Book of Common Prayer
In God I Trust
To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A (A)Miktam[a] of David, when the (B)Philistines seized him in Gath.
56 (C)Be gracious to me, O God, for man (D)tramples on me;
all day long an attacker oppresses me;
2 my enemies trample on me all day long,
for many attack me proudly.
3 When I am afraid,
I (E)put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; (F)I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?
5 All day long they injure my cause;[b]
all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They (G)stir up strife, they (H)lurk;
they (I)watch my steps,
as they have waited for my life.
7 For their crime will they escape?
(J)In wrath (K)cast down the peoples, O God!
8 You have kept count of my tossings;[c]
(L)put my tears in your bottle.
(M)Are they not in your book?
9 Then my enemies will turn back
(N)in the day when I call.
This I know, that[d] (O)God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; (P)I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 I must perform my (Q)vows to you, O God;
I will (R)render thank offerings to you.
13 (S)For you have delivered my soul from death,
yes, my feet from falling,
(T)that I may walk before God
(U)in the light of life.
Let Your Glory Be over All the Earth
To the choirmaster: according to (V)Do Not Destroy. A (W)Miktam[e] of David, when he fled from Saul, in (X)the cave.
57 (Y)Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in you my soul (Z)takes refuge;
in (AA)the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
(AB)till the storms of destruction pass by.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
to God who (AC)fulfills his purpose for me.
3 (AD)He will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame (AE)him who tramples on me. Selah
(AF)God will send out (AG)his steadfast love and his faithfulness!
4 My soul is in the midst of (AH)lions;
I lie down amid fiery beasts—
the children of man, whose (AI)teeth are spears and arrows,
whose (AJ)tongues are sharp swords.
5 (AK)Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
6 They set (AL)a net for my steps;
my soul was (AM)bowed down.
They (AN)dug a pit in my way,
but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
7 (AO)My heart is (AP)steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
8 (AQ)Awake, (AR)my glory![f]
Awake, (AS)O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10 For your (AT)steadfast love is great to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
11 (AU)Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
God Who Judges the Earth
To the choirmaster: according to (AV)Do Not Destroy. A (AW)Miktam[g] of David.
58 Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?[h]
Do you judge the children of man uprightly?
2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands (AX)deal out violence on earth.
3 The wicked are (AY)estranged from the womb;
they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
4 (AZ)They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
5 so that it (BA)does not hear the voice of charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.
6 O God, (BB)break the teeth in their mouths;
tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
7 Let them (BC)vanish like water that runs away;
when he (BD)aims his arrows, let them be blunted.
8 Let them be like the snail (BE)that dissolves into slime,
like (BF)the stillborn child who never sees the sun.
9 Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of (BG)thorns,
whether green or ablaze, may he (BH)sweep them away![i]
Hide Me from the Wicked
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
64 Hear my voice, O God, in my (A)complaint;
preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
2 Hide me from (B)the secret plots of the wicked,
from the throng of evildoers,
3 who (C)whet their tongues like swords,
who (D)aim bitter words like arrows,
4 shooting from (E)ambush at the blameless,
shooting at him suddenly and (F)without fear.
5 They (G)hold fast to their evil purpose;
they talk of (H)laying snares secretly,
thinking, (I)“Who can see them?”
6 They search out injustice,
saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.”
For (J)the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.
7 (K)But God shoots his arrow at them;
they are wounded suddenly.
8 They are brought to ruin, with their own (L)tongues turned against them;
all who (M)see them will (N)wag their heads.
9 Then all mankind (O)fears;
they (P)tell what God has brought about
and ponder what he has done.
10 Let (Q)the righteous one rejoice in the Lord
and (R)take refuge in him!
Let all (S)the upright in heart exult!
O God of Our Salvation
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
65 Praise (T)is due to you,[a] O God, in Zion,
and to you shall (U)vows be performed.
2 O you who (V)hear prayer,
to you (W)shall all flesh come.
3 When (X)iniquities prevail against me,
you (Y)atone for our transgressions.
4 (Z)Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,
to (AA)dwell in your courts!
We shall be (AB)satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple!
5 By (AC)awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
the hope of all (AD)the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas;
6 the one who by his strength established the mountains,
being (AE)girded with might;
7 who (AF)stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
(AG)the tumult of the peoples,
8 so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and (AH)water it;[b]
you greatly enrich it;
(AI)the river of God is full of water;
(AJ)you provide their grain,
for so you have prepared it.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with (AK)showers,
and blessing its growth.
11 You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks (AL)overflow with abundance.
12 (AM)The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills (AN)gird themselves with joy,
13 (AO)the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they (AP)shout and sing together for joy.
The Contrast of Wisdom and Folly
7 (A)A good name is better than precious ointment,
and (B)the day of death than the day of birth.
2 It is better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of all mankind,
and the living will (C)lay it to heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
(D)for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
5 It is (E)better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise
than to hear the song of fools.
6 (F)For as the crackling of (G)thorns under a pot,
so is the laughter of the fools;
this also is vanity.[a]
7 Surely (H)oppression drives the wise into madness,
and (I)a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,
and (J)the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9 (K)Be not quick in your spirit to become angry,
(L)for anger lodges in the heart[b] of fools.
10 Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.
11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance,
an advantage to those who (M)see the sun.
12 For the protection of wisdom is like (N)the protection of money,
and the advantage of knowledge is that (O)wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
13 Consider (P)the work of God:
(Q)who can make straight what he has made crooked?
14 (R)In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, (S)so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.
12 Brothers,[a] (A)I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. (B)You did me no wrong. 13 You know it was (C)because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you (D)at first, 14 and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me (E)as an angel of God, (F)as Christ Jesus. 15 What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I then become your enemy by (G)telling you the truth?[b] 17 They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. 18 It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and (H)not only when I am present with you, 19 (I)my little children, (J)for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ (K)is formed in you! 20 I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.
The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
21 (A)And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, (B)a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, (C)“Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, (D)“Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, (E)“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and (F)knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and (G)throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat (H)the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, (I)great is your faith! (J)Be it done for you as you desire.” (K)And her daughter was (L)healed instantly.[a]
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.