Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 5[a]
Prayer for Divine Help
1 For the leader; with wind instruments. A psalm of David.
I
2 Give ear to my words, O Lord;
understand my sighing.(A)
3 Attend to the sound of my cry,
my king and my God!
For to you I will pray, Lord;
4 in the morning you will hear my voice;
in the morning I will plead before you and wait.(B)
II
5 You are not a god who delights in evil;
no wicked person finds refuge with you;
6 the arrogant cannot stand before your eyes.
You hate all who do evil;
7 you destroy those who speak falsely.(C)
A bloody and fraudulent man
the Lord abhors.
III
8 But I, through the abundance of your mercy,[b]
will enter into your house.
I will bow down toward your holy sanctuary
out of fear of you.(D)
9 Lord, guide me in your justice because of my foes;
make straight your way before me.(E)
IV
10 For there is no sincerity in their mouth;
their heart is corrupt.
Their throat[c] is an open grave;(F)
on their tongue are subtle lies.
11 Declare them guilty, God;
make them fall by their own devices.(G)
Drive them out for their many sins;
for they have rebelled against you.
V
12 Then all who trust in you will be glad
and forever shout for joy.(H)
You will protect them and those will rejoice in you
who love your name.
13 For you, Lord, bless the just one;
you surround him with favor like a shield.
Psalm 6[d]
Prayer in Distress
1 For the leader; with stringed instruments, “upon the eighth.”[e]
A psalm of David.
I
2 Do not reprove me in your anger, Lord,
nor punish me in your wrath.(I)
3 Have pity on me, Lord, for I am weak;
heal me, Lord, for my bones are shuddering.(J)
4 My soul too is shuddering greatly—
and you, Lord, how long…?[f](K)
5 Turn back, Lord, rescue my soul;
save me because of your mercy.
6 For in death there is no remembrance of you.
Who praises you in Sheol?[g](L)
II
7 I am wearied with sighing;
all night long I drench my bed with tears;
I soak my couch with weeping.
8 My eyes are dimmed with sorrow,
worn out because of all my foes.(M)
III
Psalm 10
I
1 Why, Lord, do you stand afar
and pay no heed in times of trouble?
2 Arrogant scoundrels pursue the poor;
they trap them by their cunning schemes.(A)
II
3 The wicked even boast of their greed;
these robbers curse and scorn the Lord.(B)
4 In their insolence the wicked boast:
“God does not care; there is no God.”(C)
5 Yet their affairs always succeed;
they ignore your judgment on high;
they sneer at all who oppose them.
6 They say in their hearts, “We will never fall;
never will we see misfortune.”
7 Their mouths are full of oaths, violence, and lies;
discord and evil are under their tongues.(D)
8 They wait in ambush near towns;
their eyes watch for the helpless
to murder the innocent in secret.(E)
9 They lurk in ambush like lions in a thicket,
hide there to trap the poor,
snare them and close the net.(F)
10 The helpless are crushed, laid low;
they fall into the power of the wicked,
11 Who say in their hearts, “God has forgotten,
shows no concern, never bothers to look.”(G)
III
12 Rise up, Lord! God, lift up your hand!
Do not forget the poor!
13 Why should the wicked scorn God,
say in their hearts, “God does not care”?
14 But you do see;
you take note of misery and sorrow;(H)
you take the matter in hand.
To you the helpless can entrust their cause;
you are the defender of orphans.(I)
15 Break the arm of the wicked and depraved;
make them account for their crimes;
let none of them survive.
IV
16 The Lord is king forever;(J)
the nations have vanished from his land.
17 You listen, Lord, to the needs of the poor;
you strengthen their heart and incline your ear.
18 You win justice for the orphaned and oppressed;(K)
no one on earth will cause terror again.
Psalm 11[a]
Confidence in the Presence of God
1 For the leader. Of David.
I
In the Lord I take refuge;
how can you say to me,
“Flee like a bird to the mountains!(L)
2 See how the wicked string their bows,
fit their arrows to the string
to shoot from the shadows at the upright of heart.(M)
3 [b]If foundations are destroyed,
what can the just one do?”
II
4 The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord’s throne is in heaven.(N)
God’s eyes keep careful watch;
they test the children of Adam.
5 The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked,
hates those who love violence,
6 And rains upon the wicked
fiery coals and brimstone,
a scorching wind their allotted cup.[c](O)
7 The Lord is just and loves just deeds;
the upright will see his face.
The Purification of Jerusalem
21 How she has become a prostitute,
the faithful city,[a] so upright!
Justice used to lodge within her,
but now, murderers.(A)
22 Your silver is turned to dross,
your wine is mixed with water.
23 Your princes are rebels
and comrades of thieves;
Each one of them loves a bribe
and looks for gifts.
The fatherless they do not defend,
the widow’s plea does not reach them.(B)
24 Now, therefore, says the Lord,
the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel:
Ah! I will take vengeance on my foes
and fully repay my enemies!(C)
25 I will turn my hand against you,
and refine your dross in the furnace,
removing all your alloy.
26 I will restore your judges[b] as at first,
and your counselors as in the beginning;
After that you shall be called
city of justice, faithful city.(D)
27 [c]Zion shall be redeemed by justice,
and her repentant ones by righteousness.
28 Rebels and sinners together shall be crushed,
those who desert the Lord shall be consumed.
Judgment on the Sacred Groves
29 [d]You shall be ashamed of the terebinths which you desired,
and blush on account of the gardens which you chose.
30 You shall become like a terebinth whose leaves wither,
like a garden that has no water.
31 The strong tree shall turn to tinder,
and the one who tends it shall become a spark;
Both of them shall burn together,
and there shall be none to quench them.
II. Previous Relations with the Thessalonians
Chapter 2
Paul’s Ministry Among Them. 1 For you yourselves know, brothers, that our reception among you was not without effect. 2 Rather, after we had suffered and been insolently treated, as you know, in Philippi, we drew courage through our God to speak to you the gospel of God with much struggle.(A) 3 Our exhortation was not from delusion or impure motives, nor did it work through deception. 4 But as we were judged worthy[a] by God to be entrusted with the gospel, that is how we speak, not as trying to please human beings, but rather God, who judges our hearts.(B) 5 Nor, indeed, did we ever appear with flattering speech, as you know, or with a pretext for greed—God is witness— 6 nor did we seek praise from human beings, either from you or from others,(C) 7 although we were able to impose our weight as apostles of Christ. Rather, we were gentle[b] among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children. 8 With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well, so dearly beloved had you become to us. 9 You recall, brothers, our toil and drudgery. Working night and day in order not to burden any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.(D) 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers. 11 As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his children,(E) 12 exhorting and encouraging you and insisting that you conduct yourselves as worthy of the God who calls you into his kingdom and glory.(F)
9 (A)Then he proceeded to tell the people this parable. “[A] man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and then went on a journey for a long time.(B) 10 At harvest time he sent a servant(C) to the tenant farmers to receive some of the produce of the vineyard. But they beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. 11 So he proceeded to send another servant, but him also they beat and insulted and sent away empty-handed. 12 Then he proceeded to send a third, but this one too they wounded and threw out. 13 The owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I shall send my beloved son; maybe they will respect him.’(D) 14 But when the tenant farmers saw him they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him that the inheritance may become ours.’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.[a] What will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and put those tenant farmers to death and turn over the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they exclaimed, “Let it not be so!” 17 But he looked at them and asked, “What then does this scripture passage mean:
‘The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone’?(E)
18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be dashed to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.