Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for protection from the wicked.
For the Chief Musician; with the [a]Nehiloth. A Psalm of David.
5 Give ear to my words, O Jehovah,
Consider my meditation.
2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God;
For unto thee do I pray.
3 O Jehovah, in the morning shalt thou hear my voice;
In the morning will I order my prayer unto thee, and will keep watch.
4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness:
[b]Evil shall not sojourn with thee.
5 [c]The arrogant shall not stand in thy sight:
Thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
6 Thou wilt destroy them that speak lies:
Jehovah abhorreth the blood-thirsty and deceitful man.
7 But as for me, in the abundance of thy lovingkindness will I come into thy house:
In thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.
8 Lead me, O Jehovah, in thy righteousness because of [d]mine enemies;
Make thy way [e]straight before my face.
9 For there is no [f]faithfulness in their mouth;
Their inward part is [g]very wickedness;
Their throat is an open sepulchre;
They [h]flatter with their tongue.
10 Hold them guilty, O God;
Let them fall [i]by their own counsels;
Thrust them out in the multitude of their transgressions;
For they have rebelled against thee.
11 [j]But let all those that take refuge in thee rejoice,
Let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them:
Let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
12 For thou wilt bless the righteous;
O Jehovah, thou wilt compass him with favor as with a shield.
Prayer for mercy in time of trouble.
For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments, set to [k]the Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
6 O Jehovah, rebuke me not in thine anger,
Neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
2 Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah; for I am withered away:
O Jehovah, heal me; for my bones are troubled.
3 My soul also is sore troubled:
And thou, O Jehovah, how long?
4 Return, O Jehovah, deliver my soul:
Save me for thy lovingkindness’ sake.
5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee:
In Sheol who shall give thee thanks?
6 I am weary with my groaning;
Every night make I my bed to swim;
I water my couch with my tears.
7 Mine eye wasteth away because of grief;
It waxeth old because of all mine adversaries.
8 Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity;
For Jehovah hath heard the voice of my weeping.
9 Jehovah hath heard my supplication;
Jehovah will receive my prayer.
10 All mine enemies shall be put to shame and sore troubled:
They shall turn back, they shall be put to shame suddenly.
A prayer for the overthrow of the wicked.
10 Why standest thou afar off, O Jehovah?
Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
2 In the pride of the wicked [a]the poor [b]is hotly pursued;
[c]Let them be taken in the devices that they have conceived.
3 For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire,
And [d]the covetous renounceth, yea, [e]contemneth Jehovah.
4 The wicked, in the pride of his countenance, saith, He will not require it.
All his thoughts are, There is no God.
5 His ways are [f]firm at all times;
Thy judgments are far above out of his sight:
As for all his adversaries, he puffeth at them.
6 He saith in his heart, I shall not be moved;
To all generations I shall not be in adversity.
7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and [g]oppression:
Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.
8 He sitteth in the lurking-places of the villages;
In the secret places doth he murder the innocent;
His eyes are privily set against the [h]helpless.
9 He lurketh in secret as a lion in his covert;
He lieth in wait to catch the poor:
He doth catch the poor, when he draweth him in his net.
10 [i]He croucheth, he boweth down,
And the [j]helpless fall by his strong ones.
11 He saith in his heart: God hath forgotten;
He hideth his face, he will never see it.
12 Arise, O Jehovah; O God, lift up thy hand:
Forget not the [k]poor.
13 Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God,
And say in his heart, Thou wilt not require it?
14 Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest [l]mischief and spite, [m]to requite it with thy hand:
The [n]helpless committeth himself unto thee;
Thou hast been the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break thou the arm of the wicked;
And as for the evil man, seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
16 Jehovah is King for ever and ever:
The [o]nations are perished out of his land.
17 Jehovah, thou hast heard the desire of the meek:
Thou wilt [p]prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear;
18 To judge the fatherless and the oppressed,
That man who is of the earth may be terrible no more.
Jehovah a refuge and defence.
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
11 In Jehovah do I take refuge:
How say ye to my soul,
Flee [q]as a bird to your mountain;
2 For, lo, the wicked bend the bow,
They make ready their arrow upon the string,
That they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart;
3 [r]If the foundations be destroyed,
What can the righteous do?
4 Jehovah is in his holy temple;
Jehovah, his throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
5 Jehovah trieth the righteous;
But the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
6 Upon the wicked he will rain snares;
Fire and brimstone and burning wind shall be the portion of their cup.
7 For Jehovah is righteous; he loveth [s]righteousness:
[t]The upright shall behold his face.
3 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which Jehovah God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of [a]any tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat: 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as [b]God, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was [c]to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves [d]aprons. 8 And they heard the [e]voice of Jehovah God walking in the garden in the [f]cool of the day: and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Jehovah God amongst the trees of the garden.
9 And Jehovah God called unto the man, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And Jehovah God said unto the woman, What is this thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. 14 And Jehovah God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou [g]above all cattle, and [h]above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall [i]bruise thy head, and thou shalt [j]bruise his heel. 16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy conception; in pain thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in [k]toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. 20 And the man called his wife’s name [l]Eve; because she was the mother of all living. 21 And Jehovah God made for Adam and for his wife coats of skins, and clothed them.
22 And Jehovah God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever— 23 therefore Jehovah God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden the Cherubim, and the flame of a sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
2 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that were heard, lest haply we drift away from them. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; 3 how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? which having at the first been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed unto us by them that heard; 4 God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by [a]gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will.
5 For not unto angels did he subject [b]the world to come, whereof we speak. 6 But one hath somewhere testified, saying,
[c]What is man, that thou art mindful of him?
Or the son of man, that thou visitest him?
7 Thou madest him [d]a little lower than the angels;
Thou crownedst him with glory and honor,
[e]And didst set him over the works of thy hands:
8 Thou didst put all things in subjection under his feet.
For in that he subjected all things unto him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we see not yet all things subjected to him. 9 But we behold him who hath been made [f]a little lower than the angels, even Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste of death for every man. 10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, [g]in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the [h]author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
19 And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent unto him from Jerusalem priests and Levites to ask him, Who art thou? 20 And he confessed, and denied not; and he confessed, I am not the Christ. 21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he saith, I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered, No. 22 They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? 23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as [a]said Isaiah the prophet. 24 [b]And they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, neither Elijah, neither the prophet? 26 John answered them, saying, I baptize [c]in water: in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not, 27 even he that cometh after me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose. 28 These things were done in [d]Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
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