Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 55
To the Chief Musician; with stringed instruments. A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem, of David.
1 Listen to my prayer, O God, and hide not Yourself from my supplication!
2 Attend to me and answer me; I am restless and distraught in my complaint and must moan
3 [And I am distracted] at the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression and threats of the wicked; for they would cast trouble upon me, and in wrath they persecute me.
4 My heart is grievously pained within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and trembling have come upon me; horror and fright have overwhelmed me.
6 And I say, Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.
7 Yes, I would wander far away, I would lodge in the wilderness. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
8 I would hasten to escape and to find a shelter from the stormy wind and tempest.
9 Destroy [their schemes], O Lord, confuse their tongues, for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go about on its walls; iniquity and mischief are in its midst.
11 Violence and ruin are within it; fraud and guile do not depart from its streets and marketplaces.
12 For it is not an enemy who reproaches and taunts me—then I might bear it; nor is it one who has hated me who insolently vaunts himself against me—then I might hide from him.
13 But it was you, a man my equal, my companion and my familiar friend.
14 We had sweet fellowship together and used to walk to the house of God in company.
15 Let desolations and death come suddenly upon them; let them go down alive to Sheol (the place of the dead), for evils are in their habitations, in their hearts, and their inmost part.
16 As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord will save me.
17 Evening and morning and at noon will I utter my complaint and moan and sigh, and He will hear my voice.
18 He has redeemed my life in peace from the battle that was against me [so that none came near me], for they were many who strove with me.
19 God will hear and humble them, even He Who abides of old—Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!—because in them there has been no change [of heart], and they do not fear, revere, and worship God.
20 [My companion] has put forth his hands against those who were at peace with him; he has broken and profaned his agreement [of friendship and loyalty].
21 The words of his mouth were smoother than cream or butter, but war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords.
22 Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail).(A)
23 But You, O God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of destruction; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in, lean on, and confidently rely on You.
Psalm 138
[A Psalm] of David.
1 I will confess and praise You [O God] with my whole heart; before the gods will I sing praises to You.
2 I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name for Your loving-kindness and for Your truth and faithfulness; for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name!
3 In the day when I called, You answered me; and You strengthened me with strength (might and inflexibility to temptation) in my inner self.
4 All the kings of the land shall give You credit and praise You, O Lord, for they have heard of the promises of Your mouth [which were fulfilled].
5 Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord and joyfully celebrate His mighty acts, for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 For though the Lord is high, yet has He respect to the lowly [bringing them into fellowship with Him]; but the proud and haughty He knows and recognizes [only] at a distance.(A)
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me.(B)
8 The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, endure forever—forsake not the works of Your own hands.(C)
Psalm 139
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, you have searched me [thoroughly] and have known me.
2 You know my downsitting and my uprising; You understand my thought afar off.(D)
3 You sift and search out my path and my lying down, and You are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word in my tongue [still unuttered], but, behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.(E)
5 You have beset me and shut me in—behind and before, and You have laid Your hand upon me.
6 Your [infinite] knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high above me, I cannot reach it.
7 Where could I go from Your Spirit? Or where could I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend up into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol (the place of the dead), behold, You are there.(F)
9 If I take the wings of the morning or dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 Even there shall Your hand lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me and the night shall be [the only] light about me,
12 Even the darkness hides nothing from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You.(G)
13 For You did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I will confess and praise You for You are fearful and wonderful and for the awful wonder of my birth! Wonderful are Your works, and that my inner self knows right well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret [and] intricately and curiously wrought [as if embroidered with various colors] in the depths of the earth [a region of darkness and mystery].
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious and weighty also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!(H)
18 If I could count them, they would be more in number than the sand. When I awoke, [could I count to the end] I would still be with You.
19 If You would [only] slay the wicked, O God, and the men of blood depart from me—(I)
20 Who speak against You wickedly, Your enemies who take Your name in vain!(J)
21 Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You? And am I not grieved and do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred; they have become my enemies.
23 Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!
12 Clothe yourselves therefore, as God’s own chosen ones (His own picked representatives), [who are] purified and holy and well-beloved [by God Himself, by putting on behavior marked by] tenderhearted pity and mercy, kind feeling, a lowly opinion of yourselves, gentle ways, [and] patience [which is tireless and long-suffering, and has the power to endure whatever comes, with good temper].
13 Be gentle and forbearing with one another and, if one has a difference (a grievance or complaint) against another, readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has [freely] forgiven you, so must you also [forgive].
14 And above all these [put on] love and enfold yourselves with the bond of perfectness [which binds everything together completely in ideal harmony].
15 And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].
16 Let the word [spoken by] Christ (the Messiah) have its home [in your hearts and minds] and dwell in you in [all its] richness, as you teach and admonish and train one another in all insight and intelligence and wisdom [in spiritual things, and as you sing] psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody to God with [His] grace in your hearts.
17 And whatever you do [no matter what it is] in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus and in [dependence upon] His Person, giving praise to God the Father through Him.
18 And John’s disciples brought him [who was now in prison] word of all these things.
19 And John summoned to him a certain two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord, saying, Are You He Who is to come, or shall we [continue to] look for another?
20 So the men came to Jesus and said, John the Baptist sent us to You to ask, Are You the One Who is to come, or shall we [continue to] look for another?
21 In that very hour Jesus was healing many [people] of sicknesses and distressing bodily plagues and evil spirits, and to many who were blind He gave [[a]a free, gracious, joy-giving gift of] sight.
22 So He replied to them, Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the good news (the Gospel) preached to them.(A)
23 And blessed (happy—[b]with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, apart from outward conditions—and [c]to be envied) is he who takes no offense in Me and who is not hurt or resentful or annoyed or repelled or made to stumble [[d]whatever may occur].
24 And the messengers of John having departed, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: What did you go out into the desert to gaze on? A reed shaken and swayed by the wind?
25 Then what did you go out to see? A man dressed up in soft garments? Behold, those who wear fine apparel and live in luxury are in the courts or palaces of kings.
26 What then did you go out to see? A prophet (a forthteller)? Yes, I tell you, and far more than a prophet.
27 This is the one of whom it is written, Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who shall make ready Your way before You.(B)
28 I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; but [e]he that is inferior [to the other citizens] in the kingdom of God is greater [in incomparable privilege] than he.
29 And all the people who heard Him, even the tax collectors, acknowledged the justice of God [in [f]calling them to repentance and in pronouncing future wrath on the impenitent], being baptized with the baptism of John.
30 But the Pharisees and the lawyers [of the Mosaic Law] annulled and rejected and brought to nothing God’s purpose concerning themselves, by [refusing and] not being baptized by him [John].
31 So to what shall I compare the men of this generation? And what are they like?
32 They are like little children sitting in the marketplace, calling to one another and saying, We piped to you [playing wedding], and you did not dance; we sang dirges and wailed [playing funeral], and you did not weep.
33 For John the Baptist has come neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, He has a demon.
34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, Behold, a Man Who is a glutton and a wine drinker, a friend of tax collectors and notorious sinners.
35 Yet wisdom is vindicated ([g]shown to be true and divine) by all her children [[h]by their life, character, and deeds].
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