Book of Common Prayer
Supplication for Deliverance and Grateful Trust in God.
For the choir director; according to [a]Jonath elem rehokim. A [b]Mikhtam of David, [c]when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
56 Be gracious to me, O God, for man has [d](A)trampled upon me;
[e]Fighting all day long he (B)oppresses me.
2 My foes have [f](C)trampled upon me all day long,
For [g]they are many who (D)fight proudly against me.
3 [h]When I am (E)afraid,
[i]I will (F)put my trust in You.
4 (G)In God, whose word I praise,
In God I have put my trust;
I shall not be afraid.
(H)What can mere [j]man do to me?
5 All day long they [k](I)distort my words;
All their [l](J)thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They [m](K)attack, they lurk,
They (L)watch my [n]steps,
As they have (M)waited to take my [o]life.
7 Because of wickedness, [p](N)cast them forth,
In anger (O)put down the peoples, O God!
8 You (P)have taken account of my wanderings;
Put my (Q)tears in Your bottle.
Are they not in (R)Your book?
9 Then my enemies will (S)turn back (T)in the day when I call;
This I know, [q]that (U)God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
In the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 In God I have put my [r]trust, I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 Your (V)vows are binding upon me, O God;
I will render thank offerings to You.
13 For You have (W)delivered my soul from death,
[s]Indeed (X)my feet from stumbling,
So that I may (Y)walk before God
In the (Z)light of the [t]living.
Prayer for Rescue from Persecutors.
For the choir director; set to [u]Al-tashheth. A [v]Mikhtam of David, [w]when he fled from Saul in the cave.
57 Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me,
For my soul (AA)takes refuge in You;
And in the (AB)shadow of Your wings I will take refuge
Until destruction (AC)passes by.
2 I will cry to God Most High,
To God who (AD)accomplishes all things for me.
3 He will (AE)send from heaven and save me;
He reproaches him who [x](AF)tramples upon me. [y]Selah.
God will send forth His (AG)lovingkindness and His [z]truth.
4 My soul is among (AH)lions;
I must lie among those who breathe forth fire,
Even the sons of men, whose (AI)teeth are spears and arrows
And their (AJ)tongue a sharp sword.
5 (AK)Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.
6 They have [aa]prepared a (AL)net for my steps;
My soul is (AM)bowed down;
They (AN)dug a pit before me;
They themselves have (AO)fallen into the midst of it. Selah.
7 (AP)My (AQ)heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!
8 Awake, (AR)my glory!
Awake, (AS)harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
9 (AT)I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to You among the [ab]nations.
10 For Your (AU)lovingkindness is great to the heavens
And Your [ac]truth to the clouds.
11 (AV)Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.
Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked.
For the choir director; set to [ad]Al-tashheth. A [ae]Mikhtam of David.
58 Do you indeed [af]speak righteousness, O [ag]gods?
Do you (AW)judge [ah]uprightly, O sons of men?
2 No, in heart you (AX)work unrighteousness;
On earth you (AY)weigh out the violence of your hands.
3 The wicked are estranged (AZ)from the womb;
These who speak lies (BA)go astray from [ai]birth.
4 They have venom like the (BB)venom of a serpent;
Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,
5 So that it (BC)does not hear the voice of [aj](BD)charmers,
Or a skillful caster of spells.
6 O God, (BE)shatter their teeth in their mouth;
Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord.
7 Let them (BF)flow away like water that runs off;
When he [ak](BG)aims his arrows, let them be as [al]headless shafts.
8 Let them be as a snail which [am]melts away as it goes along,
Like the (BH)miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun.
9 Before your (BI)pots can feel the fire of thorns
He will (BJ)sweep them away with a whirlwind, the [an]green and the burning alike.
Prayer for Deliverance from Secret Enemies.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
64 Hear my voice, O God, in (A)my [a]complaint;
(B)Preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the (C)secret counsel of evildoers,
From the tumult of (D)those who do iniquity,
3 Who (E)have sharpened their tongue like a sword.
They (F)aimed bitter speech as their arrow,
4 To (G)shoot [b]from concealment at the blameless;
Suddenly they shoot at him, and (H)do not fear.
5 They [c]hold fast to themselves an evil purpose;
They [d]talk of (I)laying snares secretly;
They say, “(J)Who can see them?”
6 They [e]devise injustices, saying,
“We are [f]ready with a well-conceived plot”;
For the [g](K)inward thought and the heart of a man are [h]deep.
7 But (L)God [i]will shoot at them with an arrow;
Suddenly [j]they will be wounded.
8 So [k]they [l]will (M)make him stumble;
(N)Their own tongue is against them;
All who see them will (O)shake the head.
9 Then all men [m]will (P)fear,
And they [n]will (Q)declare the work of God,
And [o]will consider [p]what He has done.
10 The righteous man will be (R)glad in the Lord and will (S)take refuge in Him;
And all the upright in heart will glory.
God’s Abundant Favor to Earth and Man.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song.
65 There will be silence [q]before You, and praise in Zion, O God,
And to You the (T)vow will be performed.
2 O You who hear prayer,
To You (U)all [r]men come.
3 [s](V)Iniquities prevail against me;
As for our transgressions, You [t](W)forgive them.
4 How (X)blessed is the one whom You (Y)choose and bring near to You
To dwell in Your courts.
We will be (Z)satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Your holy temple.
5 By (AA)awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, O (AB)God of our salvation,
You who are the trust of all the (AC)ends of the earth and of the farthest [u](AD)sea;
6 Who (AE)establishes the mountains by His strength,
Being (AF)girded with might;
7 Who (AG)stills the roaring of the seas,
The roaring of their waves,
And the (AH)tumult of the peoples.
8 They who dwell in the (AI)ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs;
You make the [v]dawn and the sunset shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and (AJ)cause it to overflow;
You greatly (AK)enrich it;
The [w](AL)stream of God is full of water;
You prepare their (AM)grain, for thus You prepare [x]the earth.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
You [y]settle its ridges,
You soften it (AN)with showers,
You bless its growth.
11 You have crowned the year [z]with Your [aa](AO)bounty,
And Your [ab]paths (AP)drip with fatness.
12 (AQ)The pastures of the wilderness drip,
And the (AR)hills gird themselves with rejoicing.
13 The meadows are (AS)clothed with flocks
And the valleys are (AT)covered with grain;
They (AU)shout for joy, yes, they sing.
Wisdom and Folly Contrasted
7 A (A)good name is better than a good ointment,
And the (B)day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning
Than to go to a house of feasting,
Because [a]that is the (C)end of every man,
And the living [b](D)takes it to [c]heart.
3 (E)Sorrow is better than laughter,
For (F)when a face is sad a heart may be happy.
4 The [d]mind of the wise is in the house of mourning,
While the [e]mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.
5 It is better to (G)listen to the rebuke of a wise man
Than for one to listen to the song of fools.
6 For as the [f]crackling of (H)thorn bushes under a pot,
So is the (I)laughter of the fool;
And this too is futility.
7 For (J)oppression makes a wise man mad,
And a (K)bribe [g]corrupts the heart.
8 The (L)end of a matter is better than its beginning;
(M)Patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.
9 Do not be [h](N)eager in your heart to be angry,
For anger resides in the bosom of fools.
10 Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.
11 Wisdom along with an inheritance is good
And an (O)advantage to those who see the sun.
12 For (P)wisdom is [i]protection just as money is [j]protection,
But the advantage of knowledge is that (Q)wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.
13 Consider the (R)work of God,
For who is (S)able to straighten what He has bent?
14 (T)In the day of prosperity be happy,
But (U)in the day of adversity consider—
God has made the one as well as the other
So that man will (V)not discover anything that will be after him.
12 I beg of you, (A)brethren, (B)become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no wrong; 13 but you know that it was because of a [a]bodily illness that I preached the gospel to you the [b]first time; 14 and that which was a [c]trial to you in my [d]bodily condition you did not despise or [e]loathe, but (C)you received me as an angel of God, as (D)Christ Jesus Himself. 15 Where then is [f]that sense of blessing you had? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me. 16 So have I become your enemy (E)by [g]telling you the truth? 17 They eagerly seek you, not commendably, but they wish to shut you out so that you will seek them. 18 But it is good always to be eagerly sought in a commendable [h]manner, and (F)not only when I am present with you. 19 (G)My children, with whom (H)I am again in labor until (I)Christ is formed in you— 20 but I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone, for (J)I am perplexed about you.
The Syrophoenician Woman
21 (A)Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of (B)Tyre and (C)Sidon. 22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, (D)Son of David; my daughter is cruelly (E)demon-possessed.” 23 But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting [a]at us.” 24 But He answered and said, “I was sent only to (F)the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and (G)began [b]to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26 And He answered and said, “It is not [c]good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 But she said, “Yes, Lord; [d]but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, (H)your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed [e]at once.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.