Book of Common Prayer
Supplication for Deliverance and Grateful Trust in God.
For the choir director; according to [a]Jonath elem rehokim. A [b]Mikhtam of David, [c]when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
56 Be gracious to me, O God, for man has [d](A)trampled upon me;
[e]Fighting all day long he (B)oppresses me.
2 My foes have [f](C)trampled upon me all day long,
For [g]they are many who (D)fight proudly against me.
3 [h]When I am (E)afraid,
[i]I will (F)put my trust in You.
4 (G)In God, whose word I praise,
In God I have put my trust;
I shall not be afraid.
(H)What can mere [j]man do to me?
5 All day long they [k](I)distort my words;
All their [l](J)thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They [m](K)attack, they lurk,
They (L)watch my [n]steps,
As they have (M)waited to take my [o]life.
7 Because of wickedness, [p](N)cast them forth,
In anger (O)put down the peoples, O God!
8 You (P)have taken account of my wanderings;
Put my (Q)tears in Your bottle.
Are they not in (R)Your book?
9 Then my enemies will (S)turn back (T)in the day when I call;
This I know, [q]that (U)God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
In the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 In God I have put my [r]trust, I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 Your (V)vows are binding upon me, O God;
I will render thank offerings to You.
13 For You have (W)delivered my soul from death,
[s]Indeed (X)my feet from stumbling,
So that I may (Y)walk before God
In the (Z)light of the [t]living.
Prayer for Rescue from Persecutors.
For the choir director; set to [u]Al-tashheth. A [v]Mikhtam of David, [w]when he fled from Saul in the cave.
57 Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me,
For my soul (AA)takes refuge in You;
And in the (AB)shadow of Your wings I will take refuge
Until destruction (AC)passes by.
2 I will cry to God Most High,
To God who (AD)accomplishes all things for me.
3 He will (AE)send from heaven and save me;
He reproaches him who [x](AF)tramples upon me. [y]Selah.
God will send forth His (AG)lovingkindness and His [z]truth.
4 My soul is among (AH)lions;
I must lie among those who breathe forth fire,
Even the sons of men, whose (AI)teeth are spears and arrows
And their (AJ)tongue a sharp sword.
5 (AK)Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.
6 They have [aa]prepared a (AL)net for my steps;
My soul is (AM)bowed down;
They (AN)dug a pit before me;
They themselves have (AO)fallen into the midst of it. Selah.
7 (AP)My (AQ)heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!
8 Awake, (AR)my glory!
Awake, (AS)harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
9 (AT)I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to You among the [ab]nations.
10 For Your (AU)lovingkindness is great to the heavens
And Your [ac]truth to the clouds.
11 (AV)Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.
Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked.
For the choir director; set to [ad]Al-tashheth. A [ae]Mikhtam of David.
58 Do you indeed [af]speak righteousness, O [ag]gods?
Do you (AW)judge [ah]uprightly, O sons of men?
2 No, in heart you (AX)work unrighteousness;
On earth you (AY)weigh out the violence of your hands.
3 The wicked are estranged (AZ)from the womb;
These who speak lies (BA)go astray from [ai]birth.
4 They have venom like the (BB)venom of a serpent;
Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,
5 So that it (BC)does not hear the voice of [aj](BD)charmers,
Or a skillful caster of spells.
6 O God, (BE)shatter their teeth in their mouth;
Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord.
7 Let them (BF)flow away like water that runs off;
When he [ak](BG)aims his arrows, let them be as [al]headless shafts.
8 Let them be as a snail which [am]melts away as it goes along,
Like the (BH)miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun.
9 Before your (BI)pots can feel the fire of thorns
He will (BJ)sweep them away with a whirlwind, the [an]green and the burning alike.
Prayer for Deliverance from Secret Enemies.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
64 Hear my voice, O God, in (A)my [a]complaint;
(B)Preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the (C)secret counsel of evildoers,
From the tumult of (D)those who do iniquity,
3 Who (E)have sharpened their tongue like a sword.
They (F)aimed bitter speech as their arrow,
4 To (G)shoot [b]from concealment at the blameless;
Suddenly they shoot at him, and (H)do not fear.
5 They [c]hold fast to themselves an evil purpose;
They [d]talk of (I)laying snares secretly;
They say, “(J)Who can see them?”
6 They [e]devise injustices, saying,
“We are [f]ready with a well-conceived plot”;
For the [g](K)inward thought and the heart of a man are [h]deep.
7 But (L)God [i]will shoot at them with an arrow;
Suddenly [j]they will be wounded.
8 So [k]they [l]will (M)make him stumble;
(N)Their own tongue is against them;
All who see them will (O)shake the head.
9 Then all men [m]will (P)fear,
And they [n]will (Q)declare the work of God,
And [o]will consider [p]what He has done.
10 The righteous man will be (R)glad in the Lord and will (S)take refuge in Him;
And all the upright in heart will glory.
God’s Abundant Favor to Earth and Man.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song.
65 There will be silence [q]before You, and praise in Zion, O God,
And to You the (T)vow will be performed.
2 O You who hear prayer,
To You (U)all [r]men come.
3 [s](V)Iniquities prevail against me;
As for our transgressions, You [t](W)forgive them.
4 How (X)blessed is the one whom You (Y)choose and bring near to You
To dwell in Your courts.
We will be (Z)satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Your holy temple.
5 By (AA)awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, O (AB)God of our salvation,
You who are the trust of all the (AC)ends of the earth and of the farthest [u](AD)sea;
6 Who (AE)establishes the mountains by His strength,
Being (AF)girded with might;
7 Who (AG)stills the roaring of the seas,
The roaring of their waves,
And the (AH)tumult of the peoples.
8 They who dwell in the (AI)ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs;
You make the [v]dawn and the sunset shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and (AJ)cause it to overflow;
You greatly (AK)enrich it;
The [w](AL)stream of God is full of water;
You prepare their (AM)grain, for thus You prepare [x]the earth.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
You [y]settle its ridges,
You soften it (AN)with showers,
You bless its growth.
11 You have crowned the year [z]with Your [aa](AO)bounty,
And Your [ab]paths (AP)drip with fatness.
12 (AQ)The pastures of the wilderness drip,
And the (AR)hills gird themselves with rejoicing.
13 The meadows are (AS)clothed with flocks
And the valleys are (AT)covered with grain;
They (AU)shout for joy, yes, they sing.
The Doom of Sodom
19 Now the (A)two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When (B)Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and [a]bowed down with his face to the ground. 2 And he said, “Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” They said however, “No, but we shall spend the night in the square.” 3 Yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; (C)and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4 Before they lay down, (D)the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people [b]from every quarter; 5 and they called to Lot and said to him, “(E)Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may [c]have relations with them.” 6 But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, 7 and said, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. 8 Now behold, (F)I have two daughters who have not [d]had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them [e]whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the [f]shelter of my roof.” 9 But they said, “Stand aside.” Furthermore, they said, “This one came in [g]as an alien, and already (G)he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them.” So they pressed hard against [h]Lot and came near to break the door. 10 But (H)the men reached out their [i]hands and brought Lot into the house [j]with them, and shut the door. 11 (I)They [k]struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway.
12 Then the two men said to Lot, “Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place; 13 for we are about to destroy this place, because (J)their outcry has become so great before the Lord that (K)the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” 14 Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who [l]were to marry his daughters, and said, “Up, (L)get out of this place, for the Lord will destroy the city.” (M)But he appeared to his sons-in-law [m]to be jesting.
15 When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the [n]punishment of the city.” 16 But he hesitated. So the men (N)seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the [o]hands of his two daughters, for (O)the compassion of the Lord was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city. 17 When they had brought them outside, [p]one said, “(P)Escape for your life! (Q)Do not look behind you, and do not stay [q]anywhere in the (R)valley; escape to (S)the [r]mountains, or you will be swept away.” 18 But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lords! 19 Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness, which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the [s]mountains, for the disaster will overtake me and I will die; 20 now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) [t]that my life may be saved.” 21 He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this [u]request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken. 22 Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the town was called [v](T)Zoar.
23 The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the Lord (U)rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven, 25 and (V)He overthrew those cities, and all the [w]valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But his wife, from behind him, (W)looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 Now Abraham arose early in the morning and went to (X)the place where he had stood before the Lord; 28 and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the [x]valley, and he saw, and behold, (Y)the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a [y]furnace.
29 Thus it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the [z]valley, that (Z)God remembered Abraham, and (AA)sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.
The Triumphs of Faith
11 Now faith is the [a](A)assurance of things [b](B)hoped for, the [c]conviction of (C)things not seen. 2 For by it the (D)men of old [d](E)gained approval.
3 By faith we understand that the [e](F)worlds were prepared (G)by the word of God, so that what is seen (H)was not made out of things which are visible. 4 By faith (I)Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he (J)obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying [f]about his (K)gifts, and through [g]faith, though (L)he is dead, he still speaks. 5 By faith (M)Enoch was taken up so that he would not (N)see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who (O)comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. 7 By faith (P)Noah, being (Q)warned by God about (R)things not yet seen, [h](S)in reverence (T)prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of (U)the righteousness which is according to faith.
8 By faith (V)Abraham, when he was called, obeyed [i]by going out to a place which he was to (W)receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he lived as an alien in (X)the land of promise, as in a foreign land, (Y)dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, (Z)fellow heirs of the same promise; 10 for he was looking for (AA)the city which has (AB)foundations, (AC)whose architect and builder is God. 11 By faith even (AD)Sarah herself received [j]ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him (AE)faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore there was born even of one man, and (AF)him as good as dead [k]at that, as many descendants (AG)as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.
27 Do not (A)work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to (B)eternal life, which (C)the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, (D)has set His seal.” 28 Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is (E)the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He (F)has sent.” 30 So they said to Him, “(G)What then do You do for a (H)sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? 31 (I)Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘(J)He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. 33 For the bread of God is [a]that which (K)comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, always (L)give us this bread.”
35 Jesus said to them, “(M)I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me (N)will never thirst. 36 But (O)I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. 37 (P)All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. 38 For (Q)I have come down from heaven, (R)not to do My own will, but (S)the will of Him who (T)sent Me. 39 This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of (U)all that He has given Me I (V)lose nothing, but (W)raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who (X)beholds the Son and (Y)believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will (Z)raise him up on the last day.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.