Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer of Faith in Troubled Times
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
31 Lord, I ·trust [seek refuge] in you;
let me never be ·disgraced [shamed].
·Save [Rescue; T Deliver] me ·because you do what is right [in your righteousness].
2 ·Listen [L Incline your ear] to me
and ·save [rescue; T deliver] me quickly.
Be my rock of ·protection [refuge],
a strong ·city [fortress] to save me.
3 You are my rock and my ·protection [fortress].
For the ·good [sake] of your name, lead me and guide me.
4 Set me free from the ·trap [snare; net] they ·set [hid] for me,
because you are my ·protection [refuge].
5 ·I give you my life [L Into your hand I commend my spirit; Luke 23:46].
·Save [Redeem; or You have redeemed] me, Lord, ·God of truth [or faithful God].
6 I hate those who ·worship [serve; have concern for] ·false [worthless] gods.
I ·trust [have confidence] only in the Lord.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in your ·love [loyalty; covenant love],
because you saw my ·suffering [affliction];
you knew ·my troubles [the distress of my soul].
8 You have not handed me over to my enemies
but have ·set me in a safe place [L made my feet stand in a broad place].
9 Lord, ·have mercy [be gracious], because I am in ·misery [distress; trouble].
My eyes ·are weak [waste away; are dim] from so much crying,
·and my whole being is tired [L as is my soul and my body] from grief.
10 My life is ending in ·sadness [sorrow],
and my years are spent ·in crying [L with sighs/moans].
My ·troubles are using up my strength [L strength stumbles in my affliction/misery],
and my bones ·are getting weaker [waste away].
11 Because of all my ·troubles [distress], my enemies ·hate [scorn] me,
and even my neighbors look down on me.
When my ·friends [acquaintances] see me in public,
they are afraid and ·run [flee].
12 I am like a piece of a broken pot.
I am forgotten as if I were dead.
13 I have heard many ·insults [threats].
Terror is all around me.
They make plans against me
and ·want [plot] to kill me.
14 Lord, I ·trust [have confidence in] you.
I have said, “You are my God.”
15 My ·life is [times/fortunes are] in your hands.
·Save [Rescue; T Deliver] me from my enemies
and from those who are ·chasing [pursuing] me.
16 ·Show your kindness to me, [Shine your face on] your servant [Num. 6:25].
Save me because of your ·love [loyalty; covenant love].
17 Lord, I ·called [prayed] to you,
so do not let me be ·disgraced [shamed].
Let the wicked be ·disgraced [shamed]
and lie silent in ·the grave [or the underworld; L Sheol].
18 With pride and hatred
they speak against ·those who do right [the righteous].
So silence their lying lips.
19 How great is your goodness
that you have stored up for those who fear you,
that you have ·given to [L accomplished for] those who ·trust [have confidence in] you.
·You do this for all to see [L …before humanity].
20 You ·protect [hide] them ·by your [L in the shelter of your] presence
from what people plan against them.
You ·shelter them [L store them in shelter] from ·evil words [contentious/accusing tongues].
21 ·Praise [Blessed be] the Lord.
His ·love [loyalty; covenant love] to me was wonderful
when ·my city was attacked [or I was like a city under siege].
22 In my ·distress [alarm], I said,
“·God cannot see me [L I am cut off from your eyes]!”
But you heard my ·prayer [supplication]
when I cried out to you for help.
23 Love the Lord, all you ·who belong to him [loyal ones; saints].
The Lord protects those who ·truly believe [are faithful],
but he ·punishes [repays] ·the proud as much as they have sinned [L those who act with pride].
24 All you who ·put your hope in [wait for] the Lord
be strong and ·brave [L let your heart be courageous].
A Prayer for Help
Of David.
35 Lord, ·battle with [contend with; accuse; bring a charge against] those who ·battle with [contend with; accuse; bring a charge against] me.
Fight against those who fight against me.
2 Pick up the ·shield and armor [L small shield and large shield].
Rise up and help me.
3 Lift up your ·spears [javelins], both large and small,
against those who ·chase [pursue] me.
Tell ·me [L my soul], “I ·will save you [am your salvation/victory].”
4 Make those who ·want to kill me [L seek my life/soul]
be ashamed and ·disgraced [humiliated].
Make those who ·plan to harm me [plot evil against me]
turn back and ·run away [be dismayed].
5 Make them like chaff [C the worthless leftovers from threshing grain] blown by the wind
as the angel of the Lord ·forces [drives] them away.
6 Let their road be dark and slippery
as the angel of the Lord chases them.
7 For no reason they ·spread out [L hid] their ·net [L pit] to trap me;
for no reason they dug a pit for me.
8 So let ruin strike them ·suddenly [or without their awareness].
Let them be caught in their own nets;
let them fall into the pit and ·die [be ruined].
9 Then ·I [my soul] will rejoice in the Lord;
I will be happy when he ·saves me [provides victory for me].
10 Even my bones will say,
“Lord, who is like you?
You ·save [rescue; T deliver] the ·weak [afflicted; or poor] from the strong,
the ·weak [afflicted; or poor] and poor from robbers.”
11 ·Men without mercy stand up to testify [L Violent witnesses rise up].
They ask me things I do not know.
12 They repay me with evil for the good I have done,
and ·they make me very sad [my soul is bereaved].
13 Yet when they were sick, I put on ·clothes of sadness [sackcloth; burlap]
and showed my sorrow by fasting.
But my prayers ·were not answered [L turned back on my bosom].
14 I acted as if they were my ·friends [or neighbors] or brothers.
I ·bowed in sadness as if I were crying [went around as if mourning] for my mother.
15 But when I ·was in trouble [stumbled], they gathered and laughed;
they gathered to attack before I knew it.
They ·insulted [tore at] me without stopping.
16 They made fun of me and were cruel to me
and ·ground [gnashed] their teeth at me in anger.
17 Lord, how long will you watch this happen?
Save my life from their attacks;
·save me from these people who are like [L my life from the] lions.
18 I will ·praise [thank] you in the great ·meeting [assembly].
I will praise you among ·crowds of people [the mighty crowd/throng].
19 Do not let my enemies ·laugh at [rejoice over] me;
they hate me for no reason.
Do not let them ·make fun of me [L wink their eye at me; C a reference to secretive plans or magic; Prov. 6:12–13];
they have no cause to hate me.
20 Their words are not ·friendly [peaceful]
but are lies ·about [or against] ·peace-loving people [L the quiet in the land].
21 They ·speak against me [L open their mouths]
and say, “Aha! ·We saw what you did [Our eyes have seen it]!”
22 Lord, you have been watching. Do not keep quiet.
Lord, do not ·leave me alone [L be far from me].
23 Wake up! ·Come [Arouse yourself] and ·defend [vindicate; show justice to] me!
My God and Lord, ·fight [contend] for me!
24 Lord my God, ·defend [vindicate] me with your justice.
Don’t let them ·laugh at [rejoice over] me.
25 Don’t let them ·think [L say in their hearts], “Aha! We got what we wanted!”
Don’t let them say, “We ·destroyed [L swallowed] him.”
26 Let them be ashamed and ·embarrassed [humiliated],
because they ·were happy [rejoiced] when I hurt.
·Cover [L Clothe] them with shame and disgrace,
because they thought they were better than I was.
27 May ·my friends [L those who want my vindication] sing and shout for joy.
May they always say, “Praise the greatness of the Lord,
who ·loves [delights; takes pleasure] to see ·his servants do well [L the peace/prosperity of his servant].”
28 ·I [L My tongue] will tell of your goodness
and will praise you every day.
13 Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns [C some ancient manuscripts specify that there are four horns; protrusions on the four corners of the altar symbolizing God’s strength] on the golden altar [C the incense altar; Ex. 30:1–10] that is before God. 14 The voice said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “·Free [Release] the four angels who are ·tied [bound] at the great river Euphrates [7:1].” 15 And they ·let loose [released] the four angels who had been ·kept ready [prepared] for this hour and day and month and year so they could kill a third of ·all people on the earth [L humanity; mankind]. 16 I heard how many troops on horses were in their army—two hundred million.
17 The horses and their riders I saw in the vision looked like this: They had breastplates that were fiery red, dark blue [L hyacinth-colored], and yellow like sulfur [brimstone]. The heads of the horses looked like heads of lions, with fire, smoke, and sulfur coming out of their mouths. 18 A third of ·all the people on earth [humanity; mankind] were killed by these three ·terrible disasters [plagues] coming out of the horses’ mouths: the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur. 19 The horses’ ·power [authority] was in their mouths and in their tails; their tails were like snakes with heads [12:9; Gen. 3:1–7], and with them they ·hurt [damaged; injured; wounded] people.
20 The ·other [rest of the] people who were not killed by these ·terrible disasters [plagues] still did not ·change their hearts and turn away from what they had made with their own hands [L repent from the works of their hands]. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—things that cannot see or hear or walk [Ps. 115:4–7; 135:17; Jer. 10:1–16]. 21 These people did not ·change their hearts and turn away from [repent of] murder or ·evil magic [sorcery], from their ·sexual sins [fornication] or stealing.
Mary and Martha
38 While ·Jesus and his followers [L they] were traveling, Jesus went into a ·town [village]. A woman named Martha ·let Jesus stay at her house [L welcomed/received him]. 39 Martha had a sister named Mary, who was sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening to ·him teach [what he said; L his word/message; C sitting at a teacher’s feet indicates the position of a disciple; see Acts 22:3]. 40 But Martha was ·busy [worried; distracted] with ·all the work to be done [the many preparations]. She went in and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me alone to ·do all the work [serve; prepare the meal]? [Please; L Therefore] Tell her to help me.”
41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are ·worried [anxious] and upset about many things. 42 Only one thing is ·important [necessary; needed]. Mary has chosen the better thing, and it will never be taken away from her.”
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