Book of Common Prayer
BOOK I
(Psalms 1–41)
Psalm 1
The Two Ways
1 How happy is the man
who does not follow[a] the advice of the wicked
or take[b] the path of sinners
or join a group[c] of mockers!(A)
2 Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night.(B)
3 He is like a tree planted beside streams of water[d]
that bears its fruit in season[e](C)
and whose leaf does not wither.(D)
Whatever he does prospers.(E)
4 The wicked are not like this;
instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.(F)
5 Therefore the wicked will not survive[f] the judgment,(G)
and sinners will not be in the community of the righteous.
Psalm 2
Coronation of the Son
1 Why(J) do the nations rebel[g](K)
and the peoples plot in vain?(L)
2 The kings of the earth take their stand,(M)
and the rulers conspire together
against the Lord and His Anointed One:[h](N)
3 “Let us tear off their chains
and free ourselves from their restraints.”[i](O)
4 The One enthroned[j] in heaven laughs;
the Lord ridicules them.(P)
5 Then He speaks to them in His anger
and terrifies them in His wrath:(Q)
6 “I have consecrated My King[k]
on Zion, My holy mountain.”(R)
7 I will declare the Lord’s decree:
He said to Me, “You are My Son;[l]
today I have become Your[m] Father.(S)
8 Ask of Me,
and I will make the nations Your[n] inheritance
and the ends of the earth Your[o] possession.(T)
9 You will break[p] them with a rod of iron;
You[q] will shatter them like pottery.”[r](U)
10 So now, kings, be wise;
receive instruction, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with reverential awe
and rejoice with trembling.(V)
12 Pay homage to[s] the Son or He[t] will be angry
and you will perish in your rebellion,[u](W)
for His[v] anger may ignite at any moment.(X)
All those who take refuge in Him[w] are happy.(Y)
Psalm 3
Confidence in Troubled Times
A psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom.(Z)
1 Lord, how my foes increase!
There are many who attack me.(AA)
2 Many say about me,
“There is no help for him in God.”(AB)
3 But You, Lord, are a shield around me,(AC)
my glory,(AD) and the One who lifts up my head.(AE)
4 I cry aloud to the Lord,
and He answers me from His holy mountain.(AF)
5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again because the Lord sustains me.(AG)
6 I am not afraid of the thousands of people
who have taken their stand against me on every side.(AH)
7 Rise up, Lord!(AI)
Save me, my God!
You strike all my enemies on the cheek;(AJ)
You break the teeth of the wicked.(AK)
8 Salvation belongs to the Lord;(AL)
may Your blessing be on Your people.(AM)
Psalm 4
A Night Prayer
For the choir director: with stringed instruments.(AN) A Davidic psalm.
1 Answer me when I call,
God, who vindicates me.[x](AO)
You freed me from affliction;(AP)
be gracious to me and hear my prayer.
2 How long, exalted men, will my honor be insulted?(AQ)
How long will you love what is worthless(AR)
and pursue a lie?
3 Know that the Lord has set apart
the faithful for Himself;
the Lord will hear when I call to Him.
4 Be angry[y] and do not sin;(AS)
on your bed, reflect in your heart and be still.(AT)
5 Offer sacrifices in righteousness[z](AU)
and trust in the Lord.(AV)
6 Many are saying, “Who can show us anything good?”
Look on us with favor, Lord.(AW)
Psalm 7
Prayer for Justice
A Shiggaion[a] of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush,[b] a Benjaminite.
1 Yahweh my God, I seek refuge in You;(A)
save me from all my pursuers and rescue me(B)
2 or they[c] will tear me like a lion,
ripping me apart with no one to rescue me.[d](C)
3 Yahweh my God, if I have done this,
if there is injustice on my hands,(D)
4 if I have done harm to one at peace with me(E)
or have plundered[e] my adversary without cause,(F)
5 may an enemy pursue and overtake me;
may he trample me to the ground(G)
and leave my honor in the dust.(H)
6 Rise up, Lord, in Your anger;
lift Yourself up against the fury of my adversaries;(I)
awake for me;[f](J)
You have ordained[g] a judgment.(K)
7 Let the assembly of peoples gather around You;(L)
take Your seat[h] on high over it.(M)
8 The Lord judges the peoples;(N)
vindicate me, Lord,
according to my righteousness and my integrity.[i](O)
9 Let the evil of the wicked come to an end,(P)
but establish the righteous.(Q)
The One who examines the thoughts and emotions[j]
is a righteous God.(R)
10 My shield is with[k] God,(S)
who saves the upright in heart.(T)
11 God is a righteous judge
and a God who shows His wrath every day.(U)
12 If anyone does not repent,
God[l] will sharpen His sword;(V)
He has strung[m] His bow and made it ready.(W)
13 He has prepared His deadly weapons;
He tips His arrows with fire.(X)
14 See, the wicked one is pregnant with evil,
conceives trouble, and gives birth to deceit.(Y)
15 He dug a pit and hollowed it out
but fell into the hole he had made.(Z)
16 His trouble comes back on his own head,
and his violence falls on the top of his head.(AA)
17 I will thank the Lord for His righteousness;
I will sing about the name of Yahweh the Most High.(AB)
First Series of Speeches
Eliphaz Speaks
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
5 Call out if you please. Will anyone answer you?
Which of the holy ones(A) will you turn to?
2 For anger kills a fool,
and jealousy slays the gullible.(B)
3 I have seen a fool taking root,
but I immediately pronounced a curse on his home.
4 His children are far from safety.
They are crushed at the city gate,(C)
with no one to rescue them.
5 The hungry consume his harvest,
even taking it out of the thorns.[a]
The thirsty[b] pant for his children’s wealth.
6 For distress does not grow out of the soil,
and trouble does not sprout from the ground.
7 But mankind is born for trouble(D)
as surely as sparks fly upward.
17 See how happy the man is God corrects;
so do not reject the discipline of the Almighty.
18 For He crushes but also binds up;
He strikes, but His hands also heal.(A)
19 He will rescue you from six calamities;
no harm will touch you in seven.
20 In famine He will redeem you from death,
and in battle, from the power of the sword.(B)
21 You will be safe from slander[a]
and not fear destruction when it comes.(C)
19 And after taking some food, he regained his strength.(A)
Saul Proclaiming the Messiah
Saul was with the disciples in Damascus for some days. 20 Immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues: “He is the Son of God.”(B)
21 But all who heard him were astounded and said, “Isn’t this the man who, in Jerusalem, was destroying those who called on this name and then came here for the purpose of taking them as prisoners to the chief priests?”(C)
22 But Saul grew more capable and kept confounding the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that this One is the Messiah.
23 After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him, 24 but their plot became known to Saul. So they were watching the gates day and night intending to kill him,(D) 25 but his disciples took him by night and lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the wall.(E)
Saul in Jerusalem
26 When he arrived in Jerusalem,(F) he tried to associate with the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, since they did not believe he was a disciple. 27 Barnabas, however, took him and brought him to the apostles and explained to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and that He had talked to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly(G) in the name of Jesus.(H) 28 Saul was coming and going with them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He conversed and debated with the Hellenistic Jews,[a] but they attempted to kill him.(I) 30 When the brothers found out, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.(J)
31 So the church(K) throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace, being built up and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, and it increased in numbers.
52 At that, the Jews argued(A) among themselves,(B) “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”
53 So Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man(C) and drink His blood,(D) you do not have life in yourselves. 54 Anyone who eats My flesh and drinks My blood(E) has eternal life, and I will raise(F) him up on the last day, 55 because My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink. 56 The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood lives in Me, and I in him.(G) 57 Just as the living(H) Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on Me will live(I) because of Me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the manna[a] your fathers ate—and they died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.”(J)
59 He said these things while teaching in the synagogue(K) in Capernaum.(L)
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