Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 55[a]
For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song[b] by David.
55 Listen, O God, to my prayer.
Do not ignore[c] my appeal for mercy.
2 Pay attention to me and answer me.
I am so upset[d] and distressed,[e] I am beside myself,[f]
3 because of what the enemy says,[g]
and because of how the wicked[h] pressure me,[i]
for they hurl trouble[j] down upon me[k]
and angrily attack me.
4 My heart beats violently[l] within me;
the horrors of death overcome me.[m]
5 Fear and panic overpower me;[n]
terror overwhelms[o] me.
6 I say,[p] “I wish I had wings like a dove.
I would fly away and settle in a safe place.
7 Look, I will escape to a distant place;
I will stay in the wilderness. (Selah)
8 I will hurry off to a place that is safe
from the strong wind[q] and the gale.”
9 Confuse them,[r] O Lord.
Frustrate their plans.[s]
For I see violence and conflict in the city.
10 Day and night they walk around on its walls,[t]
while wickedness and destruction[u] are within it.
11 Disaster is within it;
violence[v] and deceit do not depart from its public square.
12 Indeed,[w] it is not an enemy who insults me,
or else I could bear it;
it is not one who hates me who arrogantly taunts me,[x]
or else I could hide from him.
13 But it is you,[y] a man like me,[z]
my close friend in whom I confided.[aa]
14 We would share personal thoughts with each other;[ab]
in God’s temple we would walk together among the crowd.
15 May death destroy them.[ac]
May they go down alive into Sheol.[ad]
For evil is in their dwelling place and in their midst.
16 As for me, I will call out to God,
and the Lord will deliver me.
17 During the evening, morning, and noontime
I will lament and moan,[ae]
and he will hear[af] me.[ag]
18 He will rescue[ah] me and protect me from those who attack me,[ai]
even though[aj] they greatly outnumber me.[ak]
19 God, the one who has reigned as king from long ago,
will hear and humiliate them.[al] (Selah)
They refuse to change,
and do not fear God.[am]
20 He[an] attacks[ao] his friends;[ap]
he breaks his solemn promises to them.[aq]
21 His words are as smooth as butter,[ar]
but he harbors animosity in his heart.[as]
His words seem softer than oil,
but they are really like sharp swords.[at]
22 Throw your burden[au] upon the Lord,
and he will sustain you.[av]
He will never allow the godly to be shaken.[aw]
23 But you, O God, will bring them[ax] down to the deep Pit.[ay]
Violent and deceitful people[az] will not live even half a normal lifespan.[ba]
But as for me, I trust in you.
Psalm 138[a]
By David.
138 I will give you thanks with all my heart;
before the heavenly assembly[b] I will sing praises to you.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple,
and give thanks to your name,
because of your loyal love and faithfulness,
for you have exalted your promise above the entire sky.[c]
3 When[d] I cried out for help, you answered me.
You made me bold and energized me.[e]
4 Let all the kings of the earth give thanks[f] to you, O Lord,
when they hear the words you speak.[g]
5 Let them sing about the Lord’s deeds,[h]
for the Lord’s splendor is magnificent.[i]
6 Though the Lord is exalted, he looks after the lowly,
and from far away humbles[j] the proud.
7 Even when I must walk in the midst of danger,[k] you revive me.
You oppose my angry enemies,[l]
and your right hand delivers me.
8 The Lord avenges me.[m]
O Lord, your loyal love endures.
Do not abandon those whom you have made.[n]
Psalm 139[o]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
139 O Lord, you examine me[p] and know me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I get up;
even from far away you understand my motives.
3 You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest;[q]
you are aware of everything I do.[r]
4 Certainly[s] my tongue does not frame a word
without you, O Lord, being thoroughly aware of it.[t]
5 You squeeze me in from behind and in front;
you place your hand on me.
6 Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension;
it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it.[u]
7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit?
Where can I flee to escape your presence?[v]
8 If I were to ascend[w] to heaven, you would be there.
If I were to sprawl out[x] in Sheol, there you would be.[y]
9 If I were to fly away[z] on the wings of the dawn,[aa]
and settle down on the other side[ab] of the sea,
10 even there your hand would guide me,
your right hand would grab hold of me.
11 If I were to say, “Certainly the darkness will cover me,[ac]
and the light will turn to night all around me,”[ad]
12 even the darkness is not too dark for you to see,[ae]
and the night is as bright as[af] day;
darkness and light are the same to you.[ag]
13 Certainly[ah] you made my mind and heart;[ai]
you wove me together[aj] in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give you thanks because your deeds are awesome and amazing.[ak]
You knew me thoroughly;[al]
15 my bones were not hidden from you,
when[am] I was made in secret
and sewed together in the depths of the earth.[an]
16 Your eyes saw me when I was inside the womb.[ao]
All the days ordained for me
were recorded in your scroll
before one of them came into existence.[ap]
17 How difficult it is for me to fathom your thoughts about me, O God![aq]
How vast is their sum total.[ar]
18 If I tried to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
Even if I finished counting them,
I would still have to contend with you.[as]
19 If only[at] you would kill the wicked, O God!
Get away from me, you violent men![au]
20 They[av] rebel against you[aw] and act deceitfully;[ax]
your enemies lie.[ay]
21 O Lord, do I not hate those who hate you,
and despise those who oppose you?[az]
22 I absolutely hate them;[ba]
they have become my enemies.
23 Examine me, O God, and probe my thoughts.[bb]
Test me, and know my concerns.[bc]
Opposition to the Work Continues
4 (3:33)[a] Now when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall he became angry and was quite upset. He derided the Jews, 2 and in the presence of his colleagues[b] and the army of Samaria he said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they be left to themselves?[c] Will they again offer sacrifice? Will they finish this in a day? Can they bring these burnt stones to life again from piles of dust?”
3 Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was close by, said, “If even a fox were to climb up on what they are building, it would break down their wall of stones!”
4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Return their reproach on their own head. Reduce them to plunder in a land of exile! 5 Do not cover their iniquity, and do not wipe out their sin from your sight, for they have bitterly offended[d] the builders.[e]
6 So we rebuilt the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height.[f] The people were enthusiastic in their work.[g]
7 (4:1)[h] When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people of Ashdod heard that the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem had moved ahead and that the breaches had begun to be closed, they were very angry. 8 All of them conspired together to move with armed forces[i] against Jerusalem and to create a disturbance in it. 9 So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard to protect against them[j] both day and night. 10 Then those in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers[k] has failed! The debris is so great that we are unable to rebuild the wall.”
11 Our adversaries also boasted,[l] “Before they are aware or anticipate[m] anything, we will come in among them and kill them, and we will bring this work to a halt!”
12 So it happened that the Jews who were living near them came and warned us repeatedly[n] about all the schemes[o] they were plotting[p] against us.
13 So I stationed people at the lower places behind the wall in the exposed places.[q] I stationed the people by families, with their swords, spears, and bows. 14 When I had made an inspection,[r] I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the great and awesome Lord,[s] and fight on behalf of your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your families!”[t]
15 It so happened that when our adversaries heard that we were aware of these matters,[u] God frustrated their intentions. Then all of us returned to the wall, each to his own work. 16 From that day forward, half my men were doing the work and half were taking up spears,[v] shields, bows, and body armor. Now the officers were behind all the people[w] of Judah 17 who were rebuilding the wall.[x] Those who were carrying loads did so[y] by keeping one hand on the work and the other on their weapon. 18 The builders, to a man, had their swords strapped to their sides while they were building. But the trumpeter[z] remained with me.
19 I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is demanding[aa] and extensive, and we are spread out on the wall, far removed from one another. 20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, gather there with us. Our God will fight for us!”
21 So we worked on,[ab] with half[ac] holding spears, from dawn till dusk.[ad] 22 At that time I instructed[ae] the people, “Let every man and his coworker spend the night in Jerusalem and let them be guards for us by night and workers by day.” 23 We did not change clothes[af]—not I, nor my relatives, nor my workers, nor the watchmen who were with me. Each had his weapon, even when getting a drink of water.[ag]
4 Now[a] I heard the number of those who were marked with the seal,[b] 144,000, sealed from all[c] the tribes of the people of Israel:[d]
5 From the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand,
6 from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand,
7 from the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand,
8 from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.
9 After these things I looked, and here was[e] an enormous crowd that no one could count, made up of persons from every nation, tribe,[f] people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb dressed in long white robes, and with palm branches in their hands. 10 They were shouting out in a loud voice,
“Salvation belongs to our God,[g] who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
11 And all the angels stood[h] there in a circle around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground[i] before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying,
“Amen! Praise and glory,
and wisdom and thanksgiving,
and honor and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”
13 Then[j] one of the elders asked[k] me, “These dressed in long white robes—who are they and where have they come from?” 14 So[l] I said to him, “My lord, you know the answer.”[m] Then[n] he said to me, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation. They[o] have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb! 15 For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve[p] him day and night in his temple, and the one seated on the throne will shelter them.[q] 16 They will never go hungry or be thirsty again, and the sun will not beat down on them, nor any burning heat,[r] 17 because the Lamb in the middle of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”[s]
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
31 He gave[a] them another parable:[b] “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed[c] that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest garden plant and becomes a tree,[d] so that the wild birds[e] come and nest in its branches.”[f]
The Parable of the Yeast
33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with[g] three measures[h] of flour until all the dough had risen.”[i]
The Purpose of Parables
34 Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds; he did not speak to them without a parable. 35 This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet:[j]
“I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.”[k]
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