Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for the Destruction of the Treacherous.
For the choir director; on 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)bring down [c]trouble 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 [d](L)horror has overwhelmed me.
6 I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and [e](M)be at rest.
7 “Behold, I would wander far away,
I would (N)lodge in the wilderness. [f]Selah.
8 “I would hasten to my place of refuge
From the (O)stormy wind and tempest.”
9 [g]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 iniquity and mischief are in her midst.
11 (R)Destruction is in her midst;
(S)Oppression and deceit do not depart from her [h]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 exalted himself against me,
Then I could hide myself from him.
13 But it is you, a man [i]my equal,
My (V)companion and my [j](W)familiar friend;
14 We who had sweet [k]fellowship together
(X)Walked in the house of God in the throng.
15 Let [l]death come (Y)deceitfully upon them;
Let them (Z)go down alive to [m]Sheol,
For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.
16 As for me, I shall (AA)call upon God,
And the Lord will save me.
17 (AB)Evening and (AC)morning and at (AD)noon, I will complain and murmur,
And He will hear my voice.
18 He will (AE)redeem my soul in peace [n]from the battle which is against me,
For they are (AF)many who strive with me.
19 God will (AG)hear and [o]answer them—
Even the one (AH)who [p]sits enthroned from of old— Selah.
With whom there [q]is no change,
And who (AI)do not fear God.
20 He has put forth his hands against (AJ)those who were at peace with him;
He has [r](AK)violated his covenant.
21 His [s]speech was (AL)smoother than butter,
But his heart was war;
His words were (AM)softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn (AN)swords.
Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Favor.
A Psalm 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 bow down (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 will give thanks to You, O Lord,
When they have heard the words of Your mouth.
5 And they will (I)sing of the ways of the Lord,
For (J)great is the glory of the Lord.
6 For (K)though the Lord is exalted,
Yet He (L)regards the lowly,
But the (M)haughty He knows from afar.
7 Though I (N)walk in the midst of trouble, You will [d](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 The Lord will (R)accomplish what concerns me;
Your (S)lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting;
(T)Do not forsake the (U)works of Your hands.
God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
139 O Lord, You have (V)searched me and known me.
2 You (W)know [e]when I sit down and [f]when I rise up;
You (X)understand my thought from afar.
3 You [g](Y)scrutinize my [h]path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4 [i]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, You (Z)know it all.
5 You have (AA)enclosed me behind and before,
And (AB)laid 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 [j]Sheol, behold, (AG)You are there.
9 If I take 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 [k]overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even the (AJ)darkness is not dark [l]to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
(AK)Darkness and light are alike to You.
13 For You (AL)formed my [m]inward parts;
You (AM)wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, for [n]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
(AN)Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My [o](AO)frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the (AP)depths of the earth;
16 Your (AQ)eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in (AR)Your book were all written
The (AS)days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
17 How precious also are Your (AT)thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would (AU)outnumber the sand.
When (AV)I awake, I am still with You.
19 O that You would (AW)slay the wicked, O God;
(AX)Depart from me, therefore, (AY)men of bloodshed.
20 For they (AZ)speak [p]against You wickedly,
And Your enemies [q](BA)take Your name in vain.
21 Do I not (BB)hate those who hate You, O Lord?
And do I not (BC)loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.
Birth of Isaac Promised
18 Now (A)the Lord appeared to him by the [a](B)oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three (C)men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth, 3 and said, “[b]My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not [c]pass Your servant by. 4 Please let a little water be brought and (D)wash your feet, and [d]rest yourselves under the tree; 5 and I will [e](E)bring a piece of bread, that you may [f]refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have [g]visited your servant.” And they said, “So do, as you have said.” 6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “[h]Quickly, prepare three [i]measures of fine flour, knead it and make bread cakes.” 7 Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and [j]choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. 8 He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree [k]as they ate.
9 Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10 He said, “(F)I will surely return to you [l]at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. 11 Now (G)Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was (H)past [m]childbearing. 12 Sarah laughed [n]to herself, saying, “(I)After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my (J)lord being old also?” 13 And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed [o]bear a child, when I am so old?’ 14 (K)Is anything too [p]difficult for the Lord? At the (L)appointed time I will return to you, [q]at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” 15 Sarah denied it however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
16 Then (M)the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off.
Christ or Judgment
26 For if we go on (A)sinning willfully after receiving (B)the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of (C)judgment and (D)the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. 28 (E)Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 (F)How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve (G)who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean (H)the blood of the covenant (I)by which he was sanctified, and has (J)insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “(K)Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “(L)The Lord will judge His people.” 31 It is a (M)terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the (N)living God.
32 But remember (O)the former days, [a]when, after being (P)enlightened, you endured a great (Q)conflict of sufferings, 33 partly by being (R)made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming (S)sharers with those who were so treated. 34 For you (T)showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted (U)joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves (V)a better possession and a lasting one. 35 Therefore, do not throw away your (W)confidence, which has a great (X)reward. 36 For you have need of (Y)endurance, so that when you have (Z)done the will of God, you may (AA)receive [b]what was promised.
37 (AB)For yet in a very little while,
(AC)He who is coming will come, and will not delay.
38 (AD)But My righteous one shall live by faith;
And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.
39 But [c]we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the [d]preserving of the soul.
16 Now when evening came, His (A)disciples went down to the sea, 17 and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea (B)to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. 19 Then, when they had rowed about [a]three or four miles, they *saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. 20 But He *said to them, “It is I; [b](C)do not be afraid.” 21 So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.
22 The next day (D)the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus (E)had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone. 23 There came other small boats from (F)Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the (G)Lord (H)had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and (I)came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. 25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “(J)Rabbi, when did You get here?”
Words to the People
26 Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you (K)seek Me, not because you saw (L)signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not (M)work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to (N)eternal life, which (O)the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, (P)has set His seal.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.