Book of Common Prayer
BOOK ONE
Psalms 1–41
Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor stands in the path of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that brings forth its fruit in its season;
its leaf will not wither,
and whatever he does will prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so,
but are like the chaff
which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the ungodly will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the ungodly will perish.
Psalm 2
1 Why do the nations rage,
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord
and against His anointed, saying,
3 “Let us tear off their bonds
and cast away their ropes from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord ridicules them.
5 Then He will speak to them in His wrath
and terrify them in His burning anger:
6 “I have installed My king
on Zion, My holy hill.”
7 I will declare the decree of the Lord:
He said to me, “You are My son;
this day have I begotten you.
8 Ask of Me,
and I will give you the nations for your inheritance,
and the ends of the earth for your possession.
9 You will break them with a scepter of iron;
you will dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
10 Now then, you kings, be wise;
be admonished, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear;
tremble with trepidation!
12 Kiss the son, lest He become angry,
and you perish in the way,
for His wrath kindles in a flash.
Blessed are all who seek refuge in Him.
Psalm 3
A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.
1 Lord, how my foes have multiplied!
Many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying about my life,
“There is no help for him in God.” Selah[a]
3 But You, O Lord, are a shield for me,
my glory and the One who raises up my head.
4 I cried to the Lord with my voice,
and He answered me from His holy hill. Selah
5 I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of multitudes of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
7 Arise, O Lord;
save me, O my God!
For You have struck all my enemies on the cheek;
You have broken the teeth of the wicked.
8 Salvation belongs to the Lord.
Your blessing is on Your people. Selah
Psalm 4
For the Music Director. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
1 Hear me when I call,
O God of my righteousness!
You have given me relief when I was in distress;
have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
2 O people, how long will you turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love vanity and seek after lies? Selah
3 Know that the Lord set apart the faithful for Himself;
the Lord hears when I call to Him.
4 Tremble in awe, and do not sin.
Commune with your own heart on your bed,
and be still. Selah
5 Offer sacrifices of righteousness,
and trust in the Lord.
6 Many are saying, “Who will show us any good?”
Lift up the light of Your face over us.
7 You have placed gladness in my heart
that is better than when their corn and their new wine abound.
8 I will both lie down in peace and sleep;
for You, Lord,
make me dwell safely and securely.
Psalm 7
A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite.
1 O Lord my God, in You I put my trust;
save me from all those who persecute me, and deliver me,
2 lest they tear my soul like a lion,
rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this,
if there is iniquity in the palms of my hands,
4 if I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me,
or have delivered my adversary without cause,
5 then may the enemy pursue my life and overtake me;
may my enemy trample my life to the ground,
and lay my honor in the dust. Selah
6 Arise, O Lord, in Your anger;
rise up because of the rage of my adversaries,
and awaken Yourself for me; You have commanded justice.
7 The congregation of the peoples surround You;
return above it to heaven’s heights.
8 The Lord will judge the peoples;
grant me justice, O Lord, according to my righteousness,
and according to my integrity within me.
9 May the evil of the wicked come to an end;
may You vindicate the righteous one;
You are a righteous God who examines the minds and hearts.
10 My defense depends on God,
who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
and God has indignation every day.
12 If one does not repent,
God will sharpen His sword;
He has bent His bow and made it ready.
13 He has prepared for Himself deadly weapons;
He makes His arrows flaming shafts.
14 The wicked man writhes in pain of iniquity;
he has conceived mischief and brought forth falsehood.
15 He who digs a hole and hollows it
will then fall into his own pit.
16 His mischief will return on his own head;
his violence will descend on the crown of his own head.
17 I will thank the Lord according to His righteousness,
and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.
Naomi Loses
1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a man from Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the land of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelek, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
3 Now Elimelek, the husband of Naomi, died, so she was left alone with her two sons. 4 They took Moabite wives for themselves; the name of one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years. 5 Then Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
6 So she got up with her daughters-in-law to return from the land of Moab, for in the land of Moab, she had heard that the Lord had visited His people by giving them food. 7 She set out from the place where she had been, with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to return to the land of Judah.
8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with your deceased husbands and with me. 9 May the Lord grant that you each find rest in the house of another husband.”
Then she kissed them, and they raised their voices and wept aloud. 10 They said to her, “We will return with you to your people.”
11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters. Why would you go with me? Are there sons in my womb, who could become your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought that there was still hope for me, that I could have a husband tonight and give birth to sons, 13 would you wait until they were grown? Would you refrain from getting married? No, my daughters. It is much more bitter for me than for you, for the hand of the Lord has turned against me.”
14 Then they raised their voices and wept aloud once more. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
15 Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has returned to her people and her gods. Return with her!”
16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn back from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you stay, I will stay. 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 the Lord do thus to me, and worse, if anything but death separates you and me!” 18 When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.
Salutation
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the command of God our Savior, and of the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope,
2 To Timothy, my true son in the faith:
Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
Warning Against False Doctrine
3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, continue to remain at Ephesus so that you might command some to teach no other doctrine, 4 nor pay attention to fables and endless genealogies, which cause debates rather than godly edifying, which is in faith. 5 Now the goal of this command is love from a pure heart, and from a good conscience, and from sincere faith. 6 From this, some have lost their way and turned aside to empty talk, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, and understanding neither what they say nor what they affirm.
8 But we know that the law is good if someone uses it lawfully. 9 And we know that the law is not given for a righteous person, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and the profane, for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for sodomites, for slave traders, for liars, for perjurers, and for anything else that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.
Thankfulness for Mercy
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful and appointed me to the ministry. 13 I was previously a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and an insolent man. But I was shown mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord overflowed with the faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, first, Jesus Christ might show all patience, as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life. 17 Now to the eternal, immortal, invisible King, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever. Amen.
Repent or Perish
13 There were present at that time some who told Him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all men living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
6 Then He told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. He came and looked for fruit on it and found none. 7 So he said to the vinedresser of his vineyard, ‘Now these three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it deplete the soil?’
8 “He answered him, ‘Sir, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9 And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you shall cut it down.’ ”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.