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.
A Father’s Instruction
4 Hear, O sons, the (A)instruction of a father,
And (B)give attention that you may [a]gain understanding,
2 For I give you [b]sound (C)teaching;
(D)Do not abandon my [c]instruction.
3 When I was a son to my father,
(E)Tender and (F)the only son in the sight of my mother,
4 Then he (G)taught me and said to me,
“Let your heart (H)hold fast my words;
(I)Keep my commandments and live;
5 (J)Acquire wisdom! (K)Acquire understanding!
Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
6 “Do not forsake her, and she will guard you;
(L)Love her, and she will watch over you.
7 “(M)The [d]beginning of wisdom is: (N)Acquire wisdom;
And with all your acquiring, get understanding.
8 “(O)Prize her, and she will exalt you;
She will honor you if you embrace her.
9 “She will place (P)on your head a garland of grace;
She will present you with a crown of beauty.”
10 Hear, my son, and (Q)accept my sayings
And the (R)years of your life will be many.
11 I have (S)directed you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in upright paths.
12 When you walk, your (T)steps will not be impeded;
And if you run, you (U)will not stumble.
13 (V)Take hold of instruction; do not let go.
Guard her, for she is your (W)life.
14 (X)Do not enter the path of the wicked
And do not proceed in the way of evil men.
15 Avoid it, do not pass by it;
Turn away from it and pass on.
16 For they (Y)cannot sleep unless they do evil;
And [e]they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.
17 For they (Z)eat the bread of wickedness
And drink the wine of violence.
18 But the (AA)path of the righteous is like the (AB)light of dawn,
That (AC)shines brighter and brighter until the (AD)full day.
19 The (AE)way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know over what they [f](AF)stumble.
20 My son, (AG)give attention to my words;
(AH)Incline your ear to my sayings.
21 (AI)Do not let them depart from your sight;
(AJ)Keep them in the midst of your heart.
22 For they are (AK)life to those who find them
And (AL)health to all [g]their body.
23 Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For (AM)from it flow the springs of life.
24 Put away from you a (AN)deceitful mouth
And (AO)put devious [h]speech far from you.
25 Let your eyes look directly ahead
And let your [i]gaze be fixed straight in front of you.
26 (AP)Watch the path of your feet
And all your (AQ)ways will be established.
27 (AR)Do not turn to the right nor to the left;
(AS)Turn your foot from evil.
God Is Love
7 (A)Beloved, let us (B)love one another, for love is from God; and (C)everyone who loves is [a](D)born of God and (E)knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for (F)God is love. 9 By this the love of God was manifested [b](G)in us, that (H)God has sent His [c]only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, (I)not that we loved God, but that (J)He loved us and sent His Son to be (K)the propitiation for our sins. 11 (L)Beloved, if God so loved us, (M)we also ought to love one another. 12 (N)No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His (O)love is perfected in us. 13 (P)By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 We have seen and (Q)testify that the Father has (R)sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
15 (S)Whoever confesses that (T)Jesus is the Son of God, God (U)abides in him, and he in God. 16 (V)We have come to know and have believed the love which God has [d](W)for us. (X)God is love, and the one who (Y)abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this, (Z)love is perfected with us, so that we may have (AA)confidence in (AB)the day of judgment; because (AC)as He is, so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but (AD)perfect love casts out fear, because fear [e]involves punishment, and the one who fears is not (AE)perfected in love. 19 (AF)We love, because He first loved us. 20 (AG)If someone says, “I love God,” and (AH)hates his brother, he is a (AI)liar; for (AJ)the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, (AK)cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And (AL)this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God (AM)should love his brother also.
Jesus’ Tribute to John
7 As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into (A)the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 [a]But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ [b]palaces! 9 [c]But what did you go out to see? (B)A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it [d]is written,
11 Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is [f]least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 (D)From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven [g]suffers violence, and violent men [h]take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is (E)Elijah who [i]was to come. 15 (F)He who has ears to hear, [j]let him hear.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.