Book of Common Prayer
Alef [a]
Living in the Law of God
119 How blessed are those whose life[b] is blameless,
who walk in the Law of the Lord!
2 How blessed are those who observe his decrees,
who seek him with all of their heart,
3 who practice no evil
while they walk in his ways.
4 You have commanded concerning your precepts,
that they be guarded with diligence.
5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast,
so I may keep your statutes.
6 Then I will not be ashamed,
since my eyes will be fixed on all of your commands.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart,
as I learn your righteous decrees.
8 I will keep your statutes;
do not ever abandon me.
Bet
The Benefits of the Word
9 How can a young man keep his behavior pure?
By guarding it in accordance with your word.
10 I have sought you with all of my heart;
do not let me drift away from your commands.
11 I have stored what you have said[c] in my heart,
so I won’t sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, Lord!
Teach me your statutes.
13 I have spoken with my lips
about all your decrees that you have announced.[d]
14 I find joy in the path of your decrees,
as if I owned all kinds of riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts,
and I will respect your ways.
16 I am delighted with your statutes;
I will not forget your word.[e]
Gimmel
Living and Keeping God’s Word
17 Deal kindly with your servant
so I may live and keep your word.[f]
18 Open my eyes
so that I will observe amazing things from your instruction.[g]
19 Since I am a stranger on the earth,
do not hide your commands from me.
20 My soul is consumed with longing
for your decrees at all times.
21 You rebuke the accursed ones,
who wander from your commands.
22 Remove scorn and disrespect from me,
for I observe your decrees.
23 Though nobles take their seat and gossip about me,
your servant will meditate on your statutes.
24 I take joy in your decrees,
for they are my counselors.
To the Director: On an eight stringed harp.[a] A Davidic Psalm.
Human and Divine Words Contrasted
12 Help, Lord, for godly people no longer exist;
trustworthy people have disappeared from humanity.[b]
2 Everyone speaks lies to his neighbor;
they speak with flattering lips and hidden motives.[c]
3 The Lord will cut off all slippery lips,
and the tongue that boasts great things,
4 those who say,
“By our tongues we will prevail;
our lips belong to us.
Who is master[d] over us?”
5 “Because the poor are being oppressed,
because the needy are sighing,
I will now arise,” says the Lord,
“I will establish in safety those who yearn for it.”
6 The words of the Lord are pure,
like silver refined in an earthen furnace,
purified seven times over.
7 You, Lord, will keep them[e] safe,
you will guard them[f] from this generation forever.
8 The wicked, however,[g] keep walking around,
exalting the vileness of human beings.[h]
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
A Prayer for Deliverance
13 How long? Lord, will you forget me forever?[i]
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I struggle in my soul at night
and have sorrow in my heart during the day?
How long will my enemy rise up against me?
3 Look at me!
Answer me, Lord, my God!
Give light to my eyes!
Otherwise, I will sleep in death;
4 Otherwise, my enemy will say,
“I have overcome him;”
Otherwise, my persecutor will rejoice
when I am shaken.
5 As for me, I have trusted in your gracious love,
my heart will rejoice in your deliverance.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
for he has dealt bountifully with me.
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
The Fool and God’s Response
14 Fools say to themselves, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt and commit evil deeds;
not one of them practices what is good.
2 The Lord looks down from the heavens upon humanity[j]
to see if anyone shows discernment as he searches for God.
3 All have turned away,
together they have become corrupt;
no one practices what is good, not even one.
4 Will those who do evil ever learn?
They devour my people like they devour bread,
and never call on the Lord.
5 There they are seized with terror,
because God is with those who are[k] righteous.
David Anointed to Succeed Saul
16 The Lord told Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I’ve rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I’m sending you to Jesse from Bethlehem because I’ve chosen for myself one of his sons as king.”
2 Samuel said, “How can I go? Saul will hear about this[a] and kill me!”
The Lord said, “Take a heifer[b] with you and say, ‘I’ve come to offer a sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 You are to invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I’ll show you what you are to do. You are to anoint for me the one I tell you.”
4 Samuel did what the Lord said and went to Bethlehem. The elders of the town came out to meet him trembling, and said, “May your coming be in peace.”
5 He said, “Peace, I’ve come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” Samuel[c] consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they arrived, Samuel[d] saw Eliab, and said, “Surely he’s the Lord’s[e] anointed.”[f]
7 The Lord told Samuel, “Don’t look at his appearance or his height,[g] for I’ve rejected him. Truly, God does not see[h] what man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord sees the heart.”
8 Then Jesse summoned Abinadab and brought him before Samuel, and he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse brought Shammah, and he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 Jesse brought seven of his sons before Samuel, and Samuel told Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.”
11 Then Samuel told Jesse, “Are these all the young men?” He said, “There yet remains the youngest one, and right now he’s tending the sheep.” Samuel told Jesse, “Send someone to get him,[i] for we won’t do anything else[j] until he arrives here.” 12 So he sent and brought him. He had a dark, healthy complexion, with beautiful eyes, and he was handsome. The Lord said, “Get up and anoint him, for this is the one.”
God’s Spirit Comes on David and Departs from Saul
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David[k] in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord came on David from that day forward. Then Samuel got up and went to Ramah.
Cornelius Has a Vision
10 Now in Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion[a] in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He was a devout man who feared God, as did everyone in his home. He gave many gifts to the poor among the people and always prayed to God.
3 One day, about three in the afternoon,[b] he had a vision and clearly saw an angel of God coming to him and saying to him, “Cornelius!”
4 He stared at the angel[c] in terror and asked, “What is it, Lord?”
The angel[d] answered him, “Your prayers and your gifts to the poor have arisen as a reminder[e] to God. 5 Send men now to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter. 6 He is a guest of Simon, a leatherworker, whose house is by the sea.”
7 When the angel who had spoken to him had gone, Cornelius[f] summoned two of his household servants and a devout soldier, one of those who served him regularly. 8 He explained everything to them and sent them to Joppa.
Peter Has a Vision
9 Around noon[g] the next day, while they were on their way and coming close to the town, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became very hungry and wanted to eat, and while the food[h] was being prepared, he fell into a trance 11 and saw heaven open and something like a large linen sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners to the ground. 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals, reptiles, and birds of the air.
13 Then a voice told him,[i] “Get up, Peter! Kill something and eat it.”
14 But Peter said, “Absolutely not, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean!”
15 Again the voice came to him a second time, “You must stop calling unclean what God has made clean.” 16 This happened three times. Then the sheet[j] was quickly taken back into heaven.
12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. He stooped down and saw only the linen cloths. Then he went home, wondering about what had happened.[a]
Jesus Meets Two Disciples(A)
13 On the same day, two of Jesus’ followers[b] were walking to a village called Emmaus, about 60 stadia[c] from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about all these things that had taken place. 15 While they were discussing and analyzing what had happened,[d] Jesus himself approached and began to walk with them, 16 but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.
17 He asked them, “What are you discussing with each other as you’re walking along?” They stood still and looked gloomy.
18 The one whose name was Cleopas answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who doesn’t know what happened there in the past few days?”
19 He asked them, “What things?”
They answered him, “The events involving Jesus of Nazareth,[e] who was a prophet, mighty in what he said and did before God and all the people, 20 and how our high priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and had him crucified. 21 But we kept hoping that he would be the one to redeem[f] Israel. What is more, this is now the third day since these things occurred. 22 Even some of our women have startled us by what they told us.[g] They were at the tomb early this morning 23 and didn’t find his body there, so they came back and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who were saying that he was alive. 24 Then some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said. However, they didn’t see him.”
25 Then Jesus[h] told them, “O, how foolish you are! How slow you are to believe everything the prophets said! 26 The Messiah[i] had to suffer these things and then enter his glory, didn’t he?” 27 Then, beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them all the passages of Scripture about himself.
28 As they came near the village where the two men[j] were headed, Jesus[k] acted as though he were going farther. 29 But they strongly urged him, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the daylight is nearly gone.” So he went in to stay with them.
30 While he was at the table with them, he took the bread, blessed it, broke it in pieces, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they knew who he was. And he vanished from them.
32 Then they asked each other, “Our hearts kept burning within us[l] as he was talking to us on the road and explaining the Scriptures to us, didn’t they?”
33 They got up right away, went back to Jerusalem, and found the eleven disciples[m] and their companions all together. 34 They kept saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then the two men[n] began to tell what had happened on the road and how they had recognized him when he broke the bread in pieces.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.