Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 16[a]
God the Supreme Good
1 A miktam[b] of David.
Protect me, O God,
for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
3 As for the saints[c] who are in the land,
they are the noble ones,
and in them there is all my delight.
4 Those who chase after other gods
only multiply their sorrows.
Never will I pour out libations of blood to them,
nor will I take up their names[d] on my lips.
5 O Lord, you are my allotted portion and my cup;[e]
you have made my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have established a pleasant site for me;
I have truly received a wonderful inheritance.
7 I bless the Lord who offers me counsel;
even during the night my heart instructs me.
8 I keep the Lord always before me,
for with him at my right hand
I will never fall.
9 [f]Therefore, my heart is glad
and my soul rejoices;
my body too is filled with confidence.
10 For you will not abandon me to the netherworld
or allow your Holy One[g] to suffer corruption.
11 You will show me the path to life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence
and everlasting delights at your right hand.
Psalm 17[h]
Prayer in Time of Persecution
1 A prayer of David.
Hear, O Lord, my call for justice;
give heed to my cry.
Listen to the prayer of my lips,
for they are free of deceit.
2 Let my vindication issue forth from you;
let your eyes discern what is right.
3 You have probed my heart[i]
and examined me throughout the night.
You have tested me
and found no malice in me,
for I have not sinned with my mouth.
4 Despite what other people do,
I have been guided by the word of your lips[j]
and refrained from their acts of violence.
5 My steps have held fast to your paths;
my feet have not wavered.
6 I call upon you, O God, for you will answer me.
Incline your ear to me and listen to my plea.
7 Show how wonderful is your kindness,[k]
you who save those who seek protection
by taking refuge at your right hand.
8 Guard me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings[l]
9 from the wicked who treat me with violence,
from deadly enemies who surround me.
10 There is no compassion in their hearts,[m]
and arrogance issues from their mouths.
11 They track me down and begin to close in,
watching for the chance to strike me down,
12 like a lion primed to attack it prey,
like a young lion lurking in hiding.
13 Rise up, O Lord, confront them, and cast them down;[n]
deliver me from the wicked by your sword.
14 With your hand, O Lord, snatch me from such people,
from the worldly whose reward is in this life.[o]
You satisfy the hunger of those you cherish;
their children have all they desire
and leave their wealth to their little ones.
15 But in my righteousness I will see your face;[p]
when I awaken, I will be blessed by beholding you.
Psalm 22[a]
Suffering and Triumph of the Messiah
1 For the director.[b] According to “The Deer of the Dawn.” A psalm of David.
2 [c]My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why have you paid no heed to my call for help,
to my cries of anguish?
3 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I am afforded no relief.[d]
4 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel.
5 Our ancestors placed their trust in you;
they trusted, and you gave them deliverance.
6 They cried out to you and were saved,
they trusted in you and were not put to shame.
7 But I am a worm and not human,[e]
scorned by people and despised by my kinsmen.
8 All who see me jeer at me;
they sneer in mockery and toss their heads:[f]
9 “He relied on the Lord;
let the Lord set him free.
Let the Lord deliver him,
if he loves him.”[g]
10 [h]Yet you brought me out of the womb
and made me feel secure
upon my mother’s breast.
11 I was entrusted to your care at my birth;
from my mother’s womb, you have been my God.
12 Do not remain aloof from me,
for trouble is near
and no one can help me.
13 [i]Many bulls[j] are encircling me;
fierce bulls of Bashan are closing in on me.
14 They open wide their mouths against me
like ravening and roaring lions.
15 My strength is trickling away like water,
and all my bones are dislocated.
My heart[k] has turned to wax
and melts within me.
16 My mouth is as dry as clayware,
and my tongue sticks to my jaw;[l]
you have laid me down in the dust of death.
17 A pack of dogs surrounds me;
a band of evildoers is closing in on me.
They have pierced my hands and my feet;[m]
18 I can count all my bones.[n]
They stare at me and gloat;
19 they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.[o]
20 [p]But you, O Lord, do not remain aloof from me.
O my Strength, come quickly to my aid.
21 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the grasp of the dogs.
22 Save me[q] from the lion’s mouth
and from the horns of wild oxen.
23 [r]I will proclaim your name to my family;
in the midst of the assembly I will praise you:[s]
24 “You who fear the Lord, praise him.
All you descendants of Jacob,[t] give him glory.
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel.
25 For he has not scorned or disregarded
the wretched man in his suffering;
he has not hidden his face[u] from him
but has heeded his call for help.”
26 I will offer my praise to you in the great assembly;
in the presence of those who fear him, I will fulfill my vows.[v]
27 [w]The poor[x] will eat and be filled;
those who seek the Lord will praise him:
“May your hearts live forever.”
28 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord.
All the families of the nations
will bow low before him.
29 For kingly power belongs to the Lord;
he is the ruler of all the nations.
30 All those who prosper on the earth will bow down before him;
all those who lie in the grave will kneel in homage.
31 [y]But I will live for the Lord,
and my descendants will serve him.
32 Future generations will be told about the Lord
so that they may proclaim to a people yet unborn
the deliverance he has accomplished.
Chapter 5
The Ten Commandments.[a] 1 Moses then summoned all of the Israelites and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the decrees that I proclaim in your hearing today. Learn them and carefully observe them. 2 The Lord, our God, made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with those of us who are still alive and present today. 4 The Lord spoke with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the flame.
5 “I stood between you and the Lord at that time, declaring the word of the Lord to you, for you were afraid and did not go up the mountain because of the fire. He said, 6 ‘I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out from the land of slavery. 7 You shall have no god other than me. 8 You shall not make any idols in the form of anything that dwells in the heavens above or on the earth below or even in the waters below the land. 9 You shall not prostrate yourself to them nor worship them. I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God. I visit the iniquity of the fathers upon their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, 10 but I will show mercy to the thousandth generation on those who love me and observe my commandments.
11 “ ‘You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain, for the Lord will not consider blameless those who take his name in vain.
12 “ ‘You shall observe the Sabbath by keeping it holy, as the Lord, your God, has commanded you. 13 You are to labor on six days, doing all of your work then. 14 The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, your God. You shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your ox, nor your ass, nor your cattle, nor even the foreigner living in your town. Thus your manservant and maidservant can rest as well. 15 Remember that you were once a slave in the land of Egypt. The Lord, your God, brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord, your God, has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.[b]
16 “ ‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord, your God, has commanded you,[c] so that you might have a long life and things might go well with you in the land that the Lord, your God, has given you.
17 “ ‘You shall not murder. 18 You shall not commit adultery. 19 You shall not steal. 20 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 21 You shall not desire your neighbor’s wife. Nor shall you desire your neighbor’s house or land, or his manservant or his maidservant, or his ox or ass or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’ ”
22 Moses at Sinai. These are the things that the Lord proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly on the mountain from the midst of the flame, out of the cloud and the deep darkness, this and nothing more. He then wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.
11 Characteristic Traits of an Apostle. I have been very foolish, but it was you who drove me to it. I should have been commended by you, for in no way did I prove to be inferior to those super-apostles, even though I am nothing. 12 The traits of a true apostle were evident in what I did in your presence: perseverance, signs, wonders, and mighty deeds. 13 How then have you been less privileged than the other Churches, except that I myself did not place a burden on you? Forgive me for being so unfair!
14 Now I am getting ready to come to you for a third time, and I do not intend to be a burden to you. What I want is not your money, but you yourselves. Children are not expected to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. 15 I will be happy to spend and be spent for you. Are you going to love me less because I love you so much more?
16 In any case, let it be assumed that I myself did not prove to be a burden to you. However, you may say that I was crafty and took you in by a trick. 17 Did I take advantage of you through any of those I sent to you? 18 I urged Titus to come to you, and I sent a brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did not he and I walk in the same Spirit, in the same footsteps?
19 There Will Be No More Forgiveness. Have you been supposing all this time that we have been defending ourselves before you? Not at all! We have been speaking in Christ and in the presence of God, my dear ones, doing all things to build you up. 20 I fear that when I come I may find you different from what I wish you to be, and that you may find me different from what you wish me to be.
I am afraid that this will lead to quarreling, jealousy, anger, factions, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. 21 I fear that when I come back my God may humiliate me in your presence and that I may have to mourn over many who previously sinned and have not repented of the impurity, immorality, and licentiousness in which they have indulged.
13 The Two Ways.[a]“Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and those who find it are few in number.
15 False Prophets and True Disciples.[b]“Be on guard against false prophets who come to you disguised in sheep’s clothing, but who inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 By their fruits you will know them. Does one pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but a rotten tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruits you will know them.
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my heavenly Father.
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