Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 119[a]
א (Alef)
119 How blessed are those whose actions are blameless,[b]
who obey[c] the law of the Lord.
2 How blessed are those who observe his rules,
and seek him with all their heart,
3 who, moreover, do no wrong,
but follow in his footsteps.[d]
4 You demand that your precepts
be carefully kept.[e]
5 If only I were predisposed[f]
to keep your statutes.
6 Then I would not be ashamed,
if[g] I were focused on[h] all your commands.
7 I will give you sincere thanks,[i]
when I learn your just regulations.
8 I will keep your statutes.
Do not completely abandon me.[j]
ב (Bet)
9 How can a young person[k] maintain a pure life?[l]
By guarding it according to your instructions.[m]
10 With all my heart I seek you.
Do not allow me to stray from your commands.
11 In my heart I store up[n] your words,[o]
so I might not sin against you.
12 You deserve praise,[p] O Lord.
Teach me your statutes.
13 With my lips I proclaim
all the regulations you have revealed.[q]
14 I rejoice in the lifestyle prescribed by your rules[r]
as if[s] they were riches of all kinds.[t]
15 I will meditate on[u] your precepts
and focus on[v] your behavior.[w]
16 I find delight[x] in your statutes;
I do not forget your instructions.[y]
ג (Gimel)
17 Be kind to your servant.
Then I will live[z] and keep[aa] your instructions.[ab]
18 Open[ac] my eyes so I can truly see[ad]
the marvelous things in your law.
19 I am a resident foreigner in this land.[ae]
Do not hide your commands from me.
20 I desperately long to know[af]
your regulations at all times.
21 You reprimand arrogant people.
Those who stray from your commands are doomed.[ag]
22 Spare me[ah] shame and humiliation,
for I observe your rules.
23 Though rulers plot and slander me,[ai]
your servant meditates on your statutes.
24 Yes, I find delight in your rules;
they give me guidance.[aj]
Psalm 12[a]
For the music director, according to the sheminith style;[b] a psalm of David.
12 Deliver, Lord!
For the godly[c] have disappeared;[d]
people of integrity[e] have vanished.[f]
2 People lie to one another;[g]
they flatter and deceive.[h]
3 May the Lord cut off[i] all flattering lips,
and the tongue that boasts![j]
4 They say,[k] “We speak persuasively;[l]
we know how to flatter and boast.[m]
Who is our master?”[n]
5 “Because of the violence done to the oppressed,[o]
because of the painful cries[p] of the needy,
I will spring into action,”[q] says the Lord.
“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.”[r]
6 The Lord’s words are absolutely reliable.[s]
They are as untainted as silver purified in a furnace on the ground,
where it is thoroughly refined.[t]
7 You, Lord, will protect them;[u]
you will continually shelter each one from these evil people,[v]
8 for the wicked seem to be everywhere,[w]
when people promote evil.[x]
Psalm 13[y]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
13 How long, Lord, will you continue to ignore me?[z]
How long will you pay no attention to me?[aa]
2 How long must I worry,[ab]
and suffer in broad daylight?[ac]
How long will my enemy gloat over me?[ad]
3 Look at me![ae] Answer me, O Lord my God!
Revive me,[af] or else I will die.[ag]
4 Then[ah] my enemy will say, “I have defeated him.”
Then[ai] my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But I[aj] trust in your faithfulness.
May I rejoice because of your deliverance.[ak]
6 I will sing praises[al] to the Lord
when he vindicates me.[am]
Psalm 14[an]
For the music director, by David.
14 Fools say to themselves,[ao] “There is no God.”[ap]
They sin and commit evil deeds;[aq]
none of them does what is right.[ar]
2 The Lord looks down from heaven[as] at the human race,[at]
to see if there is anyone who is wise[au] and seeks God.[av]
3 Everyone rejects God;[aw]
they are all morally corrupt.[ax]
None of them does what is right,[ay]
not even one.
4 All those who behave wickedly[az] do not understand—[ba]
those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,
and do not call out to the Lord.
5 They are absolutely terrified,[bb]
for God defends the godly.[bc]
6 You want to humiliate the oppressed,[bd]
even though[be] the Lord is their[bf] shelter.
7 I wish the deliverance[bg] of Israel would come from Zion!
When the Lord restores the well-being of his people,[bh]
may Jacob rejoice,[bi]
may Israel be happy![bj]
Threat and Blessing following Covenant Disobedience
25 After you have produced children and grandchildren and have been in the land a long time,[a] if you become corrupt and make an image of any kind[b] and do other evil things before the Lord your God that enrage him,[c] 26 I invoke heaven and earth as witnesses against you[d] today that you will surely and swiftly be removed[e] from the very land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess. You will not last long there because you will surely be[f] annihilated. 27 Then the Lord will scatter you among the peoples and there will be very few of you[g] among the nations where the Lord will drive you. 28 There you will worship gods made by human hands—wood and stone that can neither see, hear, eat, nor smell. 29 But if you seek the Lord your God from there, you will find him, if, indeed, you seek him with all your heart and soul.[h] 30 In your distress when all these things happen to you in future days, if you return to the Lord your God and obey him[i] 31 (for he[j] is a merciful God), he will not let you down[k] or destroy you, for he cannot[l] forget the covenant with your ancestors that he confirmed by oath to them.
21 (To my disgrace[a] I must say that we were too weak for that!)[b] But whatever anyone else dares to boast about[c] (I am speaking foolishly), I also dare to boast about the same thing.[d] 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am talking like I am out of my mind!) I am even more so: with much greater labors, with far more imprisonments, with more severe beatings, facing death many times. 24 Five times I received from the Jews forty lashes less one.[e] 25 Three times I was beaten with a rod.[f] Once I received a stoning.[g] Three times I suffered shipwreck. A night and a day I spent adrift in the open sea. 26 I have been on journeys many times, in dangers from rivers, in dangers from robbers,[h] in dangers from my own countrymen, in dangers from Gentiles, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness,[i] in dangers at sea, in dangers from false brothers, 27 in hard work and toil,[j] through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, many times without food, in cold and without enough clothing.[k] 28 Apart from other things,[l] there is the daily pressure on me of my anxious concern[m] for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led into sin,[n] and I do not burn with indignation? 30 If I must boast,[o] I will boast about the things that show my weakness.[p] 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is blessed forever, knows I am not lying. 32 In Damascus, the governor[q] under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus[r] in order to arrest[s] me, 33 but I was let down in a rope-basket[t] through a window in the city wall, and escaped his hands.
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate[a] the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise[b] the other. You cannot serve God and money.[c]
Do Not Worry
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry[d] about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? 26 Look at the birds in the sky:[e] They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds[f] them. Aren’t you more valuable[g] than they are? 27 And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life?[h] 28 Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers[i] of the field grow; they do not work[j] or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! 30 And if this is how God clothes the wild grass,[k] which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven,[l] won’t he clothe you even more,[m] you people of little faith? 31 So then, don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For the unconverted[n] pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But above all pursue his kingdom[o] and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.[p]
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