Book of Common Prayer
He Will Never Allow the Righteous to Be Shaken
For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A [a]Maskil of David.
55 (A)Give ear to my prayer, O God;
And (B)do not hide Yourself from my supplication.
2 Give (C)heed to me and answer me;
I am restless in my (D)complaint and [b](E)am surely distracted,
3 Because of the voice of the enemy,
Because of the (F)pressure of the wicked;
For they (G)shake wickedness down upon me
And in anger they (H)bear a grudge against me.
4 My (I)heart is in anguish within me,
And the terrors of (J)death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and (K)trembling come upon me,
And [c](L)horror has covered me.
6 I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and [d](M)be at rest.
7 Behold, I would wander far away,
I would (N)lodge in the wilderness. [e]Selah.
8 I would hasten to my place of refuge
From the (O)stormy wind and tempest.”
9 [f]Confuse, O Lord, (P)divide their tongues,
For I have seen (Q)violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around her upon her walls,
And wickedness and mischief are in her midst.
11 (R)Destruction is in her midst;
(S)Oppression and deceit do not depart from her [g]streets.
12 For it is (T)not an enemy who reproaches me,
Then I could bear it;
Nor is it one who hates me who (U)has magnified himself against me,
Then I could hide myself from him.
13 But it is you, a man [h]my equal,
My (V)close companion and my [i](W)familiar friend;
14 We who had sweet counsel together
(X)Walked in the house of God in the throng.
15 Let [j]death come (Y)deceitfully upon them;
Let them (Z)go down alive to Sheol,
For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.
16 As for me, I shall (AA)call upon God,
And Yahweh will save me.
17 (AB)Evening and (AC)morning and at (AD)noon, I will bring my complaint and moan,
And He will hear my voice.
18 He will (AE)redeem my soul in peace [k]from the battle which is against me,
For they are (AF)many who strive with me.
19 God will (AG)hear and [l]answer them—
Even the one (AH)who [m]sits enthroned from of old— Selah.
Because they [n]do not change,
And (AI)do not fear God.
20 [o]My companion has put forth his hands against (AJ)those who were at peace with him;
He has [p](AK)violated his covenant.
21 His [q]speech was (AL)smoother than butter,
But his heart was war;
His words were (AM)softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn (AN)swords.
I Will Give Thanks to Your Name
Of David.
138 (A)I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing praises to You before the (B)gods.
2 I will worship (C)toward Your holy temple
And (D)give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your [a]truth;
For You have (E)magnified Your [b]word [c]according to all Your name.
3 On the day I (F)called, You answered me;
You made me bold with (G)strength in my soul.
4 (H)All the kings of the earth, O Yahweh, will give You thanks,
When they hear the words of Your mouth.
5 And they will (I)sing of the ways of Yahweh,
For (J)great is the glory of Yahweh.
6 For (K)Yahweh is high,
Yet He (L)sees the lowly,
But the (M)one who exalts himself He knows from afar.
7 Though I (N)walk in the midst of [d]distress, You will [e](O)revive me;
You will (P)stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will (Q)save me.
8 Yahweh will (R)accomplish what concerns me;
O Yahweh, Your (S)lovingkindness endures forever;
(T)Do not fail the (U)works of Your hands.
Where Can I Go from Your Spirit?
For the choir director. Of David. A Psalm.
139 O Yahweh, You have (V)searched me and known me.
2 You (W)know [f]when I sit down and [g]when I rise up;
You (X)understand my thought from afar.
3 You [h](Y)scrutinize my [i]path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4 [j]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Yahweh, You (Z)know it all.
5 You have (AA)enclosed me behind and before,
And You have (AB)put Your hand upon me.
6 Such (AC)knowledge is (AD)too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
7 (AE)Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 (AF)If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, (AG)You are there.
9 If I lift up the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will (AH)lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the (AI)darkness will (AJ)bruise me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even the (AK)darkness is not too dark for You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
(AL)Darkness and light are alike to You.
13 For You (AM)formed my [k]inward parts;
You (AN)wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, for [l]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
(AO)Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My [m](AP)frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And (AQ)intricately woven in the (AR)depths of the earth;
16 Your (AS)eyes have seen my unshaped substance;
And in (AT)Your book all of them were written
The (AU)days that were formed for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
17 How precious are Your (AV)thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would (AW)outnumber the sand.
When (AX)I awake, I am still with You.
19 Oh that You would (AY)slay the wicked, O God!
(AZ)O (BA)men of bloodshed, depart from me.
20 For they (BB)speak [n]against You wickedly,
And Your enemies [o](BC)take Your name in vain.
21 Do I not (BD)hate those who hate You, O Yahweh?
And do I not (BE)revile those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.
Yahweh’s Righteousness Is Forever
51 “(A)Listen to Me, you who (B)pursue righteousness,
Who seek Yahweh:
Look to the (C)rock from which you were hewn
And to the [a]quarry from which you were dug.
2 Look to (D)Abraham your father
And to Sarah who brought you forth through labor pains;
When he (E)was but one I called him,
Then I blessed him and multiplied him.”
3 Indeed, (F)Yahweh will comfort Zion;
He will comfort all her (G)waste places.
And her (H)wilderness He will make like (I)Eden,
And her desert like the (J)garden of Yahweh;
(K)Joy and gladness will be found in her,
Thanksgiving and sound of a melody.
4 “(L)Pay attention to Me, O My people,
And give ear to Me, O My [b]nation;
For a (M)law will go forth from Me,
And I will [c]set My (N)justice for a (O)light of the peoples.
5 My (P)righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth,
And My (Q)arms will judge the peoples;
The (R)coastlands will hope in Me,
And for My (S)arm they will wait expectantly.
6 (T)Lift up your eyes to the sky,
Then look to the earth beneath;
For the (U)sky will vanish like smoke,
And the (V)earth will wear out like a garment,
And its inhabitants will die [d]in like manner;
But My (W)salvation will be forever,
And My righteousness will not be dismayed.
7 (X)Listen to Me, you who know righteousness,
A people in whose (Y)heart is My law;
Do not fear the (Z)reproach of man,
Nor be dismayed at their revilings.
8 For the (AA)moth will eat them like a garment,
And the (AB)grub will eat them like wool.
But My (AC)righteousness will be forever,
And My salvation to all generations.”
23 But before faith came, we were held in custody under the Law, (A)being shut up for the coming faith to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our (B)tutor unto Christ, so that (C)we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a [a](D)tutor. 26 For you are all (E)sons of God through faith in (F)Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were (G)baptized into Christ have (H)clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 (I)There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is no (J)male and female, for (K)you are all one in (L)Christ Jesus. 29 And if (M)you [b]belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s [c]seed, heirs according to (N)promise.
God’s Commandments, Man’s Traditions
7 (A)And the Pharisees and some of the scribes *gathered around Him when they had come (B)from Jerusalem, 2 and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with (C)defiled hands, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they [a]carefully wash their hands, thus observing the (D)tradition of the elders; 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they [b]wash themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of (E)cups and pitchers and copper pots.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes *asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the (F)tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with (G)defiled hands?” 6 And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘(H)This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
7 (I)But in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commands of men.’
8 Leaving the commandment of God, you hold to the (J)tradition of men.”
9 And He was also saying to them, “You are good at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your (K)tradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘(L)Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘(M)He who speaks evil of father or mother, is to [c]be put to death’; 11 but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever you might benefit from me is (N)Corban (that is to say, [d]given to God),’ 12 you no longer leave him to do anything for his father or his mother; 13 thus invalidating the word of God by your (O)tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”
The Heart of Man
14 And after He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. 16 [e][And if anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”]
17 And when He had left the crowd and entered (P)the house, (Q)His disciples were asking Him about the parable. 18 And He *said to them, “Are you lacking understanding in this way as well? Do you not [f]perceive that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and goes to the sewer?” (Thus He declared (R)all foods (S)clean.) 20 And He was saying, “(T)That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, [g](U)envy, slander, [h]pride, and foolishness. 23 All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”
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