Book of Common Prayer
BOOK I (Psalms 1-41)
The Righteous and the Wicked[a]
1 How blessed is the person,
who does not take[b] the advice of the wicked,
who does not stand on the path with sinners,
and who does not sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But he delights in the Lord’s instruction,[c]
and meditates in his instruction[d] day and night.
3 He will be like a tree planted by streams of water,
yielding its fruit in its season,
and whose leaf does not wither.
He will prosper in everything he does.
4 But this is not the case with the wicked.
They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not escape[e] judgment,
nor will sinners have a place[f] in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will be destroyed.
The Nations and God’s Anointed
2 Why are the nations in an uproar,
and their people involved in a vain plot?
2 As the kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers conspire together against the Lord and his anointed one, they say,[g]
3 “Let us tear off their shackles from us,[h]
and cast off their chains.”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
5 In his anger he rebukes them,
and in his wrath he terrifies them:
6 “I have set my king on Zion,
my holy mountain.”
The Anointed King Speaks
7 Let me announce the decree of the Lord
that he told me:
“You are my son,
today I have become your father.
8 Ask of me, and I will give you
the nations as your inheritance,
the ends of the earth as your possession.
9 You will break them with an iron rod,
you will shatter them like pottery.”
10 Therefore, kings, act wisely!
Earthly rulers, be warned!
11 Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss[i] the son before he becomes[j] angry,
and you die where you stand.[k]
Indeed, his wrath can flare up quickly.
How blessed are those who take refuge in him.
A Davidic Psalm, when he fled from his son Absalom.
God Delivers His Servants
3 Lord, I have so many persecutors!
Many are rising up against me!
2 Many are saying about me,
“God will never deliver him!”
3 But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.
4 I cry aloud[l] to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.
5 I lie down and sleep,
I wake up, because the Lord sustains me.
6 I will not fear multitudes of[m] people,
who set themselves against me on every side.
7 Arise, Lord!
Deliver me, my God!
For you strike the jaw of all my enemies,
and you break the teeth of the wicked.
8 Deliverance comes from the Lord!
May your blessing be on your people.
To the Director: With stringed instruments. A Davidic Psalm
Trust God under Adversity
4 When I call, answer me,
my righteous God![n]
When I was in distress, you set me free.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.
2 You people,
how long will you malign my reputation?
How long will you love what is vain[o]
and what is false?
3 But understand this:[p]
the Lord has set apart the godly for himself!
The Lord will hear me when I cry out to him!
A Davidic psalm,[a] which he sang to the Lord, because of the words of Cush the descendant of Benjamin.
A Prayer for Vindication
7 Lord, my God,
I seek refuge in you.
Deliver me from those who persecute me!
Rescue me!
2 Otherwise, they will rip me to shreds like a lion,
tearing me[b] apart with no one to rescue me.[c]
3 Lord, my God, if I have done this thing,
if there is injustice on my hands,
4 if I have rewarded those who did me good with evil,
if I have plundered my enemy without justification,
5 then, let my enemy pursue me,
let him overtake me,
and let him trample my life to the ground.
Let him put my honor into the dust.
6 Get up, Lord, in your anger!
Rise up, because of the fury of my enemies;
Arouse yourself for me;
you have ordained justice.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples gather around you,
and you will sit[d] high above them.
8 For the Lord will judge the peoples.
Judge me according to my righteousness, Lord,
and according to my integrity, Exalted One.
9 Let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
but establish the righteous.
For you are the righteous God
who discerns the inner thoughts.[e]
10 God is my shield,[f]
the one who delivers the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
a God who is angry with sinners[g] every day.
12 If the ungodly one[h] doesn’t repent,
God will sharpen his sword;
he will string his bow and prepare it.
13 He prepares weapons of death for himself,
he makes his arrows into fiery shafts.
14 But the wicked one[i] travails with evil,
he conceives malice and gives birth to lies.
15 He digs a pit, even excavates it;
then he fell into the hole that he had made.
16 The trouble[j] he planned will return on his own head,
and his violence will descend on his skull.
17 But as for me,
I will praise the Lord for his righteousness,
and I will sing to the name of the Lord Most High.
Hostages of the Babylonian Captivity
1 In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it. 2 Within a week, the Lord handed King Jehoiakim of Judah over to him, along with valuable objects from the house of God. Nebuchadnezzar[a] brought them to the temple of his god in the land of Shinar[b] and stored them[c] in its treasure house.[d]
3 Later, the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief officer,[e] to bring in some Israelis of royal and noble descent. 4 They were to be young men without physical defect, handsome in appearance, skilled in all wisdom, quick to learn, prudent in how they used knowledge, and capable of serving in the king’s palace. They were to learn the literature and language of the Chaldeans.[f]
5 The king assigned them fine food and choice wine on a daily basis, ordering them to be trained for three years, at the end of which time they would enter the king’s service.[g] 6 Included among the people of Judah were Daniel,[h] Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7 The chief officer assigned the name “Belteshazzar” to Daniel, the name “Shadrach” to Hananiah, the name “Meshach” to Mishael, and the name “Abednego” to Azariah.
Daniel Chooses God’s Standard
8 Daniel determined within himself not to become defiled by the king’s menu of rich foods or by the king’s wine, so he requested permission[i] from the chief officer not to defile himself. 9 God granted to Daniel grace and compassion on the part of the chief officer. 10 The chief officer told Daniel, “I fear his majesty the king, who has determined what you eat and drink. If he notices that your faces are more pale than the other[j] young men in your group, I will forfeit my head to the king.”
11 But Daniel told the guard whom the chief officer had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days and let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare how we[k] look with the young men who ate the king’s rich food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you observe.”
14 So he listened to what Daniel said[l] and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of ten days their appearance was better and their faces were well-nourished[m] compared to the young men who ate the king’s rich food. 16 So the guard took away their rich food and wine,[n] giving them vegetables. 17 As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge, aptitude for learning, and wisdom. Daniel also could understand all kinds of visions and dreams.
18 Then at the end of the training period[o] that the king had established, the chief officer brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 When the king spoke to them, none of them compared to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, or Azariah as they stood before the king. 20 In every matter of wisdom or understanding that the king discussed with[p] them, he found them ten times superior to all the astrologers and enchanters[q] in his entire palace.
21 So Daniel remained there in service[r] until the first year of King Cyrus.[s]
Jesus, the Word of Life
1 What existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we observed and touched with our own hands—this is the[a] Word of life! 2 This life was revealed to us, and we have seen it and testify about it. We declare to you this eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us. 3 What we have seen and heard we declare to you so that you, too, can have fellowship with us. Now this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus, the Messiah.[b] 4 We are writing these things[c] so that our[d] joy may be full.
Living in the Light
5 This is the message that we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness—none at all! 6 If we claim that we have fellowship with him but keep living in darkness, we are lying and not practicing the truth. 7 But if we keep living in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we do not have any sin, we are deceiving ourselves and we’re not being truthful to ourselves. 9 If we make it our habit to confess our sins, in his faithful righteousness he forgives us for those sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have never sinned, we make him a liar and his word has no place in us.
Jesus Prays for Himself, His Disciples, and His Future Followers
17 After Jesus had said this, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, so that the Son may glorify you. 2 For[a] you have given him authority over all humanity[b] so that he might give eternal life to all those you gave him. 3 And this is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent—Jesus the Messiah.[c] 4 I glorified you on earth by completing the task you gave me to do.
5 “So now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world existed. 6 I have made your name known to these men whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they realize that everything you gave me comes from you, 8 because the words that you gave me I passed on to them. They have received them and know for sure that I came from you. They have believed that you sent me.
9 “I am asking on their behalf. I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those you gave me, because they are yours. 10 All that is mine is yours, and what is yours is mine, and I have been glorified through them. 11 I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by your Name, the Name[d] that you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one.
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