Book of Common Prayer
ז Zayin
49 Remember your word to your servant;
you have given me hope through it.
50 This is my comfort in my affliction:(A)
Your promise has given me life.
51 The arrogant constantly ridicule me,
but I do not turn away from your instruction.(B)
52 Lord, I remember your judgments from long ago
and find comfort.
53 Fury seizes me(C) because of the wicked
who reject your instruction.(D)
54 Your statutes are the theme of my song
during my earthly life.[a]
55 Lord, I remember your name(E) in the night,(F)
and I obey your instruction.
56 This is my practice:
I obey your precepts.(G)
ח Cheth
57 The Lord is my portion;[b](H)
I have promised to keep your words.
58 I have sought your favor(I) with all my heart;
be gracious to me(J) according to your promise.
59 I thought about my ways(K)
and turned my steps back to your decrees.
60 I hurried, not hesitating
to keep your commands.
61 Though the ropes of the wicked(L)
were wrapped around me,
I did not forget your instruction.(M)
62 I rise at midnight to thank you(N)
for your righteous judgments.(O)
63 I am a friend to all who fear you,(P)
to those who keep your precepts.
64 Lord, the earth is filled with your faithful love;(Q)
teach me your statutes.(R)
ט Teth
65 Lord, you have treated your servant well,
just as you promised.
66 Teach me good judgment and discernment,(S)
for I rely on your commands.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,(T)
but now I keep your word.
68 You are good,(U) and you do what is good;(V)
teach me your statutes.
69 The arrogant have smeared me with lies,(W)
but I obey your precepts with all my heart.(X)
70 Their hearts are hard and insensitive,(Y)
but I delight in your instruction.(Z)
71 It was good for me to be afflicted(AA)
so that I could learn your statutes.
72 Instruction from your lips(AB) is better for me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
Psalm 49
Misplaced Trust in Wealth
For the choir director. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
1 Hear this, all you peoples;
listen, all who inhabit the world,(A)
2 both low and high,
rich and poor together.(B)
3 My mouth speaks wisdom;
my heart’s meditation brings understanding.(C)
4 I turn my ear to a proverb;
I explain my riddle with a lyre.(D)
5 Why should I fear in times of trouble?
The iniquity of my foes surrounds me.(E)
6 They trust in their wealth
and boast of their abundant riches.(F)
7 Yet these cannot redeem a person[a]
or pay his ransom to God(G)—
8 since the price of redeeming him is too costly,
one should forever stop trying[b](H)—
9 so that he may live forever
and not see the Pit.(I)
10 For one can see that the wise die;
the foolish and stupid also pass away.(J)
Then they leave their wealth to others.(K)
11 Their graves are their permanent homes,[c]
their dwellings from generation to generation,
though they have named estates after themselves.(L)
12 But despite his assets,[d] mankind will not last;
he is like the animals that perish.(M)
13 This is the way of those who are arrogant,
and of their followers,
who approve of their words.[e](N)Selah
14 Like sheep they are headed for Sheol;
Death will shepherd them.
The upright will rule over them in the morning,(O)
and their form will waste away in Sheol,[f]
far from their lofty abode.(P)
15 But God will redeem me
from the power of Sheol,
for he will take me.(Q)Selah
16 Do not be afraid when a person gets rich,
when the wealth[g] of his house increases.(R)
17 For when he dies, he will take nothing at all;
his wealth will not follow him down.(S)
18 Though he blesses himself during his lifetime—
and you are acclaimed when you do well for yourself(T)—
19 he will go to the generation of his ancestors;
they will never see the light.(U)
20 Mankind, with his assets
but without understanding,
is like the animals that perish.(V)
Psalm 53
A Portrait of Sinners
For the choir director: on Mahalath.(A) A Maskil of David.
1 The fool says in his heart, “There’s no God.”
They are corrupt, and they do vile deeds.
There is no one who does good.(B)
2 God looks down from heaven on the human race[a]
to see if there is one who is wise,
one who seeks God.(C)
3 All have turned away;
all alike have become corrupt.
There is no one who does good,
not even one.(D)
Elijah Announces Famine
17 Now Elijah(A) the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers,[a](B) said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives,(C) in whose presence I stand, there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!” (D)
2 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 3 “Leave here, turn eastward, and hide(E) at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. 4 You are to drink from the wadi. I have commanded the ravens(F) to provide for you there.”
5 So he proceeded to do what the Lord commanded. Elijah left and lived at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. 6 The ravens kept bringing him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening,(G) and he would drink from the wadi. 7 After a while, the wadi dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
Elijah and the Widow
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Get up, go to Zarephath(H) that belongs to Sidon and stay there. Look, I have commanded a woman who is a widow to provide for you there.” 10 So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering wood. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup and let me drink.”(I) 11 As she went to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.”
12 But she said, “As the Lord your God lives,(J) I don’t have anything baked—only a handful of flour in the jar and a bit of oil(K) in the jug. Just now, I am gathering a couple of sticks in order to go prepare it for myself and my son so we can eat it and die.”(L)
13 Then Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid; go and do as you have said. But first make me a small loaf from it and bring it out to me. Afterward, you may make some for yourself and your son, 14 for this is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘The flour jar will not become empty and the oil jug will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the surface of the land.’”(M)
15 So she proceeded to do according to the word of Elijah. Then the woman, Elijah, and her household ate for many days.(N) 16 The flour jar did not become empty, and the oil jug did not run dry, according to the word of the Lord he had spoken through[b] Elijah.
The Widow’s Son Raised
17 After this, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. His illness got worse until he stopped breathing.(O) 18 She said to Elijah, “Man of God,(P) what do you have against me?(Q) Have you come to call attention to my iniquity(R) so that my son is put to death?”
19 But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him from her arms, brought him up to the upstairs room(S) where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord(T) and said, “Lord my God, have you also brought tragedy on the widow I am staying with by killing her son?” 21 Then he stretched himself out over the boy three times.(U) He cried out to the Lord and said, “Lord my God, please let this boy’s life come into him again!”
22 So the Lord listened to Elijah, and the boy’s life came into him again, and he lived.(V) 23 Then Elijah took the boy, brought him down from the upstairs room into the house, and gave him to his mother.(W) Elijah said, “Look, your son is alive.”
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know you are a man of God(X) and the Lord’s word from your mouth is true.”(Y)
Christian Humility
2 If, then, there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love,(A) if any fellowship with the Spirit,(B) if any affection and mercy,(C) 2 make my joy complete by thinking the same way,(D) having the same love,(E) united in spirit, intent on one(F) purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition(G) or conceit,(H) but in humility(I) consider others as more important(J) than yourselves. 4 Everyone should look not to his own interests,(K) but rather to the interests of others.(L)
Christ’s Humility and Exaltation
5 Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus,
6 who, existing in the form of God,
did not consider equality with God(M)
as something to be exploited.[a]
7 Instead he emptied himself(N)
by assuming the form of a servant,(O)
taking on the likeness of humanity.(P)
And when he had come as a man,
8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death—
even to death on a cross.(Q)
9 For this reason God highly exalted him(R)
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus
every knee will bow(S)—
in heaven(T) and on earth
and under the earth(U)—
11 and every tongue(V) will confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory(W) of God the Father.
Wise Men Visit the King
2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem,(A) 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?(B) For we saw his star at its rising(C) and have come to worship him.”[a]
3 When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes(D) of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born.
5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet:
6 And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah:
Because out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.”[b](E)
7 Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship him.”[c](F)
9 After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was—the star they had seen at its rising. It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him.[d] Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.(G) 12 And being warned(H) in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.
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