Book of Common Prayer
55 To the Overseer with stringed instruments. -- An instruction, by David. Give ear, O God, [to] my prayer, And hide not from my supplication.
2 Attend to me, and answer me, I mourn in my meditation, and make a noise,
3 Because of the voice of an enemy, Because of the oppression of the wicked, For they cause sorrow to move against me, And in anger they hate me.
4 My heart is pained within me, And terrors of death have fallen on me.
5 Fear and trembling come in to me, And horror doth cover me.
6 And I say, `Who doth give to me a pinion as a dove? I fly away and rest,
7 Lo, I move far off, I lodge in a wilderness. Selah.
8 I hasten escape for myself, From a rushing wind, from a whirlwind.
9 Swallow up, O Lord, divide their tongue, For I saw violence and strife in a city.
10 By day and by night they go round it, on its walls. Both iniquity and perverseness [are] in its midst,
11 Mischiefs [are] in its midst. Fraud and deceit depart not from its street.
12 For an enemy reproacheth me not, or I bear [it], He who is hating me Hath not magnified himself against me, Or I hide from him.
13 But thou, a man -- as mine equal, My familiar friend, and mine acquaintance.
14 When together we sweeten counsel, Into the house of God we walk in company.
15 Desolations [are] upon them, They go down [to] Sheol -- alive, For wickedness [is] in their dwelling, in their midst.
16 I -- to God I call, and Jehovah saveth me.
17 Evening, and morning, and noon, I meditate, and make a noise, and He heareth my voice,
18 He hath ransomed in peace my soul From him who is near to me, For with the multitude they were with me.
19 God doth hear and afflict them, And He sitteth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, and fear not God,
20 He hath sent forth his hands against his well-wishers, He hath polluted his covenant.
21 Sweeter than honey hath been his mouth, And his heart [is] war! Softer have been his words than oil, And they [are] drawn [swords].
22 Cast on Jehovah that which He hath given thee, And He doth sustain thee, He doth not suffer for ever the moving of the righteous.
23 And Thou, O God, dost bring them down To a pit of destruction, Men of blood and deceit reach not to half their days, And I -- I do trust in Thee!
138 By David. I confess Thee, with all my heart, Before the gods I do praise Thee.
2 I bow myself toward Thy holy temple, And I confess Thy name, For Thy kindness, and for Thy truth, For Thou hast made great Thy saying above all Thy name.
3 In the day I called, when Thou dost answer me, Thou dost strengthen me in my soul [with] strength.
4 O Jehovah, all kings of earth confess Thee, When they have heard the sayings of Thy mouth.
5 And they sing in the ways of Jehovah, For great [is] the honour of Jehovah.
6 For high [is] Jehovah, and the lowly He seeth, And the haughty from afar He knoweth.
7 If I walk in the midst of distress Thou quickenest me, Against the anger of mine enemies Thou sendest forth Thy hand, And Thy right hand doth save me.
8 Jehovah doth perfect for me, O Jehovah, Thy kindness [is] to the age, The works of Thy hands let not fall!
139 To the Overseer. -- A Psalm by David. Jehovah, Thou hast searched me, and knowest.
2 Thou -- Thou hast known my sitting down, And my rising up, Thou hast attended to my thoughts from afar.
3 My path and my couch Thou hast fanned, And [with] all my ways hast been acquainted.
4 For there is not a word in my tongue, Lo, O Jehovah, Thou hast known it all!
5 Behind and before Thou hast besieged me, And Thou dost place on me Thy hand.
6 Knowledge too wonderful for me, It hath been set on high, I am not able for it.
7 Whither do I go from Thy Spirit? And whither from Thy face do I flee?
8 If I ascend the heavens -- there Thou [art], And spread out a couch in Sheol, lo, Thee!
9 I take the wings of morning, I dwell in the uttermost part of the sea,
10 Also there Thy hand doth lead me, And Thy right hand doth hold me.
11 And I say, `Surely darkness bruiseth me, Then night [is] light to me.
12 Also darkness hideth not from Thee, And night as day shineth, as [is] darkness so [is] light.
13 For Thou -- Thou hast possessed my reins, Thou dost cover me in my mother's belly.
14 I confess Thee, because that [with] wonders I have been distinguished. Wonderful [are] Thy works, And my soul is knowing [it] well.
15 My substance was not hid from Thee, When I was made in secret, Curiously wrought in the lower part of earth.
16 Mine unformed substance Thine eyes saw, And on Thy book all of them are written, The days they were formed -- And not one among them.
17 And to me how precious have been Thy thoughts, O God, how great hath been their sum!
18 I recount them! than the sand they are more, I have waked, and I am still with Thee.
19 Dost Thou slay, O God, the wicked? Then, men of blood, turn aside from me!
20 Who exchange Thee for wickedness, Lifted up to vanity [are] Thine enemies.
21 Do not I hate, Jehovah, those hating Thee? And with Thy withstanders grieve myself?
22 [With] perfect hatred I have hated them, Enemies they have become to me.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart, Try me, and know my thoughts,
41 And Elijah saith to Ahab, `Go up, eat and drink, because of the sound of the noise of the shower.'
42 And Ahab goeth up to eat, and to drink, and Elijah hath gone up unto the top of Carmel, and he stretcheth himself out on the earth, and he placeth his face between his knees,
43 and saith unto his young man, `Go up, I pray thee, look attentively the way of the sea;' and he goeth up and looketh attentively, and saith, `There is nothing;' and he saith, `Turn back,' seven times.
44 And it cometh to pass, at the seventh, that he saith, `Lo, a little thickness as the palm of a man is coming up out of the sea.' And he saith, `Go up, say unto Ahab, `Bind -- and go down, and the shower doth not restrain thee.'
45 And it cometh to pass, in the meantime, that the heavens have become black -- thick clouds and wind -- and the shower is great; and Ahab rideth, and goeth to Jezreel,
46 and the hand of Jehovah hath been on Elijah, and he girdeth up his loins, and runneth before Ahab, till thine entering Jezreel.
19 And Ahab declareth to Jezebel all that Elijah did, and all how he slew all the prophets by the sword,
2 and Jezebel sendeth a messenger unto Elijah, saying, `Thus doth the gods, and thus do they add, surely about this time to-morrow, I make thy life as the life of one of them.'
3 And he feareth, and riseth, and goeth for his life, and cometh in to Beer-Sheba, that [is] Judah's, and leaveth his young man there,
4 and he himself hath gone into the wilderness a day's Journey, and cometh and sitteth under a certain retem-tree, and desireth his soul to die, and saith, `Enough, now, O Jehovah, take my soul, for I [am] not better than my fathers.'
5 And he lieth down and sleepeth under a certain retem-tree, and lo, a messenger cometh against him, and saith to him, `Rise, eat;'
6 and he looketh attentively, and lo, at his bolster a cake [baken on] burning stones, and a dish of water, and he eateth, and drinketh, and turneth, and lieth down.
7 And the messenger of Jehovah turneth back a second time, and cometh against him, and saith, `Rise, eat, for the way is too great for thee;'
8 and he riseth, and eateth, and drinketh, and goeth in the power of that food forty days and forty nights, unto the mount of God -- Horeb.
17 become followers together of me, brethren, and observe those thus walking, according as ye have us -- a pattern;
18 for many walk of whom many times I told you -- and now also weeping tell -- the enemies of the cross of the Christ!
19 whose end [is] destruction, whose god [is] the belly, and whose glory [is] in their shame, who the things on earth are minding.
20 For our citizenship is in the heavens, whence also a Saviour we await -- the Lord Jesus Christ --
21 who shall transform the body of our humiliation to its becoming conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working of his power, even to subject to himself the all things.
4 So then, my brethren, beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand ye in the Lord, beloved.
2 Euodia I exhort, and Syntyche I exhort, to be of the same mind in the Lord;
3 and I ask also thee, genuine yoke-fellow, be assisting those women who in the good news did strive along with me, with Clement also, and the others, my fellow-workers, whose names [are] in the book of life.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice;
5 let your forbearance be known to all men; the Lord [is] near;
6 for nothing be anxious, but in everything by prayer, and by supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God;
7 and the peace of God, that is surpassing all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.
13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee upon the Jordan, unto John to be baptized by him,
14 but John was forbidding him, saying, `I have need by thee to be baptized -- and thou dost come unto me!'
15 But Jesus answering said to him, `Suffer now, for thus it is becoming to us to fulfill all righteousness,' then he doth suffer him.
16 And having been baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water, and lo, opened to him were the heavens, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him,
17 and lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, `This is My Son -- the Beloved, in whom I did delight.'