Book of Common Prayer
BOOK 1
The Righteous and the Wicked Contrasted.
1 How blessed is the man who (A)does not walk in the (B)counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the [a](C)path of sinners,
Nor (D)sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his (E)delight is (F)in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates (G)day and (H)night.
3 He will be like (I)a tree firmly planted by [b]streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its [c]leaf does not wither;
And [d]in whatever he does, (J)he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
But they are like (K)chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore (L)the wicked will not stand in the (M)judgment,
Nor sinners in (N)the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord [e](O)knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of (P)the wicked will perish.
The Reign of the Lord’s Anointed.
2 Why are (Q)the [f]nations in an uproar
And the peoples (R)devising a vain thing?
2 The (S)kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
(T)Against the Lord and against His [g](U)Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us (V)tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!”
4 He who [h]sits in the heavens (W)laughs,
The Lord (X)scoffs at them.
5 Then He will speak to them in His (Y)anger
And (Z)terrify them in His fury, saying,
6 “But as for Me, I have [i]installed (AA)My King
Upon Zion, (AB)My holy mountain.”
7 “I will surely tell of the [j]decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, ‘You are (AC)My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 ‘Ask of Me, and (AD)I will surely give (AE)the [k]nations as Your inheritance,
And the very (AF)ends of the earth as Your possession.
9 ‘You shall [l](AG)break them with a [m]rod of iron,
You shall (AH)shatter them like [n]earthenware.’”
10 Now therefore, O kings, (AI)show discernment;
Take warning, O [o]judges of the earth.
11 [p]Worship the Lord with [q](AJ)reverence
And rejoice with (AK)trembling.
12 [r]Do homage to (AL)the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
For (AM)His wrath may [s]soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who (AN)take refuge in Him!
Morning Prayer of Trust in God.
A Psalm of David, when [t]he fled from Absalom his son.
3 O Lord, how (AO)my adversaries have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
2 Many are saying [u]of my soul,
“There is no [v](AP)deliverance for him in God.” [w]Selah.
3 But You, O Lord, are (AQ)a shield about me,
My (AR)glory, and the One who (AS)lifts my head.
4 I was crying to the Lord with my voice,
And He (AT)answered me from (AU)His holy [x]mountain. Selah.
5 [y]I (AV)lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.
6 I will (AW)not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have (AX)set themselves against me round about.
7 (AY)Arise, O Lord; (AZ)save me, O my God!
For You [z]have (BA)smitten all my enemies on the [aa]cheek;
You [ab]have (BB)shattered the teeth of the wicked.
8 [ac](BC)Salvation belongs to the Lord;
Your (BD)blessing [ad]be upon Your people! Selah.
Evening Prayer of Trust in God.
[ae]For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
4 (BE)Answer me when (BF)I call, O God [af]of my righteousness!
You have [ag](BG)relieved me in my distress;
Be (BH)gracious to me and (BI)hear my prayer.
2 O sons of men, how long will (BJ)my [ah]honor become (BK)a reproach?
How long will you love (BL)what is worthless and aim at (BM)deception? [ai]Selah.
3 But know that the Lord has [aj](BN)set apart the (BO)godly man for Himself;
The Lord (BP)hears when I call to Him.
4 [ak](BQ)Tremble, [al](BR)and do not sin;
[am](BS)Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
5 Offer [an]the (BT)sacrifices of righteousness,
And (BU)trust in the Lord.
6 Many are saying, “(BV)Who will show us any good?”
(BW)Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O Lord!
7 You have put (BX)gladness in my heart,
More than when their grain and new wine abound.
8 In peace I will [ao]both (BY)lie down and sleep,
For You alone, O Lord, make me to (BZ)dwell in safety.
The Lord Implored to Defend the Psalmist against the Wicked.
A [a]Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord [b]concerning Cush, a Benjamite.
7 O Lord my God, (A)in You I have taken refuge;
Save me from all those who pursue me, and (B)deliver me,
2 Or he will tear [c]my soul (C)like a lion,
[d]Dragging me away, while there is none to deliver.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this,
If there is (D)injustice in my hands,
4 If I have (E)rewarded evil to [e]my friend,
Or have (F)plundered [f]him who without cause was my adversary,
5 Let the enemy pursue [g]my soul and overtake [h]it;
And let him trample my life down to the ground
And lay my glory in the dust. [i]Selah.
6 (G)Arise, O Lord, in Your anger;
(H)Lift up Yourself against (I)the rage of my adversaries,
And (J)arouse Yourself [j]for me; You have appointed judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the (K)peoples encompass You,
And over [k]them return on high.
8 The Lord (L)judges the peoples;
[l](M)Vindicate me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
9 O let (N)the evil of the wicked come to an end, but (O)establish the righteous;
For the righteous God (P)tries the hearts and [m]minds.
10 My (Q)shield is [n]with God,
Who (R)saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a (S)righteous judge,
And a God who has (T)indignation every day.
12 If [o]a man (U)does not repent, He will (V)sharpen His sword;
He has (W)bent His bow and [p]made it ready.
13 He has also prepared [q]for Himself deadly weapons;
He makes His (X)arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, he travails with wickedness,
And he (Y)conceives mischief and brings forth falsehood.
15 He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has (Z)fallen into the hole which he made.
16 His (AA)mischief will return upon his own head,
And his (AB)violence will descend upon [r]his own pate.
The Choice Young Men
1 In the third year of the reign of (A)Jehoiakim king of Judah, (B)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 The (C)Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the (D)vessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of (E)Shinar, to the house of his [a]god, and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his [b](F)god.
3 Then the king [c]ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his [d]officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the [e]royal (G)family and of the nobles, 4 youths in whom was (H)no defect, who were good-looking, showing (I)intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for [f]serving in the king’s [g]court; and he ordered him to teach them the [h]literature and (J)language of the (K)Chaldeans. 5 The king appointed for them a daily ration from the (L)king’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be [i]educated three years, at the end of which they were to [j](M)enter the king’s personal service. 6 Now among them from the sons of Judah were (N)Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name (O)Belteshazzar, to Hananiah (P)Shadrach, to Mishael (Q)Meshach and to Azariah (R)Abed-nego.
Daniel’s Resolve
8 But Daniel [k]made up his mind that he would not (S)defile himself with the (T)king’s choice food or with the (U)wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself. 9 Now God granted Daniel [l](V)favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials, 10 and the commander of the officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking more haggard than the youths who are your own age? Then you would [m]make me forfeit my head to the king.” 11 But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days, and let us be (W)given some vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance be [n]observed in your presence and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king’s choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see.”
14 So he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of ten days their appearance seemed (X)better and [o]they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food. 16 So the overseer continued to [p]withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept (Y)giving them vegetables.
17 As for these four youths, (Z)God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of [q]literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of (AA)visions and dreams.
18 Then at the end of the days which the king had [r]specified [s]for presenting them, the commander of the officials [t]presented them before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like (AB)Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they [u](AC)entered the king’s personal service. 20 As for every matter of (AD)wisdom [v]and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them (AE)ten times (AF)better than all the [w](AG)magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm. 21 And Daniel [x]continued until the (AH)first year of Cyrus the king.
Introduction, The Incarnate Word
1 What was (A)from the beginning, what we have (B)heard, what we have (C)seen with our eyes, what we (D)have looked at and (E)touched with our hands, concerning the (F)Word of Life— 2 and (G)the life was manifested, and we have (H)seen and (I)testify and proclaim to you (J)the eternal life, which was (K)with the Father and was (L)manifested to us— 3 what we have (M)seen and (N)heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our (O)fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 (P)These things we write, so that our (Q)joy may be made complete.
God Is Light
5 (R)This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that (S)God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 (T)If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we (U)lie and (V)do not practice the truth; 7 but if we (W)walk in the Light as (X)He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and (Y)the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 (Z)If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the (AA)truth is not in us. 9 (AB)If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and (AC)to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 (AD)If we say that we have not sinned, we (AE)make Him a liar and (AF)His word is not in us.
The High Priestly Prayer
17 Jesus spoke these things; and (A)lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; (B)glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, 2 even as (C)You gave Him authority over all flesh, that (D)to [a]all whom You have given Him, (E)He may give eternal life. 3 This is eternal life, that they may know You, (F)the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom (G)You have sent. 4 (H)I glorified You on the earth, [b](I)having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 Now, Father, (J)glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had (K)with You before the world was.
6 “(L)I have manifested Your name to the men whom (M)You gave Me out of the world; they were (N)Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have (O)kept Your word. 7 Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; 8 for (P)the words which You gave Me (Q)I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that (R)I came forth from You, and they believed that (S)You sent Me. 9 (T)I ask on their behalf; (U)I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom (V)You have given Me; for (W)they are Yours; 10 and (X)all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11 I am no longer in the world; and yet (Y)they themselves are in the world, and (Z)I come to You. (AA)Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name (AB)which You have given Me, that (AC)they may be one even as We are.
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