Book of Common Prayer
A Psalm of Complaint and of Praise.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
31 In You, O Lord, I have placed my trust and taken refuge;
Let me never be [a]ashamed;
In Your righteousness rescue me.
2
Incline Your ear to me, deliver me quickly;
Be my rock of refuge,
And a strong fortress to save me.
3
Yes, You are my rock and my fortress;
For Your name’s sake You will lead me and guide me.
4
You will draw me out of the net that they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my strength and my stronghold.
5
[b]Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth and faithfulness.(A)
6
I hate those who pay regard to vain (empty, worthless) idols;
But I trust in the Lord [and rely on Him with unwavering confidence].
7
I will rejoice and be glad in Your steadfast love,
Because You have seen my affliction;
You have taken note of my life’s distresses,
8
And You have not given me into the hand of the enemy;
You have set my feet in a broad place.
9
Be gracious and compassionate to me, O Lord, for I am in trouble;
My eye is clouded and weakened by grief, my soul and my body also.
10
For my life is spent with sorrow
And my years with sighing;
My strength has failed because of my iniquity,
And even my body has wasted away.
11
Because of all my enemies I have become a reproach and disgrace,
Especially to my neighbors,
And an object of dread to my acquaintances;
Those who see me on the street run from me.
12
I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
13
For I have heard the slander and whispering of many,
Terror is on every side;
While they schemed together against me,
They plotted to take away my life.(B)
14
But as for me, I trust [confidently] in You and Your greatness, O Lord;
I said, “You are my God.”
15
My times are in Your hands;
Rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from those who pursue and persecute me.
16
Make Your face shine upon Your servant;
Save me in Your lovingkindness.
17
Let me not be put to shame, O Lord, for I call on You;
Let the wicked (godless) be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead).
18
Let the lying lips be mute,
Which speak insolently and arrogantly against the [consistently] righteous
With pride and contempt.
19
How great is Your goodness,
Which You have stored up for those who [reverently] fear You,
Which You have prepared for those who take refuge in You,
[c]Before the sons of man!
20
In the secret place of Your presence You hide them from the plots and conspiracies of man;
You keep them secretly in a shelter (pavilion) from the strife of tongues.
21
Blessed be the Lord,
For He has shown His marvelous favor and lovingkindness to me [when I was assailed] in a besieged city.
22
As for me, I said in my alarm,
“I am cut off from Your eyes.”
Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications (specific requests)
When I cried to You [for help].
23
O love the Lord, all you His godly ones!
The Lord preserves the faithful [those with moral and spiritual integrity]
And fully repays the [self-righteousness of the] arrogant.
24
Be strong and let your hearts take courage,
All you who wait for and confidently expect the Lord.
Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.
A Psalm of David.
35 Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;
Fight against those who fight against me.
2
Take hold of shield and buckler ([a]small shield),
And stand up for my help.
3
Draw also the spear and javelin to meet those who pursue me.
Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”
4
Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life;
Let those be turned back [in defeat] and humiliated who plot evil against me.
5
Let them be [blown away] like chaff before the wind [worthless, without substance],
With the angel of the Lord driving them on.
6
Let their way be dark and slippery,
With the angel of the Lord pursuing and harassing them.
7
For without cause they hid their net for me;
Without cause they dug a pit [of destruction] for my life.
8
Let destruction come upon my enemy by surprise;
Let the net he hid for me catch him;
Into that very destruction let him fall.
9
Then my soul shall rejoice in the Lord;
It shall rejoice in His salvation.
10
All my bones will say, “Lord, who is like You,
Who rescues the afflicted from him who is too strong for him [to resist alone],
And the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?”
11
Malicious witnesses rise up;
They ask me of things that I do not know.
12
They repay me evil for good,
To the sorrow of my soul.
13
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth (mourning garment);
I humbled my soul with fasting,
And I prayed with my head bowed on my chest.
14
I behaved as if grieving for my friend or my brother;
I bowed down in mourning, as one who sorrows for his mother.
15
But in my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered together [against me];
The slanderers whom I did not know gathered against me;
They slandered and reviled me without ceasing.
16
Like godless jesters at a feast,
They gnashed at me with their teeth [in malice].
17
Lord, how long will You look on [without action]?
Rescue my life from their destructions,
My only life from the young lions.
18
I will give You thanks in the great congregation;
I will praise You among a mighty people.
19
Do not let those who are wrongfully my enemies rejoice over me;
Nor let those who hate me without cause wink their eye [maliciously].(A)
20
For they do not speak peace,
But they devise deceitful words [half-truths and lies] against those who are quiet in the land.
21
They open their mouths wide against me;
They say, “Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!”
22
You have seen this, O Lord; do not keep silent.
O Lord, do not be far from me.
23
Wake Yourself up, and arise to my right
And to my cause, my God and my Lord.
24
Judge me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness and justice;
And do not let them rejoice over me.
25
Do not let them say in their heart, “Aha, that is what we wanted!”
Do not let them say, “We have swallowed him up and destroyed him.”
26
Let those be ashamed and humiliated together who rejoice at my distress;
Let those be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves over me.
27
Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication and want what is right for me;
Let them say continually, “Let the Lord be magnified, who delights and takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”
28
And my tongue shall declare Your righteousness (justice),
And Your praise all the day long.
Job Feels Insulted
19 Then Job answered and said,
2
“How long will you torment and exasperate me
And crush me with words?
3
“These ten times you have insulted me;
You are not ashamed to wrong me [and harden your hearts against me].
4
“And if it were true that I have erred,
My error would remain with me [and I would be conscious of it].
5
“If indeed you [braggarts] vaunt and magnify yourselves over me
And prove my disgrace (humiliation) to me,
6
Know then that God has wronged me and overthrown me
And has closed His net around me.
Everything Is Against Him
7
“Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!’ but I am not heard;
I shout for help, but there is no justice.
14
“My relatives have failed [me],
And my intimate friends have forgotten me.
15
“Those who live [temporarily] in my house and my maids consider me a stranger;
I am a foreigner in their sight.
16
“I call to my servant, but he does not answer;
I have to implore him with words.
17
“My breath is repulsive to my wife,
And I am loathsome to my own brothers.
18
“Even young children despise me;
When I get up, they speak against me.
19
“All the men of my council hate me;
Those I love have turned against me.
20
“My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh,
And I have escaped [death] by the skin of my teeth.
21
“Have pity on me! Have pity on me, O you my friends,
For the hand of God has touched me.
22
“Why do you persecute me as God does?
Why are you not satisfied with my flesh (anguish)?
Job Says, “My Redeemer Lives”
23
“Oh, that the words I now speak were written!
Oh, that they were recorded in a scroll!
24
“That with an iron stylus and [molten] lead
They were engraved in the rock forever!
25
“For I know that my Redeemer and Vindicator lives,
And at the last He will take His stand upon the earth.(A)
26
“Even after my [mortal] skin is destroyed [by death],
Yet from my [immortal] flesh I will see God,
27
Whom I, even I, will see for myself,
And my eyes will see Him and not another!
My heart faints within me.
13 Now Paul and his companions sailed from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but [a]John [Mark] left them and went back to Jerusalem. 14 Now they went on from Perga and arrived at Antioch in Pisidia, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading of the Law and the [writings of the] Prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers (kinsmen), if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.” 16 So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand, he said,
“Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen! 17 The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great and numerous during their stay [as foreigners] in the land of Egypt, and then with an [b]uplifted arm He led them out of there.(A) 18 For a period of about forty years He put up with their behavior in the wilderness.(B) 19 When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He gave their land [to our ancestors] as an inheritance—this took about four hundred and fifty years.(C) 20 After this, He gave them judges until the prophet Samuel. 21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 And when He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king: of him He testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart [conforming to My will and purposes], who will do all My will.’(D) 23 From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel a Savior, [in the person of] Jesus, according to His promise. 24 Before [c]His coming John [the Baptist] had preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 And as John was finishing his course [of ministry], he kept saying, ‘What or who do you think that I am? I am not He [the Christ]; but be aware, One is coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie [even as His slave]!’
18 However, the Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the man’s parents. 19 They asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21 but as to how he now sees, we do not know; or who has opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him [and stop asking us]; [a]he is of age, he will speak for himself and give his own account of it.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of [the leaders of] the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone acknowledged Jesus to be the Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue (excommunicated). 23 Because of this his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
24 So a second time they called the man who had been [born] blind, and said to him, “Give God glory and praise [for your sight]! We know this Man [Jesus] is a sinner [separated from God].” 25 Then he answered, “I do not know whether He is a sinner [separated from God]; but one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26 So they said to him, “What did He [actually] do to you? How did He open your eyes?” 27 He answered, “I already told you and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again and again? Do you want to become His disciples, too?” 28 And [at that remark] they stormed at him and jeered, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! 29 We know [for certain] that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this Man, we do not know where He is from.” 30 The man replied, “Well, this is astonishing! You do not know where He comes from, and yet He opened my eyes! 31 We know [according to your tradition] that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone fears God and does His will, He hears him. 32 Since the [b]beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If this Man were not from God, He would not be able to do anything [like this because God would not hear His prayer].” 34 They answered him, “You were [c]born entirely in sins [from head to foot], and you [presume to] teach us?” Then they threw him out [of the synagogue].
Jesus Affirms His Deity
35 Jesus heard that they had [d]put him out [of the synagogue], and finding him, He asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “Who is He, Sir? Tell me so that I may believe in Him.” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and [in fact] He is the one who is talking with you.” 38 And he said, “Lord, I believe [in You and Your word]!” And he worshiped Him [with reverence and awe]. 39 Then Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment [to separate those who believe in Me from those who reject Me—to declare judgment on those who choose to be separated from God], so that the sightless would see, and those who see would become blind.” 40 Some Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind [to spiritual things], you would have no sin [and would not be blamed for your unbelief]; but since you claim to have [spiritual] sight, [you have no excuse so] your sin and guilt remain.(A)
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