Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for the Destruction of the Treacherous.
For the music director; on stringed instruments. A [a]Maskil of David.
55 (A)Listen to my prayer, God;
And (B)do not hide Yourself from my pleading.
2 Give Your (C)attention to me and answer me;
I am restless in my (D)complaint and [b](E)severely 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)hold 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 [e]overwhelmed me.
6 I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and [f](M)be at rest.
7 Behold, I would flee far away,
I would (N)spend my nights in the wilderness. Selah
8 I would hurry to my place of refuge
From the (O)stormy wind and heavy gale.”
9 Confuse them, 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 evil and harm are in her midst.
11 (R)Destruction is in her midst;
(S)Oppression and deceit do not depart from her [g]streets.
12 For it is (T)not an enemy who taunts me,
Then I could endure 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 [h]my equal,
My (V)companion and my (W)confidant;
14 We who had sweet [i]fellowship together,
(X)Walked in the house of God among the commotion.
15 May [j]death come (Y)deceitfully upon them;
May they (Z)go down alive to [k]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 moan,
And He will hear my voice.
18 He will (AE)redeem my soul in peace [l]from the battle which is against me,
For they are (AF)many who are aggressive toward me.
19 God will (AG)hear and humiliate them—
Even the one (AH)who [m]sits enthroned from ancient times— Selah
With whom there [n]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 [o](AK)violated his covenant.
21 His [p]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 Your praises before the (B)gods.
2 I will bow down (C)toward Your holy temple
And (D)give thanks to Your name for Your mercy and Your [a]truth;
For You have (E)made Your [b]word great [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, 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)the Lord is exalted,
Yet He (L)looks after the lowly,
But He knows the (M)haughty from afar.
7 Though I (N)walk in the midst of trouble, You will [d](O)revive me;
You will (P)reach out with 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)faithfulness, Lord, is everlasting;
(T)Do not abandon the (U)works of Your hands.
God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
139 Lord, You have (V)searched me and known me.
2 You (W)know [e]when I sit down and [f]when I get up;
You (X)understand my thought from far away.
3 You [g](Y)scrutinize my [h]path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 [i]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, Lord, You (Z)know it all.
5 You have (AA)encircled me behind and in front,
And (AB)placed Your hand upon me.
6 Such (AC)knowledge is (AD)too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot comprehend 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 up 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 take 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 (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)created my innermost parts;
You (AM)wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, because [m]I am awesomely and wonderfully made;
(AN)Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My [n](AO)frame was not hidden from You
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully formed in the (AP)depths of the earth;
16 Your (AQ)eyes have seen my formless substance;
And in (AR)Your book were written
All 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 for me, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them, they would (AU)outnumber the sand.
When (AV)I awake, I am still with You.
19 If only You would (AW)put the wicked to death, God;
(AX)Leave me, (AY)you men of bloodshed.
20 For they (AZ)speak [o]against You wickedly,
And Your enemies [p](BA)take Your name in vain.
21 Do I not (BB)hate those who hate You, 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.
The Beast from the Earth
11 Then (A)I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had (B)two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a (C)dragon. 12 He (D)exercises all the authority of the first beast [a](E)in his presence. And he makes (F)the earth and those who live on it (G)worship the first beast, whose (H)fatal wound was healed. 13 He (I)performs great signs, so that he even makes (J)fire come down out of the sky to the earth in the presence of people. 14 And he (K)deceives (L)those who live on the earth because of (M)the signs which it was given him to perform [b](N)in the presence of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who *had the (O)wound of the sword and has come to life. 15 And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even [c]speak and cause (P)all who do not (Q)worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 And he causes all, (R)the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves, [d]to be given a (S)mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 and he decrees that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the (T)mark, either (U)the name of the beast or (V)the number of his name. 18 (W)Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that (X)of a [e]man; and his number is [f]six hundred and sixty-six.
32 [a](A)Do not be afraid, (B)little flock, because (C)your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom.
33 “(D)Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts that do not wear out, (E)an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor does a moth destroy. 34 For (F)where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Be in Readiness
35 “[b](G)Be prepared, and keep your (H)lamps lit. 36 You are also to be like people who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door for him when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find (I)on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that (J)he will [c]prepare himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and he will come up and serve them. 38 (K)Whether he comes in the [d]second watch, or even in the [e]third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
39 “(L)But [f]be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be (M)broken into. 40 (N)You too, be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think He will.”
41 Peter said, “Lord, are You telling this parable to us, or (O)to everyone else as well?” 42 And (P)the Lord said, “(Q)Who then is the faithful and sensible (R)steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that (S)slave whom his [g]master finds so doing when he comes. 44 Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45 But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will take a long time to come,’ and he begins to beat the other slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; 46 then the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, and will [h]cut him in two, and assign [i]him a place with the unbelievers. 47 And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accordance with his will, will (T)receive many blows, 48 but the one who did not (U)know it, and committed acts deserving of [j]a beating, will receive only a few blows. (V)From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.