Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 5
The Refuge of the Righteous
For the choir director: with the flutes. A Davidic psalm.
1 Listen to my words, Lord;
consider my sighing.(A)
2 Pay attention to the sound of my cry,(B)
my King and my God,(C)
for I pray to You.
3 At daybreak,(D) Lord, You hear my voice;
at daybreak I plead my case to You(E) and watch expectantly.
4 For You are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil cannot dwell with You.(F)
5 The boastful cannot stand in Your presence;(G)
You hate all evildoers.(H)
6 You destroy those who tell lies;(I)
the Lord abhors a man of bloodshed and treachery.(J)
7 But I enter Your house
by the abundance of Your faithful love;(K)
I bow down toward Your holy temple
in reverential awe of You.(L)
8 Lord, lead me in Your righteousness(M)
because of my adversaries;[a]
make Your way straight before me.(N)
9 For there is nothing reliable in what they say;[b](O)
destruction is within them;
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongues.(P)
10 Punish them, God;
let them fall by their own schemes.(Q)
Drive them out(R) because of their many crimes,
for they rebel against You.(S)
11 But let all who take refuge in You rejoice;(T)
let them shout for joy forever.
May You shelter them,(U)
and may those who love Your name boast about You.(V)
12 For You, Lord, bless the righteous one;
You surround him with favor like a shield.(W)
Psalm 6
A Prayer for Mercy
For the choir director: with stringed instruments, according to Sheminith.(X) A Davidic psalm.
1 Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger;
do not discipline me in Your wrath.(Y)
2 Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am weak;[c](Z)
heal me,(AA) Lord, for my bones are shaking;(AB)
3 my whole being is shaken with terror.(AC)
And You, Lord—how long?(AD)
4 Turn, Lord! Rescue me;
save me because of Your faithful love.(AE)
5 For there is no remembrance of You in death;
who can thank You in Sheol?(AF)
Psalm 10
1 Lord,[a][b] why do You stand so far away?(A)
Why do You hide in times of trouble?(B)
2 In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue the afflicted;
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.(C)
3 For the wicked one boasts about his own cravings;(D)
the one who is greedy curses[c] and despises the Lord.(E)
4 In all his scheming,
the wicked arrogantly thinks:[d]
“There is no accountability,
since God does not exist.”(F)
5 His ways are always secure;[e]
Your lofty judgments are beyond his sight;
he scoffs at all his adversaries.(G)
6 He says to himself, “I will never be moved—
from generation to generation without calamity.”(H)
7 Cursing, deceit, and violence fill his mouth;
trouble and malice are under his tongue.(I)
8 He waits in ambush near the villages;(J)
he kills the innocent in secret places.
His eyes are on the lookout for the helpless;(K)
9 he lurks in secret like a lion in a thicket.
He lurks in order to seize the afflicted;
he seizes the afflicted and drags him in his net.
10 So he is oppressed and beaten down;
the helpless fall because of his strength.(L)
11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten;
He hides His face and will never see.”(M)
12 Rise up, Lord God! Lift up Your hand.(N)
Do not forget the afflicted.(O)
13 Why has the wicked person despised God?
He says to himself, “You will not demand an account.”(P)
14 But You Yourself have seen trouble and grief,
observing it in order to take the matter into Your hands.(Q)
The helpless entrusts himself to You;
You are a helper of the fatherless.(R)
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil person;(S)
call his wickedness into account
until nothing remains of it.[f](T)
16 The Lord is King forever and ever;(U)
the nations will perish from His land.(V)
17 Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;[g]
You will strengthen their hearts.
You will listen carefully,(W)
18 doing justice for the fatherless and the oppressed
so that men of the earth may terrify them no more.(X)
Psalm 11
Refuge in the Lord
For the choir director. Davidic.
1 I have taken refuge in the Lord.(Y)
How can you say to me,
“Escape to the mountain like a bird
2 For look, the wicked string the bow;
they put the[i] arrow on the bowstring
to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.(AA)
3 When the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”(AB)
4 The Lord is in His holy temple;(AC)
the Lord’s throne is in heaven.(AD)
His eyes watch; He examines[j] everyone.
5 The Lord examines the righteous and the wicked.
He hates the lover of violence.(AE)
6 He will rain burning coals[k] and sulfur on the wicked;
a scorching wind will be their portion.[l](AF)
7 For the Lord is righteous; He loves righteous deeds.
The upright will see His face.(AG)
24 Saul answered Samuel, “I have sinned.(A) I have transgressed the Lord’s command(B) and your words. Because I was afraid of the people, I obeyed them. 25 Now therefore, please forgive my sin(C) and return with me so I can worship the Lord.”
26 Samuel replied to Saul, “I will not return with you. Because you rejected the word of the Lord,(D) the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 When Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingship of Israel away from you today(E) and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.(F) 29 Furthermore, the Eternal One of Israel(G) does not lie or change His mind, for He is not man who changes his mind.”(H)
30 Saul said, “I have sinned. Please honor me(I) now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Come back with me so I can bow in worship to the Lord your God.”(J) 31 Then Samuel went back, following Saul, and Saul bowed down to the Lord.
32 Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of Amalek.”
Agag came to him trembling,[a] for he thought, “Certainly the bitterness of death has come.”[b][c]
33 Samuel declared:
As your sword has made women childless,
so your mother will be childless among women.(K)
Then he hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.
34 Samuel went to Ramah,(L) and Saul went up to his home in Gibeah(M) of Saul. 35 Even to the day of his death, Samuel never again visited Saul.(N) Samuel mourned for Saul,(O) and the Lord regretted He had made Saul king over Israel.
The Healing of Aeneas
32 As Peter was traveling from place to place,[a] he also came down to the saints(A) who lived in Lydda.(B) 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years. 34 Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed,”[b] and immediately he got up.(C) 35 So all who lived in Lydda and Sharon(D) saw him and turned to the Lord.
Dorcas Restored to Life
36 In Joppa(E) there was a disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas.[c] She was always doing good works(F) and acts of charity. 37 In those days she became sick and died. After washing her, they placed her in a room upstairs. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples heard that Peter was there and sent two men to him who begged him, “Don’t delay in coming with us.” 39 So Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they led him to the room upstairs. And all the widows approached him, weeping and showing him the robes and clothes that Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40 Then Peter sent them all out of the room. He knelt down, prayed, and turning toward the body said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up.(G) 41 He gave her his hand and helped her stand up. Then he called the saints and widows and presented her alive. 42 This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 And Peter stayed on many days in Joppa with Simon,(H) a leather tanner.[d]
56 Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes.(A) And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.(B)
Resurrection Morning
24 On(C) the first day of the week,(D) very early in the morning, they[a] came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 They went in but did not find the body(E) of the Lord Jesus.(F) 4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood by them in dazzling(G) clothes. 5 So the women were terrified and bowed down to the ground.[b]
“Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” asked the men. 6 “He is not here, but He has been resurrected!(H) Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee,(I) 7 saying, ‘The Son of Man must be betrayed(J) into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise(K) on the third day’?” 8 And they remembered His words.
9 Returning from the tomb, they reported all these things to the Eleven(L) and to all the rest. 10 Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James,(M) and the other women with them were telling the apostles(N) these things. 11 But these words seemed like nonsense to them, and they did not believe(O) the women.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.