Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 56[a]
For the director of music. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” Of David. A miktam.[b] When the Philistines had seized him in Gath.
1 Be merciful to me,(A) my God,
for my enemies are in hot pursuit;(B)
all day long they press their attack.(C)
2 My adversaries pursue me all day long;(D)
in their pride many are attacking me.(E)
3 When I am afraid,(F) I put my trust in you.(G)
4 In God, whose word I praise—(H)
in God I trust and am not afraid.(I)
What can mere mortals do to me?(J)
5 All day long they twist my words;(K)
all their schemes are for my ruin.
6 They conspire,(L) they lurk,
they watch my steps,(M)
hoping to take my life.(N)
7 Because of their wickedness do not[c] let them escape;(O)
in your anger, God, bring the nations down.(P)
8 Record my misery;
list my tears on your scroll[d](Q)—
are they not in your record?(R)
9 Then my enemies will turn back(S)
when I call for help.(T)
By this I will know that God is for me.(U)
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise—
11 in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 I am under vows(V) to you, my God;
I will present my thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered me from death(W)
and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life.(X)
Psalm 57[e](Y)
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.[f] When he had fled from Saul into the cave.(Z)
1 Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me,
for in you I take refuge.(AA)
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings(AB)
until the disaster has passed.(AC)
2 I cry out to God Most High,
to God, who vindicates me.(AD)
3 He sends from heaven and saves me,(AE)
rebuking those who hotly pursue me—[g](AF)
God sends forth his love and his faithfulness.(AG)
4 I am in the midst of lions;(AH)
I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts—
men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.(AI)
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.(AJ)
6 They spread a net for my feet(AK)—
I was bowed down(AL) in distress.
They dug a pit(AM) in my path—
but they have fallen into it themselves.(AN)
7 My heart, O God, is steadfast,
my heart is steadfast;(AO)
I will sing and make music.
8 Awake, my soul!
Awake, harp and lyre!(AP)
I will awaken the dawn.
9 I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.
10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.(AQ)
Psalm 58[h]
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.[i]
1 Do you rulers indeed speak justly?(AT)
Do you judge people with equity?
2 No, in your heart you devise injustice,(AU)
and your hands mete out violence on the earth.(AV)
3 Even from birth the wicked go astray;
from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.
4 Their venom is like the venom of a snake,(AW)
like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,
5 that will not heed(AX) the tune of the charmer,(AY)
however skillful the enchanter may be.
6 Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;(AZ)
Lord, tear out the fangs of those lions!(BA)
7 Let them vanish like water that flows away;(BB)
when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short.(BC)
8 May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along,(BD)
like a stillborn child(BE) that never sees the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns(BF)—
whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away.[j](BG)
10 The righteous will be glad(BH) when they are avenged,(BI)
when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked.(BJ)
11 Then people will say,
“Surely the righteous still are rewarded;(BK)
surely there is a God who judges the earth.”(BL)
Psalm 64[a]
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
2 Hide me from the conspiracy(C) of the wicked,(D)
from the plots of evildoers.
3 They sharpen their tongues like swords(E)
and aim cruel words like deadly arrows.(F)
4 They shoot from ambush at the innocent;(G)
they shoot suddenly, without fear.(H)
5 They encourage each other in evil plans,
they talk about hiding their snares;(I)
they say, “Who will see it[b]?”(J)
6 They plot injustice and say,
“We have devised a perfect plan!”
Surely the human mind and heart are cunning.
7 But God will shoot them with his arrows;
they will suddenly be struck down.
8 He will turn their own tongues against them(K)
and bring them to ruin;
all who see them will shake their heads(L) in scorn.(M)
9 All people will fear;(N)
they will proclaim the works of God
and ponder what he has done.(O)
10 The righteous will rejoice in the Lord(P)
and take refuge in him;(Q)
all the upright in heart will glory in him!(R)
Psalm 65[c]
For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.
1 Praise awaits[d] you, our God, in Zion;(S)
to you our vows will be fulfilled.(T)
2 You who answer prayer,
to you all people will come.(U)
3 When we were overwhelmed by sins,(V)
you forgave[e] our transgressions.(W)
4 Blessed are those you choose(X)
and bring near(Y) to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,(Z)
of your holy temple.
5 You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,(AA)
God our Savior,(AB)
the hope of all the ends of the earth(AC)
and of the farthest seas,(AD)
6 who formed the mountains(AE) by your power,
having armed yourself with strength,(AF)
7 who stilled the roaring of the seas,(AG)
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the nations.(AH)
8 The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
where morning dawns, where evening fades,
you call forth songs of joy.(AI)
9 You care for the land and water it;(AJ)
you enrich it abundantly.(AK)
The streams of God are filled with water
to provide the people with grain,(AL)
for so you have ordained it.[f]
10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
you soften it with showers(AM) and bless its crops.
11 You crown the year with your bounty,(AN)
and your carts overflow with abundance.(AO)
12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;(AP)
the hills are clothed with gladness.(AQ)
13 The meadows are covered with flocks(AR)
and the valleys are mantled with grain;(AS)
they shout for joy and sing.(AT)
Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed
19 The two angels(A) arrived at Sodom(B) in the evening, and Lot(C) was sitting in the gateway of the city.(D) When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.(E) 2 “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet(F) and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.”
“No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”(G)
3 But he insisted(H) so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house.(I) He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast,(J) and they ate.(K) 4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom(L)—both young and old—surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”(M)
6 Lot went outside to meet them(N) and shut the door behind him 7 and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”(O)
9 “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner,(P) and now he wants to play the judge!(Q) We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.
10 But the men(R) inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. 11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness(S) so that they could not find the door.
12 The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you?(T) Get them out of here, 13 because we(U) are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great(V) that he has sent us to destroy it.”(W)
14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry[a] his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!(X)” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.(Y)
15 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away(Z) when the city is punished.(AA)”
16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters(AB) and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them.(AC) 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives!(AD) Don’t look back,(AE) and don’t stop anywhere in the plain!(AF) Flee to the mountains(AG) or you will be swept away!”
18 But Lot said to them, “No, my lords,[b] please! 19 Your[c] servant has found favor in your[d] eyes,(AH) and you[e] have shown great kindness(AI) to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains;(AJ) this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. 20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”
21 He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request(AK) too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. 22 But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar.[f](AL))
23 By the time Lot reached Zoar,(AM) the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur(AN) on Sodom and Gomorrah(AO)—from the Lord out of the heavens.(AP) 25 Thus he overthrew those cities(AQ) and the entire plain,(AR) destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land.(AS) 26 But Lot’s wife looked back,(AT) and she became a pillar of salt.(AU)
27 Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord.(AV) 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.(AW)
29 So when God destroyed the cities of the plain,(AX) he remembered(AY) Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe(AZ) that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.(BA)
Faith in Action
11 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for(A) and assurance about what we do not see.(B) 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.(C)
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command,(D) so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended(E) as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings.(F) And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.(G)
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”[a](H) For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him(I) must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen,(J) in holy fear built an ark(K) to save his family.(L) By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.(M)
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance,(N) obeyed and went,(O) even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land(P) like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents,(Q) as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.(R) 10 For he was looking forward to the city(S) with foundations,(T) whose architect and builder is God.(U) 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age,(V) was enabled to bear children(W) because she[b] considered him faithful(X) who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead,(Y) came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.(Z)
27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures(A) to eternal life,(B) which the Son of Man(C) will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal(D) of approval.”
28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe(E) in the one he has sent.”(F)
30 So they asked him, “What sign(G) then will you give that we may see it and believe you?(H) What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna(I) in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’[a]”(J)
32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven(K) and gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”(L)
35 Then Jesus declared, “I am(M) the bread of life.(N) Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes(O) in me will never be thirsty.(P) 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All those the Father gives me(Q) will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven(R) not to do my will but to do the will(S) of him who sent me.(T) 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me,(U) but raise them up at the last day.(V) 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son(W) and believes in him shall have eternal life,(X) and I will raise them up at the last day.”
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