Book of Common Prayer
Cast Your Burden on the Lord
To the choirmaster: with (A)stringed instruments. A Maskil[a] of David.
55 (B)Give ear to my prayer, O God,
and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
2 Attend to me, and answer me;
I am restless (C)in my complaint and I (D)moan,
3 because of the noise of the enemy,
because of the oppression of the wicked.
For they (E)drop trouble upon me,
and in anger they bear a grudge against me.
4 My heart is in anguish within me;
(F)the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and trembling come upon me,
and (G)horror (H)overwhelms me.
6 And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;
7 (I)yes, I would wander far away;
I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
8 I would hurry to find a shelter
from (J)the raging wind and tempest.”
9 Destroy, O Lord, (K)divide their tongues;
for I see (L)violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around it
on its walls,
and (M)iniquity and trouble are within it;
11 ruin is in its midst;
(N)oppression and fraud
do not depart from its marketplace.
12 For it is not an enemy who taunts me—
then I could bear it;
it is not an adversary who (O)deals insolently with me—
then I could hide from him.
13 (P)But it is you, a man, my equal,
my companion, my familiar friend.
14 We used to take sweet counsel together;
within God's house we walked in (Q)the throng.
15 Let death steal over them;
let them go down to Sheol (R)alive;
for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.
16 But I call to God,
and the Lord will save me.
17 (S)Evening and (T)morning and at (U)noon
I (V)utter my complaint and moan,
and he hears my voice.
18 He redeems my soul in safety
from the battle that I wage,
for (W)many are arrayed against me.
19 God will give ear and humble them,
he who is (X)enthroned from of old, Selah
because they do not (Y)change
and do not fear God.
20 My companion[b] (Z)stretched out his hand against his friends;
he violated his covenant.
21 His (AA)speech was (AB)smooth as butter,
yet war was in his heart;
his words were softer than oil,
yet they were (AC)drawn swords.
Give Thanks to the Lord
Of David.
138 (A)I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before (B)the gods I sing your praise;
2 I bow down (C)toward your (D)holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word.[a]
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
my strength of soul you increased.[b]
4 (E)All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of your mouth,
5 and they shall sing of (F)the ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 (G)For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
but the haughty he knows from afar.
7 (H)Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you (I)preserve my life;
you (J)stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and your (K)right hand delivers me.
8 The Lord will (L)fulfill his purpose for me;
(M)your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
Do not forsake (N)the work of your hands.
Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
139 O Lord, you have (O)searched me and known me!
2 You (P)know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you (Q)discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, (R)you know it altogether.
5 You (S)hem me in, behind and before,
and (T)lay your hand upon me.
6 (U)Such knowledge is (V)too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 (W)Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where (X)shall I flee from your presence?
8 (Y)If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
(Z)If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall (AA)lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, (AB)“Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 (AC)even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
13 For you (AD)formed my inward parts;
you (AE)knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[c]
(AF)Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 (AG)My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in (AH)the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your (AI)book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are your (AJ)thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 (AK)If I would count them, they are more than (AL)the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
19 Oh that you would (AM)slay the wicked, O God!
O (AN)men of blood, (AO)depart from me!
20 They (AP)speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies (AQ)take your name in vain.[d]
21 (AR)Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not (AS)loathe those who (AT)rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
The Second Beast
11 Then (A)I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence,[a] and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, (B)whose mortal wound was healed. 13 (C)It performs great signs, even (D)making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of[b] the beast (E)it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast (F)that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not (G)worship the image of the beast (H)to be slain. 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave,[c] (I)to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, (J)the name of the beast or (K)the number of its name. 18 (L)This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number (M)of a man, and his number is 666.[d]
32 (A)“Fear not, little (B)flock, for (C)it is your Father's good pleasure to give you (D)the kingdom. 33 (E)Sell your possessions, and (F)give to the needy. (G)Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with (H)a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 (I)For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
You Must Be Ready
35 (J)“Stay dressed for action[a] and (K)keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are (L)waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and (M)knocks. 37 (N)Blessed are those servants[b] whom the master finds (O)awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, (P)he will dress himself for service and (Q)have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 (R)But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour (S)the thief was coming, he[c] would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be (T)ready, for (U)the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
41 Peter said, “Lord, (V)are you telling this parable for us or for all?” 42 And the Lord said, “Who then is (W)the faithful and (X)wise (Y)manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43 (Z)Blessed is that servant[d] whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you, (AA)he will set him over all his possessions. 45 But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master (AB)is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and (AC)get drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come (AD)on a day when he does not expect him and (AE)at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. 47 (AF)And that servant who (AG)knew his master's will but (AH)did not get ready (AI)or act according to his will, will receive a (AJ)severe beating. 48 (AK)But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, (AL)will receive a light beating. (AM)Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.