Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 55[a]
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil[b] of David.
1 Listen to my prayer, O God,
do not ignore my plea;(A)
2 hear me and answer me.(B)
My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught(C)
3 because of what my enemy is saying,
because of the threats of the wicked;
for they bring down suffering on me(D)
and assail(E) me in their anger.(F)
4 My heart is in anguish(G) within me;
the terrors(H) of death have fallen on me.
5 Fear and trembling(I) have beset me;
horror(J) has overwhelmed me.
6 I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest.
7 I would flee far away
and stay in the desert;[c](K)
8 I would hurry to my place of shelter,(L)
far from the tempest and storm.(M)”
9 Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words,(N)
for I see violence and strife(O) in the city.(P)
10 Day and night they prowl(Q) about on its walls;
malice and abuse are within it.
11 Destructive forces(R) are at work in the city;
threats and lies(S) never leave its streets.
12 If an enemy were insulting me,
I could endure it;
if a foe were rising against me,
I could hide.
13 But it is you, a man like myself,
my companion, my close friend,(T)
14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship(U)
at the house of God,(V)
as we walked about
among the worshipers.
15 Let death take my enemies by surprise;(W)
let them go down alive to the realm of the dead,(X)
for evil finds lodging among them.
16 As for me, I call to God,
and the Lord saves me.
17 Evening,(Y) morning(Z) and noon(AA)
I cry out in distress,
and he hears my voice.
18 He rescues me unharmed
from the battle waged against me,
even though many oppose me.
19 God, who is enthroned from of old,(AB)
who does not change—
he will hear(AC) them and humble them,
because they have no fear of God.(AD)
20 My companion attacks his friends;(AE)
he violates his covenant.(AF)
21 His talk is smooth as butter,(AG)
yet war is in his heart;
his words are more soothing than oil,(AH)
yet they are drawn swords.(AI)
22 Cast your cares on the Lord
and he will sustain you;(AJ)
he will never let
the righteous be shaken.(AK)
23 But you, God, will bring down the wicked
into the pit(AL) of decay;
the bloodthirsty and deceitful(AM)
will not live out half their days.(AN)
But as for me, I trust in you.(AO)
Psalm 138
Of David.
1 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
before the “gods”(A) I will sing(B) your praise.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple(C)
and will praise your name(D)
for your unfailing love and your faithfulness,(E)
for you have so exalted your solemn decree
that it surpasses your fame.(F)
3 When I called,(G) you answered me;(H)
you greatly emboldened(I) me.
4 May all the kings of the earth(J) praise you, Lord,
when they hear what you have decreed.
5 May they sing(K) of the ways of the Lord,
for the glory of the Lord(L) is great.
6 Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly;(M)
though lofty, he sees them(N) from afar.
7 Though I walk(O) in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life.(P)
You stretch out your hand(Q) against the anger of my foes;(R)
with your right hand(S) you save me.(T)
8 The Lord will vindicate(U) me;
your love, Lord, endures forever(V)—
do not abandon(W) the works of your hands.(X)
Psalm 139
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 You have searched me,(Y) Lord,
and you know(Z) me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;(AA)
you perceive my thoughts(AB) from afar.
3 You discern my going out(AC) and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.(AD)
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.(AE)
5 You hem me in(AF) behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,(AG)
too lofty(AH) for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee(AI) from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens,(AJ) you are there;
if I make my bed(AK) in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,(AL)
your right hand(AM) will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark(AN) to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;(AO)
you knit me together(AP) in my mother’s womb.(AQ)
14 I praise you(AR) because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,(AS)
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made(AT) in the secret place,
when I was woven together(AU) in the depths of the earth.(AV)
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained(AW) for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a](AX) God!(AY)
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,(AZ)
they would outnumber the grains of sand(BA)—
when I awake,(BB) I am still with you.
19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!(BC)
Away from me,(BD) you who are bloodthirsty!(BE)
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries(BF) misuse your name.(BG)
21 Do I not hate those(BH) who hate you, Lord,
and abhor(BI) those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.(BJ)
23 Search me,(BK) God, and know my heart;(BL)
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
The Remnant of Israel
20 In that day(A) the remnant of Israel,
the survivors(B) of Jacob,
will no longer rely(C) on him
who struck them down(D)
but will truly rely(E) on the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel.(F)
21 A remnant(G) will return,[a](H) a remnant of Jacob
will return to the Mighty God.(I)
22 Though your people be like the sand(J) by the sea, Israel,
only a remnant will return.(K)
Destruction has been decreed,(L)
overwhelming and righteous.
23 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, will carry out
the destruction decreed(M) upon the whole land.(N)
24 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:
“My people who live in Zion,(O)
do not be afraid(P) of the Assyrians,
who beat(Q) you with a rod(R)
and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did.
25 Very soon(S) my anger against you will end
and my wrath(T) will be directed to their destruction.(U)”
26 The Lord Almighty will lash(V) them with a whip,
as when he struck down Midian(W) at the rock of Oreb;
and he will raise his staff(X) over the waters,(Y)
as he did in Egypt.
27 In that day(Z) their burden(AA) will be lifted from your shoulders,
their yoke(AB) from your neck;(AC)
the yoke(AD) will be broken
because you have grown so fat.[b]
A Call to Persevere
17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles(A) of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold.(B) 18 They said to you, “In the last times(C) there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.”(D) 19 These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.(E)
20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up(F) in your most holy faith(G) and praying in the Holy Spirit,(H) 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait(I) for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.(J)
22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire;(K) to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.[a](L)
Doxology
24 To him who is able(M) to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence(N) without fault(O) and with great joy— 25 to the only God(P) our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore!(Q) Amen.(R)
John the Baptist Prepares the Way(A)(B)
3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate(C) was governor of Judea, Herod(D) tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,(E) the word of God came to John(F) son of Zechariah(G) in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.(H) 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.
5 Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
6 And all people will see God’s salvation.’”[a](I)
7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers!(J) Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?(K) 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’(L) For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”(M)
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