Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 56[a]
For the music director, according to the yonath-elem-rekhoqim style;[b] a prayer[c] of David, written when the Philistines captured him in Gath.[d]
56 Have mercy on me, O God, for men are attacking me.[e]
All day long hostile enemies[f] are tormenting me.[g]
2 Those who anticipate my defeat[h] attack me all day long.
Indeed,[i] many are fighting against me, O Exalted One.[j]
3 When[k] I am afraid,
I trust in you.
4 In God—I boast in his promise[l]—
in God I trust; I am not afraid.
What can mere men[m] do to me?[n]
5 All day long they cause me trouble;[o]
they make a habit of plotting my demise.[p]
6 They stalk[q] and lurk;[r]
they watch my every step,[s]
as[t] they prepare to take my life.[u]
7 Because they are bent on violence, do not let them escape.[v]
In your anger[w] bring down the nations,[x] O God.
8 You keep track of my misery.[y]
Put my tears in your leather container.[z]
Are they not recorded in your scroll?[aa]
9 My enemies will turn back when I cry out to you for help;[ab]
I know that God is on my side.[ac]
10 In God—I boast in his promise[ad]—
in the Lord—I boast in his promise[ae]—
11 in God I trust; I am not afraid.
What can mere men[af] do to me?[ag]
12 I am obligated to fulfill the vows I made to you, O God;[ah]
I will give you the thank offerings you deserve,[ai]
13 when you deliver[aj] my life from death.
You keep my feet from stumbling,[ak]
so that I might serve[al] God as I enjoy life.[am]
Psalm 57[an]
For the music director, according to the al-tashcheth style;[ao] a prayer[ap] of David, written when he fled from Saul into the cave.[aq]
57 Have mercy on me, O God. Have mercy on me.
For in you I have taken shelter.[ar]
In the shadow of your wings[as] I take shelter
until trouble passes.
2 I cry out for help to God Most High,[at]
to the God who vindicates[au] me.
3 May he send help from heaven and deliver me[av]
from my enemies who hurl insults.[aw] (Selah)
May God send his loyal love and faithfulness.
4 I am surrounded by lions;
I lie down[ax] among those who want to devour me,[ay]
men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.[az]
5 Rise up[ba] above the sky, O God.
May your splendor cover the whole earth.[bb]
6 They have prepared a net to trap me;[bc]
I am discouraged.[bd]
They have dug a pit for me.[be]
They will fall[bf] into it. (Selah)
7 I am determined,[bg] O God. I am determined.
I will sing and praise you.
8 Awake, my soul![bh]
Awake, O stringed instrument and harp!
I will wake up at dawn.[bi]
9 I will give you thanks before the nations, O Lord.
I will sing praises to you before foreigners.[bj]
10 For your loyal love extends beyond the sky,[bk]
and your faithfulness reaches the clouds.
11 Rise up[bl] above the sky, O God.
May your splendor cover the whole earth.[bm]
Psalm 58[bn]
For the music director, according to the al-tashcheth style;[bo] a prayer[bp] of David.
58 Do you rulers really pronounce just decisions?[bq]
Do you judge people[br] fairly?
2 No![bs] You plan how to do what is unjust;[bt]
you deal out violence in the earth.[bu]
3 The wicked turn aside from birth;[bv]
liars go astray as soon as they are born.[bw]
4 Their venom is like that of a snake,[bx]
like a deaf serpent[by] that does not hear,[bz]
5 that does not respond to[ca] the magicians,
or to a skilled snake charmer.
6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths!
Smash the jawbones of the lions, O Lord.
7 Let them disappear[cb] like water that flows away.[cc]
Let them wither like grass.[cd]
8 Let them be[ce] like a snail that melts away as it moves along.[cf]
Let them be like[cg] stillborn babies[ch] that never see the sun.
9 Before the kindling is even placed under your pots,[ci]
he[cj] will sweep it away along with both the raw and cooked meat.[ck]
10 The godly[cl] will rejoice when they see vengeance carried out;
they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then[cm] observers[cn] will say,
“Yes indeed, the godly are rewarded.[co]
Yes indeed, there is a God who judges[cp] in the earth.”
Psalm 64[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
64 Listen to me,[b] O God, as I offer my lament!
Protect[c] my life from the enemy’s terrifying attacks.[d]
2 Hide me from the plots of evil men,
from the crowd of evildoers.[e]
3 They[f] sharpen their tongues like swords;
they aim their arrows, a slanderous charge,[g]
4 in order to shoot down the innocent[h] in secluded places.
They shoot at him suddenly and are unafraid of retaliation.[i]
5 They encourage one another to carry out their evil deed.[j]
They plan how to hide[k] snares,
and boast,[l] “Who will see them?”[m]
6 They devise[n] unjust schemes;
they disguise[o] a well-conceived plot.[p]
Man’s inner thoughts cannot be discovered.[q]
7 But God will shoot[r] at them;
suddenly they will be[s] wounded by an arrow.[t]
8 Their slander will bring about their demise.[u]
All who see them will shudder,[v]
9 and all people will fear.[w]
They will proclaim what God has done,[x]
and reflect on his deeds.
10 The godly will rejoice in the Lord
and take shelter in him.
All the morally upright[y] will boast.[z]
Psalm 65[aa]
For the music director, a psalm of David, a song.
65 Praise awaits you,[ab] O God, in Zion.
Vows made to you are fulfilled.
2 You hear prayers;[ac]
all people approach you.[ad]
3 Our record of sins overwhelms me,[ae]
but you forgive[af] our acts of rebellion.
4 How blessed[ag] is the one whom you choose,
and allow to live in your palace courts.[ah]
May we be satisfied with the good things of your house—
your holy palace.[ai]
5 You answer our prayers by performing awesome acts of deliverance,
O God, our savior.[aj]
All the ends of the earth trust in you,[ak]
as well as those living across the wide seas.[al]
6 You created the mountains by your power,[am]
and demonstrated your strength.[an]
7 You calmed the raging seas[ao]
and their roaring waves,
as well as the commotion made by the nations.[ap]
8 Even those living in the remotest areas are awestruck by your acts;[aq]
you cause those living in the east and west to praise you.[ar]
9 You visit the earth and give it rain;[as]
you make it rich and fertile.[at]
God’s streams are full of water;[au]
you provide grain for the people of the earth,[av]
for you have prepared the earth in this way.[aw]
10 You saturate[ax] its furrows,
and soak[ay] its plowed ground.[az]
With rain showers you soften its soil,[ba]
and make its crops grow.[bb]
11 You crown the year with your good blessings,[bc]
and you leave abundance in your wake.[bd]
12 The pastures in the wilderness glisten with moisture,[be]
and the hills are clothed with joy.[bf]
13 The meadows are clothed with sheep,
and the valleys are covered with grain.
They shout joyfully, yes, they sing.
Life is Brief and Death is Certain
7 A good reputation[a] is better[b] than precious[c] perfume;[d]
likewise,[e] the day of one’s[f] death[g] is better than the day of one’s birth.[h]
2 It is better to go to a funeral[i]
than a feast.[j]
For death[k] is the destiny[l] of every person,[m]
and the living should[n] take this[o] to heart.
3 Sorrow[p] is better than laughter,
because sober reflection[q] is good for the heart.[r]
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of merrymaking.[s]
Frivolous Living Versus Wisdom
5 It is better for a person to receive[t] a rebuke from those who are wise[u]
than to listen to the song[v] of fools.
6 For like the crackling of quick-burning thorns[w] under a cooking pot,
so is the laughter of the fool.
This kind of folly[x] also is useless.[y]
Human Wisdom Overturned by Adversity
7 Surely oppression[z] can turn a wise person into a fool;[aa]
likewise,[ab] a bribe corrupts[ac] the heart.[ad]
8 The end of a matter[ae] is better than its beginning;
likewise, patience[af] is better than pride.[ag]
9 Do not let yourself be quickly provoked,[ah]
for anger resides in the lap[ai] of fools.
10 Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these days?”[aj]
for it is not wise to ask that.[ak]
Wisdom Can Lengthen One’s Life
11 Wisdom, like[al] an inheritance, is a good thing;
it benefits those who see the light of day.[am]
12 For wisdom provides[an] protection,[ao]
just as[ap] money provides protection.[aq]
But the advantage of knowledge is this:
Wisdom preserves the life[ar] of its owner.
Wisdom Acknowledges God’s Orchestration of Life
12 I beg you, brothers and sisters,[a] become like me, because I have become like you. You have done me no wrong!
Personal Appeal of Paul
13 But you know it was because of a physical illness that I first proclaimed the gospel to you, 14 and though my physical condition put you to the test, you did not despise or reject me.[b] Instead, you welcomed me as though I were an angel of God,[c] as though I were Christ Jesus himself![d] 15 Where then is your sense of happiness[e] now? For I testify about you that if it were possible, you would have pulled out your eyes and given them to me! 16 So then, have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?[f]
17 They court you eagerly,[g] but for no good purpose;[h] they want to exclude you, so that you would seek them eagerly.[i] 18 However, it is good[j] to be sought eagerly[k] for a good purpose[l] at all times, and not only when I am present with you. 19 My children—I am again undergoing birth pains until Christ is formed in you![m] 20 I wish I could be with you now and change my tone of voice,[n] because I am perplexed about you.
A Canaanite Woman’s Faith
21 After going out from there, Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A[a] Canaanite woman from that area came[b] and cried out,[c] “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is horribly demon-possessed!” 23 But he did not answer her a word. Then[d] his disciples came and begged him,[e] “Send her away, because she keeps on crying out after us.” 24 So[f] he answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and bowed down[g] before him and said,[h] “Lord, help me!” 26 “It is not right[i] to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,”[j] he said.[k] 27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied,[l] “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then[m] Jesus answered her, “Woman,[n] your faith is great! Let what you want be done for you.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.
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