Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 40[a]
Thanksgiving and Prayer for Help
1 For the director.[b] A psalm of David.
2 [c]I waited patiently for the Lord;
then he stooped down and heard my cry.
3 He raised me up from the desolate pit,
out of the mire of the swamp;
he set my feet upon a rock,
giving me a firm footing.
4 He put a new song[d] in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will look on and be awestruck,
and they will place their trust in the Lord.
5 Blessed[e] is the man
who places his trust in the Lord,
who does not follow the arrogant
or those who go astray after falsehoods.
6 How innumerable, O Lord, my God,
are the wonders you have worked;
no one can compare with you
in the plans you have made for us.
I would proclaim them and recount them,
but there are far too many to enumerate.
7 [f]Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but you have made my ears receptive.[g]
Burnt offerings and sin offerings
you did not demand.
8 [h]Then I said, “Behold I come;
it is written of me in the scroll of the book.
9 To do your will, O God, is my delight;
your law is in my heart.”[i]
10 I have proclaimed your righteousness in the great assembly;
I did not seal my lips,
as you well know, O Lord.
11 I have not concealed your righteousness within the depths of my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and salvation.
I have not concealed your kindness and your truth
in the great assembly.
12 O Lord, do not withhold your mercy from me;
may your kindness[j] and your truth keep me safe forever.
13 I am surrounded by evils without number;
my sins have so engulfed me that I cannot see.
They outnumber the hairs on my head,
and my heart sinks within me.[k]
14 [l]Be pleased, O Lord, to rescue me
O Lord, come quickly to my aid.
15 [m]May all those who seek to take my life
endure shame and confusion.
May all those who desire my ruin
be turned back and humiliated.
16 May those who cry out to me, “Aha, aha!”[n]
be overcome with shame and dismay.
17 But may all who seek you
rejoice in you and be jubilant.
May those who love your salvation
cry out forever, “The Lord be magnified.”
18 Even though I am poor and needy,[o]
the Lord keeps me in his thoughts.
You are my help and my deliverer;
O my God, do not delay.
Psalm 54[a]
Prayer in Time of Danger
1 For the director.[b] On stringed instruments. A maskil of David. 2 When the Ziphites came to Saul and said, “David is hiding among us.”
3 O God, save me by your name;[c]
vindicate me by your power.
4 Hear my prayer, O God;
give ear to the words of my mouth.
5 Strangers[d] have risen against me;
those who are ruthless seek my life,
and they have no thought of God. Selah
6 Surely God is my helper;
the Lord is the one who sustains me.
7 May their own evil recoil on my foes:
you who are faithful, destroy them.[e]
8 [f]I will freely offer sacrifice to you,
and I will praise your name, O Lord, for it is good.
9 For you have rescued me from all my troubles,
and my eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies.
Psalm 51[a]
The “Miserere”: Repentance for Sin
1 For the director.[b] A psalm of David. 2 When Nathan the prophet came to him after he had sinned with Bathsheba.
3 Have mercy on me, O God,
in accord with your kindness;[c]
in your abundant compassion
wipe away my offenses.
4 Wash me completely from my guilt,
and cleanse me from my sin.
5 For I am fully aware of my offense,
and my sin is ever before me.
6 Against you, you alone,[d] have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.
Therefore, you are right in accusing me
and just in passing judgment.
7 Indeed, I was born in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.[e]
8 But you desire sincerity of heart;[f]
and you endow my innermost being with wisdom.
9 Sprinkle me with hyssop[g] so that I may be cleansed;
wash me until I am whiter than snow.
10 Let me experience joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed exult.
11 Hide your face from my sins,
and wipe out all my offenses.
12 Create[h] in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a resolute spirit within me.
13 Do not cast me out from your presence
or take away from me your Holy Spirit.[i]
14 Restore to me the joy of being saved,
and grant me the strength of a generous spirit.
15 I will teach your ways to the wicked,
and sinners will return to you.
16 Deliver me from bloodguilt,[j] O God,
the God of my salvation,
and I will proclaim your righteousness.
17 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
18 For you take no delight in sacrifice;
if I were to make a burnt offering,
you would refuse to accept it.[k]
19 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a contrite and humble heart,[l] O God,
you will not spurn.
20 [m]In your kindness, deal favorably with Zion;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.
21 Then you will delight in righteous sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole oblations,
and young bulls will be offered on your altar.
Wisdom Is Seated at the Door of Those Who Love Her[a]
12 Radiant and never-fading is Wisdom;
she is easily discerned by those who love her
and is found by those who search for her.
13 She hastens to make herself known
to those who desire her.[b]
14 He who rises early to seek her will not have to toil,
for he will discover her seated at his door.
15 To meditate on her is to achieve perfection in understanding,
and he who is vigilant in seeking after her will soon be free from care.
16 For she herself goes about seeking those who are worthy of her,
and she graciously appears to them as they tread life’s paths,
meeting them with all benevolence.
17 The beginning of Wisdom is a sincere desire for instruction,
and concern for learning is evidence of love for her;
18 but love for her is shown by keeping her laws,
and observing her laws brings the assurance of incorruptibility.
19 Now incorruptibility brings people close to God;
20 thus the desire for Wisdom leads to a kingdom.
21 Therefore, if you take delight in thrones and scepters, you rulers of the peoples,
honor Wisdom so that you may reign as kings forever.[c]
Wisdom Is Not the Exclusive Possession of the Initiated[d]
22 Now I will explain what Wisdom is and how she came to be;
I will not hide her secrets from you.
I will trace her steps from the beginning of creation
and bring knowledge of her to full light
without swerving from the truth.
23 Nor will I allow corrosive envy to accompany me,
for it has nothing in common with Wisdom.
Exhortation To Live as Christians
Chapter 3
Seek the Things That Are Above.[a] 1 Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. 2 Fix your thoughts on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth, 3 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
A New Self.[b] 5 And so you should put to death everything in your nature that is earthly: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires, and greed (which is idolatry).[c] 6 Because of these practices, the wrath of God will fall on those who are disobedient. 7 In the life you formerly lived, you used to do these things. 8 But now you must cast them all aside—anger, rage, malice, slander, and foul language out of your lips.
9 Do not lie to one another, since you have stripped off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self that is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Now there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and Scythian,[d] slave and free man. Rather, Christ is all and in all.
From the Beatitudes to the Parables[a]
Chapter 7
Jesus Heals the Centurion’s Servant.[b] 1 After Jesus had finished speaking to the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 A centurion who dwelt there had a servant whom he regarded highly and who was ill and near death. 3 When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to ask him if he would come and heal his servant.
4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, saying, “He deserves this favor from you, 5 for he loves our people, and he was the one who built our synagogue for us.”
6 Jesus went with them. When he drew near the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 That is the reason why I did not presume to approach you personally. But say the word and let my servant be healed. 8 For I also am a man subject to authority, with soldiers who are subject to me. I say to one: ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another: ‘Come here,’ and he comes, and to my servant: ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
9 When Jesus heard these words, he was amazed, and, turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, in no one throughout Israel have I found faith as great as this.” 10 When the messengers returned to the house, they found the servant completely healthy.
11 Jesus Raises the Son of a Widow.[c] Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a large crowd. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his widowed mother. A large group of people from the town accompanied her.
13 When the Lord saw her, he was filled with compassion, and he said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 After this, he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers halted. Then he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.
16 Fear seized all who were present, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people.” 17 The news of what he had done spread throughout Judea and the surrounding region.
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