Book of Common Prayer
Meditations and prayers relating to the law of God.
א Aleph.
119 Blessed are they that are [a]perfect in the way,
Who walk in the law of Jehovah.
2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies,
That seek him with the whole heart.
3 Yea, they do no unrighteousness;
They walk in his ways.
4 Thou hast commanded us thy precepts,
That we should observe them diligently.
5 Oh that my ways were established
To observe thy statutes!
6 Then shall I not be put to shame,
When I have respect unto all thy commandments.
7 I will give thanks unto thee with uprightness of heart,
When I learn thy righteous judgments.
8 I will observe thy statutes:
Oh forsake me not utterly.
ב Beth.
9 Wherewith shall a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed thereto according to thy word.
10 With my whole heart have I sought thee:
Oh let me not wander from thy commandments.
11 Thy word have I laid up in my heart,
That I might not sin against thee.
12 Blessed art thou, O Jehovah:
Teach me thy statutes.
13 With my lips have I declared
All the ordinances of thy mouth.
14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies,
As much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on thy precepts,
And have respect unto thy ways.
16 I will delight myself in thy statutes:
I will not forget thy word.
ג Gimel.
17 Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live;
So will I observe thy word.
18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold
Wondrous things out of thy law.
19 I am a sojourner in the earth:
Hide not thy commandments from me.
20 My soul breaketh for the longing
That it hath unto thine ordinances at all times.
21 Thou hast rebuked the proud [b]that are cursed,
That do wander from thy commandments.
22 Take away from me reproach and contempt;
For I have kept thy testimonies.
23 Princes also sat and talked against me;
But thy servant did meditate on thy statutes.
24 Thy testimonies also are my delight
And [c]my counsellors.
God a helper against the treacherous.
For the Chief Musician; set to [a]the Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
12 Help, Jehovah; for the godly man ceaseth;
For [b]the faithful fail from among the children of men.
2 They speak falsehood every one with his neighbor:
With flattering lip, and with a double heart, do they speak.
3 Jehovah will cut off all flattering lips,
The tongue that speaketh great things;
4 Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail;
Our lips are [c]our own: who is lord over us?
5 Because of the oppression of the poor, because of the sighing of the needy,
Now will I arise, saith Jehovah;
I will set him in the safety he panteth for.
6 The words of Jehovah are pure words;
As silver tried in a furnace on the earth,
Purified seven times.
7 Thou wilt keep them, O Jehovah,
Thou wilt preserve them from this generation for ever.
8 The wicked walk on every side,
When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.
Prayer for help in affliction.
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
13 How long, O Jehovah? wilt thou forget me for ever?
How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider and answer me, O Jehovah my God:
Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
4 Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him;
Lest mine adversaries rejoice when I am moved.
5 But I have trusted in thy lovingkindness;
My heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
6 I will sing unto Jehovah,
Because he hath dealt bountifully with me.
The folly and wickedness of men.
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
14 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.
They are corrupt, they have done abominable works;
There is none that doeth good.
2 Jehovah looked down from heaven upon the children of men,
To see if there were any that did [d]understand,
That did seek after God.
3 They are all gone aside; they are together become filthy;
There is none that doeth good, no, not one.
4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And call not upon Jehovah?
5 There were they in great fear;
For God is in the generation of the righteous.
6 Ye put to shame the counsel of the poor,
[e]Because Jehovah is his refuge.
7 Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion!
When Jehovah [f]bringeth back the captivity of his people,
Then shall Jacob rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
17 Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith,
Than a house full of [a]feasting with strife.
2 A servant that dealeth wisely shall have rule over a son that [b]causeth shame,
And shall have part in the inheritance among the brethren.
3 The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold;
But Jehovah trieth the hearts.
4 An evil-doer giveth heed to wicked lips;
And [c]a liar giveth ear to a mischievous tongue.
5 Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker;
And he that is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished.
6 Children’s children are the crown of old men;
And the glory of children are their fathers.
7 [d]Excellent speech becometh not a fool;
Much less do lying lips a prince.
8 A bribe is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it;
Whithersoever [e]it turneth, [f]it [g]prospereth.
9 He that covereth a transgression seeketh love;
But he that harpeth on a matter separateth chief friends.
10 A rebuke entereth deeper into one that hath understanding
Than a hundred stripes into a fool.
11 [h]An evil man seeketh only rebellion;
Therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.
12 Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man,
Rather than a fool in his folly.
13 Whoso rewardeth evil for good,
Evil shall not depart from his house.
14 The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water:
Therefore leave off contention, before there is quarrelling.
15 He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the righteous,
Both of them alike are an abomination to Jehovah.
16 Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom,
Seeing he hath no [i]understanding?
17 A friend loveth at all times;
And [j]a brother is born for adversity.
18 A man void of [k]understanding striketh hands,
And becometh surety in the presence of his neighbor.
19 [l]He loveth transgression that loveth strife:
He that raiseth high his gate seeketh destruction.
20 He that hath a wayward heart findeth no good;
And he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into [m]mischief.
3 But know this, that in the last days grievous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, railers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; 5 holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof: from these also turn away. 6 For of these are they that creep into houses, and take captive silly women laden with sins, led away by divers lusts, 7 ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 And even as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also withstand the truth; men corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning the faith. 9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be evident unto all men, as theirs also came to be. 10 But thou didst follow my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, [a]patience, 11 persecutions, sufferings; what things befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: and out of them all the Lord delivered me. 12 Yea, and all that would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 13 But evil men and impostors shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But abide thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of [b]whom thou hast learned them; 15 and that from a babe thou hast known the sacred writings which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 [c]Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for [d]instruction which is in righteousness: 17 that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.
13 Now before the feast of the passover, Jesus knowing that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own that were in the world, he loved them [a]unto the end. 2 And during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to [b]betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he came forth from God, and goeth unto God, 4 riseth from supper, and layeth aside his garments; and he took a towel, and girded himself. 5 Then he poureth water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. 6 So he cometh to Simon Peter. He saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? 7 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt understand hereafter. 8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. 9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. 10 Jesus saith to him, He that is bathed needeth not [c]save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. 11 For he knew him that should [d]betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.
12 So when he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and [e]sat down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? 13 Ye call me, Teacher, and, Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. 14 If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that ye also should do as I have done to you. 16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, A [f]servant is not greater than his lord; neither [g]one that is sent greater than he that sent him. 17 If ye know these things, blessed are ye if ye do them. 18 I speak not of you all: I know whom I [h]have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, [i]He that eateth [j]my bread lifted up his heel against me. 19 From henceforth I tell you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he. 20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
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