Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Protection from the Wicked.
For the choir director; for [a]flute accompaniment. A Psalm of David.
5 (A)Give ear to my words, O Lord,
Consider my [b](B)groaning.
2 Heed (C)the sound of my cry for help, (D)my King and my God,
For to You I pray.
3 In the morning, O Lord, [c]You will hear my voice;
In the (E)morning I will order my [d]prayer to You and eagerly (F)watch.
4 For You are not a God (G)who takes pleasure in wickedness;
(H)No evil [e]dwells with You.
5 The (I)boastful shall not (J)stand before Your eyes;
You (K)hate all who do iniquity.
6 You (L)destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors (M)the man of bloodshed and deceit.
7 But as for me, (N)by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house,
[f]At Your holy temple I will (O)bow in (P)reverence for You.
8 O Lord, (Q)lead me (R)in Your righteousness (S)because of [g]my foes;
Make Your way [h]straight before me.
9 There is (T)nothing [i]reliable in [j]what they say;
Their (U)inward part is destruction itself.
Their (V)throat is an open grave;
They [k]flatter with their tongue.
10 Hold them guilty, O God;
(W)By their own devices let them fall!
In the multitude of their transgressions (X)thrust them out,
For they are (Y)rebellious against You.
11 But let all who (Z)take refuge in You (AA)be glad,
Let them ever sing for joy;
And [l]may You (AB)shelter them,
That those who (AC)love Your name may exult in You.
12 For it is You who (AD)blesses the righteous man, O Lord,
You (AE)surround him with favor as with a shield.
Prayer for Mercy in Time of Trouble.
For the choir director; with stringed instruments, [m]upon an eight-string lyre. A Psalm of David.
6 O Lord, (AF)do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor chasten me in Your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am (AG)pining away;
(AH)Heal me, O Lord, for (AI)my bones are dismayed.
3 And my (AJ)soul is greatly dismayed;
But You, O Lord—(AK)how long?
4 Return, O Lord, (AL)rescue my [n]soul;
Save me because of Your lovingkindness.
5 For (AM)there is no [o]mention of You in death;
In [p]Sheol who will give You thanks?
A Prayer for the Overthrow of the Wicked.
10 Why (A)do You stand afar off, O Lord?
Why (B)do You hide [a]Yourself in times of trouble?
2 In (C)pride the wicked [b]hotly pursue the afflicted;
[c]Let them be (D)caught in the plots which they have devised.
3 For the wicked (E)boasts of his (F)heart’s desire,
And [d]the greedy man curses and (G)spurns the Lord.
4 The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, (H)does not seek Him.
All his [e]thoughts are, “(I)There is no God.”
5 His ways [f](J)prosper at all times;
Your judgments are on high, (K)out of his sight;
As for all his adversaries, he snorts at them.
6 He says to himself, “(L)I will not be moved;
[g]Throughout all generations (M)I will not be in adversity.”
7 His (N)mouth is full of curses and deceit and (O)oppression;
(P)Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness.
8 He sits in the (Q)lurking places of the villages;
In the hiding places he (R)kills the innocent;
His eyes [h]stealthily watch for the [i](S)unfortunate.
9 He lurks in a hiding place as (T)a lion in his [j]lair;
He (U)lurks to catch (V)the afflicted;
He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his (W)net.
10 He [k]crouches, he [l]bows down,
And the [m]unfortunate fall [n]by his mighty ones.
11 He (X)says to himself, “God has forgotten;
He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”
12 Arise, O Lord; O God, (Y)lift up Your hand.
(Z)Do not forget the afflicted.
13 Why has the wicked (AA)spurned God?
He has said to himself, “You will not require it.”
14 You have seen it, for You have beheld (AB)mischief and vexation to [o]take it into Your hand.
The [p](AC)unfortunate commits himself to You;
You have been the (AD)helper of the orphan.
15 (AE)Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,
[q](AF)Seek out his wickedness until You find none.
16 The Lord is (AG)King forever and ever;
(AH)Nations have perished from His land.
17 O Lord, You have heard the (AI)desire of the [r]humble;
You will (AJ)strengthen their heart, (AK)You will incline Your ear
18 To [s]vindicate the (AL)orphan and the (AM)oppressed,
So that man who is of the earth will no longer cause (AN)terror.
The Lord a Refuge and Defense.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
11 In the Lord I (AO)take refuge;
How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your (AP)mountain;
2 For, behold, the wicked (AQ)bend the bow,
They [t](AR)make ready their arrow upon the string
To (AS)shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
3 If the (AT)foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?”
4 The Lord is in His (AU)holy temple; the [u]Lord’s (AV)throne is in heaven;
His (AW)eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
5 The Lord (AX)tests the righteous and (AY)the wicked,
And the one who loves violence His soul hates.
6 Upon the wicked He will (AZ)rain [v]snares;
(BA)Fire and brimstone and (BB)burning wind will be the portion of (BC)their cup.
7 For the Lord is (BD)righteous, (BE)He loves [w]righteousness;
The upright will (BF)behold His face.
The Song of Moses and Israel
15 (A)Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, [a]and said,
“[b](B)I will sing to the Lord, for He [c]is highly exalted;
(C)The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.
2 “[d](D)The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
(E)This is my God, and I will praise Him;
(F)My father’s God, and I will (G)extol Him.
3 “(H)The Lord is a warrior;
[e](I)The Lord is His name.
4 “(J)Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea;
And the choicest of his officers are [f]drowned in the [g]Red Sea.
5 “The deeps cover them;
(K)They went down into the depths like a stone.
6 “(L)Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power,
(M)Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
7 “And in the greatness of Your [h]excellence You (N)overthrow those who rise up against You;
(O)You send forth Your burning anger, and it (P)consumes them as chaff.
8 “(Q)At the blast of Your nostrils the waters were piled up,
(R)The flowing waters stood up like a heap;
The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 “(S)The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will (T)divide the spoil;
My [i]desire shall be [j]gratified against them;
I will draw out my sword, my hand will [k]destroy them.’
10 “(U)You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them;
(V)They sank like lead in the [l]mighty waters.
11 “(W)Who is like You among the gods, O Lord?
Who is like You, (X)majestic in holiness,
(Y)Awesome in praises, (Z)working wonders?
12 “(AA)You stretched out Your right hand,
The earth swallowed them.
13 “In Your lovingkindness You have (AB)led the people whom You have (AC)redeemed;
In Your strength You have guided them (AD)to Your holy habitation.
14 “(AE)The peoples have heard, they tremble;
Anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 “Then the (AF)chiefs of Edom were dismayed;
(AG)The leaders of Moab, trembling grips them;
(AH)All the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.
16 “(AI)Terror and dread fall upon them;
(AJ)By the greatness of Your arm they are motionless as stone;
Until Your people pass over, O Lord,
Until the people pass over whom You (AK)have purchased.
17 “(AL)You will bring them and (AM)plant them in (AN)the mountain of Your inheritance,
(AO)The place, O Lord, which You have made for Your dwelling,
(AP)The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.
18 “(AQ)The Lord shall reign forever and ever.”
19 (AR)For the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea on them, but the sons of Israel walked on (AS)dry land through the midst of the sea.
20 (AT)Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took the (AU)timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with [m](AV)dancing. 21 Miriam answered them,
13 Therefore, [a](A)prepare your minds for action, [b](B)keep sober in spirit, fix your (C)hope completely on the (D)grace [c]to be brought to you at (E)the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As [d](F)obedient children, do not [e](G)be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your (H)ignorance, 15 but [f](I)like the Holy One who called you, [g](J)be holy yourselves also (K)in all your behavior; 16 because it is written, “(L)You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
17 If you (M)address as Father the One who (N)impartially (O)judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves (P)in fear during the time of your (Q)stay on earth; 18 knowing that you were not [h](R)redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your (S)futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious (T)blood, as of a (U)lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. 20 For He was (V)foreknown before (W)the foundation of the world, but has (X)appeared [i]in these last times (Y)for the sake of you 21 who through Him are (Z)believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and (AA)gave Him glory, so that your faith and (AB)hope are in God.
22 Since you have (AC)in obedience to the truth (AD)purified your souls for a [j](AE)sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from [k]the heart, 23 for you have been (AF)born again (AG)not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring (AH)word of God. 24 For,
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; (A)I will come to you. 19 [a](B)After a little while (C)the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; (D)because I live, you will live also. 20 (E)In that day you will know that (F)I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 (G)He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and (H)he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will (I)disclose Myself to him.” 22 (J)Judas (not Iscariot) *said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened (K)that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered and said to him, “(L)If anyone loves Me, he will (M)keep My word; and (N)My Father will love him, and We (O)will come to him and make Our abode with him. 24 He who does not love Me (P)does not keep My words; and (Q)the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.
25 “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. 26 But the (R)Helper, the Holy Spirit, (S)whom the Father will send in My name, (T)He will teach you all things, and (U)bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. 27 (V)Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. (W)Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. 28 (X)You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and (Y)I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because (Z)I go to the Father, for (AA)the Father is greater than I. 29 Now (AB)I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe. 30 I will not speak much more with you, for (AC)the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me; 31 but so that the world may know that I love the Father, [b]I do exactly as (AD)the Father commanded Me. Get up, (AE)let us go from here.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.