Book of Common Prayer
Meditations and Prayers Relating to the Law of God.
Aleph.
119 How blessed are those whose way is [a](A)blameless,
Who (B)walk in the law of the Lord.
2 How blessed are those who (C)observe His testimonies,
Who (D)seek Him (E)with all their heart.
3 They also (F)do no unrighteousness;
They walk in His ways.
4 You have [b](G)ordained Your precepts,
[c]That we should keep them diligently.
5 Oh that my (H)ways may be established
To (I)keep Your statutes!
6 Then I (J)shall not be ashamed
When I look [d]upon all Your commandments.
7 I shall (K)give thanks to You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments.
8 I shall keep Your statutes;
Do not (L)forsake me utterly!
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 Your word I have (P)treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, O 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 shall (X)not forget Your word.
Gimel.
17 (Y)Deal bountifully 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 in the earth;
Do not hide Your commandments from me.
20 My soul is crushed [h](AA)with longing
After Your ordinances at all times.
21 You (AB)rebuke the arrogant, [i]the (AC)cursed,
Who (AD)wander from Your commandments.
22 (AE)Take away reproach and contempt from me,
For I (AF)observe Your testimonies.
23 Even though (AG)princes sit and talk against me,
Your servant (AH)meditates on Your statutes.
24 Your testimonies also are my (AI)delight;
They are [j]my counselors.
God, a Helper against the Treacherous.
For the choir director; [a]upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.
12 Help, Lord, for (A)the godly man ceases to be,
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
2 They (B)speak [b]falsehood to one another;
With (C)flattering [c]lips and with a double heart they speak.
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
The tongue that (D)speaks great things;
4 Who (E)have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are [d]our own; who is lord over us?”
5 “Because of the (F)devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now (G)I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will (H)set him in the safety for which he longs.”
6 The (I)words of the Lord are pure words;
As silver (J)tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.
7 You, O Lord, will keep them;
You will (K)preserve him from this generation forever.
8 The (L)wicked strut about on every side
When [e](M)vileness is exalted among the sons of men.
Prayer for Help in Trouble.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
13 How long, O Lord? Will You (N)forget me forever?
How long (O)will You hide Your face from me?
2 How long shall I (P)take counsel in my soul,
Having (Q)sorrow 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 lovingkindness;
My heart shall (X)rejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will (Y)sing to the Lord,
Because He has (Z)dealt bountifully with me.
Folly and Wickedness of Men.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
14 The fool has (AA)said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed abominable [f]deeds;
There is (AB)no one who does good.
2 The Lord has (AC)looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there are any who [g](AD)understand,
Who (AE)seek after God.
3 They have all (AF)turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
There is (AG)no one who does good, not even one.
Israel Encouraged
41 “(A)Coastlands, listen to Me (B)in silence,
And let the peoples (C)gain new strength;
(D)Let them come forward, then let them speak;
(E)Let us come together for judgment.
2 “(F)Who has aroused one from the east
Whom He (G)calls in righteousness to His [a]feet?
He (H)delivers up nations before him
And subdues kings.
He makes them like (I)dust with his sword,
As the wind-driven (J)chaff with his bow.
3 “He pursues them, passing on in safety,
By a way he had not been [b]traversing with his feet.
4 “(K)Who has performed and accomplished it,
Calling forth the generations from the beginning?
‘(L)I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. (M)I am He.’”
5 The (N)coastlands have seen and are afraid;
The (O)ends of the earth tremble;
They have drawn near and have come.
6 Each one helps his neighbor
And says to his brother, “Be strong!”
7 So the (P)craftsman encourages the (Q)smelter,
And he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil,
Saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
And he fastens it with nails,
(R)So that it will not totter.
8 “But you, Israel, (S)My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
Descendant of (T)Abraham My (U)friend,
9 You whom I have [c](V)taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its (W)remotest parts
And said to you, ‘You are (X)My servant,
I have (Y)chosen you and not rejected you.
10 ‘Do not (Z)fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely (AA)I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous (AB)right hand.’
11 “Behold, (AC)all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;
(AD)Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.
12 “(AE)You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them,
Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.
13 “For I am the Lord your God, (AF)who upholds your right hand,
Who says to you, ‘(AG)Do not fear, I will help you.’
14 “Do not fear, you (AH)worm Jacob, you men of Israel;
I will help you,” declares the Lord, “[d]and (AI)your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15 “Behold, I have made you a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges;
(AJ)You will thresh the (AK)mountains and pulverize them,
And will make the hills like chaff.
16 “You will (AL)winnow them, and the wind will carry them away,
And the storm will scatter them;
But you will (AM)rejoice in the Lord,
You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
Made Alive in Christ
2 And you [a]were (A)dead [b]in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you (B)formerly walked according to the [c]course of (C)this world, according to (D)the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in (E)the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all (F)formerly lived in (G)the lusts of our flesh, [d]indulging the desires of the flesh and of the [e]mind, and were (H)by nature (I)children of wrath, (J)even as the rest. 4 But God, being (K)rich in mercy, because of (L)His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were (M)dead [f]in our transgressions, made us alive together [g]with Christ ((N)by grace you have been saved), 6 and (O)raised us up with Him, and (P)seated us with Him in (Q)the heavenly places in (R)Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing (S)riches of His grace in (T)kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For (U)by grace you have been saved (V)through faith; and [h]that not of yourselves, it is (W)the gift of God; 9 (X)not as a result of works, so that (Y)no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, (Z)created in (AA)Christ Jesus for (AB)good works, which God (AC)prepared beforehand so that we would (AD)walk in them.
Crowds Healed
29 (A)And immediately after they came (B)out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with [a]James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they *spoke to [b]Jesus about her. 31 And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she [c]waited on them.
32 (C)When evening came, (D)after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were (E)demon-possessed. 33 And the whole (F)city had gathered at the door. 34 And He (G)healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.
35 (H)In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and (I)was praying there. 36 Simon and his companions searched for Him; 37 they found Him, and *said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” 38 He *said to them, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may [d]preach there also; for that is what I came for.” 39 (J)And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, [e]preaching and casting out the demons.
40 (K)And a leper *came to Jesus, beseeching Him and (L)falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” 41 Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. 43 And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, 44 and He *said to him, “(M)See that you say nothing to anyone; but (N)go, show yourself to the priest and (O)offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 45 But he went out and began to (P)proclaim it freely and to (Q)spread the news around, to such an extent that [f]Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but [g]stayed out in unpopulated areas; and (R)they were coming to Him from everywhere.
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