Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Guidance and for Deliverance
A Psalm of David.
25 To thee, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
2 O my God, in thee I trust,
let me not be put to shame;
let not my enemies exult over me.
3 Yea, let none that wait for thee be put to shame;
let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
4 Make me to know thy ways, O Lord;
teach me thy paths.
5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me,
for thou art the God of my salvation;
for thee I wait all the day long.
6 Be mindful of thy mercy, O Lord, and of thy steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
7 Remember not the sins of my youth, or my trangressions;
according to thy steadfast love remember me,
for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord!
8 Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9 He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
11 For thy name’s sake, O Lord,
pardon my guilt, for it is great.
12 Who is the man that fears the Lord?
Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.
13 He himself shall abide in prosperity,
and his children shall possess the land.
14 The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him,
and he makes known to them his covenant.
15 My eyes are ever toward the Lord,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
16 Turn thou to me, and be gracious to me;
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 Relieve the troubles of my heart,
and bring me[a] out of my distresses.
18 Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.
19 Consider how many are my foes,
and with what violent hatred they hate me.
20 Oh guard my life, and deliver me;
let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in thee.
21 May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for thee.
22 Redeem Israel, O God,
out of all his troubles.
God’s Power and Justice
To the choirmaster: according to Muthlabben. A Psalm of David.
9 I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will tell of all thy wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and exult in thee,
I will sing praise to thy name, O Most High.
3 When my enemies turned back,
they stumbled and perished before thee.
4 For thou hast maintained my just cause;
thou hast sat on the throne giving righteous judgment.
5 Thou hast rebuked the nations, thou hast destroyed the wicked;
thou hast blotted out their name for ever and ever.
6 The enemy have vanished in everlasting ruins;
their cities thou hast rooted out;
the very memory of them has perished.
7 But the Lord sits enthroned for ever,
he has established his throne for judgment;
8 and he judges the world with righteousness,
he judges the peoples with equity.
9 The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 And those who know thy name put their trust in thee,
for thou, O Lord, hast not forsaken those who seek thee.
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion!
Tell among the peoples his deeds!
12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
13 Be gracious to me, O Lord!
Behold what I suffer from those who hate me,
O thou who liftest me up from the gates of death,
14 that I may recount all thy praises,
that in the gates of the daughter of Zion
I may rejoice in thy deliverance.
15 The nations have sunk in the pit which they made;
in the net which they hid has their own foot been caught.
16 The Lord has made himself known, he has executed judgment;
the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.Higgaion. Selah
17 The wicked shall depart to Sheol,
all the nations that forget God.
18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
and the hope of the poor shall not perish for ever.
19 Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail;
let the nations be judged before thee!
20 Put them in fear, O Lord!
Let the nations know that they are but men!Selah
Who Shall Abide in God’s Sanctuary?
A Psalm of David.
15 O Lord, who shall sojourn in thy tent?
Who shall dwell on thy holy hill?
2 He who walks blamelessly, and does what is right,
and speaks truth from his heart;
3 who does not slander with his tongue,
and does no evil to his friend,
nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;
4 in whose eyes a reprobate is despised,
but who honors those who fear the Lord;
who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
5 who does not put out his money at interest,
and does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved.
13 On the morrow Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood about Moses from morning till evening. 14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand about you from morning till evening?” 15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God; 16 when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between a man and his neighbor, and I make them know the statutes of God and his decisions.” 17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and the people with you will wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you; you are not able to perform it alone. 19 Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God, and bring their cases to God; 20 and you shall teach them the statutes and the decisions, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. 21 Moreover choose able men from all the people, such as fear God, men who are trustworthy and who hate a bribe; and place such men over the people as rulers of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 22 And let them judge the people at all times; every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves; so it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. 23 If you do this, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”
24 So Moses gave heed to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. 25 Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 26 And they judged the people at all times; hard cases they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves. 27 Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way to his own country.
Tending the Flock of God
5 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ as well as a partaker in the glory that is to be revealed. 2 Tend the flock of God that is your charge,[a] not by constraint but willingly,[b] not for shameful gain but eagerly, 3 not as domineering over those in your charge but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd is manifested you will obtain the unfading crown of glory. 5 Likewise you that are younger be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you. 7 Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you. 8 Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, and strengthen[c] you. 11 To him be the dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings and Benediction
12 By Silva′nus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God; stand fast in it. 13 She who is at Babylon,[d] who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings; and so does my son Mark. 14 Greet one another with the kiss of love.
Peace to all of you that are in Christ.
The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.[a]
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram,[b] 4 and Ram[c] the father of Ammin′adab, and Ammin′adab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Bo′az by Rahab, and Bo′az the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uri′ah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehobo′am, and Rehobo′am the father of Abi′jah, and Abi′jah the father of Asa,[d] 8 and Asa[e] the father of Jehosh′aphat, and Jehosh′aphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzzi′ah, 9 and Uzzi′ah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezeki′ah, 10 and Hezeki′ah the father of Manas′seh, and Manas′seh the father of Amos,[f] and Amos[g] the father of Josi′ah, 11 and Josi′ah the father of Jechoni′ah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoni′ah was the father of She-al′ti-el,[h] and She-al′ti-el[i] the father of Zerub′babel, 13 and Zerub′babel the father of Abi′ud, and Abi′ud the father of Eli′akim, and Eli′akim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eli′ud, 15 and Eli′ud the father of Elea′zar, and Elea′zar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.[j]
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.
The Proclamation of John the Baptist
3 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent,[a] for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.”
4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair, and a leather girdle around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.[b]
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.