Book of Common Prayer
Meditations and Prayers Relating to the Law of God.
Aleph
119 Blessed are those whose way is [a](A)blameless,
Who (B)walk in the Law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are those who (C)comply with His [b]testimonies,
And (D)seek Him (E)with all their heart.
3 They also (F)do no injustice;
They walk in His ways.
4 You have [c](G)ordained Your precepts,
[d]That we are to keep them diligently.
5 Oh that my (H)ways may be established
To (I)keep Your statutes!
6 Then I (J)will not be ashamed
When I look at all Your commandments.
7 I will (K)give thanks to You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments.
8 I will keep Your statutes;
Do not utterly (L)abandon me!
Beth
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By (M)keeping it according to Your word.
10 With (N)all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me (O)wander from Your commandments.
11 I have (P)treasured Your word in my heart,
So that I may not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, Lord;
(Q)Teach me Your statutes.
13 With my lips I have (R)told of
All the (S)ordinances of Your mouth.
14 I have (T)rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
[e]As much as in all riches.
15 I will (U)meditate on Your precepts
And [f]regard (V)Your ways.
16 I shall [g](W)delight in Your statutes;
I will (X)not forget Your word.
Gimel
17 (Y)Deal generously with Your servant,
That I may live and keep Your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold
Wonderful things from Your Law.
19 I am a (Z)stranger on the earth;
Do not hide Your commandments from me.
20 My soul is crushed [h](AA)with longing
For Your ordinances at all times.
21 You (AB)rebuke the arrogant, [i]the (AC)cursed,
Who (AD)wander from Your commandments.
22 (AE)Take disgrace and contempt away from me,
For I (AF)comply with Your testimonies.
23 Even though (AG)rulers sit and speak against me,
Your servant (AH)meditates on Your statutes.
24 Your testimonies also are my (AI)delight;
They are [j]my advisers.
God, a Helper against the Treacherous.
For the music director; [a]upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.
12 Help, Lord, for (A)the godly person has come to an end,
For the faithful have disappeared from the sons of mankind.
2 They (B)speak [b]lies to one another;
They speak with [c](C)flattering lips and a double heart.
3 May the Lord cut off all [d]flattering lips,
The tongue that (D)speaks great things;
4 Who (E)have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are [e]our own; who is lord over us?”
5 “Because of the (F)devastation of the poor, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now (G)I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will (H)put him in the safety for which he longs.”
6 The (I)words of the Lord are pure words;
Like silver (J)refined in a furnace on the ground, filtered seven times.
7 You, Lord, will keep them;
You will (K)protect him from this generation forever.
8 The (L)wicked strut about on every side
When [f](M)vileness is exalted among the sons of mankind.
Prayer for Help in Trouble.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
13 How long, Lord? Will You (N)forget me forever?
How long (O)will You hide Your face from me?
2 How long am I to (P)feel anxious in my soul,
With (Q)grief in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
3 (R)Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
(S)Enlighten my eyes, or I will (T)sleep the sleep of death,
4 And my enemy will (U)say, “I have overcome him,”
And (V)my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.
5 But I have (W)trusted in Your faithfulness;
My heart shall (X)rejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will (Y)sing to the Lord,
Because He has (Z)looked after me.
Foolishness and Wickedness of People.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
14 The fool has (AA)said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed detestable acts;
There is (AB)no one who does good.
2 The Lord has (AC)looked down from heaven upon the sons of mankind
To see if there are any who [g](AD)understand,
Who (AE)seek God.
3 They have all (AF)turned aside, together they are corrupt;
There is (AG)no one who does good, not even one.
God’s Universal Reign
2 The word which (A)Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 Now it will come about that
(B)In the last days
The (C)mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established [a]as the chief of the mountains,
And will be raised above the hills;
And (D)all the nations will stream to it.
3 And many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
So that He may teach us [b]about His ways,
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For [c]the law will go out (E)from Zion
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 And He will judge between the nations,
And will mediate for many peoples;
And (F)they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning knives.
(G)Nation will not lift up a sword against nation,
And never again will they learn war.
5 Come, (H)house of Jacob, and let’s walk in the (I)light of the Lord.
6 For You have (J)abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob,
Because they are filled with influences from the east,
And they are soothsayers (K)like the Philistines.
They also [d](L)strike bargains with the children of foreigners.
7 Their land has also been filled with silver and gold
And there is no end to their treasures;
Their land has also been filled with (M)horses,
And there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land has also been (N)filled with idols;
They worship the (O)work of their hands,
That which their fingers have made.
9 So (P)the common person has been humbled
And the person of importance has been brought low,
But (Q)do not forgive them.
10 (R)Enter the rocky place and hide in the dust
(S)From the terror of the Lord and from the splendor of His majesty.
11 The [e](T)proud look of humanity will be brought low,
And the (U)arrogance of people will be humbled;
And the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.
13 For this reason we also constantly (A)thank God that when you received the (B)word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it (C)not as the word of mere men, but as what it really is, the word of God, (D)which also is at work in you who believe. 14 For you, brothers and sisters, became (E)imitators of (F)the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are (G)in Judea, for (H)you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, (I)even as they did from the Jews, 15 (J)who both killed the Lord Jesus and (K)the prophets, and [a]drove us out. [b]They are not pleasing to God, [c]but hostile to all people, 16 (L)hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles (M)so that they may be saved; with the result that they always [d](N)reach the limit of their sins. But (O)wrath has come upon them [e]fully.
17 But we, brothers and sisters, having been orphaned from you by absence for a [f]short while—(P)in [g]person, not in [h]spirit—were all the more eager with great desire (Q)to see your face. 18 [i]For (R)we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, [j](S)more than once—and (T)Satan (U)hindered us. 19 For who is our hope, or (V)joy or crown of pride, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His [k](W)coming? Or is it not indeed you? 20 For you are (X)our glory and joy.
Paying Taxes to Caesar
19 The scribes and the chief priests (A)tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and yet they feared the people; for they were aware that He had spoken this parable against them. 20 (B)And so they watched Him [a]closely, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order (C)that they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could hand Him over to the jurisdiction and authority of (D)the governor. 21 And the spies questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You [b]are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God on the basis of truth. 22 Is it [c]permissible for us (E)to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 23 But He saw through their trickery and said to them, 24 “Show Me a [d]denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” 25 And He said to them, “Then (F)pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 26 And they were unable to (G)catch Him in a statement in the presence of the people; and they were amazed at His answer, and said nothing.
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