Book of Common Prayer
Supplication for Rescue and Grateful Trust in God.
To the Chief Musician; set to [the tune of] “Silent Dove Among Those Far Away.” A Mikhtam of David. [A record of memorable thoughts] when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
56 Be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled on me;
All day long the adversary oppresses and torments me.
2
My enemies have trampled upon me all day long,
For they are many who fight proudly against me.
3
When I am afraid,
I will put my trust and faith in You.
4
In God, whose word I praise;
In God I have put my trust;
I shall not fear.
What can mere man do to me?
5
All day long they twist my words and say hurtful things;
All their thoughts are against me for evil.
6
They attack, they hide and lurk,
They watch my steps,
As they have [expectantly] waited to take my life.
7
Cast them out because of their wickedness.
In anger bring down the peoples, O God!
8
You have taken account of my wanderings;
Put my tears in Your bottle.
Are they not recorded in Your book?
9
Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call;
This I know, that God is for me.(A)
10
In God, whose word I praise,
In the Lord, whose word I praise,
11
In God have I put my trust and confident reliance; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12
Your vows are binding upon me, O God;
I will give thank offerings to You.
13
For You have rescued my soul from death,
Yes, and my feet from stumbling,
So that I may walk before God
In the light of life.
Prayer for Rescue from Persecutors.
To the Chief Musician; set to [the tune of] “Do Not Destroy.” A Mikhtam of David. [A record of memorable thoughts of David] when he fled from Saul in the cave.
57 Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious and merciful to me,
For my soul finds shelter and safety in You,
And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge and be confidently secure
Until destruction passes by.
2
I will cry to God Most High,
Who accomplishes all things on my behalf [for He completes my purpose in His plan].
3
He will send from heaven and save me;
He calls to account him who tramples me down. Selah.
God will send out His lovingkindness and His truth.
4
My life is among lions;
I must lie among those who breathe out fire—
The sons of men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
And their tongue a sharp sword.
5
Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
Let Your glory and majesty be over all the earth.
6
They [a]set a net for my steps;
My very life was bowed down.
They dug a pit before me;
Into the midst of it they themselves have fallen. Selah.
7
My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast and confident!
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises [to You]!
8
Awake, my glory!
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
9
I will praise and give thanks to You, O Lord, among the people;
I will sing praises to You among the nations.
10
For Your faithfulness and lovingkindness are great, reaching to the heavens,
And Your truth to the clouds.
11
Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
Let Your glory and majesty be over all the earth.
Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked.
To the Chief Musician; set to [the tune of] “Do Not Destroy.” A Mikhtam of David. [A record of memorable thoughts of David].
58 Do you indeed speak righteousness, O gods (heavenly beings)?
Do you judge fairly, O sons of men?(B)
2
No, in your heart you devise wrongdoing;
On earth you deal out the violence of your hands.
3
The wicked are estranged from the womb;
These go astray from birth, speaking lies [even twisted partial truths].
4
Their poison is like the venom of a serpent;
They are like the deaf horned viper that stops up its ear,
5
So that it does not listen to the voice of charmers,
Or of the skillful enchanter casting [cunning] spells.
6
O God, break their teeth in their mouth;
Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord.
7
Let them flow away like water that runs off;
When he aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts.
8
Let them be as a snail which melts away (secretes slime) as it goes along,
Like the miscarriage of a woman which never sees the sun.
9
Before your cooking pots can feel the fire of thorns [burning under them as fuel],
He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning ones alike.
10
The [unyieldingly] righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance [of God];
He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11
Men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
Surely there is a God who judges on the earth.”
Prayer for Protection from Secret Enemies.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
64 Hear my voice, O God, in my [a]complaint;
Guard my life from the terror of the enemy.
2
Hide me from the secret counsel and conspiracy of the ungodly,
From the scheming of those who do wrong,
3
Who have sharpened their tongues like a sword.
They aim venomous words as arrows,
4
To shoot from ambush at the blameless [one];
Suddenly they shoot at him, without fear.
5
They encourage themselves in [their pursuit of] an evil agenda;
They talk of laying snares secretly;
They say, “Who will discover us?”
6
They devise acts of injustice, saying,
“We are ready with a well-conceived plan.”
For the inward thought and the heart of a man are deep (mysterious, unsearchable).
7
But God will shoot them with an [unexpected] arrow;
Suddenly they will be wounded.
8
So they will be caused to stumble;
Their own tongue is against them;
All who gaze at them will shake the head [in scorn].
9
Then all men will fear [God’s judgment];
They will declare the work of God,
And they will consider and wisely acknowledge what He has done.
10
The righteous will rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in Him;
All the upright in heart will glory and offer praise.
God’s Abundant Favor to Earth and Man.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.
65 To You belongs silence [the submissive wonder of reverence], and [it bursts into] praise in Zion, O God;
And to You the vow shall be performed.
2
O You who hear prayer,
To You all mankind comes.
3
Wickedness and guilt prevail against me;
Yet as for our transgressions,
You forgive them [removing them from Your sight].
4
Blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near
To dwell in Your courts.
We will be filled with the goodness of Your house,
Your holy temple.
5
By awesome and wondrous things You answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation,
You who are the trust and hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest sea;
6
Who creates the mountains by His strength,
Being clothed with power,
7
Who stills the roaring of the seas,
The roaring of their waves,
And the tumult of the peoples,
8
So they who dwell at the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs [the evidence of Your presence].(A)
You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy.
9
You visit the earth and make it overflow [with water];
You greatly enrich it;
The stream of God is full of water;
You provide their grain, when You have prepared the earth.
10
You water its furrows abundantly,
You smooth its ridges;
You soften it with showers,
You bless its growth.
11
You crown the year with Your bounty,
And Your paths overflow.
12
The pastures of the wilderness drip [with dew],
And the hills are encircled with joy.
13
The meadows are clothed with flocks
And the valleys are covered with grain;
They shout for joy and they sing.
Job: What Can I Say?
40 Then the Lord said to Job,
2
“Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
Let him who disputes with God answer it.”
3 Then Job replied to the Lord and said,
4
“Behold, I am of little importance and contemptible; what can I reply to You?
I lay my hand on my mouth.(A)
5
“I have spoken once, but I will not reply again—
Indeed, twice [I have answered], and I will add nothing further.”
God Questions Job
6 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, saying,
7
“Now [a]gird up your loins (prepare yourself) like a man,
And I will ask you, and you instruct Me.
8
“Will you really annul My judgment and set it aside as void?
Will you condemn Me [your God] that you may [appear to] be righteous and justified?
9
“Have you an arm like God,
And can you thunder with a voice like His?
10
“Adorn yourself with eminence and dignity [since you question the Almighty],
And array yourself with honor and majesty.
11
“Pour out the overflowings of your wrath,
And look at everyone who is proud and make him low.
12
Look at everyone who is proud, and humble him,
And [if you are so able] tread down the wicked where they stand.
13
“[Crush and] hide them in the dust together;
Shut them up in the hidden place [the house of death].
14
“[If you can do all this, Job, proving your divine power] then I [God] will also praise you and acknowledge
That your own right hand can save you.
God’s Power Shown in Creatures
15
“Behold now, [b]Behemoth, which I created as well as you;
He eats grass like an ox.
16
“See now, his strength is in his loins
And his power is in the muscles and sinews of his belly.
17
“He sways his tail like a cedar;
The tendons of his thighs are twisted and knit together [like a rope].
18
“His bones are tubes of bronze;
His [c]limbs are like bars of iron.
19
“He is the first [in magnitude and power] of the works of God;
[Only] He who made him can bring near His sword [to master him].
20
“Surely the mountains bring him food,
And all the wild animals play there.
21
“He lies down under the lotus plants,
In the hidden shelter of the reeds in the marsh.
22
“The lotus plants cover him with their shade;
The willows of the brook surround him.
23
“If a river rages and overflows, he does not tremble;
He is confident, though the Jordan [River] swells and rushes against his mouth.
24
“Can anyone capture him when he is on watch,
Or pierce his nose with barbs [to trap him]?
Paul’s Second Missionary Journey
36 After some time Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the brothers and sisters (believers) in every city where we preached the message of the Lord, and see how they are doing.” 37 Now Barnabas wanted to take [his cousin] John, who was called Mark, along with them. 38 But Paul kept insisting that they should not take along with them the one who had quit and deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone on with them to the work. 39 And it became such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took [John] Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. 40 But Paul chose Silas [who was again in Antioch] and set out [on his second journey], commended by the brothers to the grace and favor of the Lord. 41 And he traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
The Macedonian Vision
16 Now Paul traveled to Derbe and also to Lystra. A disciple named Timothy was there, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer [in Christ], however, his father was a Greek. 2 Timothy was well spoken of by the brothers and sisters who were in Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to go with him [as a missionary]; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, since they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decrees decided on by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for the churches to observe. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they continually increased in number day after day.
55 Now the Passover of the Jews was approaching, and many from the country went up to Jerusalem before Passover to purify themselves [ceremonially, so that they would be able to participate in the feast]. 56 So they were looking for Jesus as they stood in the temple [area], and saying among themselves, “What do you think? Will He not come to the feast at all?” 57 Now the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it so that they might arrest Him.
Mary Anoints Jesus
12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom He had raised from the dead.(A) 2 So they gave a supper for Him there. Martha was serving, and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. 3 Then [a]Mary took a pound of very expensive perfume of pure [b]nard, and she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, the one who was going to betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for [c]three hundred denarii and [the money] given to the poor?” 6 Now he said this, not because he cared about the poor [for he had never cared about them], but because he was a thief; and since he had the money box [serving as treasurer for the twelve disciples], he used to pilfer what was put into it. 7 So Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep [the rest of] it for the day of My burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”
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