, “You will not demand an account.”(P)
14 But you yourself have seen trouble and grief,
observing it in order to take the matter into your hands.(Q)
The helpless one entrusts himself to you;
you are a helper of the fatherless.(R)
15 Break the arm of the wicked, evil person,(S)
until you look for his wickedness,
but it can’t be found.(T)
16 The Lord is King forever and ever;(U)
the nations will perish from his land.(V)
17 Lord, you have heard the desire of the humble;
you will strengthen their hearts.
You will listen carefully,(W)
18 doing justice for the fatherless and the oppressed
so that mere humans from the earth may terrify them no more.(X)
Psalm 11
Refuge in the Lord
For the choir director. Of David.
1 I have taken refuge in the Lord.(Y)
How can you say to me,
“Escape to the mountains[g] like a bird!(Z)
2 For look, the wicked string bows;
they put their arrows on bowstrings
to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.(AA)
3 When the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?” (AB)
4 The Lord is in his holy temple;(AC)
the Lord—his throne is in heaven.(AD)
His eyes watch;
his gaze[h] examines everyone.[i]
5 The Lord examines the righteous,
but he hates the wicked
and[j] those who love violence.(AE)
6 Let him rain burning coals[k] and sulfur on the wicked;
let a scorching wind be the portion in their cup.(AF)
7 For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds.
The upright will see his face.(AG)
Israel’s Song
15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. They said:
I will sing to the Lord,
for he is highly exalted;
he has thrown the horse
and its rider into the sea.
2 The Lord is my strength and my song;[a]
he has become my salvation.(A)
This is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.(B)
3 The Lord is a warrior;(C)
the Lord is his name.(D)
4 He threw Pharaoh’s chariots
and his army into the sea;
the elite of his officers
were drowned in the Red Sea.(E)
5 The floods covered them;
they sank to the depths like a stone.(F)
6 Lord, your right hand is glorious in power.
Lord, your right hand shattered the enemy.(G)
7 You overthrew your adversaries
by your great majesty.
You unleashed your burning wrath;
it consumed them like stubble.(H)
8 The water heaped up(I) at the blast from your nostrils;
the currents stood firm like a dam.
The watery depths congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy said:
“I will pursue, I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil.(J)
My desire will be gratified at their expense.
I will draw my sword;
my hand will destroy[b] them.”
10 But you blew with your breath,
and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
in the mighty waters.
11 Lord, who is like you among the gods?
Who is like you, glorious in holiness,(K)
revered with praises, performing wonders?(L)
12 You stretched out your right hand,
and the earth swallowed them.
13 With your faithful love,
you will lead the people
you have redeemed;
you will guide them to your holy dwelling
with your strength.(M)
14 When the peoples hear, they will shudder;
anguish will seize the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified;(N)
trembling will seize the leaders of Moab;
all the inhabitants of Canaan will panic;
16 terror(O) and dread will fall on them.
They will be as still[c] as a stone
because of your powerful arm
until your people pass by, Lord,
until the people whom you purchased[d] pass by.(P)
17 You will bring them in and plant them
on the mountain of your possession;(Q)
Lord, you have prepared the place
for your dwelling;
Lord,[e] your hands have established the sanctuary.
18 The Lord will reign(R) forever and ever!
19 When Pharaoh’s horses with his chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the water of the sea back over them. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. 20 Then the prophetess Miriam,(S) Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women came out following her with tambourines and dancing.(T) 21 Miriam sang to them:
Sing to the Lord,
for he is highly exalted;
he has thrown the horse
and its rider into the sea.
A Call to Holy Living
13 Therefore, with your minds ready for action,(A) be sober-minded(B) and set your hope(C) completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation(D) of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children,(E) do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. 15 But as the one who called you(F) is holy,(G) you also are to be holy in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.[a](H) 17 If you appeal to the Father who judges impartially(I) according to each one’s work,(J) you are to conduct yourselves in reverence(K) during your time living as strangers. 18 For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life(L) inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold,(M) 19 but with the precious blood of Christ,(N) like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb.(O) 20 He was foreknown(P) before the foundation of the world but was revealed in these last times(Q) for you. 21 Through him you believe in God,(R) who raised him from the dead(S) and gave him glory,(T) so that your faith and hope are in God.
22 Since you have purified yourselves by your obedience to the truth,[b] so that you show sincere brotherly love for each other,(U) from a pure[c] heart love one another constantly,[d](V) 23 because you have been born again(W)—not of perishable seed(X) but of imperishable—through the living and enduring word of God.(Y) 24 For
All flesh is like grass,
and all its glory(Z) like a flower of the grass.
The grass withers, and the flower falls,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.[e](AA)
And this word is the gospel that was proclaimed to you.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. 19 In a little while the world will no longer see me,(A) but you will see me.(B) Because I live, you will live(C) too. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father,(D) you are in me, and I am in you. 21 The one who has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.(E) And the one who loves me will be loved by my Father.(F) I also will love him and will reveal myself to him.”
22 Judas(G) (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it you’re going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” (H)
23 Jesus answered, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.(I) 24 The one who doesn’t love me will not keep my words. The word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me.(J)
25 “I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit,(K) whom the Father will send(L) in my name, will teach you all things(M) and remind you of everything I have told you.(N)
Jesus’s Gift of Peace
27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.(O) 28 You have heard me tell you, ‘I am going away(P) and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father,(Q) because the Father is greater than I.(R) 29 I have told you now before it happens(S) so that when it does happen you may believe. 30 I will not talk with you much longer, because the ruler of the world(T) is coming. He has no power over me.[a](U) 31 On the contrary, so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do as the Father commanded me.
“Get up; let’s leave this place.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.