Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 55[a]
A Lament over Betrayal
1 For the leader. On stringed instruments. A maskil of David.
I
2 Listen, God, to my prayer;(A)
do not hide from my pleading;
3 hear me and give answer.
I rock with grief; I groan
4 at the uproar of the enemy,
the clamor of the wicked.
They heap trouble upon me,
savagely accuse me.
5 My heart pounds within me;
death’s terrors fall upon me.
6 Fear and trembling overwhelm me;
shuddering sweeps over me.
7 I say, “If only I had wings like a dove
that I might fly away and find rest.(B)
8 Far away I would flee;
I would stay in the desert.(C)
Selah
9 “I would soon find a shelter
from the raging wind and storm.”
II
10 Lord, check and confuse their tongues.
For I see violence and strife in the city
11 making rounds on its walls day and night.
Within are mischief and trouble;
12 treachery is in its midst;
oppression and fraud never leave its streets.(D)
13 For it is not an enemy that reviled me—
that I could bear—
Not a foe who viewed me with contempt,
from that I could hide.
14 But it was you, my other self,
my comrade and friend,(E)
15 You, whose company I enjoyed,
at whose side I walked
in the house of God.
III
16 Let death take them;
let them go down alive to Sheol,(F)
for evil is in their homes and bellies.
17 But I will call upon God,
and the Lord will save me.
18 At dusk, dawn, and noon
I will grieve and complain,
and my prayer will be heard.(G)
19 He will redeem my soul in peace
from those who war against me,
though there are many who oppose me.
20 God, who sits enthroned forever,(H)
will hear me and afflict them.
Selah
For they will not mend their ways;
they have no fear of God.
21 He stretched out his hand at his friends
and broke his covenant.
22 Softer than butter is his speech,
but war is in his heart.
Smoother than oil are his words,
but they are unsheathed swords.(I)
23 Cast your care upon the Lord,
who will give you support.
He will never allow
the righteous to stumble.(J)
24 But you, God, will bring them down
to the pit of destruction.(K)
These bloodthirsty liars
will not live half their days,
but I put my trust in you.(L)
Psalm 138[a]
Hymn of a Grateful Heart
1 Of David.
I
I thank you, Lord, with all my heart;(A)
in the presence of the angels[b] to you I sing.
2 I bow low toward your holy temple;
I praise your name for your mercy and faithfulness.
For you have exalted over all
your name and your promise.
3 On the day I cried out, you answered;
you strengthened my spirit.
II
4 All the kings of earth will praise you, Lord,
when they hear the words of your mouth.
5 They will sing of the ways of the Lord:
“How great is the glory of the Lord!”
6 The Lord is on high, but cares for the lowly(B)
and knows the proud from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of dangers,
you guard my life when my enemies rage.
You stretch out your hand;
your right hand saves me.
8 The Lord is with me to the end.
Lord, your mercy endures forever.
Never forsake the work of your hands!
Psalm 139[c]
The All-knowing and Ever-present God
1 For the leader. A psalm of David.
I
Lord, you have probed me, you know me:
2 you know when I sit and stand;[d](C)
you understand my thoughts from afar.
3 You sift through my travels and my rest;
with all my ways you are familiar.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
Lord, you know it all.
5 Behind and before you encircle me
and rest your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
far too lofty for me to reach.(D)
7 Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence, where can I flee?
8 If I ascend to the heavens, you are there;
if I lie down in Sheol, there you are.(E)
9 If I take the wings of dawn[e]
and dwell beyond the sea,
10 Even there your hand guides me,
your right hand holds me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely darkness shall hide me,
and night shall be my light”[f]—
12 Darkness is not dark for you,
and night shines as the day.
Darkness and light are but one.(F)
II
13 You formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother’s womb.(G)
14 I praise you, because I am wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works!
My very self you know.
15 My bones are not hidden from you,
When I was being made in secret,
fashioned in the depths of the earth.[g]
16 Your eyes saw me unformed;
in your book all are written down;(H)
my days were shaped, before one came to be.
III
17 How precious to me are your designs, O God;
how vast the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the sands;
when I complete them, still you are with me.(I)
19 When you would destroy the wicked, O God,
the bloodthirsty depart from me!(J)
20 Your foes who conspire a plot against you
are exalted in vain.
IV
21 Do I not hate, Lord, those who hate you?
Those who rise against you, do I not loathe?(K)
22 With fierce hatred I hate them,
enemies I count as my own.
23 Probe me, God, know my heart;
try me, know my thoughts.(L)
Chapter 7
Solomon Is Like All Others
1 I too am a mortal, the same as all the rest,(A)
and a descendant of the first one formed of earth.[a]
And in my mother’s womb I was molded into flesh
2 in a ten-month period[b]—body and blood,
from the seed of a man, and the pleasure that accompanies marriage.
3 And I too, when born, inhaled the common air,
and fell upon the kindred earth;
wailing, I uttered that first sound common to all.
4 In swaddling clothes and with constant care I was nurtured.
5 For no king has any different origin or birth;
6 one is the entry into life for all,
and in one same way they leave it.(B)
Solomon Prayed and Wisdom and Riches Came to Him
7 Therefore I prayed, and prudence was given me;
I pleaded and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.(C)
8 I preferred her to scepter and throne,(D)
And deemed riches nothing in comparison with her,
9 nor did I liken any priceless gem to her;
Because all gold, in view of her, is a bit of sand,
and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.
10 Beyond health and beauty I loved her,
And I chose to have her rather than the light,
because her radiance never ceases.(E)
11 Yet all good things together came to me with her,(F)
and countless riches at her hands;
12 I rejoiced in them all, because Wisdom is their leader,
though I had not known that she is their mother.[c](G)
Solomon Prays for Help to Speak Worthily of Wisdom
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,(A) 13 bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.(B) 14 And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection.(C) 15 And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful.(D) 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.(E) 17 And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.(F)
18 (A)The disciples of John told him about all these things. John summoned two of his disciples 19 and sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”(B) 20 When the men came to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’” 21 At that time he cured many of their diseases, sufferings, and evil spirits; he also granted sight to many who were blind. 22 And he said to them in reply, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.(C) 23 And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”[a]
Jesus’ Testimony to John. 24 [b]When the messengers of John had left, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John.(D) “What did you go out to the desert to see—a reed swayed by the wind? 25 Then what did you go out to see? Someone dressed in fine garments? Those who dress luxuriously and live sumptuously are found in royal palaces. 26 Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.(E) 27 This is the one about whom scripture says:
‘Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
he will prepare your way before you.’(F)
28 I tell you, among those born of women, no one is greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” 29 (G)(All the people who listened, including the tax collectors, and who were baptized with the baptism of John, acknowledged the righteousness of God; 30 but the Pharisees and scholars of the law, who were not baptized by him, rejected the plan of God for themselves.)
31 [c]“Then to what shall I compare the people of this generation? What are they like?(H) 32 They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another,
‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance.
We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.’
33 For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine, and you said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’(I) 35 But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”
The Pardon of the Sinful Woman.[d]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.