Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 56
A Call for God’s Protection
For the choir director: according to “A Silent Dove Far Away.” A Miktam of David. When the Philistines seized him in Gath.(A)
1 Be gracious to me, God, for a man is trampling me;
he fights and oppresses me all day long.
2 My adversaries trample me all day,
for many arrogantly fight against me.[a](B)
3 When I am afraid,
I will trust in you.(C)
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?(D)
5 They twist my words all day long;
all their thoughts against me are evil.(E)
6 They stir up strife,[b] they lurk,
they watch my steps
while they wait to take my life.(F)
7 Will they escape in spite of such sin?
God, bring down the nations in wrath.(G)
8 You yourself have recorded my wanderings.[c]
Put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?(H)
9 Then my enemies will retreat on the day when I call.(I)
This I know: God is for me.(J)
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mere humans do to me?(K)
12 I am obligated by vows[d] to you, God;
I will make my thanksgiving sacrifices to you.(L)
13 For you rescued me from death,
even my feet from stumbling,
to walk before God in the light of life.(M)
Psalm 57
Praise for God’s Protection
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David. When he fled before Saul into the cave.(N)
1 Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me,
for I take refuge in you.
I will seek refuge in the shadow of your wings
until danger passes.(O)
2 I call to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.[e](P)
3 He reaches down from heaven and saves me,
challenging the one who tramples me.(Q)Selah
God sends his faithful love and truth.(R)
4 I am surrounded by lions;
I lie down among devouring lions—
people whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.(S)
5 God, be exalted above the heavens;
let your glory be over the whole earth.(T)
6 They prepared a net for my steps;
I was despondent.
They dug a pit ahead of me,
but they fell into it!(U)Selah
7 My heart is confident, God, my heart is confident.
I will sing; I will sing praises.(V)
8 Wake up, my soul!
Wake up, harp and lyre!
I will wake up the dawn.(W)
9 I will praise you, Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.(X)
10 For your faithful love is as high as the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches the clouds.(Y)
11 God, be exalted above the heavens;(Z)
let your glory be over the whole earth.(AA)
Psalm 58
A Cry against Injustice
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David.
1 Do you really speak righteously, you mighty ones?[f]
Do you judge people fairly?(AB)
2 No, you practice injustice in your hearts;
with your hands you weigh out violence in the land.(AC)
3 The wicked go astray from the womb;
liars wander about from birth.(AD)
4 They have venom like the venom of a snake,
like the deaf cobra that stops up its ears,(AE)
5 that does not listen to the sound of the charmers
who skillfully weave spells.(AF)
6 God, knock the teeth out of their mouths;
Lord, tear out the young lions’ fangs.(AG)
7 May they vanish like water that flows by;
may they aim their blunted arrows.[g](AH)
8 Like a slug that moves along in slime,
like a woman’s miscarried child,
may they not see the sun.(AI)
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—
whether green or burning—
he will sweep them away.[h](AJ)
10 The righteous one will rejoice
when he sees the retribution;(AK)
he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.(AL)
11 Then people will say,
“Yes, there is a reward for the righteous!
There is a God who judges on earth!” (AM)
Psalm 64
Protection from Evildoers
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 God, hear my voice when I am in anguish.(A)
Protect my life from the terror of the enemy.(B)
2 Hide me from the scheming of wicked people,(C)
from the mob of evildoers,(D)
3 who sharpen their tongues like swords
and aim bitter words like arrows,(E)
4 shooting from concealed places at the blameless.
They shoot at him suddenly and are not afraid.(F)
5 They adopt[a] an evil plan;
they talk about hiding traps and say,
“Who will see them?” [b](G)
6 They devise crimes and say,
“We have perfected a secret plan.”(H)
The inner man and the heart are mysterious.(I)
7 But God will shoot them with arrows;
suddenly, they will be wounded.(J)
8 They will be made to stumble;
their own tongues work against them.
All who see them will shake their heads.(K)
9 Then everyone will fear
and will tell about God’s work,
for they will understand what he has done.(L)
10 The righteous one rejoices in the Lord
and takes refuge in him;
all those who are upright in heart
will offer praise.(M)
Psalm 65
God’s Care for the Earth
For the choir director. A psalm of David. A song.
1 Praise is rightfully yours,[c]
God, in Zion;
vows to you will be fulfilled.(N)
2 All humanity will come to you,
the one who hears prayer.(O)
3 Iniquities overwhelm me;
only you can atone for our rebellions.(P)
4 How happy is the one you choose
and bring near to live in your courts!
We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house,(Q)
the holiness of your temple.[d](R)
5 You answer us in righteousness,
with awe-inspiring works,
God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the distant seas.(S)
6 You establish the mountains by your power;
you are robed with strength.(T)
7 You silence the roar of the seas,
the roar of their waves,
and the tumult of the nations.(U)
8 Those who live far away are awed by your signs;
you make east and west shout for joy.(V)
9 You visit the earth and water it abundantly,
enriching it greatly.
God’s stream is filled with water,
for you prepare the earth in this way,
providing people with grain.(W)
10 You soften it with showers and bless its growth,
soaking its furrows and leveling its ridges.(X)
11 You crown the year with your goodness;
your carts overflow with plenty.[e](Y)
12 The wilderness pastures overflow,
and the hills are robed with joy.(Z)
13 The pastures are clothed with flocks
and the valleys covered with grain.(AA)
They shout in triumph; indeed, they sing.(AB)
The Day of Atonement
16 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of two of Aaron’s sons when they approached the presence(A) of[a] the Lord and died.(B) 2 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell your brother Aaron that he may not come whenever he wants into the holy place(C) behind the curtain(D) in front of the mercy seat(E) on the ark or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud(F) above the mercy seat.(G)
3 “Aaron is to enter the most holy place(H) in this way: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.(I) 4 He is to wear a holy linen tunic, and linen undergarments are to be on his body. He is to tie a linen sash around him and wrap his head with a linen turban.(J) These are holy garments; he must bathe his body with water before he wears them. 5 He is to take from the Israelite community two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.(K)
6 “Aaron will present the bull for his sin offering and make atonement for himself and his household. 7 Next he will take the two goats and place them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 8 After Aaron casts lots(L) for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other for an uninhabitable place,[b][c](M) 9 he is to present the goat chosen by lot for the Lord and sacrifice it as a sin offering.(N) 10 But the goat chosen by lot for an uninhabitable place is to be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement with it by sending it into the wilderness(O) for an uninhabitable place.
11 “When Aaron presents the bull for his sin offering and makes atonement for himself and his household, he will slaughter the bull for his sin offering. 12 Then he is to take a firepan full of blazing coals from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense,(P) and bring them inside the curtain.(Q) 13 He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord, so that the cloud(R) of incense covers the mercy seat that is over the testimony,(S) or else he will die.(T) 14 He is to take some of the bull’s blood(U) and sprinkle it with his finger against the east side of the mercy seat; then he will sprinkle some of the blood with his finger before the mercy seat seven times.(V)
15 “When he slaughters the male goat for the people’s sin offering and brings its blood inside the curtain, he will do the same with its blood as he did with the bull’s blood: He is to sprinkle it against the mercy seat and in front of it. 16 He will make atonement for the most holy place in this way for all their sins because of the Israelites’ impurities and rebellious acts.(W) He will do the same for the tent of meeting that remains among them, because it is surrounded by their impurities. 17 No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the most holy place until he leaves after he has made atonement for himself, his household, and the whole assembly of Israel.(X) 18 Then he will go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He is to take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on the horns on all sides of the altar. 19 He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse and set it apart(Y) from the Israelites’ impurities.(Z)
The Comfort of Christ’s Coming
13 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.(A) 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose(B) again,(C) in the same way, through Jesus,(D) God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For we say this to you by a word from the Lord:(E) We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming(F) will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.(G) 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout,[a](H) with the archangel’s(I) voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ(J) will rise first. 17 Then(K) we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds(L) to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage[b] one another with these words.
How to Give
6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness[a] in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven. 2 So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.(A) 3 But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.[b](B)
How to Pray
5 “Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.(C) 6 But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.[c](D)
How to Fast
16 “Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites. For they disfigure their faces (A) so that their fasting is obvious to people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,(B) 18 so that your fasting isn’t obvious to others but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.[a]
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