Book of Common Prayer

5 Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.

² Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.

³ My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

⁴ For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.

⁵ The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.

⁶ Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

⁷ But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

⁸ Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.

⁹ For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.

¹⁰ Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.

¹¹ But let all those that put their trust 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, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

6 O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.

² Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak: O Lord, heal me; for my bones are vexed.

³ My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O Lord, how long?

⁴ Return, O Lord, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies' sake.

⁵ For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?

⁶ I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.

⁷ Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies.

⁸ Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping.

⁹ The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer.

¹⁰ Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed: let them return and be ashamed suddenly.

10 Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?

² The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.

³ For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth.

⁴ The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

⁵ His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.

⁶ He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.

⁷ His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.

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 poor.

⁹ He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.

¹⁰ He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.

¹¹ He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.

¹² Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.

¹³ Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.

¹⁴ Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.

¹⁵ Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.

¹⁶ The Lord is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.

¹⁷ Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:

¹⁸ To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.

11 In the Lord put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?

² For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.

³ If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

⁴ The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.

⁵ The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.

⁶ Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.

⁷ For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

²¹ How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

²² Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:

²³ Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

²⁴ Therefore saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies:

²⁵ And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:

²⁶ And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.

²⁷ Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.

²⁸ And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed.

²⁹ For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.

³⁰ For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.

³¹ And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

2 For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain:

² But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention.

³ For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile:

⁴ But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.

⁵ For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness:

⁶ Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.

⁷ But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:

⁸ So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.

⁹ For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God.

¹⁰ Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe:

¹¹ As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,

¹² That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

⁹ Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time.

¹⁰ And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty.

¹¹ And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty.

¹² And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out.

¹³ Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him.

¹⁴ But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.

¹⁵ So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them?

¹⁶ He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.

¹⁷ And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?

¹⁸ Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.