Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Deliverance and Confidence in God
For the music director, according to The Silent Dove of Distant Lands.
Of David. A miktam.
When the Philistines seized him in Gath.[a]
56 Be gracious to me, O God, because humankind has trampled me;
fighting all the day he oppresses me.
2 My enemies[b] trample all day,
because many are attacking me proudly.
3 When[c] I fear, I trust you.
4 God, whose word I praise,
God I trust; I do not fear.
What can mere flesh do to me?
5 All day they twist my words;
all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They attack,[d] they hide, they watch my steps,[e]
as they lie in wait for my life.
7 Because of iniquity will they escape?
In anger cast down the peoples, O God.
8 You have kept count of my wonderings.
Put my tears in your bottle;
are they not in your book?
9 Then my enemies will turn back when[f] I call.[g]
This I know because[h] God is for me.
10 God, whose word I praise,
Yahweh, whose word I praise,
11 God I trust; I do not fear.
What can mere humankind do to me?
12 My vows to you, O God, are binding upon me.
I will pay thank offerings to you,
13 because you have delivered my soul from death.
Have you not kept my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of the living?
Prayer for Rescue from Enemies
For the music director, according to Do Not Destroy.
Of David. A miktam.
When he fled from Saul into the cave.[i]
57 Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me,
because in you my soul takes refuge.
In the shadow of your wings I will take refuge
until destruction passes by.
2 I will call to God Most High,
to God who accomplishes things concerning me.
3 He will send from heaven and save me;
he will reproach the one who tramples me. Selah
God will send his loyal love and his faithfulness.
4 My soul is among lions.
I lie down among those who devour—
the children[j] of humankind whose teeth are spears and arrows
and whose tongues are sharp swords.
5 Be exalted above the heavens, O God.
Let your glory be above all the earth.
6 They have set a net for my steps;
my soul is bowed down.
They have dug a pit before me;
they have fallen into the midst of it. Selah
7 My heart is steadfast, O God;
My heart is steadfast.
I will sing and give praise.
8 Awake, my glory;
Awake, harp and lyre.
I will awake the dawn.[k]
9 I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord;
I will give you praise among the nations.
10 Because your loyal love is high to the heavens,
and your faithfulness to the clouds.
11 Be exalted above the heavens, O God.
Let your glory be above all the earth.
Judgment on the Wicked
For the music director, according to Do not Destroy.
Of David. A miktam.[l]
58 Do you really speak what is right when silent?[m]
Do you judge fairly the children of humankind?[n]
2 No, in your heart you plan injustices;
in the land[o] you weigh out the violence of your hands.
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb.
They go astray from the belly, speaking lies.
4 Their venom is like snake venom;
They are like a deaf viper that closes its ear
5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
or the skilled caster of spells.
6 O God, break their teeth in their mouth.
Break off the fangs of the young lions, O Yahweh.
7 Let them run away like water that runs off.
When he bends the bow, let his arrows be as though they were cut off.[p]
8 Let them be like a snail that melts away as it goes;
like the stillborn of woman that do not see the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of a thornbush,
whether green or dry,[q] he will sweep it away.[r]
10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 And people[s] will say, “Surely there is a reward[t] for the righteous.
Surely there is a God who judges in the land.”[u]
A Plea for Divine Retribution
For the music director. A psalm of David.[a]
64 Hear my voice, O God, in my lamenting.
Preserve my life from the fear of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret plots[b] of evildoers,
from the unrest of those who do iniquity,
3 who sharpen their tongue like a sword.
They bend their bow to shoot their arrows—bitter words,
4 to shoot from[c] their[d] hiding places at the blameless.
Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.
5 They encourage themselves in the evil matter.
They talk of secretly laying snares.
They say, “Who will see them?”
6 They carefully plot[e] injustices saying,
“We have perfected the perfect plot!”[f]
Both the inner thought[g] and heart of a man are deep.
7 But God will shoot them;
with an arrow they will suddenly be wounded.
8 [h] And they who would cause him[i] to stumble,
their own tongue will be against them.
All who gaze on them will shake.[j]
9 And then[k] all men[l] will fear,
and will declare the working of God,
and will understand his doing.
10 The righteous will rejoice in Yahweh and take refuge in him,
and all the upright in heart will boast.
Thanksgiving for God’s Provision
For the music director. A psalm of David. A song.[m]
65 Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion,
and to you the vow shall be fulfilled.
2 O you who hear prayer,
to you all flesh will come.
3 Iniquities[n] prevail over me.
As for our transgressions, you will forgive[o] them.
4 Blessed is one whom you choose and bring near,
that he may abide in your courts.
We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
your holy temple.
5 By awesome deeds in righteousness you will answer us,
O God of our salvation,
you who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth
and of the far-off seas,
6 who established the mountains by his strength,
the one who is girded with might,
7 who stills the roar of the seas,
the roar of their waves,
and the commotion of the peoples,
8 so that[p] the inhabitants of the farthest reaches are in awe of your signs.
You make the dawn and sunset sing for joy.
9 You care for[q] the land[r] and water it;
you greatly enrich it.
The stream of God is filled with waters.
You provide their grain,
for so you have established it.
10 You drench its furrows,
penetrating its ridges.
With rains you soften it;
its growth you bless.
11 You crown the year with your bounty,[s]
and your wagon paths drip with richness.[t]
12 They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
and the hills gird themselves with joy.
13 The pasturelands put on flocks,
and the valleys clothe themselves with grain.
They shout in triumph;
they even sing.
16 And the people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we would forsake Yahweh to serve other gods, 17 for Yahweh our God brought us and our ancestors[a] from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, and did these great signs before our eyes. He protected us along the entire way that we went, and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. 18 And Yahweh drove out all the people before us, the Amorites[b] who live[c] in the land. We will serve Yahweh, for he is our God.”
19 But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve Yahweh, for he is a holy and jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. 20 If you forsake Yahweh and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster to you; he will destroy you after he has done good to you.” 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, we will serve Yahweh.” 22 And Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves to serve Yahweh.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 He said, “Remove the foreign gods that are in your midst, and incline your hearts to Yahweh the God of Israel.” 24 And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve Yahweh our God, and we will listen to his voice.” 25 So Joshua made a covenant[d] with the people on that day, and he established for them a statute and a judgment at Shechem. 26 Then Joshua wrote these words in a scroll of the law of God, and he took a large stone and set it up there under a large tree, which is at the shrine of Yahweh. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Look, this stone will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of Yahweh that he spoke with us. It will be as a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God.” 28 Then Joshua sent the people away to their inheritance.
29 After these things Joshua son of Nun servant of Yahweh died; he was one hundred and ten years old.[e] 30 They buried him in the territory of his inheritance, at Timnath-Serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 31 Israel served Yahweh all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who lived long after Joshua, and who had known all the work that Yahweh did for Israel.[f] 32 The bones of Jacob, which the Israelites[g] had brought out from Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in a piece of land that Jacob had bought from the children of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred pieces of money;[h] it became an inheritance for the descendants[i] of Joseph. 33 And Eleazar son of Aaron died; and they buried him in Gibeah in the hill country of Ephraim, which had been given to his son Phinehas.
Many Personal Greetings
16 Now I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is also a servant[a] of the church in Cenchrea, 2 in order that you may welcome her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever task she may have need from you, for she herself also has been a helper of many, even me myself.
3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their own necks for my life, for which not only I am thankful, but also all the churches of the Gentiles; 5 also greet[b] the church in their house. Greet Epenetus my dear friend, who is the first convert[c] of Asia for Christ. 6 Greet Mary, who has worked hard[d] for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia,[e] my compatriots[f] and my fellow prisoners, who are well known to[g] the apostles, who were also in Christ before me. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. 10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those of the household of Aristobulus. 11 Greet Herodion my compatriot.[h] Greet those of the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. 12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, the laborers in the Lord. Greet Persis, the dear friend who has worked hard[i] in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, the chosen one in the Lord, and his mother and mine. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers with them. 15 Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.
24 So Pilate, when he[a] saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but instead an uproar was developing, took water and[b] washed his[c] hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this man. You see to it!”[d] 25 And all the people answered and[e] said, “His blood be on us and on our children!” 26 Then he released Barabbas for them, but after[f] he had Jesus flogged, he handed him[g] over so that he could be crucified.
Jesus Is Mocked
27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s residence and[h] gathered the whole cohort to him. 28 And they stripped him and[i] put a scarlet military cloak around him, 29 and weaving a crown of thorns, they put it[j] on his head, and put[k] a reed in his right hand. And kneeling down before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” 30 And they spat on him and[l] took the reed and repeatedly struck[m] him[n] on his head. 31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the military cloak and put his own clothes on him, and led him away in order to crucify him.[o]
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