Book of Common Prayer
Pleading for Help and Grateful Trust in God.
For the music director; according to [a]Jonath elem rehokim. A [b]Mikhtam of David, [c]when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
56 Be gracious to me, God, for a man has [d](A)trampled upon me;
[e]Fighting all day long he (B)oppresses me.
2 My enemies have (C)trampled upon me all day long,
For [f]they are many who (D)fight proudly against me.
3 [g]When I am (E)afraid,
[h]I will (F)put my trust in You.
4 (G)In God, whose word I praise,
In God I have put my trust;
I shall not be afraid.
(H)What can mere [i]mortals do to me?
5 All day long they (I)distort my words;
All their [j](J)thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They [k](K)attack, they lurk,
They (L)watch my [l]steps,
As they have (M)waited to take my [m]life.
7 Because of their wickedness, will there be an (N)escape for them?
In anger (O)make the peoples fall down, God!
8 You (P)have taken account of my [n]miseries;
Put my (Q)tears in Your bottle.
Are they not in (R)Your book?
9 Then my enemies will (S)turn back (T)on the day when I call;
This I know, [o]that (U)God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
In the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 In God I have put my [p]trust, I shall not be afraid.
What can mankind do to me?
12 Your (V)vows are binding upon me, God;
I will render thanksgiving offerings to You.
13 For You have (W)saved my soul from death,
[q]Indeed (X)my feet from stumbling,
So that I may (Y)walk before God
In the (Z)light of the [r]living.
Prayer for Rescue from Persecutors.
For the music director; set to [s]Al-tashheth. A [t]Mikhtam of David, [u]when he fled from Saul in the cave.
57 Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me,
For my soul (AA)takes refuge in You;
And in the (AB)shadow of Your wings I will take refuge
Until destruction (AC)passes by.
2 I will cry to God Most High,
To God who (AD)accomplishes all things for me.
3 He will (AE)send from heaven and save me;
He rebukes the one who [v](AF)tramples upon me. Selah
God will send His [w](AG)favor and His truth.
4 My soul is among (AH)lions;
I must lie among those who devour,
Among sons of mankind whose (AI)teeth are spears and arrows,
And their (AJ)tongue is a sharp sword.
5 (AK)Be exalted above the heavens, God;
May Your glory be above all the earth.
6 They have prepared a (AL)net for my steps;
My soul is (AM)bowed down;
They (AN)dug a pit before me;
They themselves have (AO)fallen into the midst of it. Selah
7 (AP)My (AQ)heart is steadfast, God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!
8 Awake, (AR)my glory!
Awake, (AS)harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
9 (AT)I will praise You, Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to You among the [x]nations.
10 For Your (AU)goodness is great to the heavens
And Your [y]truth to the clouds.
11 (AV)Be exalted above the heavens, God;
May Your glory be above all the earth.
Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked.
For the music director; set to [z]Al-tashheth. A [aa]Mikhtam of David.
58 Do you indeed [ab]speak righteousness, you [ac]gods?
Do you (AW)judge [ad]fairly, you sons of mankind?
2 No, in heart you (AX)practice injustice;
On earth you (AY)clear a way for the violence of your hands.
3 The wicked have turned away (AZ)from the womb;
These who speak lies (BA)go astray from [ae]birth.
4 They have venom like the (BB)venom of a serpent;
Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,
5 So that it (BC)does not hear the voice of [af](BD)charmers,
Or a skillful caster of spells.
6 God, (BE)shatter their teeth in their mouth;
Break out the fangs of the young lions, Lord.
7 May they (BF)flow away like water that runs off;
When he [ag](BG)aims his arrows, may they be as [ah]headless shafts.
8 May they be like a snail which goes along in slime,
Like the (BH)miscarriage of a woman that never sees the sun.
9 Before your (BI)pots can feel the fire of thorns
He will (BJ)sweep them away with a whirlwind, the [ai]green and the burning alike.
Prayer for Rescue from Secret Enemies.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
64 Hear my voice, God, in (A)my [a]complaint;
(B)Protect my life from dread of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the (C)secret discussion of evildoers,
From the restlessness of (D)the workers of injustice,
3 Who (E)have sharpened their tongues like a sword.
They (F)aimed bitter speech as their arrows,
4 To (G)shoot [b]from concealment at the innocent;
Suddenly they shoot at him, and (H)do not fear.
5 They make firm for themselves an evil [c]purpose;
They [d]talk of (I)setting snares secretly;
They say, “(J)Who can see them?”
6 They [e]devise injustices, saying,
“We are [f]ready with a well-conceived plot”;
For the [g](K)inward thought and the heart of a person are [h]deep.
7 But (L)God [i]will shoot an arrow at them;
Suddenly [j]they will be wounded.
8 So [k]they [l]will (M)make him stumble;
(N)Their own tongue is against them;
All who see them will (O)shake their heads.
9 Then all people [m]will (P)fear,
And they [n]will (Q)declare the work of God,
And [o]will consider [p]what He has done.
10 The righteous person will be (R)glad in the Lord and (S)take refuge in Him;
And all the upright in heart will boast.
God’s Abundant Favor to Earth and Mankind.
For the music director. A Psalm of David. A Song.
65 There will be silence [q]before You, and praise in Zion, God,
And the (T)vow will be fulfilled for You.
2 You who hear prayer,
To You (U)all [r]mankind comes.
3 [s](V)Wrongdoings prevail against me;
As for our offenses, You [t](W)forgive them.
4 (X)Blessed is the one You (Y)choose and allow to approach You;
He will dwell in Your courtyards.
We will be (Z)satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Your holy temple.
5 By (AA)awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, (AB)God of our salvation,
You who are the trust of all the (AC)ends of the earth and the farthest [u](AD)sea;
6 Who (AE)establishes the mountains by His strength,
Who is (AF)encircled with might;
7 Who (AG)stills the roaring of the seas,
The roaring of their waves,
And the (AH)turmoil of the nations.
8 They who dwell at the (AI)ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs;
You make the [v]sunrise and the sunset shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and (AJ)cause it to overflow;
You greatly (AK)enrich it;
The [w](AL)stream of God is full of water;
You prepare their (AM)grain, for so You prepare [x]the earth.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
You [y]settle its ridges,
You soften it (AN)with showers,
You bless its growth.
11 You have crowned the year [z]with Your (AO)goodness,
And Your [aa]paths (AP)drip with fatness.
12 (AQ)The pastures of the wilderness drip,
And the (AR)hills encircle themselves with rejoicing.
13 The meadows are (AS)clothed with flocks
And the valleys are (AT)covered with grain;
They (AU)shout for joy, yes, they sing.
Law of Atonement
16 Now the Lord spoke to Moses after (A)the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the Lord and died. 2 The Lord said to Moses:
“Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter (B)at [a]any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the [b]atoning cover which is on the ark, or he will die; for (C)I will appear in the cloud over the [c]atoning cover. 3 Aaron shall enter the Holy Place with this: with a [d]bull as a [e](D)sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering. 4 He shall put on the (E)holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his [f]body, and he shall be wrapped about the waist with the linen sash and the linen turban wound around his forehead (these are holy garments). He shall (F)bathe his [g]body in water and put them on. 5 And he shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel (G)two male goats as a [h]sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering. 6 Then (H)Aaron shall offer the bull as the [i]sin offering, which is for himself, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household. 7 He shall then take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 8 Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for [j]the [k]scapegoat. 9 Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the Lord fell, and make it a [l]sin offering. 10 But the goat on which the lot for [m]the [n]scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make (I)atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness [o]as the [p]scapegoat.
11 “Then Aaron shall offer the bull of the [q]sin offering (J)which is for himself and make atonement for himself and (K)for his household, and he shall slaughter the bull of the [r]sin offering which is for himself. 12 He shall take a (L)firepan full of coals of fire from upon the altar before the Lord and [s]two handfuls of finely ground (M)sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil. 13 He shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, so that the cloud of incense may cover the (N)atoning cover that is on the ark of the testimony, (O)otherwise he will die. 14 Moreover, (P)he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it (Q)with his finger on the atoning cover on the east side; also in front of the atoning cover he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.
15 “Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering, (R)which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the atoning cover and in front of the atoning cover. 16 (S)He shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their unlawful acts regarding all their sins; and he shall do so for the tent of meeting which remains with them in the midst of their impurities. 17 When he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel. 18 Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it; he shall take some of the blood from the bull and some of the blood from the goat, and (T)put it on the horns of the altar on all sides. 19 (U)With his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times and cleanse it, and consecrate it from the impurities of the sons of Israel.
Those Who Died in Christ
13 But (A)we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who [a](B)are asleep, so that you will not grieve as indeed (C)the rest of mankind do, who have (D)no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead, (E)so also God will bring with Him (F)those who have fallen asleep [b]through Jesus. 15 For we say this to you (G)by the word of the Lord, that (H)we who are alive [c]and remain until (I)the coming of the Lord will not precede (J)those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord (K)Himself (L)will descend from heaven with a [d](M)shout, with the voice of (N)the archangel and with the (O)trumpet of God, and (P)the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then (Q)we who are alive, who remain, will be (R)caught up together with them (S)in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always (T)be with the Lord. 18 Therefore, [e]comfort one another with these words.
Charitable Giving to the Poor and Prayer
6 “Take care not to practice your righteousness in the sight of people, (A)to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
2 “So when you [a]give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, so that they (B)will be praised by people. (C)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 But when you [b]give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your charitable giving will be in secret; and (D)your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
5 “And when you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to (E)stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners (F)so that they [c]will be seen by people. (G)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 But as for you, when you pray, (H)go into your inner room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and (I)your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Fasting; The True Treasure; Wealth
16 “Now (A)whenever you fast, do not make a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they [a]distort their faces so that they will be noticed by people when they are fasting. (B)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 But as for you, when you fast, [b](C)anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by people but by your Father who is in secret; and your (D)Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
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