Book of Common Prayer
BOOK 1
The Righteous and the Wicked Contrasted.
1 Blessed is the person who (A)does not walk in the (B)counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the [a](C)path of sinners,
Nor (D)sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his (E)delight is (F)in the Law of the Lord,
And on His Law he meditates (G)day and (H)night.
3 He will be like (I)a tree planted by [b]streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season,
And its [c]leaf does not wither;
And [d]in whatever he does, (J)he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
But they are like (K)chaff which the wind blows away.
5 Therefore (L)the wicked will not stand in the (M)judgment,
Nor sinners in (N)the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord [e](O)knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of (P)the wicked will perish.
The Reign of the Lord’s Anointed.
2 Why are (Q)the [f]nations restless
And the peoples (R)plotting in vain?
2 The (S)kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers conspire together
(T)Against the Lord and against His [g](U)Anointed, saying,
3 “Let’s (V)tear their shackles apart
And throw their ropes away from us!”
4 He who [h]sits in the heavens (W)laughs,
The Lord (X)scoffs at them.
5 Then He will speak to them in His (Y)anger
And (Z)terrify them in His fury, saying,
6 “But as for Me, I have installed (AA)My King
Upon Zion, (AB)My holy mountain.”
7 “I will announce the [i]decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, ‘You are (AC)My Son,
Today I have fathered You.
8 Ask it of Me, and (AD)I will certainly give (AE)the [j]nations as Your inheritance,
And the (AF)ends of the earth as Your possession.
9 You shall [k](AG)break them with a [l]rod of iron,
You shall (AH)shatter them like [m]earthenware.’”
10 Now then, you kings, (AI)use insight;
Let yourselves be instructed, you [n]judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with [o](AJ)reverence
And rejoice with (AK)trembling.
12 [p]Kiss (AL)the Son, that He not be angry and you perish on the way,
For (AM)His wrath may be kindled quickly.
How blessed are all who (AN)take refuge in Him!
Morning Prayer of Trust in God.
A Psalm of David, when [q]he fled from his son Absalom.
3 Lord, how (AO)my enemies have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
2 Many are saying of my soul,
“There is no (AP)salvation for him in God.” Selah
3 But You, Lord, are (AQ)a shield around me,
My (AR)glory, and the One who (AS)lifts my head.
4 I was crying out to the Lord with my voice,
And He (AT)answered me from (AU)His holy [r]mountain. Selah
5 [s]I (AV)lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.
6 I will (AW)not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have (AX)set themselves against me all around.
7 (AY)Arise, Lord; (AZ)save me, my God!
For You [t]have (BA)struck all my enemies on the [u]cheek;
You [v]have (BB)shattered the teeth of the wicked.
8 [w](BC)Salvation belongs to the Lord;
May Your (BD)blessing [x]be upon Your people! Selah
Evening Prayer of Trust in God.
[y]For the music director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
4 (BE)Answer me when (BF)I call, God [z]of my righteousness!
You have [aa](BG)relieved me in my distress;
Be (BH)gracious to me and (BI)hear my prayer.
2 You sons of man, how long will (BJ)my [ab]honor be treated as (BK)an insult?
How long will you love (BL)what is worthless and strive for a (BM)lie? Selah
3 But know that the Lord has [ac](BN)set apart the (BO)godly person for Himself;
The Lord (BP)hears when I call to Him.
The Lord Implored to Defend the Psalmist against the Wicked.
A [a]Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord [b]concerning Cush, a Benjaminite.
7 O Lord my God, (A)in You I have taken refuge;
Save me from all those who pursue me, and (B)rescue me,
2 Or he will tear [c]my soul (C)like a lion,
Dragging me away, while there is no one to rescue me.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this,
If there is (D)injustice in my hands,
4 If I have (E)done evil to [d]my friend,
Or have (F)plundered [e]my enemy for no reason,
5 Let the enemy pursue [f]my soul and overtake [g]it;
And let him trample my life to the ground
And lay my glory in the dust. Selah
6 (G)Arise, Lord, in Your anger;
(H)Raise Yourself against (I)the rage of my enemies,
And (J)stir Yourself [h]for me; You have ordered judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the (K)peoples encompass You,
And return on high over it.
8 The Lord (L)judges the peoples;
[i](M)Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
9 Please let (N)the evil of the wicked come to an end, but (O)establish the righteous;
For the righteous God (P)puts hearts and [j]minds to the test.
10 My (Q)shield is [k]with God,
Who (R)saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a (S)righteous judge,
And a God who (T)shows indignation every day.
12 If one (U)does not repent, He will (V)sharpen His sword;
He has (W)bent His bow and taken aim.
13 He has also prepared deadly weapons for Himself;
He makes His (X)arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, an evil person is pregnant with injustice,
And he (Y)conceives harm and gives birth to lies.
15 He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has (Z)fallen into the hole which he made.
16 His (AA)harm will return on his own head,
And his (AB)violence will descend on the top of his own head.
Contrast of the Righteous and the Wicked
10 The (A)proverbs of Solomon.
(B)A wise son makes a father glad,
But (C)a foolish son is a grief to his mother.
2 [a](D)Ill-gotten gains do not benefit,
But righteousness rescues from death.
3 The Lord (E)will not allow the [b]righteous to hunger,
But He (F)will [c]reject the craving of the wicked.
4 Poor is one who works with [d]a lazy hand,
But the (G)hand of the diligent makes rich.
5 He who gathers in summer is a son who acts wisely,
But he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully.
6 (H)Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
But (I)the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
7 The (J)mentioning of the righteous is a blessing,
But (K)the name of the wicked will rot.
8 The (L)wise of heart will receive commands,
But [e]a babbling fool will come to ruin.
9 One (M)who walks in integrity walks securely,
But (N)one who perverts his ways will be found out.
10 He (O)who winks the eye causes trouble,
And [f](P)a babbling fool will come to ruin.
11 The (Q)mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
But (R)the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
12 Hatred stirs up strife,
But (S)love covers all offenses.
15 You are aware of the fact that all who are in [a](A)Asia (B)turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 The Lord grant mercy to (C)the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and (D)was not ashamed of my [b](E)chains; 17 but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me— 18 the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on (F)that day—and you know very well what services he rendered at (G)Ephesus.
Be Strong
2 You therefore, my [c](H)son, (I)be strong in the grace that is in (J)Christ Jesus. 2 The things (K)which you have heard from me in the presence of (L)many witnesses, (M)entrust these to (N)faithful [d]people who will be (O)able to teach others also. 3 (P)Suffer hardship with me, as a good (Q)soldier of (R)Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier in active service (S)entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him. 5 And if someone likewise (T)competes as an athlete, he is not [e]crowned as victor unless he competes according to the rules. 6 (U)The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops. 7 Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
8 Remember Jesus Christ, (V)risen from the dead, (W)descendant of David, (X)according to my gospel, 9 [f]for which I (Y)suffer hardship even to (Z)imprisonment as a (AA)criminal; but (AB)the word of God (AC)is not imprisoned. 10 For this reason (AD)I endure all things for (AE)the sake of [g]those who are chosen, (AF)so that they also may obtain the (AG)salvation which is in (AH)Christ Jesus and with it (AI)eternal glory. 11 (AJ)The statement is trustworthy:
Jesus Foretells His Death
27 “(A)Now My soul has become troubled; and what am I to say? ‘(B)Father, save Me from (C)this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 (D)Father, glorify Your name.” Then a (E)voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 So the crowd who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “(F)An angel has spoken to Him!” 30 Jesus responded and said, “(G)This voice has not come for My sake, but for yours. 31 (H)Now judgment is upon this world; now (I)the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I (J)am lifted up from the earth, will (K)draw all people to Myself.” 33 Now He was saying this (L)to indicate what kind of death He was going to die. 34 The crowd then answered Him, “We have heard from (M)the Law that (N)the [a]Christ is to remain forever; and how is it that You say, ‘The (O)Son of Man must be (P)lifted up’? Who is this (Q)Son of Man?” 35 So Jesus said to them, “(R)For a little while longer (S)the Light is among you. (T)Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; also, the one who (U)walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the Light, (V)believe in the Light, so that you may become (W)sons of Light.”
These things Jesus proclaimed, and He went away and (X)hid Himself from them.
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