Book of Common Prayer

To the Overcomer in Neginoth upon Sheminith, A Psalm of David.

¹ ¶ O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.

² Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are troubled.

³ My soul is also greatly troubled; but thou, O LORD, how long?

⁴ Return, O LORD, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies’ sake.

⁵ For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in Sheol who shall give thee thanks?

⁶ I am weary with my groaning; all the night I flood my bed; I water my couch with my tears.

⁷ Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxes old because of all mine enemies.

⁸ ¶ Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity, for the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping.

⁹ The LORD has heard my supplication; the LORD has received my prayer.

¹⁰ All my enemies shall be ashamed; they shall be sorely troubled: they shall turn back and be ashamed suddenly.

To the Overcomer upon Sheminith, A Psalm of David.

¹ ¶ Help, LORD; for the merciful man ceases, for the faithful fail from among the children of men.

² Each one speaks vanity with his neighbour: they speak with flattering lips and with a double heart.

³ The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaks proud things:

⁴ Who have said, With our tongue we will prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?

⁵ For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now I will arise, saith the LORD; I will set in safety the one whom the wicked one has ensnared.

⁶ The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

⁷ Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.

⁸ The wicked press in on every side when the vilest men are exalted.

¹ ¶ O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongs; O God, to whom vengeance belongs, show thyself.

² Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud.

³ LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?

⁴ How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves?

⁵ They break in pieces thy people, O LORD, and afflict thy heritage.

⁶ They slay the widow and the stranger and murder the fatherless.

⁷ Yet they say, JAH shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.

⁸ Understand, ye carnal ones among the people, and, ye fools, when will ye be wise?

⁹ He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?

¹⁰ He that chastens the Gentiles, shall he not correct? he that teaches man knowledge, shall not he know?

¹¹ The LORD knows the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.

¹² ¶ Blessed is the man whom thou dost chasten, O JAH, and teach him out of thy law,

¹³ to cause him to rest in the days of adversity, until the pit is dug for the wicked.

¹⁴ For the LORD will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance.

¹⁵ But the judgment shall be returned unto righteousness, and all the upright in heart shall follow it.

¹⁶ Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?

¹⁷ Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul would have quickly dwelt with the dead.

¹⁸ When I said, My foot slips, thy mercy, O LORD, held me up.

¹⁹ In the multitude of my thoughts within me, thy comforts delight my soul.

²⁰ Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, who creates toil under the guise of law?

²¹ They gather themselves together as an army against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent blood.

²² But the LORD is my refuge, and my God is the rock of my trust.

²³ And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the LORD our God shall cut them off.

Pe

¹⁷ Zion spread forth her hands and has no comforter; the LORD gave a commandment against Jacob that his enemies should besiege him; Jerusalem was an abomination in the midst of them.

Tzaddi

¹⁸ The LORD is righteous, for I have rebelled against his mouth; hear now, all the peoples and see my sorrow; my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity.

Koph

¹⁹ I called unto my lovers, but they have deceived me; my priests and my elders in the city perished seeking food to maintain their lives.

Resh

²⁰ Look, O LORD; for I am in distress; my bowels are troubled; my heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled; abroad the sword bereaves; at home there is as death.

Schin

²¹ They have heard that I sigh; and there is no comforter for me; all my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that thou hast done it. Thou hast brought the day that thou hast spoken of, but they shall be like unto me.

Tau

²² Let all their wickedness come before thee; and do unto them as thou hast done unto me for all my rebellions; for my sighs are many, and my heart is filled with pain.

⁸ Because, brothers, we would not have you ignore our tribulation which was done unto us in Asia, that we were burdened beyond our strength, in such a manner that we despaired even of life:

⁹ But we had the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;

¹⁰ who delivered us from so great a death and does deliver; in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;

¹¹ ye also helping us with prayer, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons, thanks may be given by many on our behalf.

¹² ¶ For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with carnal wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world and more abundantly towards you.

¹³ For we write no other things unto you than what ye read or also know, and I trust ye shall know them even to the end

¹⁴ as also ye have known in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁵ ¶ And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before that ye might have a second grace

¹⁶ and to pass by you into Macedonia and to come again out of Macedonia unto you and of you to be sent forward to Judaea.

¹⁷ When I, therefore, was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that of me there should be yes, yes, and no, no?

¹⁸ But God is faithful that our word toward you has not been yes and no.

¹⁹ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timothy, has not been yes and no, but in him was yes.

²⁰ For all the promises of God are yes in him, and in him Amen, by us for the glory of God.

²¹ Now he who confirms us with you unto Christ and has anointed us is God;

²² who has also sealed us and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

²⁷ ¶ And they returned to Jerusalem, and as he was walking in the temple, the princes of the priests and the scribes and the elders came

²⁸ and said unto him, By what faculty doest thou these things? and who gave thee this faculty to do these things?

²⁹ Then Jesus, answering, said unto them, I will also ask of you one word, and respond unto me, and I will tell you with what faculty I do these things.

³⁰ The baptism of John, was it of heaven or of men? Respond unto me.

³¹ Then they thought inside themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven, he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?

³² But if we shall say, Of men, we fear the people, for everyone judged regarding John that he truly was a prophet.

³³ And answering, they said unto Jesus, We do not know. And Jesus, answering, said unto them, Neither shall I tell you with what faculty I do these things.