Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for Guidance
To the Chief Musician. With [a]flutes. A Psalm of David.
5 Give (A)ear to my words, O Lord,
Consider my [b]meditation.
2 Give heed to the voice of my cry,
My King and my God,
For to You I will pray.
3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord;
(B)In the morning I will direct it to You,
And I will look up.
4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness,
Nor shall evil [c]dwell with You.
5 The (C)boastful shall not (D)stand in Your sight;
You hate all workers of iniquity.
6 You shall destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors the (E)bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
7 But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy;
In fear of You I will worship toward [d]Your holy temple.
8 (F)Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies;
Make Your way straight before my face.
9 For there is no [e]faithfulness in their mouth;
Their inward part is destruction;
(G)Their throat is an open tomb;
They flatter with their tongue.
10 Pronounce them guilty, O God!
Let them fall by their own counsels;
Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions,
For they have rebelled against You.
11 But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;
Let them ever shout for joy, because You [f]defend them;
Let those also who love Your name
Be joyful in You.
12 For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround him as with a shield.
A Prayer of Faith in Time of Distress
To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. (H)On [g]an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David.
6 O Lord, (I)do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.
2 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak;
O Lord, (J)heal me, for my bones are troubled.
3 My soul also is greatly (K)troubled;
But You, O Lord—how long?
4 Return, O Lord, deliver me!
Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake!
5 (L)For in death there is no remembrance of You;
In the grave who will give You thanks?
A Song of Confidence in God’s Triumph over Evil
10 Why do You stand afar off, O Lord?
Why do You hide in times of trouble?
2 The wicked in his pride [a]persecutes the poor;
(A)Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.
3 For the wicked (B)boasts of his heart’s desire;
[b]He (C)blesses the greedy and renounces the Lord.
4 The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God;
[c]God is in none of his (D)thoughts.
5 His ways [d]are always prospering;
Your judgments are far above, out of his sight;
As for all his enemies, he sneers at them.
6 (E)He has said in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
(F)I shall never be in adversity.”
7 (G)His mouth is full of cursing and (H)deceit and oppression;
Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity.
8 He sits in the lurking places of the villages;
In the secret places he murders the innocent;
His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.
9 He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den;
He lies in wait to catch the poor;
He catches the poor when he draws him into his net.
10 So [e]he crouches, he lies low,
That the helpless may fall by his [f]strength.
11 He has said in his heart,
“God has forgotten;
He hides His face;
He will never see.”
12 Arise, O Lord!
O God, (I)lift up Your hand!
Do not forget the (J)humble.
13 Why do the wicked renounce God?
He has said in his heart,
“You will not require an account.”
14 But You have (K)seen, for You observe trouble and grief,
To repay it by Your hand.
The helpless (L)commits[g] himself to You;
(M)You are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man;
Seek out his wickedness until You find none.
16 (N)The Lord is King forever and ever;
The nations have perished out of His land.
17 Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;
You will prepare their heart;
You will cause Your ear to hear,
18 To [h]do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
That the man of the earth may [i]oppress no more.
Faith in the Lord’s Righteousness
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
11 In (O)the Lord I put my trust;
How can you say to my soul,
“Flee as a bird to your mountain”?
2 For look! (P)The wicked bend their bow,
They make ready their arrow on the string,
That they may shoot [j]secretly at the upright in heart.
3 (Q)If the foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?
4 The Lord is in His holy temple,
The Lord’s (R)throne is in heaven;
(S)His eyes behold,
His eyelids test the sons of men.
5 The Lord (T)tests the righteous,
But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.
6 Upon the wicked He will rain coals;
Fire and brimstone and a burning wind
(U)Shall be [k]the portion of their cup.
Job: My Complaint Is Just
6 Then Job answered and said:
2 “Oh, that my grief were fully weighed,
And my calamity laid with it on the scales!
3 For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea—
Therefore my words have been rash.
4 (A)For the arrows of the Almighty are within me;
My spirit drinks in their poison;
(B)The terrors of God are arrayed (C)against me.
8 “Oh, that I might have my request,
That God would grant me the thing that I long for!
9 That it would please God to crush me,
That He would loose His hand and (A)cut me off!
10 Then I would still have comfort;
Though in anguish I would exult,
He will not spare;
For (B)I have not concealed the words of (C)the Holy One.
11 “What strength do I have, that I should hope?
And what is my end, that I should prolong my life?
12 Is my strength the strength of stones?
Or is my flesh bronze?
13 Is my help not within me?
And is success driven from me?
Aeneas Healed
32 Now it came to pass, as Peter went (A)through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. 33 There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. 34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, (B)Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Then he arose immediately. 35 So all who dwelt at Lydda and (C)Sharon saw him and (D)turned to the Lord.
Dorcas Restored to Life
36 At Joppa there was a certain disciple named [a]Tabitha, which is translated [b]Dorcas. This woman was full (E)of good works and charitable deeds which she did. 37 But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in (F)an upper room. 38 And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them. 39 Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40 But Peter (G)put them all out, and (H)knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he (I)said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41 Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, (J)and many believed on the Lord. 43 So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with (K)Simon, a tanner.
Many Disciples Turn Away
60 (A)Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a [a]hard saying; who can understand it?”
61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples [b]complained about this, He said to them, “Does this [c]offend you? 62 (B)What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? 63 (C)It is the Spirit who gives life; the (D)flesh profits nothing. The (E)words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 64 But (F)there are some of you who do not believe.” For (G)Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. 65 And He said, “Therefore (H)I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”
66 (I)From that time many of His disciples went [d]back and walked with Him no more. 67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”
68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have (J)the words of eternal life. 69 (K)Also we have come to believe and know that You are the [e]Christ, the Son of the living God.”
70 Jesus answered them, (L)“Did I not choose you, the twelve, (M)and one of you is a devil?” 71 He spoke of (N)Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would (O)betray Him, being one of the twelve.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.