Book of Common Prayer
Pleading for Help and Grateful Trust in God.
For the music 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, God, for a man has [d](A)trampled upon me;
[e]Fighting all day long he (B)oppresses me.
2 My enemies have (C)trampled upon me all day long,
For [f]they are many who (D)fight proudly against me.
3 [g]When I am (E)afraid,
[h]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 [i]mortals do to me?
5 All day long they (I)distort my words;
All their [j](J)thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They [k](K)attack, they lurk,
They (L)watch my [l]steps,
As they have (M)waited to take my [m]life.
7 Because of their wickedness, will there be an (N)escape for them?
In anger (O)make the peoples fall down, God!
8 You (P)have taken account of my [n]miseries;
Put my (Q)tears in Your bottle.
Are they not in (R)Your book?
9 Then my enemies will (S)turn back (T)on the day when I call;
This I know, [o]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 [p]trust, I shall not be afraid.
What can mankind do to me?
12 Your (V)vows are binding upon me, God;
I will render thanksgiving offerings to You.
13 For You have (W)saved my soul from death,
[q]Indeed (X)my feet from stumbling,
So that I may (Y)walk before God
In the (Z)light of the [r]living.
Prayer for Rescue from Persecutors.
For the music director; set to [s]Al-tashheth. A [t]Mikhtam of David, [u]when he fled from Saul in the cave.
57 Be gracious to me, 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 rebukes the one who [v](AF)tramples upon me. Selah
God will send His [w](AG)favor and His truth.
4 My soul is among (AH)lions;
I must lie among those who devour,
Among sons of mankind whose (AI)teeth are spears and arrows,
And their (AJ)tongue is a sharp sword.
5 (AK)Be exalted above the heavens, God;
May Your glory be above all the earth.
6 They have 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, 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 praise You, Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to You among the [x]nations.
10 For Your (AU)goodness is great to the heavens
And Your [y]truth to the clouds.
11 (AV)Be exalted above the heavens, God;
May Your glory be above all the earth.
Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked.
For the music director; set to [z]Al-tashheth. A [aa]Mikhtam of David.
58 Do you indeed [ab]speak righteousness, you [ac]gods?
Do you (AW)judge [ad]fairly, you sons of mankind?
2 No, in heart you (AX)practice injustice;
On earth you (AY)clear a way for the violence of your hands.
3 The wicked have turned away (AZ)from the womb;
These who speak lies (BA)go astray from [ae]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 [af](BD)charmers,
Or a skillful caster of spells.
6 God, (BE)shatter their teeth in their mouth;
Break out the fangs of the young lions, Lord.
7 May they (BF)flow away like water that runs off;
When he [ag](BG)aims his arrows, may they be as [ah]headless shafts.
8 May they be like a snail which goes along in slime,
Like the (BH)miscarriage of a woman that never sees the sun.
9 Before your (BI)pots can feel the fire of thorns
He will (BJ)sweep them away with a whirlwind, the [ai]green and the burning alike.
Prayer for Rescue from Secret Enemies.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
64 Hear my voice, God, in (A)my [a]complaint;
(B)Protect my life from dread of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the (C)secret discussion of evildoers,
From the restlessness of (D)the workers of injustice,
3 Who (E)have sharpened their tongues like a sword.
They (F)aimed bitter speech as their arrows,
4 To (G)shoot [b]from concealment at the innocent;
Suddenly they shoot at him, and (H)do not fear.
5 They make firm for themselves an evil [c]purpose;
They [d]talk of (I)setting 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 person are [h]deep.
7 But (L)God [i]will shoot an arrow at them;
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 their heads.
9 Then all people [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 person will be (R)glad in the Lord and (S)take refuge in Him;
And all the upright in heart will boast.
God’s Abundant Favor to Earth and Mankind.
For the music director. A Psalm of David. A Song.
65 There will be silence [q]before You, and praise in Zion, God,
And the (T)vow will be fulfilled for You.
2 You who hear prayer,
To You (U)all [r]mankind comes.
3 [s](V)Wrongdoings prevail against me;
As for our offenses, You [t](W)forgive them.
4 (X)Blessed is the one You (Y)choose and allow to approach You;
He will dwell in Your courtyards.
We will be (Z)satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Your holy temple.
5 By (AA)awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, (AB)God of our salvation,
You who are the trust of all the (AC)ends of the earth and the farthest [u](AD)sea;
6 Who (AE)establishes the mountains by His strength,
Who is (AF)encircled with might;
7 Who (AG)stills the roaring of the seas,
The roaring of their waves,
And the (AH)turmoil of the nations.
8 They who dwell at the (AI)ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs;
You make the [v]sunrise 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 so 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 (AO)goodness,
And Your [aa]paths (AP)drip with fatness.
12 (AQ)The pastures of the wilderness drip,
And the (AR)hills encircle 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 Foolishness Contrasted
7 A (A)good name is better than good [a]oil,
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 [b]that is the (C)end of every person,
And the living [c](D)takes it to [d]heart.
3 (E)Sorrow is better than laughter,
For (F)when a face is sad a heart may be happy.
4 The [e]mind of the wise is in the house of mourning,
While the [f]mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.
5 It is better to (G)listen to the rebuke of a wise person
Than for one to listen to the song of fools.
6 For as the [g]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 person look foolish,
And a (K)bribe [h]corrupts the heart.
8 The (L)end of a matter is better than its beginning;
(M)Patience of spirit is better than arrogance of spirit.
9 Do not be [i](N)eager in your spirit to be angry,
For anger resides in the [j]heart 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 [k]protection just as money is [l]protection,
But the advantage of knowledge is that (Q)wisdom keeps its possessors alive.
13 Consider the (R)work of God,
For who is (S)able to straighten what He has bent?
14 (T)On the day of prosperity be happy,
But (U)on the day of adversity consider:
God has made the one as well as the other
So that a person will (V)not discover anything that will come after him.
12 I beg of you, (A)brothers and sisters, (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 you did not despise that which was a trial to you in my [c]bodily condition, nor express contempt, but (C)you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus Himself. 15 Where then is [d]that sense of blessing you had? For I testify about you that, if possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16 So have I become your enemy (D)by [e]telling you the truth? 17 They eagerly seek you, not [f]in a commendable way, but they want to shut you out so that you will seek them. 18 But it is good always to be eagerly sought [g]in a commendable way, and (E)not only when I am present with you. 19 (F)My children, with whom (G)I am again in labor until (H)Christ is formed in you— 20 but I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone of voice, for (I)I am at a loss about you!
The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
21 (A)Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the region 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 severely (E)demon-possessed.” 23 But He did not answer her with even a word. And His disciples came up and urged 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 Yet He answered and said, “It is not [c]good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 And she said, “Yes, Lord; but please help, for even the dogs feed on the crumbs that 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 desire.” And her daughter was healed [d]at once.
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