Book of Common Prayer
BOOK 1
The Righteous and the Wicked Contrasted.
1 Blessed is the person 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 on His Law he meditates (G)day and (H)night.
3 He will be like (I)a tree 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 blows 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 restless
And the peoples (R)plotting in vain?
2 The (S)kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers conspire together
(T)Against the Lord and against His [g](U)Anointed, saying,
3 “Let’s (V)tear their shackles apart
And throw their ropes away 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 installed (AA)My King
Upon Zion, (AB)My holy mountain.”
7 “I will announce the [i]decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, ‘You are (AC)My Son,
Today I have fathered You.
8 Ask it of Me, and (AD)I will certainly give (AE)the [j]nations as Your inheritance,
And the (AF)ends of the earth as Your possession.
9 You shall [k](AG)break them with a [l]rod of iron,
You shall (AH)shatter them like [m]earthenware.’”
10 Now then, you kings, (AI)use insight;
Let yourselves be instructed, you [n]judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with [o](AJ)reverence
And rejoice with (AK)trembling.
12 [p]Kiss (AL)the Son, that He not be angry and you perish on the way,
For (AM)His wrath may be kindled quickly.
How blessed are all who (AN)take refuge in Him!
Morning Prayer of Trust in God.
A Psalm of David, when [q]he fled from his son Absalom.
3 Lord, how (AO)my enemies have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
2 Many are saying of my soul,
“There is no (AP)salvation for him in God.” Selah
3 But You, Lord, are (AQ)a shield around me,
My (AR)glory, and the One who (AS)lifts my head.
4 I was crying out to the Lord with my voice,
And He (AT)answered me from (AU)His holy [r]mountain. Selah
5 [s]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 all around.
7 (AY)Arise, Lord; (AZ)save me, my God!
For You [t]have (BA)struck all my enemies on the [u]cheek;
You [v]have (BB)shattered the teeth of the wicked.
8 [w](BC)Salvation belongs to the Lord;
May Your (BD)blessing [x]be upon Your people! Selah
Evening Prayer of Trust in God.
[y]For the music director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
4 (BE)Answer me when (BF)I call, God [z]of my righteousness!
You have [aa](BG)relieved me in my distress;
Be (BH)gracious to me and (BI)hear my prayer.
2 You sons of man, how long will (BJ)my [ab]honor be treated as (BK)an insult?
How long will you love (BL)what is worthless and strive for a (BM)lie? Selah
3 But know that the Lord has [ac](BN)set apart the (BO)godly person for Himself;
The Lord (BP)hears when I call to Him.
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 Benjaminite.
7 O Lord my God, (A)in You I have taken refuge;
Save me from all those who pursue me, and (B)rescue me,
2 Or he will tear [c]my soul (C)like a lion,
Dragging me away, while there is no one to rescue me.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this,
If there is (D)injustice in my hands,
4 If I have (E)done evil to [d]my friend,
Or have (F)plundered [e]my enemy for no reason,
5 Let the enemy pursue [f]my soul and overtake [g]it;
And let him trample my life to the ground
And lay my glory in the dust. Selah
6 (G)Arise, Lord, in Your anger;
(H)Raise Yourself against (I)the rage of my enemies,
And (J)stir Yourself [h]for me; You have ordered judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the (K)peoples encompass You,
And return on high over it.
8 The Lord (L)judges the peoples;
[i](M)Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
9 Please let (N)the evil of the wicked come to an end, but (O)establish the righteous;
For the righteous God (P)puts hearts and [j]minds to the test.
10 My (Q)shield is [k]with God,
Who (R)saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a (S)righteous judge,
And a God who (T)shows indignation every day.
12 If one (U)does not repent, He will (V)sharpen His sword;
He has (W)bent His bow and taken aim.
13 He has also prepared deadly weapons for Himself;
He makes His (X)arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, an evil person is pregnant with injustice,
And he (Y)conceives harm and gives birth to lies.
15 He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has (Z)fallen into the hole which he made.
16 His (AA)harm will return on his own head,
And his (AB)violence will descend on the top of his own head.
Naomi Widowed
1 Now it came about in the days (A)when the judges [a]governed, that there was (B)a famine in the land. And a man (C)of Bethlehem in Judah went to reside in the land of Moab [b]with his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. So they (D)entered the land of Moab and remained there. 3 Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons. 4 And they took for themselves Moabite women as wives; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other, Ruth. And they lived there about ten years. 5 Then [c]both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.
6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the land of Moab, because she had heard in the land of Moab that the Lord had (E)visited His people by (F)giving them food. 7 So she departed from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to [d]your mother’s house. (G)May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 May the Lord grant that you may find a place of rest, each one in the house of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they raised their voices and wept. 10 However, they said to her, “No, but we will return with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi said, “Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb, that (H)they may be your husbands? 12 Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I were even to have a husband tonight and also give birth to sons, 13 would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is much more bitter for me than for you, because (I)the hand of the Lord has come out against me.”
Ruth’s Loyalty
14 And they raised their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
15 Then she said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her (J)gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said, “Do not plead with me to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you sleep, I will sleep. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May (K)the Lord do so to me, and worse, if anything but death separates [e]me from you.” 18 When (L)she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her about it.
Correcting False Teaching
1 Paul, (A)an apostle of (B)Christ Jesus (C)according to the commandment of (D)God our Savior, and of (E)Christ Jesus, who is our (F)hope,
2 To (G)Timothy, (H)my true [a]son in the faith: (I)Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and (J)Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 Just as I urged you [b]upon my departure for (K)Macedonia, to remain on at (L)Ephesus so that you would instruct certain people not to (M)teach strange doctrines, 4 nor to [c]pay attention to (N)myths and endless (O)genealogies, which give rise to useless (P)speculation rather than (Q)advance [d]the plan of God, which is by faith, so I urge you now. 5 But the goal of our [e](R)instruction is love (S)from a pure heart, from a (T)good conscience, and from a sincere (U)faith. 6 Some people have strayed from these things and have turned aside to (V)fruitless discussion, 7 (W)wanting to be (X)teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.
8 But we know that (Y)the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 realizing the fact that (Z)law is not made for a righteous person but for those who are lawless and (AA)rebellious, for the (AB)ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and (AC)worldly, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the [f](AD)sexually immoral, (AE)homosexuals, [g](AF)slave traders, (AG)liars, (AH)perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to (AI)sound teaching, 11 according to (AJ)the glorious gospel of (AK)the blessed God, with which I have been (AL)entrusted.
Paul’s Testimony
12 I thank (AM)Christ Jesus our Lord, who has (AN)strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, (AO)putting me into service, 13 even though I was previously a blasphemer and a (AP)persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was (AQ)shown mercy because (AR)I acted ignorantly in unbelief; 14 and the (AS)grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the (AT)faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. 15 (AU)It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that (AV)Christ Jesus came into the world to (AW)save sinners, among whom (AX)I am foremost. 16 Yet for this reason I (AY)found mercy, so that in me as the foremost sinner Jesus Christ might (AZ)demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those [h]who would believe in Him for eternal life. 17 Now to the (BA)King [i]eternal, (BB)immortal, (BC)invisible, the (BD)only God, (BE)be honor and glory [j]forever and ever. Amen.
Call to Repent
13 Now on that very occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood (A)Pilate had [a]mixed with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus responded and said to them, “(B)Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans just because they have suffered this fate? 3 No, I tell you, but unless you [b]repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or do you think that those eighteen on whom the tower in (C)Siloam fell and killed them were worse [c](D)offenders than all the other people who live in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
6 And He began telling this parable: “A man had (E)a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. 7 And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Look! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree [d]without finding any. (F)Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ 8 But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, leave it alone for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; 9 and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’”
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