Book of Common Prayer
He Will Never Allow the Righteous to Be Shaken
For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A [a]Maskil of David.
55 (A)Give ear to my prayer, O God;
And (B)do not hide Yourself from my supplication.
2 Give (C)heed to me and answer me;
I am restless in my (D)complaint and [b](E)am surely distracted,
3 Because of the voice of the enemy,
Because of the (F)pressure of the wicked;
For they (G)shake wickedness down upon me
And in anger they (H)bear a grudge against me.
4 My (I)heart is in anguish within me,
And the terrors of (J)death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and (K)trembling come upon me,
And [c](L)horror has covered me.
6 I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and [d](M)be at rest.
7 Behold, I would wander far away,
I would (N)lodge in the wilderness. [e]Selah.
8 I would hasten to my place of refuge
From the (O)stormy wind and tempest.”
9 [f]Confuse, O Lord, (P)divide their tongues,
For I have seen (Q)violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around her upon her walls,
And wickedness and mischief are in her midst.
11 (R)Destruction is in her midst;
(S)Oppression and deceit do not depart from her [g]streets.
12 For it is (T)not an enemy who reproaches me,
Then I could bear it;
Nor is it one who hates me who (U)has magnified himself against me,
Then I could hide myself from him.
13 But it is you, a man [h]my equal,
My (V)close companion and my [i](W)familiar friend;
14 We who had sweet counsel together
(X)Walked in the house of God in the throng.
15 Let [j]death come (Y)deceitfully upon them;
Let them (Z)go down alive to Sheol,
For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.
16 As for me, I shall (AA)call upon God,
And Yahweh will save me.
17 (AB)Evening and (AC)morning and at (AD)noon, I will bring my complaint and moan,
And He will hear my voice.
18 He will (AE)redeem my soul in peace [k]from the battle which is against me,
For they are (AF)many who strive with me.
19 God will (AG)hear and [l]answer them—
Even the one (AH)who [m]sits enthroned from of old— Selah.
Because they [n]do not change,
And (AI)do not fear God.
20 [o]My companion has put forth his hands against (AJ)those who were at peace with him;
He has [p](AK)violated his covenant.
21 His [q]speech was (AL)smoother than butter,
But his heart was war;
His words were (AM)softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn (AN)swords.
Yet God Is My King
A [a]Maskil of Asaph.
74 Why, O God? Have You (A)rejected us forever?
Why does Your anger (B)smoke against the (C)sheep of Your [b]pasture?
2 Remember Your congregation, which You have (D)purchased of old,
Which You have (E)redeemed to be the (F)tribe of Your inheritance;
And this Mount (G)Zion, where You have dwelt.
3 Lift up Your steps toward the (H)perpetual ruins;
The enemy (I)has damaged everything within the sanctuary.
4 Your adversaries have (J)roared in the midst of Your meeting place;
They have set up their (K)own signs (L)for signs.
5 Each seems like one who lifts up
[c]An (M)axe against the undergrowth of trees.
6 And now its (N)carved work altogether
They smash with hatchet and [d]hammers.
7 They have (O)set Your sanctuary on fire;
By bringing it to the ground, they have (P)defiled the dwelling place of Your name.
8 They (Q)said in their heart, “Let us [e]completely [f]subdue them.”
They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9 We do not see our (R)signs;
There is (S)no longer any prophet,
Nor is there any among us who knows (T)how long.
10 How long, O God, will the adversary (U)reproach?
Will the enemy (V)spurn Your name forever?
11 Why (W)do You turn back Your hand, even Your right hand?
From within Your bosom, (X)destroy them!
12 Yet God is (Y)my King from of old,
Who works deeds of [g]salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 You (Z)divided the sea by Your strength;
You (AA)broke the heads of the (AB)sea monsters [h]in the waters.
14 You crushed the heads of [i](AC)Leviathan;
You gave him as food for the [j]creatures (AD)of the desert.
15 [k]You (AE)split open spring and river;
[l]You (AF)dried up ever-flowing rivers.
16 Yours is the day, Yours also is the night;
[m]You have (AG)established the [n]light and the sun.
17 [o]You have (AH)caused all the boundaries of the earth to stand firm;
[p]You have formed (AI)summer and winter.
18 Remember this, O Yahweh, that the enemy has (AJ)reproached,
And a (AK)wickedly foolish people has spurned Your name.
19 Do not deliver the soul of Your (AL)turtledove to the wild beast;
(AM)Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.
20 Look to the (AN)covenant;
For the (AO)dark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence.
21 Let not the (AP)oppressed return dishonored;
Let the (AQ)afflicted and needy praise Your name.
5 Thus says Yahweh,
“(A)Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes (B)flesh his [a]strength,
And whose heart turns away from Yahweh.
6 And he will be like a (C)juniper in the desert
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will dwell in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A (D)land of salt [b]which is not inhabited.
7 (E)Blessed is the man who trusts in Yahweh
And whose (F)trust is Yahweh.
8 And he will be like a (G)tree planted by the water,
That sends forth its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of (H)drought
Nor refrain from yielding fruit.
14 (A)Heal me, O Yahweh, and I will be healed;
(B)Save me and I will be saved,
For You are my (C)praise.
15 Behold, they keep (D)saying to me,
“Where is the word of Yahweh?
Let it come now!”
16 But as for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd after You,
Nor have I longed for the [a]sickening day;
(E)You Yourself know that the utterance of my lips
Was in Your presence.
17 Do not be a (F)terror to me;
You are my (G)refuge in the day of calamity.
Rejoice in the Lord Always
4 Therefore my brothers, loved and (A)longed for, my joy and crown, in this way (B)stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.
2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to (C)think the same way in the Lord. 3 Indeed, I ask you also, genuine companion, help these women who have contended together alongside of me in the gospel, with also Clement and the rest of my (D)fellow workers, whose (E)names are in the book of life.
4 (F)Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your considerate spirit be known to all men. (G)The Lord is [a]near. 6 (H)Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by (I)prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And (J)the peace of God, which surpasses all [b]comprehension, will (K)guard your hearts and your (L)minds in (M)Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, (N)whatever is true, whatever is dignified, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is [c]lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, consider these things. 9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen (O)in me, practice these things, and (P)the God of peace will be with you.
God Will Fill Your Needs
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last (Q)you have revived thinking about me; indeed, you were thinking about me before, but you lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak [d]from want, for I learned to be [e](R)content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in abundance; in any and all things I have learned the secret of being filled and going (S)hungry, both of having abundance and (T)suffering need. 13 I can do all things [f]through Him who (U)strengthens me.
The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up
27 “(A)Now (B)My soul has become dismayed; and what shall I say, ‘(C)Father, (D)save Me from (E)this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 (F)Father, glorify Your name.” Then a (G)voice came from heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “(H)An angel has spoken to Him.” 30 Jesus answered and said, “(I)This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sake. 31 (J)Now judgment is upon this world; now (K)the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I (L)am lifted up from the earth, will (M)draw all men to Myself.” 33 But He was saying this (N)to indicate the kind of death by which He was about to die. 34 The crowd then answered Him, “We have heard from (O)the Law that (P)the [a]Christ is to remain forever; and how do You say, ‘The (Q)Son of Man must be (R)lifted up’? Who is this (S)Son of Man?” 35 So Jesus said to them, “(T)For a little while longer (U)the Light is among you. (V)Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who (W)walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. 36 While you have the Light, (X)believe in the Light, so that you may become (Y)sons of Light.”
These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and [b](Z)hid Himself from them.
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