Book of Common Prayer
Trust in God Concerning the Treachery of Friends
To the Chief Musician. With [a]stringed instruments. A [b]Contemplation of David.
55 Give ear to my prayer, O God,
And do not hide Yourself from my supplication.
2 Attend to me, and hear me;
I (A)am[c] restless in my complaint, and moan noisily,
3 Because of the voice of the enemy,
Because of the oppression of the wicked;
(B)For they bring down trouble upon me,
And in wrath they hate me.
4 (C)My heart is severely pained within me,
And the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me,
And horror has overwhelmed me.
6 So I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest.
7 Indeed, I would wander far off,
And remain in the wilderness. Selah
8 I would hasten my escape
From the windy storm and tempest.”
9 Destroy, O Lord, and divide their [d]tongues,
For I have seen (D)violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around it on its walls;
(E)Iniquity and trouble are also in the midst of it.
11 Destruction is in its midst;
(F)Oppression and deceit do not depart from its streets.
12 (G)For it is not an enemy who reproaches me;
Then I could bear it.
Nor is it one who hates me who has (H)exalted himself against me;
Then I could hide from him.
13 But it was you, a man my equal,
(I)My companion and my acquaintance.
14 We took sweet counsel together,
And (J)walked to the house of God in the throng.
15 Let death seize them;
Let them (K)go down alive into [e]hell,
For wickedness is in their dwellings and among them.
16 As for me, I will call upon God,
And the Lord shall save me.
17 (L)Evening and morning and at noon
I will pray, and cry aloud,
And He shall hear my voice.
18 He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me,
For (M)there were many against me.
19 God will hear, and afflict them,
(N)Even He who abides from of old. Selah
Because they do not change,
Therefore they do not fear God.
20 He has (O)put forth his hands against those who (P)were at peace with him;
He has broken his [f]covenant.
21 (Q)The words of his mouth were smoother than butter,
But war was in his heart;
His words were softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn swords.
The Lord’s Goodness to the Faithful
A Psalm of David.
138 I will praise You with my whole heart;
(A)Before the gods I will sing praises to You.
2 (B)I will worship (C)toward Your holy temple,
And praise Your name
For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have (D)magnified Your word above all Your name.
3 In the day when I cried out, You answered me,
And made me bold with strength in my soul.
4 (E)All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord,
When they hear the words of Your mouth.
5 Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
For great is the glory of the Lord.
6 (F)Though the Lord is on high,
Yet (G)He regards the lowly;
But the proud He knows from afar.
7 (H)Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand
Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
8 (I)The Lord will [a]perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;
(J)Do not forsake the works of Your hands.
God’s Perfect Knowledge of Man
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
139 O Lord, (K)You have searched me and known me.
2 (L)You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You (M)understand my thought afar off.
3 (N)You [b]comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, (O)You know it altogether.
5 You have [c]hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 (P)Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.
7 (Q)Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 (R)If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
(S)If I make my bed in [d]hell, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall [e]fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
12 Indeed, (T)the darkness [f]shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You [g]covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for [h]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 (U)My [i]frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
17 (V)How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.
19 Oh, that You would (W)slay the wicked, O God!
(X)Depart from me, therefore, you [j]bloodthirsty men.
20 For they (Y)speak against You wickedly;
[k]Your enemies take Your name in vain.
21 (Z)Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with [l]perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 (AA)Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
The Lord Reveals His Omnipotence to Job(A)
38 Then the Lord answered Job (B)out of the whirlwind, and said:
2 “Who(C) is this who darkens counsel
By (D)words without knowledge?
3 (E)Now [a]prepare yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer Me.
4 “Where(F) were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements?
Surely you know!
Or who stretched the [b]line upon it?
6 To what were its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 When the morning stars sang together,
And all (G)the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 “Or(H) who shut in the sea with doors,
When it burst forth and issued from the womb;
9 When I made the clouds its garment,
And thick darkness its swaddling band;
10 When (I)I fixed My limit for it,
And set bars and doors;
11 When I said,
‘This far you may come, but no farther,
And here your proud waves (J)must stop!’
12 “Have you (K)commanded the morning since your days began,
And caused the dawn to know its place,
13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
And (L)the wicked be shaken out of it?
14 It takes on form like clay under a seal,
And stands out like a garment.
15 From the wicked their (M)light is withheld,
And (N)the [c]upraised arm is broken.
The Jerusalem Decree
22 Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named (A)Barsabas,[a] and Silas, leading men among the brethren.
23 They wrote this letter by them:
The apostles, the elders, and the brethren,
To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia:
Greetings.
24 Since we have heard that (B)some who went out from us have troubled you with words, (C)unsettling your souls, [b]saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law”—to whom we gave no such commandment— 25 it seemed good to us, being assembled with one [c]accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 (D)men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: 29 (E)that you abstain from things offered to idols, (F)from blood, from things strangled, and from (G)sexual[d] immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.
Farewell.
Continuing Ministry in Syria
30 So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter. 31 When they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement. 32 Now Judas and Silas, themselves being (H)prophets also, (I)exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words. 33 And after they had stayed there for a time, they were (J)sent back with greetings from the brethren to [e]the apostles.
34 [f]However, it seemed good to Silas to remain there. 35 (K)Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.
The Plot to Kill Jesus(A)
45 Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, (B)and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. 46 But some of them went away to the Pharisees and (C)told them the things Jesus did. 47 (D)Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, (E)“What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. 48 If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.”
49 And one of them, (F)Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, 50 (G)nor do you consider that it is expedient for [a]us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and (H)not for that nation only, but (I)also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.
53 Then, from that day on, they plotted to (J)put Him to death. 54 (K)Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called (L)Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.