Book of Common Prayer
To the Director: A special Davidic psalm[a] to the tune of[b] “A Silent Dove Far Away,” when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
A Prayer about Trust in God
56 Have mercy on me, God,
because men have harassed me.
Those who oppress me have fought against me all day long.
2 Those who watch me all day have harassed me,
for there are many who fight against me out of conceit.
3 On days when I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I put my trust.
I will not fear what mortal man[c] can do to me.
5 All day long people[d] distort what I say;
all their schemes against me are for evil purposes.
6 They gather together
and hide in ambush.
They watch my every step
as they lie in wait for my life.
7 Cast them away because of their wickedness.
In wrath, God, cast down these[e] people!
8 You have kept count of my wanderings.
Put my tears in your bottle—
have not you recorded them in your book?
9 My enemies will retreat when I call on you.[f]
This has been my experience,
because God is with me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I will put my trust.
I will not fear what mortal man can do to me.
12 God, I have taken vows before you;[g]
therefore I will offer thanksgiving sacrifices to you.
13 For you have delivered me[h] from death
and my feet from stumbling,
so that I may walk before God in the light of the living!
To the Director: A special Davidic psalm[i] to the tune of[j] “Do Not Destroy,” when he fled from Saul into a cave.
A Prayer for Deliverance
57 Have mercy on me, God, have mercy,
for in you I[k] have placed my trust.
Even in the shadow of your wings
will I find my refuge until this calamity passes.
2 I call upon the God Most High;
to the God who completes what he began[l] in me.
3 He will send help from heaven to deliver me
from those who harass and despise me.
God will send his gracious love and truth.
4 I am[m] surrounded by lions.
I lie down with those who burn with fire—
that is, with people whose teeth are like spears and arrows—
whose tongues are like sharp swords.
5 Be exalted above the heavens, God!
May your glory cover the earth!
6 They have set a snare for my feet,
which makes me[n] depressed.
They dug a pit in front of me,
but they are the ones who fell into it!
7 My heart is committed, God,
my heart is committed,
so I will sing and play music.
8 Wake up, my soul,[o]
wake up, lyre and harp!
I will awaken at dawn.
9 I will exalt you among the peoples, Lord.
I will play music among the nations.
10 For your gracious love is great,
extending even to the heavens,
and your truth even to the skies.
11 Be exalted above the heavens, God!
May your glory cover the earth!
To the Director: A special Davidic psalm[p] to the tune of[q] “Do Not Destroy”.
A Prayer for Justice
58 How is it that by remaining silent you can speak righteously?
How can you judge people fairly?
2 As a matter of fact, in your heart you plan iniquities!
In the land your hands are violent!
3 The wicked go astray from the womb;
they go astray, telling lies even from birth.
4 Their venom is like a poisonous snake;
even like a deaf serpent that shuts its ears,
5 refusing to hear the voice of the snake charmer,
the cunning enchanter.
6 God, shatter their teeth in their mouths;
Lord, break the fangs of the young lions!
7 May they flow away like rain water that runs off,
may they become like someone who shoots broken arrows.
8 May they be like a snail that dries up as it crawls;
like a woman’s stillborn baby, who never saw the sun.
9 Before your clay pots are placed on a fire of burning[r] thorns—
whether green or ablaze—
wrath will sweep them away like a storm.
10 The righteous person will rejoice when he sees your[s] vengeance;
when he washes his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 A person will say,
“Certainly, the righteous are rewarded;
certainly there is a God who judges the earth.”
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
A Prayer for Protection
64 Hear, God, as I express my concern;
protect me[a] from fear of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
from the mob of those who practice evil,
3 who sharpen their tongues like swords,
and aim their bitter words like arrows,
4 shooting at the innocent from concealment.
Suddenly they shoot, fearing nothing.
5 They concoct an evil scheme for themselves;
they enumerate their hidden snares;
they say, “Who will see them?”[b]
6 They devise wicked schemes, saying,
“We have completed our plans,
hiding them deep in our hearts.”
7 But God shot an arrow at them,
and they were wounded immediately.
8 They tripped over their own tongues,
and everyone who was watching ran away.
9 Everyone was gripped with fear
and acknowledged God’s deeds,
understanding what he had done.
10 The righteous rejoiced in the Lord,
because they had fled to him for refuge.
Let all the upright in heart exult.
To the Director: A song. Lyrics[c] by David.
A Song of Praise to God
65 In Zion, God, praise silently awaits you,
and vows will be paid to you.
2 Since you hear prayer,
everybody will come to you.
3 My acts of iniquity—they overwhelm me!
Our transgressions—you blot them out!
4 How blessed is the one you choose,
the one you cause to live in your courts.
We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
yes, even with the holiness of your Temple.
5 With awesome deeds of justice[d]
you will answer us, God our Deliverer;
you are[e] the confidence for everyone at the ends of the earth,
even for those far away overseas.
6 The One who established the mountains by his strength
is clothed with omnipotence.
7 He calmed the roar of seas,
the roaring of the waves,
and the turmoil of the peoples.
8 Those living at the furthest ends of the earth[f] are seized by fear because of your miraculous deeds.
You make the going forth of the morning and the evening shout for joy.
9 You take care of the earth,
you water it,
and you enrich it greatly with the river of God that overflows with water.
You provide grain for them,
for you have ordained it this way.
10 You fill the furrows of the field with water
so that their ridges overflow.
You soften them with rain showers;
their sprouts you have blessed.
11 You crown the year with your goodness;
your footsteps drop prosperity behind them.
12 The wilderness pastures drip with dew,[g]
and the hills wrap themselves with joy.
13 The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep,
and the valleys are covered with grain.
They shout for joy;
yes, they burst out in song!
The Vision of the New Song on Mount Zion
14 Then I looked, and there was the lamb, standing on Mount Zion! With him were 144,000 people who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
2 Then I heard a sound from heaven like that of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The sound I heard was like harpists playing on their harps. 3 They were singing a new song in front of the throne, the four living creatures, and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 They have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins, and they follow the lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed from among humanity as the first fruits for God and the lamb. 5 In their mouth no lie was found. They are blameless.
The Vision of Angels Sounding a Warning
6 Then I saw another angel flying overhead with the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live[a] on earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. 7 He said in a loud voice,
“Fear God and give him glory,
because the time for him to judge has arrived.
Worship the one who made heaven and earth,
the sea and springs of water.”
8 Then another angel, a second one, followed him, saying,
“Fallen! Babylon the Great has fallen!
She has made all nations drink the wine,
the wrath earned for her sexual sins.”
9 Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying in a loud voice, “Whoever worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or his hand 10 will drink the wine of God’s wrath, which has been poured undiluted into the cup of his anger. He will be tortured with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the lamb. 11 The smoke from their torture goes up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”
A Call for Endurance
12 Here is a call for[b] the endurance of the saints, who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to their faithfulness in Jesus:
13 I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this:
How blessed are the dead,
that is, those who die in the Lord from now on!”
“Yes,” says the Spirit.
“Let them rest from their labors,
for their actions follow them.”
Not Peace, but Division(A)
49 “I’ve come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already ablaze! 50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and what stress I am under until it’s completed! 51 Do you think that I came to bring peace on earth? Not at all, I tell you, but rather division! 52 From now on, five people in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided father against son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Interpreting the Time(B)
54 Then Jesus[a] told the crowds, “When you see a cloud coming in from the west, you immediately say, ‘There’s going to be a storm,’ and that’s what happens. 55 When you see a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and so it is. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, yet you don’t know how to interpret the present time?”
Settling with Your Opponent(C)
57 “Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? 58 For example, when you go with your opponent in front of a ruler, do your best to settle with him on the way there. Otherwise, you will be dragged in front of the judge, and the judge will hand you over to an officer, and the officer will throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you will never get out of there until you pay back the last penny!”
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