Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 56
A Call for God’s Protection
For the choir director: according to “A Silent Dove Far Away.” A Miktam of David. When the Philistines seized him in Gath.(A)
1 Be gracious to me, God, for a man is trampling me;
he fights and oppresses me all day long.
2 My adversaries trample me all day,
for many arrogantly fight against me.[a](B)
3 When I am afraid,
I will trust in you.(C)
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?(D)
5 They twist my words all day long;
all their thoughts against me are evil.(E)
6 They stir up strife,[b] they lurk,
they watch my steps
while they wait to take my life.(F)
7 Will they escape in spite of such sin?
God, bring down the nations in wrath.(G)
8 You yourself have recorded my wanderings.[c]
Put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?(H)
9 Then my enemies will retreat on the day when I call.(I)
This I know: God is for me.(J)
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mere humans do to me?(K)
12 I am obligated by vows[d] to you, God;
I will make my thanksgiving sacrifices to you.(L)
13 For you rescued me from death,
even my feet from stumbling,
to walk before God in the light of life.(M)
Psalm 57
Praise for God’s Protection
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David. When he fled before Saul into the cave.(N)
1 Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me,
for I take refuge in you.
I will seek refuge in the shadow of your wings
until danger passes.(O)
2 I call to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.[e](P)
3 He reaches down from heaven and saves me,
challenging the one who tramples me.(Q)Selah
God sends his faithful love and truth.(R)
4 I am surrounded by lions;
I lie down among devouring lions—
people whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.(S)
5 God, be exalted above the heavens;
let your glory be over the whole earth.(T)
6 They prepared a net for my steps;
I was despondent.
They dug a pit ahead of me,
but they fell into it!(U)Selah
7 My heart is confident, God, my heart is confident.
I will sing; I will sing praises.(V)
8 Wake up, my soul!
Wake up, harp and lyre!
I will wake up the dawn.(W)
9 I will praise you, Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.(X)
10 For your faithful love is as high as the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches the clouds.(Y)
11 God, be exalted above the heavens;(Z)
let your glory be over the whole earth.(AA)
Psalm 58
A Cry against Injustice
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David.
1 Do you really speak righteously, you mighty ones?[f]
Do you judge people fairly?(AB)
2 No, you practice injustice in your hearts;
with your hands you weigh out violence in the land.(AC)
3 The wicked go astray from the womb;
liars wander about from birth.(AD)
4 They have venom like the venom of a snake,
like the deaf cobra that stops up its ears,(AE)
5 that does not listen to the sound of the charmers
who skillfully weave spells.(AF)
6 God, knock the teeth out of their mouths;
Lord, tear out the young lions’ fangs.(AG)
7 May they vanish like water that flows by;
may they aim their blunted arrows.[g](AH)
8 Like a slug that moves along in slime,
like a woman’s miscarried child,
may they not see the sun.(AI)
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—
whether green or burning—
he will sweep them away.[h](AJ)
10 The righteous one will rejoice
when he sees the retribution;(AK)
he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.(AL)
11 Then people will say,
“Yes, there is a reward for the righteous!
There is a God who judges on earth!” (AM)
Psalm 64
Protection from Evildoers
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 God, hear my voice when I am in anguish.(A)
Protect my life from the terror of the enemy.(B)
2 Hide me from the scheming of wicked people,(C)
from the mob of evildoers,(D)
3 who sharpen their tongues like swords
and aim bitter words like arrows,(E)
4 shooting from concealed places at the blameless.
They shoot at him suddenly and are not afraid.(F)
5 They adopt[a] an evil plan;
they talk about hiding traps and say,
“Who will see them?” [b](G)
6 They devise crimes and say,
“We have perfected a secret plan.”(H)
The inner man and the heart are mysterious.(I)
7 But God will shoot them with arrows;
suddenly, they will be wounded.(J)
8 They will be made to stumble;
their own tongues work against them.
All who see them will shake their heads.(K)
9 Then everyone will fear
and will tell about God’s work,
for they will understand what he has done.(L)
10 The righteous one rejoices in the Lord
and takes refuge in him;
all those who are upright in heart
will offer praise.(M)
Psalm 65
God’s Care for the Earth
For the choir director. A psalm of David. A song.
1 Praise is rightfully yours,[c]
God, in Zion;
vows to you will be fulfilled.(N)
2 All humanity will come to you,
the one who hears prayer.(O)
3 Iniquities overwhelm me;
only you can atone for our rebellions.(P)
4 How happy is the one you choose
and bring near to live in your courts!
We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house,(Q)
the holiness of your temple.[d](R)
5 You answer us in righteousness,
with awe-inspiring works,
God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the distant seas.(S)
6 You establish the mountains by your power;
you are robed with strength.(T)
7 You silence the roar of the seas,
the roar of their waves,
and the tumult of the nations.(U)
8 Those who live far away are awed by your signs;
you make east and west shout for joy.(V)
9 You visit the earth and water it abundantly,
enriching it greatly.
God’s stream is filled with water,
for you prepare the earth in this way,
providing people with grain.(W)
10 You soften it with showers and bless its growth,
soaking its furrows and leveling its ridges.(X)
11 You crown the year with your goodness;
your carts overflow with plenty.[e](Y)
12 The wilderness pastures overflow,
and the hills are robed with joy.(Z)
13 The pastures are clothed with flocks
and the valleys covered with grain.(AA)
They shout in triumph; indeed, they sing.(AB)
Wise Sayings
7 A good name is better than fine perfume,(A)
and the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.(B)
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
since that is the end of all mankind,
and the living should take it to heart.(C)
3 Grief is better than laughter,
for when a face is sad, a heart may be glad.(D)
4 The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in a house of pleasure.
5 It is better to listen to rebuke from a wise person
than to listen to the song of fools,(E)
6 for like the crackling of burning thorns under the pot,(F)
so is the laughter of the fool.
This too is futile.
7 Surely, the practice of extortion turns a wise person into a fool,(G)
and a bribe corrupts the mind.(H)
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning;
a patient spirit is better than a proud spirit.(I)
9 Don’t let your spirit rush to be angry,
for anger abides in the heart of fools.(J)
10 Don’t say, “Why were the former days better than these?”(K)
since it is not wise of you to ask this.
11 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance
and an advantage to those who see the sun,
12 because wisdom is protection as silver is protection;
but the advantage of knowledge
is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.(L)
13 Consider the work of God,(M)
for who can straighten out
what he has made crooked?(N)
14 In the day of prosperity be joyful,(O) but in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other,(P) so that no one can discover anything that will come after him.
12 I beg you, brothers and sisters: Become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have not wronged me; 13 you know[a] that previously I preached the gospel to you because of a weakness of the flesh. 14 You did not despise or reject me though my physical condition was a trial for you.[b] On the contrary, you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus himself.
15 Where, then, is your blessing? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16 So then, have I become your enemy because I told you the truth?(A) 17 They court you eagerly, but not for good. They want to exclude you from me, so that you would pursue them. 18 But it is always good to be pursued[c] in a good manner—and not just when I am with you. 19 My children,(B) I am again suffering labor pains(C) for you until Christ is formed in you. 20 I would like to be with you right now and change my tone of voice, because I don’t know what to do about you.
A Gentile Mother’s Faith
21 When Jesus left there,(A) he withdrew to the area of Tyre and Sidon.(B) 22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came and kept crying out,[a] “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely tormented by a demon.”(C)
23 Jesus did not say a word to her. His disciples(D) approached him and urged him, “Send her away because she’s crying out after us.”
24 He replied, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”(E)
25 But she came, knelt before him, and said, “Lord, help me!”
26 He answered, “It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”(F)
27 “Yes, Lord,” she said, “yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
28 Then Jesus replied to her, “Woman, your faith is great. Let it be done for you as you want.” And from that moment[b] her daughter was healed.(G)
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