Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 119
Delight in God’s Word
א Alef
1 How[a] happy are those whose way is blameless,(A)
who live according to the Lord’s instruction!(B)
2 Happy are those who keep His decrees(C)
and seek Him with all their heart.(D)
3 They do nothing wrong;(E)
they follow His ways.
4 You have commanded that Your precepts(F)
be diligently kept.
5 If only my ways were committed
to keeping Your statutes!(G)
6 Then I would not be ashamed(H)
when I think about all Your commands.
7 I will praise You with a sincere heart(I)
when I learn Your righteous judgments.
8 I will keep Your statutes;
never abandon me.(J)
ב Bet
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping Your[b] word.(K)
10 I have sought You with all my heart;(L)
don’t let me wander from Your commands.(M)
11 I have treasured Your word in my heart(N)
so that I may not sin against You.
12 Lord, may You be praised;
teach me Your statutes.(O)
13 With my lips I proclaim
all the judgments from Your mouth.(P)
14 I rejoice in the way revealed by Your decrees(Q)
as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on Your precepts(R)
and think about Your ways.(S)
16 I will delight in Your statutes;(T)
I will not forget Your word.
ג Gimel
17 Deal generously with Your servant(U)
so that I might live;
then I will keep Your word.
18 Open my eyes so that I may contemplate
wonderful things from Your instruction.
19 I am a stranger on earth;(V)
do not hide Your commands from me.
20 I am continually overcome
with longing for Your judgments.(W)
21 You rebuke the proud,
the ones under a curse,(X)
who wander from Your commands.(Y)
22 Take insult and contempt away from me,(Z)
for I have kept Your decrees.
23 Though princes sit together speaking against me,(AA)
Your servant will think about Your statutes;(AB)
24 Your decrees are my delight
and my counselors.(AC)
Psalm 12
Oppression by the Wicked
For the choir director: according to Sheminith.(A) A Davidic psalm.
1 Help, Lord, for no faithful one remains;
the loyal have disappeared from the human race.(B)
2 They lie to one another;
they speak with flattering lips and deceptive hearts.(C)
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips
and the tongue that speaks boastfully.(D)
4 They say, “Through our tongues we have power;[a]
our lips are our own—who can be our master?”(E)
5 “Because of the oppression of the afflicted
and the groaning of the poor,
I will now rise up,” says the Lord.
“I will put the one who longs for it in a safe place.”(F)
6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in an earthen furnace,
purified seven times.(G)
7 You, Lord, will guard us;[b]
You will protect us[c] from this generation forever.(H)
8 The wicked wander[d] everywhere,
and what is worthless is exalted by the human race.(I)
Psalm 13
A Plea for Deliverance
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.
1 Lord, how long will You forget me?
Forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?(J)
2 How long will I store up anxious concerns[e] within me,
agony in my mind every day?
How long will my enemy dominate me?(K)
3 Consider me and answer, Lord my God.
Restore brightness to my eyes;(L)
otherwise, I will sleep in death.
4 My enemy will say, “I have triumphed over him,”
and my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.(M)
5 But I have trusted in Your faithful love;(N)
my heart will rejoice in Your deliverance.(O)
6 I will sing to the Lord
because He has treated me generously.(P)
Psalm 14
A Portrait of Sinners
For the choir director. Davidic.
1 The fool says in his heart, “God does not exist.”(Q)
They are corrupt; they do vile deeds.
There is no one who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the human race(R)
to see if there is one who is wise,
one who seeks God.
3 All have turned away;
all alike have become corrupt.
There is no one who does good,
not even one.[f](S)
4 Will evildoers never understand?
They consume My people as they consume bread;(T)
they do not call on the Lord.(U)
17 Then Daniel went to his house and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about the matter, 18 urging them to ask the God of heaven(A) for mercy(B) concerning this mystery, so Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the rest of Babylon’s wise men.(C) 19 The mystery was then revealed to Daniel in a vision(D) at night, and Daniel praised the God of heaven 20 and declared:
May the name of God
be praised forever and ever,(E)
for wisdom(F) and power belong to Him.
21 He changes the times and seasons;
He removes kings and establishes kings.(G)
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those
who have understanding.(H)
22 He reveals the deep and hidden things;
He knows what is in the darkness,(I)
and light dwells with Him.(J)
23 I offer thanks and praise to You,
God of my fathers,(K)
because You have given me
wisdom and power.
And now You have let me know
what we asked of You,
for You have let us know(L)
the king’s mystery.[a]
24 Therefore Daniel went to Arioch,(M) whom the king had assigned to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He came and said to him, “Don’t kill the wise men of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will give him the interpretation.”(N)
25 Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said to him, “I have found a man among the Judean exiles(O) who can let the king know the interpretation.”
26 The king said in reply to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar,(P) “Are you able to tell me the dream I had and its interpretation?”(Q)
27 Daniel answered the king: “No wise man, medium, diviner-priest, or astrologer(R) is able to make known to the king the mystery he asked about. 28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has let King Nebuchadnezzar know what will happen in the last days.(S) Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay in bed(T) were these: 29 Your Majesty, while you were in your bed, thoughts came to your mind about what will happen in the future.[b](U) The revealer of mysteries(V) has let you know what will happen. 30 As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me,(W) not because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.(X)
Reasons for Writing
12 I am writing to you, little children,
because your sins have been forgiven
because of Jesus’ name.(A)
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you have come to know
the One who is from the beginning.(B)
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have had victory over the evil one.(C)
14 I have written to you, children,
because you have come to know the Father.
I have written to you, fathers,
because you have come to know
the One who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men,
because you are strong,
God’s word(D) remains in you,
and you have had victory over the evil one.
A Warning about the World
15 Do not love the world(E) or the things that belong to[a] the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. 16 For everything that belongs to[b] the world—the lust of the flesh,(F) the lust of the eyes,(G) and the pride(H) in one’s lifestyle—is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And the world with its lust is passing away,(I) but the one who does God’s will(J) remains forever.(K)
Jesus Prays for All Believers
20 I pray not only for these,
but also for those who believe in Me
through their message.
21 May they all be one,(A)
as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You.(B)
May they also be one[a] in Us,
so the world may believe You sent Me.
22 I have given them the glory(C) You have given Me.
May they be one as We are one.
23 I am in them and You are in Me.(D)
May they be made completely one,
so the world may know You have sent Me
and have loved(E) them as You have loved Me.(F)
24 Father,
I desire those You have given Me
to be with Me where I am.(G)
Then they will see My glory,
which You have given Me
because You loved Me before the world’s foundation.
25 Righteous Father!
The world has not known You.
However, I have known You,(H)
and these have known that You sent Me.
26 I made Your name(I) known to them
and will make it known,
so the love You have loved Me with
may be in them and I may be in them.(J)
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