Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 2
Coronation of the Son
1 Why(A) do the nations rebel[a](B)
and the peoples plot in vain?(C)
2 The kings of the earth take their stand,(D)
and the rulers conspire together
against the Lord and His Anointed One:[b](E)
3 “Let us tear off their chains
and free ourselves from their restraints.”[c](F)
4 The One enthroned[d] in heaven laughs;
the Lord ridicules them.(G)
5 Then He speaks to them in His anger
and terrifies them in His wrath:(H)
6 “I have consecrated My King[e]
on Zion, My holy mountain.”(I)
7 I will declare the Lord’s decree:
He said to Me, “You are My Son;[f]
today I have become Your[g] Father.(J)
8 Ask of Me,
and I will make the nations Your[h] inheritance
and the ends of the earth Your[i] possession.(K)
9 You will break[j] them with a rod of iron;
You[k] will shatter them like pottery.”[l](L)
10 So now, kings, be wise;
receive instruction, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with reverential awe
and rejoice with trembling.(M)
12 Pay homage to[m] the Son or He[n] will be angry
and you will perish in your rebellion,[o](N)
for His[p] anger may ignite at any moment.(O)
All those who take refuge in Him[q] are happy.(P)
Psalm 26
Prayer for Vindication
Davidic.
1 Vindicate me, Lord,
because I have lived with integrity
and have trusted in the Lord without wavering.(A)
2 Test me, Lord, and try me;
examine my heart and mind.(B)
3 For Your faithful love is before my eyes,
and I live by Your truth.(C)
4 I do not sit with the worthless
or associate with hypocrites.
5 I hate a crowd of evildoers,
and I do not sit with the wicked.(D)
6 I wash my hands[a] in innocence(E)
and go around Your altar, Lord,(F)
7 raising my voice in thanksgiving(G)
and telling about Your wonderful works.(H)
13 Shout for joy, you heavens!(A)
Earth, rejoice!
Mountains break into joyful shouts!
For the Lord has comforted His people,(B)
and will have compassion on His afflicted ones.(C)
Zion Remembered
14 Zion says, “The Lord has abandoned me;
The Lord has forgotten me!”
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child,
or lack compassion for the child of her womb?
Even if these forget,
yet I will not forget you.
16 Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;(D)
your walls are continually before Me.
17 Your builders[a] hurry;
those who destroy and devastate you will leave you.
18 Look up, and look around.
They all gather together; they come to you.(E)
As I live”—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
“you will wear all your children[b] as jewelry,
and put them on as a bride does.
19 For your waste and desolate places
and your land marked by ruins—
will now be indeed too small for the inhabitants,(F)
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 Yet as you listen, the children
that you have been deprived of will say,
‘This place is too small for me;
make room for me so that I may settle.’(G)
21 Then you will say within yourself,
‘Who fathered these for me?
I was deprived of my children and unable to conceive,
exiled and wandering—
but who brought them up?
See, I was left by myself—
but these, where did they come from?’”[c]
22 This is what the Lord God says:
Look, I will lift up My hand to the nations,
and raise My banner to the peoples.(H)
They will bring your sons in their arms,
and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.(I)
23 Kings will be your foster fathers,
and their queens[d] your nursing mothers.(J)
They will bow down to you
with their faces to the ground,
and lick the dust at your feet.(K)
Then you will know that I am Yahweh;(L)
those who put their hope in Me
will not be put to shame.(M)
Who Is the Greatest?
18 At that time[a](A) the disciples(B) came to Jesus and said, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”(C)
2 Then He called a child to Him and had him stand among them. 3 “I assure you,” He said, “unless you are converted[b] and become like children,(D) you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.(E) 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child—this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes[c] one child like this in My name welcomes Me.
6 “But whoever causes the downfall of one of these little ones who believe in Me—it would be better for him if a heavy millstone[d] were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea!(F) 7 Woe to the world because of offenses. For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes.(G) 8 If your hand or your foot causes your downfall, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire.(H) 9 And if your eye causes your downfall, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, rather than to have two eyes and be thrown into hellfire
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
10 “See that you don’t look down on one of these little ones,(J) because I tell you that in heaven their angels(K) continually view the face of My Father in heaven.(L) [11 For the Son of Man(M) has come to save the lost.][f] 12 What do you think?(N) If a man has 100 sheep, and one of them goes astray, won’t he leave the 99 on the hillside and go and search for the stray?(O) 13 And if he finds it, I assure you: He rejoices over that sheep[g] more than over the 99 that did not go astray. 14 In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
Psalm 19
The Witness of Creation and Scripture
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky[a] proclaims the work of His hands.(A)
2 Day after day they pour out speech;
night after night they communicate knowledge.[b]
3 There is no speech; there are no words;
their voice is not heard.
4 Their message[c] has gone out to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.(B)
In the heavens[d] He has pitched a tent for the sun.(C)
5 It is like a groom coming from the[e] bridal chamber;
it rejoices like an athlete running a course.
6 It rises from one end of the heavens
and circles[f] to their other end;(D)
nothing is hidden from its heat.
7 The instruction of the Lord is perfect,
renewing one’s life;(E)
the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy,
making the inexperienced wise.(F)
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,
making the heart glad;(G)
the command of the Lord is radiant,
making the eyes light up.(H)
9 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever;(I)
the ordinances of the Lord are reliable
and altogether righteous.(J)
10 They are more desirable than gold—
than an abundance of pure gold;(K)
and sweeter than honey,
which comes from the honeycomb.(L)
11 In addition, Your servant is warned by them;
there is great reward in keeping them.(M)
12 Who perceives his unintentional sins?
Cleanse me from my hidden faults.(N)
13 Moreover, keep Your servant from willful sins;(O)
do not let them rule over me.(P)
Then I will be innocent
and cleansed from blatant rebellion.(Q)
14 May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to You,(R)
Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.(S)
Psalm 126
Zion’s Restoration
A song of ascents.
1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,[a]
we were like those who dream.(A)
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter then,(B)
and our tongues with shouts of joy.(C)
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”(D)
3 The Lord had done great things for us;
we were joyful.(E)
Blessing the Children
13 Some(A) people were bringing little children(B) to Him so He might touch them, but His disciples rebuked(C) them. 14 When Jesus saw it, He was indignant(D) and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me.(E) Don’t stop(F) them, for the kingdom of God(G) belongs to such as these. 15 I assure you:(H) Whoever does not welcome[a](I) the kingdom of God like a little child(J) will never enter it.” 16 After taking them in His arms, He laid His hands on(K) them and blessed(L) them.
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