Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 56
For the Music Director. To the melody of “Silent Dove at a Distance.” A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
1 Be gracious to me, O God, for man would crush me;
all day long he who battles oppresses me.
2 All day long my enemies would crush me,
for there are many who arrogantly battle against me.
3 In the day when I am afraid,
I will trust in You.
4 In God whose word I praise,
in God I have trusted; I will not fear.
What can mere flesh do to me?
5 Every day they twist my words;
all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They stir up strife, they lurk,
they watch my steps,
when they wait for my life.
7 Should there be deliverance for them on account of wickedness?
In Your anger cast down the peoples, O God.
8 You take account of my wandering;
put my tears in Your bottle;
are they not in Your book?
9 In the day I cry to You,
then my enemies will turn back;
this I know, that God is for me.
10 In God whose word I praise,
in the Lord whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust, I will not fear;
what can a man do to me?
12 Your vows are on me, O God;
I will complete them with thank offerings to You;
13 for You have delivered my soul from death,
even my feet from stumbling,
to walk before God
in the light of the living.
Psalm 57(A)
For the Music Director. To the melody of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David when he fled from Saul in the cave.
1 Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me!
For my soul seeks refuge in You;
in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,
until the ruinous storm passes by.
2 I will cry to God Most High,
to God who vindicates me.
3 He will send from heaven and save me
from the taunt of the one who crushes me. Selah
God will send forth His mercy and His truth.
4 My soul is among lions,
and I lie among the sons of men who blaze like fire,
whose teeth are spears and arrows,
and their tongue a sharp sword.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
may Your glory be above all the earth.
6 They have prepared a net for my steps;
my soul is bowed down;
they have dug a pit before me,
but they have fallen into it. Selah
7 My heart is fixed, O God,
my heart is fixed;
I will sing and give praise.
8 Awake, my glory!
Awake, psaltery and harp!
I will awake the dawn.
9 I will thank You, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing to You among the nations.
10 For Your mercy is great up to the heavens,
and Your truth extends to the clouds.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
may Your glory be above all the earth.
Psalm 58
For the Music Director. To the melody of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David.
1 Do you truly speak righteousness, O heavenly gods?
Do you judge uprightly, O earthly men?
2 Indeed, in the heart you work wickedness;
you weigh the violence of your hands in the earth.
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb onward;
those who speak lies go astray from birth.
4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent;
they are like the deaf adder that plugs its ear,
5 and will not listen to the voice of charmers,
even the best and wisest enchanter.
6 Break their teeth in their mouth, O God;
break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord.
7 May they melt away as waters which run continually;
when he bends his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be trodden under.
8 May they become as a snail that melts as it goes,
like the untimely birth of a woman, may they not see the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the thorns’ heat, green or burning,
may He sweep them away.
10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked;
11 and people will say,
“Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who judges on the earth.”
Psalm 64
For the Music Director. A Psalm of David.
1 Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
guard my life from dread of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked,
from the throng of the workers of iniquity;
3 they sharpen their tongue like a sword,
and bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words,
4 that they may shoot in secret at the blameless;
suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.
5 They harden themselves in an evil matter;
they talk privately of laying snares;
they say, “Who will see them?”
6 They devise injustice,
saying “We have perfected a secret plot.”
Both the inward thought of man and the heart are deep.
7 But God will suddenly shoot them with an arrow;
they will be wounded.
8 They will bring ruin on themselves
by their own tongues;
all who see them will flee away.
9 All people will fear,
and declare the work of God;
they will wisely consider His deeds.
10 The righteous will be glad in the Lord,
and seek refuge in Him,
and all the upright in heart will glory.
Psalm 65
For the Music Director. A Psalm of David. A Song.
1 Praise awaits You, O God, in Zion;
and to You a vow will be fulfilled.
2 O You who hears prayer,
to You all flesh will come.
3 Iniquities are stronger than me;
as for our transgressions, You atone for them.
4 Blessed is the man You choose and allow to draw near;
he will dwell in Your courts.
We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
even of Your holy temple.
5 In righteousness You will answer us gloriously,
O God of our salvation,
You, who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth,
and of those who are afar off on the sea;
6 who established the mountains by His strength,
being clothed with might;
7 who stills the noise of the seas,
the noise of their waves,
and the tumult of peoples.
8 Those who dwell in the uttermost parts
are in awe because of Your signs;
You make the going out of the morning and evening rejoice.
9 You visit the earth, and water it;
You enrich it
with the river of God, which is full of water;
You prepare their grain,
for thus You have established it.
10 You water its furrows abundantly;
You settle its ridges;
You soften it with showers;
You bless its sprouting.
11 You crown the year with Your goodness,
and Your paths drip abundance.
12 They drip on the pastures of the wilderness,
and the hills clothe themselves with rejoicing.
13 The pastures are clothed with flocks;
the valleys also are covered with grain;
they shout for joy, they also sing.
David Anointed King Over Judah
2 After this, David consulted the Lord, asking, “Shall I go to one of the cities of Judah?”
The Lord responded to him, “Go up.”
David asked, “Where should I go?”
And He said, “Hebron.”
2 So David went up there, along with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. 3 And David brought the men who were with him, each man with his household, and they lived in the cities of Hebron. 4 Then the men of Judah came and there anointed David as king over the house of Judah, and they informed David that it was the men of Jabesh Gilead who had buried Saul.
5 So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead saying, “May you be blessed by the Lord, you who have shown this loyalty to your lord Saul by burying him. 6 Now may the Lord show you loyalty and faithfulness, even as I deal kindly with you who have done this thing. 7 Now may your hands be strong and may you be courageous, since your lord Saul is dead and the house of Judah has anointed me as king over them.”
War Between the Houses of David and Saul(A)
8 However, Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Saul, had taken Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim. 9 He installed him as king over Gilead, the Ashurites, Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin, over Israel in its entirety.
10 Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he ruled for two years. However, the house of Judah followed David. 11 The length of time during which David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
Paul and Barnabas Separate
36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit our brothers in every city where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” 37 Barnabas determined to take with them John, who was called Mark. 38 But Paul thought it was not good to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 Then there arose a sharp contention, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brothers to the grace of God. 41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Timothy Accompanies Paul and Silas
16 Then he came to Derbe and then to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewess who believed, but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brothers who were at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted him to travel with him. So he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to observe, that were set forth by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.
The Death of John the Baptist(A)
14 King Herod heard of Him, for His name was spread publicly. He said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and therefore these miracles are at work in him.”
15 But others said, “He is Elijah.”
And yet others said, “He is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets.”
16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “It is John, whom I beheaded. He has been raised from the dead!”
17 Herod had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, for he had married her. 18 For John said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias had a grudge against him and would have killed him, but she could not, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, but heard him gladly.
21 But a convenient day came when Herod on his birthday prepared a ceremonial dinner for his lords and commanding officers and leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you desire, and I will give it to you.” 23 And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.”
24 She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?”
She said, “The head of John the Baptist.”
25 She came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a platter at once.”
26 The king was extremely sorrowful. Yet for the sake of his oath and those who sat with him, he would not reject her. 27 So the king immediately sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. He went and beheaded him in the prison, 28 and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. And the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse and laid it in a tomb.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.