Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 56[a]
Trust in God
1 For the director. According to Yonath elem rehoqim.[b] A miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him at Gath.(A)
I
2 Have mercy on me, God,
for I am treated harshly;
attackers press me all the day.
3 My foes treat me harshly all the day;
yes, many are my attackers.
O Most High, 4 when I am afraid,
in you I place my trust.
5 I praise the word of God;
I trust in God, I do not fear.(B)
What can mere flesh do to me?(C)
II
6 All the day they foil my plans;
their every thought is of evil against me.
7 They hide together in ambush;
they watch my every step;
they lie in wait for my life.(D)
8 They are evil; watch them, God!
Cast the nations down in your anger!
9 My wanderings you have noted;
are my tears not stored in your flask,[c]
recorded in your book?(E)
10 My foes turn back when I call on you.
This I know: God is on my side.
11 I praise the word of God,
I praise the word of the Lord.
12 In God I trust, I do not fear.
What can man do to me?
III
13 I have made vows to you, God;
with offerings I will fulfill them,(F)
14 For you have snatched me from death,
kept my feet from stumbling,
That I may walk before God
in the light of the living.
Psalm 57[d]
Confident Prayer for Deliverance
1 For the director. Do not destroy.[e] A miktam of David, when he fled from Saul into a cave.(G)
I
2 Have mercy on me, God,
have mercy on me.
In you I seek refuge.
In the shadow of your wings[f] I seek refuge
till harm pass by.(H)
3 I call to God Most High,
to God who provides for me.
4 May God send help from heaven to save me,
shame those who trample upon me.
May God send fidelity and mercy.
Selah
5 I must lie down in the midst of lions
hungry for human prey.(I)
Their teeth are spears and arrows;
their tongue, a sharpened sword.(J)
6 Be exalted over the heavens, God;
may your glory appear above all the earth.(K)
II
7 They have set a trap for my feet;
my soul is bowed down;
They have dug a pit before me.
May they fall into it themselves!(L)
Selah
8 My heart is steadfast, God,
my heart is steadfast.
I will sing and chant praise.(M)
9 Awake, my soul;
awake, lyre and harp!
I will wake the dawn.[g](N)
10 I will praise you among the peoples, Lord;
I will chant your praise among the nations.(O)
11 For your mercy towers to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.(P)
12 Exalt yourself over the heavens, God;
may your glory appear above all the earth.
Psalm 58[h]
The Dethroning of Unjust Rulers
1 For the leader. Do not destroy.[i] A miktam of David.
I
2 Do you indeed pronounce justice, O gods;[j]
do you judge fairly you children of Adam?(Q)
3 No, you freely engage in crime;
your hands dispense violence to the earth.
II
4 The wicked have been corrupt since birth;
liars from the womb, they have gone astray.
5 [k]Their venom is like the venom of a snake,
like that of a serpent stopping its ears,(R)
6 So as not to hear the voice of the charmer
or the enchanter with cunning spells.
III
7 O God, smash the teeth in their mouths;
break the fangs of these lions, Lord!(S)
8 Make them vanish like water flowing away;(T)
trodden down, let them wither like grass.(U)
9 Let them dissolve like a snail that oozes away,[l]
like an untimely birth that never sees the sun.(V)
10 Suddenly, like brambles or thistles,
have the whirlwind snatch them away.(W)
11 Then the just shall rejoice to see the vengeance
and bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.(X)
12 Then people will say:
“Truly there is a reward for the just;
there is a God who is judge on earth!”
Psalm 64[a]
Treacherous Conspirators Punished by God
1 For the leader. A psalm of David.
I
2 O God, hear my anguished voice;
from a dreadful foe protect my life.
3 Hide me from the malicious crowd,
the mob of evildoers.
4 They sharpen their tongues like swords,
bend their bows of poison words.(A)
5 They shoot at the innocent from ambush,
they shoot him in a moment and do not fear.
6 They resolve on their wicked plan;
they conspire to set snares;
they say: “Who will see us?”
7 They devise wicked schemes,
conceal the schemes they devise;
the designs of their hearts are hidden.(B)
II
8 God shoots an arrow at them;
in a moment they are struck down.(C)
9 They are brought down by their own tongues;
all who see them flee.(D)
10 Every person fears and proclaims God’s actions,
they ponder his deeds.
11 The righteous rejoices and takes refuge in the Lord;
all the upright give praise.(E)
Psalm 65[b]
Thanksgiving for God’s Blessings
1 For the leader. A psalm of David. A song.
I
2 To you we owe our hymn of praise,
O God on Zion;
To you our vows[c] must be fulfilled,
3 [d]you who hear our prayers.
To you all flesh must come(F)
4 with its burden of wicked deeds.
We are overcome by our sins;
only you can pardon them.(G)
5 Blessed the one whom you will choose and bring
to dwell in your courts.
May we be filled with the good things of your house,
your holy temple!
II
6 You answer us with awesome deeds[e] of justice,
O God our savior,
The hope of all the ends of the earth
and of those far off across the sea.(H)
7 You are robed in power,
you set up the mountains by your might.
8 You still the roaring of the seas,(I)
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples.(J)
9 Distant peoples stand in awe of your marvels;
the places of morning and evening you make resound with joy.
10 [f]You visit the earth and water it,
make it abundantly fertile.(K)
God’s stream[g] is filled with water;
you supply their grain.
Thus do you prepare it:
11 you drench its plowed furrows,
and level its ridges.
With showers you keep it soft,
blessing its young sprouts.
12 You adorn the year with your bounty;
your paths[h] drip with fruitful rain.
13 The meadows of the wilderness also drip;
the hills are robed with joy.
14 The pastures are clothed with flocks,
the valleys blanketed with grain;
they cheer and sing for joy.(L)
Chapter 30
Compassion for the Repentant. 1 [a](A)When all these things, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, come upon you,(B) and you take them to heart in any of the nations where the Lord, your God, has dispersed you, 2 (C)and return to the Lord, your God, obeying his voice, according to all that I am commanding you today, you and your children, with your whole heart and your whole being, 3 the Lord, your God, will restore your fortunes and will have compassion on you; he will again gather you from all the peoples where the Lord, your God, has scattered you. 4 Though you may have been dispersed to the farthest corner of the heavens, even from there will the Lord, your God, gather you; even from there will he bring you back.(D) 5 The Lord, your God, will then bring you into the land your ancestors once possessed, that you may possess it; and he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors.(E) 6 The Lord, your God, will circumcise your hearts[b] and the hearts of your descendants,(F) so that you will love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart and your whole being, in order that you may live. 7 The Lord, your God, will put all those curses on your enemies and the foes who pursued you.(G) 8 You, however, shall again obey the voice of the Lord and observe all his commandments which I am giving you today. 9 Then the Lord, your God, will generously increase your undertakings, the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your soil;(H) for the Lord, your God, will again take delight in your prosperity, just as he took delight in your ancestors’, 10 because you will obey the voice of the Lord, your God, keeping the commandments and statutes that are written in this book of the law, when you return to the Lord, your God, with your whole heart and your whole being.
IV. Paul’s Defense of His Ministry[a]
Chapter 10
Accusation of Weakness.[b] 1 Now I myself, Paul, urge you through the gentleness and clemency of Christ,[c] I who am humble when face to face with you, but brave toward you when absent, 2 [d](A)I beg you that, when present, I may not have to be brave with that confidence with which I intend to act boldly against some who consider us as acting according to the flesh. 3 For, although we are in the flesh, we do not battle according to the flesh,[e] 4 for the weapons of our battle are not of flesh but are enormously powerful, capable of destroying fortresses. We destroy arguments(B) 5 and every pretension raising itself against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive in obedience to Christ, 6 and we are ready to punish every disobedience, once your obedience is complete.(C)
7 (D)Look at what confronts you. Whoever is confident of belonging to Christ should consider that as he belongs to Christ, so do we.[f] 8 (E)And even if I should boast a little too much of our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for tearing you down, I shall not be put to shame. 9 [g]May I not seem as one frightening you through letters. 10 For someone will say, “His letters are severe and forceful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.”(F) 11 Such a person must understand that what we are in word through letters when absent, that we also are in action when present.(G)
12 [h]Not that we dare to class or compare ourselves with some of those who recommend themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.(H) 13 But we will not boast beyond measure but will keep to the limits[i] God has apportioned us, namely, to reach even to you. 14 For we are not overreaching ourselves, as though we did not reach you; we indeed first came to you with the gospel of Christ. 15 We are not boasting beyond measure, in other people’s labors; yet our hope is that, as your faith increases, our influence among you may be greatly enlarged, within our proper limits, 16 so that we may preach the gospel even beyond you, not boasting of work already done in another’s sphere.(I) 17 (J)“Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.”[j] 18 For it is not the one who recommends himself who is approved,[k] but the one whom the Lord recommends.(K)
31 [a]Then he took the Twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and everything written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.[b] 32 (A)He will be handed over to the Gentiles and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon; 33 and after they have scourged him they will kill him, but on the third day he will rise.” 34 But they understood nothing of this; the word remained hidden from them and they failed to comprehend what he said.(B)
The Healing of the Blind Beggar.(C) 35 Now as he approached Jericho a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging, 36 and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 (D)He shouted, “Jesus, Son of David,[c] have pity on me!” 39 The people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me!” 40 Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He replied, “Lord, please let me see.”(E) 42 Jesus told him, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.”(F) 43 He immediately received his sight and followed him, giving glory to God. When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.
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.