Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 55[a]
For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song[b] by David.
55 Listen, O God, to my prayer.
Do not ignore[c] my appeal for mercy.
2 Pay attention to me and answer me.
I am so upset[d] and distressed,[e] I am beside myself,[f]
3 because of what the enemy says,[g]
and because of how the wicked[h] pressure me,[i]
for they hurl trouble[j] down upon me[k]
and angrily attack me.
4 My heart beats violently[l] within me;
the horrors of death overcome me.[m]
5 Fear and panic overpower me;[n]
terror overwhelms[o] me.
6 I say,[p] “I wish I had wings like a dove.
I would fly away and settle in a safe place.
7 Look, I will escape to a distant place;
I will stay in the wilderness. (Selah)
8 I will hurry off to a place that is safe
from the strong wind[q] and the gale.”
9 Confuse them,[r] O Lord.
Frustrate their plans.[s]
For I see violence and conflict in the city.
10 Day and night they walk around on its walls,[t]
while wickedness and destruction[u] are within it.
11 Disaster is within it;
violence[v] and deceit do not depart from its public square.
12 Indeed,[w] it is not an enemy who insults me,
or else I could bear it;
it is not one who hates me who arrogantly taunts me,[x]
or else I could hide from him.
13 But it is you,[y] a man like me,[z]
my close friend in whom I confided.[aa]
14 We would share personal thoughts with each other;[ab]
in God’s temple we would walk together among the crowd.
15 May death destroy them.[ac]
May they go down alive into Sheol.[ad]
For evil is in their dwelling place and in their midst.
16 As for me, I will call out to God,
and the Lord will deliver me.
17 During the evening, morning, and noontime
I will lament and moan,[ae]
and he will hear[af] me.[ag]
18 He will rescue[ah] me and protect me from those who attack me,[ai]
even though[aj] they greatly outnumber me.[ak]
19 God, the one who has reigned as king from long ago,
will hear and humiliate them.[al] (Selah)
They refuse to change,
and do not fear God.[am]
20 He[an] attacks[ao] his friends;[ap]
he breaks his solemn promises to them.[aq]
21 His words are as smooth as butter,[ar]
but he harbors animosity in his heart.[as]
His words seem softer than oil,
but they are really like sharp swords.[at]
22 Throw your burden[au] upon the Lord,
and he will sustain you.[av]
He will never allow the godly to be shaken.[aw]
23 But you, O God, will bring them[ax] down to the deep Pit.[ay]
Violent and deceitful people[az] will not live even half a normal lifespan.[ba]
But as for me, I trust in you.
Psalm 138[a]
By David.
138 I will give you thanks with all my heart;
before the heavenly assembly[b] I will sing praises to you.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple,
and give thanks to your name,
because of your loyal love and faithfulness,
for you have exalted your promise above the entire sky.[c]
3 When[d] I cried out for help, you answered me.
You made me bold and energized me.[e]
4 Let all the kings of the earth give thanks[f] to you, O Lord,
when they hear the words you speak.[g]
5 Let them sing about the Lord’s deeds,[h]
for the Lord’s splendor is magnificent.[i]
6 Though the Lord is exalted, he looks after the lowly,
and from far away humbles[j] the proud.
7 Even when I must walk in the midst of danger,[k] you revive me.
You oppose my angry enemies,[l]
and your right hand delivers me.
8 The Lord avenges me.[m]
O Lord, your loyal love endures.
Do not abandon those whom you have made.[n]
Psalm 139[o]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
139 O Lord, you examine me[p] and know me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I get up;
even from far away you understand my motives.
3 You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest;[q]
you are aware of everything I do.[r]
4 Certainly[s] my tongue does not frame a word
without you, O Lord, being thoroughly aware of it.[t]
5 You squeeze me in from behind and in front;
you place your hand on me.
6 Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension;
it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it.[u]
7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit?
Where can I flee to escape your presence?[v]
8 If I were to ascend[w] to heaven, you would be there.
If I were to sprawl out[x] in Sheol, there you would be.[y]
9 If I were to fly away[z] on the wings of the dawn,[aa]
and settle down on the other side[ab] of the sea,
10 even there your hand would guide me,
your right hand would grab hold of me.
11 If I were to say, “Certainly the darkness will cover me,[ac]
and the light will turn to night all around me,”[ad]
12 even the darkness is not too dark for you to see,[ae]
and the night is as bright as[af] day;
darkness and light are the same to you.[ag]
13 Certainly[ah] you made my mind and heart;[ai]
you wove me together[aj] in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give you thanks because your deeds are awesome and amazing.[ak]
You knew me thoroughly;[al]
15 my bones were not hidden from you,
when[am] I was made in secret
and sewed together in the depths of the earth.[an]
16 Your eyes saw me when I was inside the womb.[ao]
All the days ordained for me
were recorded in your scroll
before one of them came into existence.[ap]
17 How difficult it is for me to fathom your thoughts about me, O God![aq]
How vast is their sum total.[ar]
18 If I tried to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
Even if I finished counting them,
I would still have to contend with you.[as]
19 If only[at] you would kill the wicked, O God!
Get away from me, you violent men![au]
20 They[av] rebel against you[aw] and act deceitfully;[ax]
your enemies lie.[ay]
21 O Lord, do I not hate those who hate you,
and despise those who oppose you?[az]
22 I absolutely hate them;[ba]
they have become my enemies.
23 Examine me, O God, and probe my thoughts.[bb]
Test me, and know my concerns.[bc]
Government Corruption
8 If you see the extortion[a] of the poor,
or the perversion[b] of justice and fairness in the government,[c]
do not be astonished by the matter.
For the high official is watched by a higher official,[d]
and there are higher ones over them![e]
9 The produce of the land is seized[f] by all of them,
even the king is served[g] by the fields.[h]
Covetousness
10 The one who loves money[i] will never be satisfied with money,[j]
he who loves wealth[k] will never be satisfied[l] with his[m] income.
This also is futile.
11 When someone’s[n] prosperity[o] increases, those who consume it also increase;
so what does its owner[p] gain, except that he gets to see it with his eyes?[q]
12 The sleep of the laborer is pleasant—whether he eats little or much—
but the wealth of the rich will not allow him to sleep.
Materialism Thwarts Enjoyment of Life
13 Here is[r] a misfortune[s] on earth[t] that I have seen:
Wealth hoarded by its owner to his own misery.
14 Then that wealth was lost through bad luck;[u]
although he fathered a son, he has nothing left to give him.[v]
15 Just as he came forth from his mother’s womb, naked will he return as he came,
and he will take nothing in his hand that he may carry away from his toil.
16 This is another misfortune:[w]
Just as he came, so will he go.
What did he gain from toiling for the wind?
17 Surely, he ate in darkness every day of his life,[x]
and he suffered greatly with sickness and anger.
Enjoy the Fruit of Your Labor
18 I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action for people:[y]
to eat and drink,[z] and find enjoyment in all their[aa] hard work[ab] on earth[ac]
during the few days of their life that God has given them,
for this is their reward.[ad]
19 To every man whom God has given wealth and possessions,
he has also given him the ability[ae]
to eat from them, to receive his reward, and to find enjoyment in his toil;
these things[af] are the gift of God.
20 For he does not think[ag] much about the fleeting[ah] days of his life
because God keeps him preoccupied[ai] with the joy he derives from his activity.[aj]
Sons of God Are Heirs of Promise
23 Now before faith[a] came we were held in custody under the law, being kept as prisoners[b] until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 Thus the law had become our guardian[c] until Christ, so that we could be declared righteous[d] by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.[e] 26 For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith.[f] 27 For all of you who[g] were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave[h] nor free, there is neither male nor female[i]—for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants,[j] heirs according to the promise.
4 Now I mean that the heir, as long as he is a minor,[k] is no different from a slave, though he is the owner[l] of everything. 2 But he is under guardians[m] and managers until the date set by his[n] father. 3 So also we, when we were minors,[o] were enslaved under the basic forces[p] of the world. 4 But when the appropriate time[q] had come, God sent out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we may be adopted as sons with full rights.[r] 6 And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, who calls[s] “Abba![t] Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if you are[u] a son, then you are also an heir through God.[v]
Heirs of Promise Are Not to Return to Law
8 Formerly when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods at all.[w] 9 But now that you have come to know God (or rather to be known by God), how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless[x] basic forces?[y] Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again?[z] 10 You are observing religious[aa] days and months and seasons and years. 11 I fear for you that my work for you may have been in vain.
Breaking Human Traditions
15 Then Pharisees[a] and experts in the law[b] came from Jerusalem to Jesus and said,[c] 2 “Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their[d] hands when they eat.”[e] 3 He answered them,[f] “And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God said,[g] ‘Honor your father and mother’[h] and ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’[i] 5 But you say, ‘If someone tells his father or mother, “Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,”[j] 6 he does not need to honor his father.’[k] You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said,
8 ‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart[l] is far from me,
9 and they worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”[m]
True Defilement
10 Then he called the crowd to him and said,[n] “Listen and understand. 11 What defiles a person is not what goes into the mouth; it is what[o] comes out of the mouth that defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came to him and said, “Do you know that when the Pharisees[p] heard this saying they were offended?” 13 And he replied,[q] “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. 14 Leave them! They are blind guides.[r] If someone who is blind leads another who is blind,[s] both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter[t] said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” 16 Jesus[u] said, “Even after all this, are you still so foolish? 17 Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and then passes out into the sewer?[v] 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil ideas, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are the things that defile a person; it is not eating with unwashed hands that defiles a person.”[w]
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