Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 101
A Vow of Integrity
A Davidic psalm.
1 I will sing of faithful love and justice;
I will sing praise to You, Lord.(A)
2 I will pay attention to the way of integrity.
When will You come to me?
I will live with a heart of integrity in my house.(B)
3 I will not set anything worthless before my eyes.
I hate the practice of transgression;
it will not cling to me.(C)
4 A devious heart will be far from me;
I will not be involved with[a] evil.(D)
5 I will destroy anyone
who secretly slanders his neighbor;(E)
I cannot tolerate anyone
with haughty eyes or an arrogant heart.(F)
6 My eyes favor the faithful of the land
so that they may sit down with me.
The one who follows the way of integrity
may serve me.(G)
7 No one who acts deceitfully
will live in my palace;
no one who tells lies
will remain in my presence.[b](H)
8 Every morning I will destroy
all the wicked of the land,
eliminating all evildoers from the Lord’s city.(I)
Psalm 109
Prayer against an Enemy
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.
1 God of my praise, do not be silent.(A)
2 For wicked and deceitful mouths open against me;
they speak against me with lying tongues.(B)
3 They surround me with hateful words
and attack me without cause.(C)
4 In return for my love they accuse me,
but I continue to pray.[a](D)
5 They repay me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.(E)
6 Set a wicked person over him;
let an accuser[b] stand at his right hand.(F)
7 When he is judged, let him be found guilty,
and let his prayer be counted as sin.(G)
8 Let his days be few;
let another take over his position.(H)
9 Let his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow.(I)
10 Let his children wander as beggars,
searching for food far[c] from their demolished homes.(J)
11 Let a creditor seize all he has;
let strangers plunder what he has worked for.(K)
12 Let no one show him kindness,
and let no one be gracious to his fatherless children.(L)
13 Let the line of his descendants be cut off;
let their name be blotted out in the next generation.(M)
14 Let his ancestors’ guilt
be remembered before the Lord,(N)
and do not let his mother’s sin be blotted out.(O)
15 Let their sins[d] always remain before the Lord,
and let Him erase[e] all memory of them from the earth.(P)
16 For he did not think to show kindness,
but pursued the afflicted, poor, and brokenhearted
in order to put them to death.(Q)
17 He loved cursing—let it fall on him;
he took no delight in blessing—let it be far from him.(R)
18 He wore cursing like his coat—
let it enter his body like water
and go into his bones like oil.(S)
19 Let it be like a robe he wraps around himself,
like a belt he always wears.(T)
20 Let this be the Lord’s payment to my accusers,
to those who speak evil against me.(U)
21 But You, Yahweh my Lord,
deal kindly with me because of Your name;(V)
deliver me because of the goodness of Your faithful love.(W)
22 For I am afflicted and needy;(X)
my heart is wounded within me.(Y)
23 I fade away like a lengthening shadow;(Z)
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak from fasting,
and my body is emaciated.[f](AA)
25 I have become an object of ridicule to my accusers;[g]
when they see me, they shake their heads in scorn.(AB)
26 Help me, Lord my God;
save me according to Your faithful love(AC)
27 so they may know that this is Your hand
and that You, Lord, have done it.(AD)
28 Though they curse, You will bless.
When they rise up, they will be put to shame,
but Your servant will rejoice.(AE)
29 My accusers will be clothed with disgrace;
they will wear their shame like a cloak.(AF)
30 I will fervently thank the Lord with my mouth;
I will praise Him in the presence of many.(AG)
ע Ayin
121 I have done what is just and right;(A)
do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Guarantee Your servant’s well-being;(B)
do not let the arrogant oppress me.
123 My eyes grow weary(C) looking for Your salvation
and for Your righteous promise.
124 Deal with Your servant based on Your faithful love;(D)
teach me Your statutes.
125 I am Your servant;(E) give me understanding(F)
so that I may know Your decrees.
126 It is time for the Lord to act,(G)
for they have violated Your instruction.
127 Since I love Your commands(H)
more than gold, even the purest gold,
128 I carefully follow[a] all Your precepts(I)
and hate every false way.(J)
פ Pe
129 Your decrees are wonderful;(K)
therefore I obey them.(L)
130 The revelation of Your words(M) brings light
and gives understanding to the inexperienced.(N)
131 I open my mouth and pant(O)
because I long for Your commands.
132 Turn to me and be gracious to me,(P)
as is Your practice toward those who love Your name.
133 Make my steps steady through Your promise;(Q)
don’t let any sin dominate me.(R)
134 Redeem me from human oppression,(S)
and I will keep Your precepts.
135 Show favor to Your servant,(T)
and teach me Your statutes.(U)
136 My eyes pour out streams of tears(V)
because people do not follow Your instruction.
צ Tsade
137 You are righteous, Lord,(W)
and Your judgments are just.
138 The decrees You issue are righteous
and altogether trustworthy.(X)
139 My anger overwhelms me
because my foes forget Your words.(Y)
140 Your word is completely pure,(Z)
and Your servant loves it.(AA)
141 I am insignificant and despised,(AB)
but I do not forget Your precepts.(AC)
142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
and Your instruction is true.(AD)
143 Trouble and distress have overtaken me,
but Your commands are my delight.(AE)
144 Your decrees are righteous forever.(AF)
Give me understanding, and I will live.
Israel’s Prayer
15 Look down from heaven and see(A)
from Your lofty home—holy and beautiful.
Where is Your zeal and Your might?
Your yearning[a] and Your compassion
are withheld from me.
16 Yet You are our Father,
even though Abraham does not know us
and Israel doesn’t recognize us.
You, Yahweh, are our Father;
from ancient times,
Your name is our Redeemer.(B)
17 Why, Yahweh, do You make us stray from Your ways?
You harden our hearts so we do not fear[b] You.(C)
Return, because of Your servants,
the tribes of Your heritage.
18 Your holy people had a possession[c]
for a little while,
but our enemies have trampled down
Your sanctuary.(D)
19 We have become like those You never ruled over,
like those not called by Your name.(E)
64 [d]If only You would tear the heavens open
and come down,(F)
so that mountains would quake at Your presence(G)—
2 [e]as fire kindles the brushwood,
and fire causes water to boil—
to make Your name known to Your enemies,
so that nations will tremble at Your presence!
3 When You did awesome works(H)
that we did not expect,
You came down,(I)
and the mountains quaked at Your presence.
4 From ancient times no one has heard,
no one has listened,
no eye has seen any God except You,
who acts on behalf of the one who waits for Him.(J)
5 You welcome the one who joyfully does what is right;
they remember You in Your ways.
But we have sinned, and You were angry.
How can we be saved if we remain in our sins?[f]
6 All of us have become like something unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like a polluted[g] garment;(K)
all of us wither like a leaf,(L)
and our iniquities(M) carry us away like the wind.
7 No one calls on Your name,
striving to take hold of You.
For You have hidden Your face from us(N)
and made us melt because of[h][i] our iniquity.
Qualifications of Church Leaders
3 This saying is trustworthy:[a](A) “If anyone aspires to be an overseer,(B) he desires a noble work.” 2 An overseer,(C) therefore, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible,(D) respectable, hospitable,(E) an able teacher,[b] 3 not addicted to wine, not a bully but gentle, not quarrelsome, not greedy(F)— 4 one who manages his own household competently, having his children under control with all dignity. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God’s church?) 6 He must not be a new convert, or he might become conceited and fall into the condemnation of the Devil.(G) 7 Furthermore, he must have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he does not fall into disgrace and the Devil’s(H) trap.
8 Deacons,(I) likewise, should be worthy of respect, not hypocritical, not drinking a lot of wine, not greedy for money, 9 holding the mystery of the faith(J) with a clear conscience.(K) 10 And they must also be tested first; if they prove blameless, then they can serve as deacons. 11 Wives,(L) too, must be worthy of respect, not slanderers, self-controlled,(M) faithful in everything. 12 Deacons must be husbands of one wife, managing their children and their own households competently. 13 For those who have served well as deacons acquire a good standing for themselves, and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
The Mystery of Godliness
14 I write these things to you, hoping to come(N) to you soon. 15 But if I should be delayed, I have written so that you will know how people ought to act in God’s household,(O) which is the church of the living God,(P) the pillar and foundation of the truth.(Q) 16 And most certainly, the mystery of godliness(R) is great:
Messiah’s Authority Challenged
27 They(A) came again to Jerusalem.(B) As He was walking in the temple complex,(C) the chief priests, the scribes,(D) and the elders(E) came 28 and asked Him, “By what authority(F) are You doing these things? Who gave You this authority to do these things?”
29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question;(G) then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30 Was John’s baptism(H) from heaven or from men? Answer Me.”
31 They began to argue among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe(I) him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘From men’”—they were afraid of the crowd, because everyone thought that John was a genuine prophet.(J) 33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
The Parable of the Vineyard Owner
12 Then(K) He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard,(L) put a fence around it, dug out a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away. 2 At harvest time he sent(M) a slave(N) to the farmers to collect some of the fruit(O) of the vineyard from the farmers. 3 But they took him, beat(P) him, and sent him away empty-handed.(Q) 4 Again he sent another slave to them, and they[a] hit him on the head and treated him shamefully.[b] 5 Then he sent another, and they killed that one. He also sent many others; they beat some and they killed some.
6 “He still had one to send, a beloved(R) son. Finally(S) he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 “But those tenant farmers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “Therefore, what will the owner[c](T) of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this Scripture:(U)
The(V) stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.[d](W)
11 This came from the Lord(X)
and is wonderful in our eyes?”[e]
12 Because they knew He had said this parable against them, they were looking for a way to arrest Him, but they were afraid of the crowd. So they left Him and went away.
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