Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 56[a]
Trust in God
1 For the director. According to Yonath elem rehoqim.[b] A miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him at Gath.(A)
I
2 Have mercy on me, God,
for I am treated harshly;
attackers press me all the day.
3 My foes treat me harshly all the day;
yes, many are my attackers.
O Most High, 4 when I am afraid,
in you I place my trust.
5 I praise the word of God;
I trust in God, I do not fear.(B)
What can mere flesh do to me?(C)
II
6 All the day they foil my plans;
their every thought is of evil against me.
7 They hide together in ambush;
they watch my every step;
they lie in wait for my life.(D)
8 They are evil; watch them, God!
Cast the nations down in your anger!
9 My wanderings you have noted;
are my tears not stored in your flask,[c]
recorded in your book?(E)
10 My foes turn back when I call on you.
This I know: God is on my side.
11 I praise the word of God,
I praise the word of the Lord.
12 In God I trust, I do not fear.
What can man do to me?
III
13 I have made vows to you, God;
with offerings I will fulfill them,(F)
14 For you have snatched me from death,
kept my feet from stumbling,
That I may walk before God
in the light of the living.
Psalm 57[d]
Confident Prayer for Deliverance
1 For the director. Do not destroy.[e] A miktam of David, when he fled from Saul into a cave.(G)
I
2 Have mercy on me, God,
have mercy on me.
In you I seek refuge.
In the shadow of your wings[f] I seek refuge
till harm pass by.(H)
3 I call to God Most High,
to God who provides for me.
4 May God send help from heaven to save me,
shame those who trample upon me.
May God send fidelity and mercy.
Selah
5 I must lie down in the midst of lions
hungry for human prey.(I)
Their teeth are spears and arrows;
their tongue, a sharpened sword.(J)
6 Be exalted over the heavens, God;
may your glory appear above all the earth.(K)
II
7 They have set a trap for my feet;
my soul is bowed down;
They have dug a pit before me.
May they fall into it themselves!(L)
Selah
8 My heart is steadfast, God,
my heart is steadfast.
I will sing and chant praise.(M)
9 Awake, my soul;
awake, lyre and harp!
I will wake the dawn.[g](N)
10 I will praise you among the peoples, Lord;
I will chant your praise among the nations.(O)
11 For your mercy towers to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.(P)
12 Exalt yourself over the heavens, God;
may your glory appear above all the earth.
Psalm 58[h]
The Dethroning of Unjust Rulers
1 For the leader. Do not destroy.[i] A miktam of David.
I
2 Do you indeed pronounce justice, O gods;[j]
do you judge fairly you children of Adam?(Q)
3 No, you freely engage in crime;
your hands dispense violence to the earth.
II
4 The wicked have been corrupt since birth;
liars from the womb, they have gone astray.
5 [k]Their venom is like the venom of a snake,
like that of a serpent stopping its ears,(R)
6 So as not to hear the voice of the charmer
or the enchanter with cunning spells.
III
7 O God, smash the teeth in their mouths;
break the fangs of these lions, Lord!(S)
8 Make them vanish like water flowing away;(T)
trodden down, let them wither like grass.(U)
9 Let them dissolve like a snail that oozes away,[l]
like an untimely birth that never sees the sun.(V)
10 Suddenly, like brambles or thistles,
have the whirlwind snatch them away.(W)
11 Then the just shall rejoice to see the vengeance
and bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.(X)
12 Then people will say:
“Truly there is a reward for the just;
there is a God who is judge on earth!”
Psalm 64[a]
Treacherous Conspirators Punished by God
1 For the leader. A psalm of David.
I
2 O God, hear my anguished voice;
from a dreadful foe protect my life.
3 Hide me from the malicious crowd,
the mob of evildoers.
4 They sharpen their tongues like swords,
bend their bows of poison words.(A)
5 They shoot at the innocent from ambush,
they shoot him in a moment and do not fear.
6 They resolve on their wicked plan;
they conspire to set snares;
they say: “Who will see us?”
7 They devise wicked schemes,
conceal the schemes they devise;
the designs of their hearts are hidden.(B)
II
8 God shoots an arrow at them;
in a moment they are struck down.(C)
9 They are brought down by their own tongues;
all who see them flee.(D)
10 Every person fears and proclaims God’s actions,
they ponder his deeds.
11 The righteous rejoices and takes refuge in the Lord;
all the upright give praise.(E)
Psalm 65[b]
Thanksgiving for God’s Blessings
1 For the leader. A psalm of David. A song.
I
2 To you we owe our hymn of praise,
O God on Zion;
To you our vows[c] must be fulfilled,
3 [d]you who hear our prayers.
To you all flesh must come(F)
4 with its burden of wicked deeds.
We are overcome by our sins;
only you can pardon them.(G)
5 Blessed the one whom you will choose and bring
to dwell in your courts.
May we be filled with the good things of your house,
your holy temple!
II
6 You answer us with awesome deeds[e] of justice,
O God our savior,
The hope of all the ends of the earth
and of those far off across the sea.(H)
7 You are robed in power,
you set up the mountains by your might.
8 You still the roaring of the seas,(I)
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples.(J)
9 Distant peoples stand in awe of your marvels;
the places of morning and evening you make resound with joy.
10 [f]You visit the earth and water it,
make it abundantly fertile.(K)
God’s stream[g] is filled with water;
you supply their grain.
Thus do you prepare it:
11 you drench its plowed furrows,
and level its ridges.
With showers you keep it soft,
blessing its young sprouts.
12 You adorn the year with your bounty;
your paths[h] drip with fruitful rain.
13 The meadows of the wilderness also drip;
the hills are robed with joy.
14 The pastures are clothed with flocks,
the valleys blanketed with grain;
they cheer and sing for joy.(L)
Chapter 2
David Is Anointed King. 1 After this, David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah?” The Lord replied to him: Go up. Then David asked, “Where shall I go?” He replied: To Hebron. 2 So David went up there, with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel.(A) 3 David also brought up his men with their families, and they dwelt in the towns of Hebron. 4 Then the men of Judah came there and anointed David king over the house of Judah.
A report reached David that the people of Jabesh-gilead had buried Saul.(B) 5 So David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh-gilead and said to them: “May you be blessed by the Lord for having done this kindness to your lord Saul in burying him. 6 And now may the Lord show you kindness and fidelity. For my part, I will show generosity to you for having done this. 7 So take courage and prove yourselves valiant, for though your lord Saul is dead, the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”
IV. The Reign of David
Ishbaal King of Israel. 8 Abner, son of Ner, captain of Saul’s army, took Ishbaal,[a] son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim,(C) 9 where he made him king over Gilead, the Asherites, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and the rest of Israel. 10 Ishbaal, son of Saul, was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years; but the house of Judah followed David. 11 In all, David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah seven years and six months.(D)
V. The Mission of Paul to the Ends of the Earth
Paul and Barnabas Separate. 36 [a]After some time, Paul said to Barnabas, “Come, let us make a return visit to see how the brothers are getting on in all the cities where we proclaimed the word of the Lord.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take with them also John, who was called Mark, 38 but Paul insisted that they should not take with them someone who had deserted them at Pamphylia and who had not continued with them in their work.(A) 39 So sharp was their disagreement that they separated. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus. 40 But Paul chose Silas and departed after being commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 He traveled through Syria and Cilicia bringing strength to the churches.
Chapter 16
Paul in Lycaonia: Timothy. 1 He reached [also] Derbe and Lystra where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek.(B) 2 The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him,(C) 3 and Paul wanted him to come along with him. On account of the Jews of that region, Paul had him circumcised,[b] for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they traveled from city to city, they handed on to the people for observance the decisions reached by the apostles and presbyters in Jerusalem. 5 Day after day the churches grew stronger in faith and increased in number.
14 King Herod[a] heard about it, for his fame had become widespread, and people were saying,(A) “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.”(B) 15 Others were saying, “He is Elijah”; still others, “He is a prophet like any of the prophets.”(C) 16 But when Herod learned of it, he said, “It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up.”
The Death of John the Baptist.[b] 17 Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.(D) 18 John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”(E) 19 Herodias[c] harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. 20 Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. 21 She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee. 22 Herodias’s own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.” 23 He even swore [many things] to her, “I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom.”(F) 24 She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request, “I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 26 The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her. 27 (G)So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. 28 He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
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