Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 119[a]
A Prayer to God, the Lawgiver
Aleph
1 Blessed those whose way is blameless,
who walk by the law of the Lord.(A)
2 Blessed those who keep his testimonies,
who seek him with all their heart.(B)
3 They do no wrong;
they walk in his ways.
4 You have given them the command
to observe your precepts with care.
5 May my ways be firm
in the observance of your statutes!
6 Then I will not be ashamed
to ponder all your commandments.
7 I will praise you with sincere heart
as I study your righteous judgments.
8 I will observe your statutes;
do not leave me all alone.
Beth
9 How can the young keep his way without fault?
Only by observing your words.
10 With all my heart I seek you;
do not let me stray from your commandments.
11 In my heart I treasure your promise,
that I may not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord;
teach me your statutes.(C)
13 With my lips I recite
all the judgments you have spoken.
14 I find joy in the way of your testimonies
more than in all riches.
15 I will ponder your precepts
and consider your paths.
16 In your statutes I take delight;
I will never forget your word.
Gimel
17 Be kind to your servant that I may live,
that I may keep your word.
18 Open my eyes to see clearly
the wonders of your law.
19 I am a sojourner in the land;[b](D)
do not hide your commandments from me.
20 At all times my soul is stirred
with longing for your judgments.
21 With a curse you rebuke the proud
who stray from your commandments.
22 Free me from disgrace and contempt,
for I keep your testimonies.
23 Though princes meet and talk against me,
your servant meditates on your statutes.
24 Your testimonies are my delight;
they are my counselors.
Psalm 12[a]
Prayer Against Evil Tongues
1 For the leader; “upon the eighth.” A psalm of David.
I
2 Help, Lord, for no one loyal remains;
the faithful have vanished from the children of men.(A)
3 They tell lies to one another,
speak with deceiving lips and a double heart.(B)
II
4 May the Lord cut off all deceiving lips,
and every boastful tongue,
5 Those who say, “By our tongues we prevail;
when our lips speak, who can lord it over us?”(C)
III
6 “Because they rob the weak, and the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the Lord;
“I will grant safety to whoever longs for it.”(D)
IV
7 The promises of the Lord are sure,
silver refined in a crucible,[b]
silver purified seven times.(E)
8 You, O Lord, protect us always;
preserve us from this generation.
9 On every side the wicked roam;
the shameless are extolled by the children of men.
Psalm 13[c]
Prayer for Help
1 For the leader. A psalm of David.
I
2 How long, Lord? Will you utterly forget me?
How long will you hide your face from me?(F)
3 How long must I carry sorrow in my soul,
grief in my heart day after day?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
II
4 Look upon me, answer me, Lord, my God!
Give light to my eyes lest I sleep in death,
5 Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed,”
lest my foes rejoice at my downfall.(G)
III
6 But I trust in your mercy.
Grant my heart joy in your salvation,
I will sing to the Lord,
for he has dealt bountifully with me!(H)
Psalm 14[d]
A Lament over Widespread Corruption
1 For the leader. Of David.
I
The fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
Their deeds are loathsome and corrupt;
not one does what is good.(I)
2 The Lord looks down from heaven
upon the children of men,(J)
To see if even one is wise,
if even one seeks God.(K)
3 All have gone astray;
all alike are perverse.
Not one does what is good,
not even one.(L)
II
4 Will these evildoers never learn?
They devour my people as they devour bread;(M)
they do not call upon the Lord.(N)
5 They have good reason, then, to fear;
God is with the company of the just.
6 They would crush the hopes of the poor,
but the poor have the Lord as their refuge.
III
14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and have something to eat; dip your bread in the sauce.” Then as she sat near the harvesters, he handed her some roasted grain and she ate her fill and had some left over. 15 As she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young people: “Let her glean among the sheaves themselves without scolding her, 16 and even drop some handfuls and leave them for her to glean; do not rebuke her.”
17 She gleaned in the field until evening, and when she beat out what she had gleaned it came to about an ephah[a] of barley, 18 which she took into the town and showed to her mother-in-law. Next she brought out what she had left over from the meal and gave it to her. 19 So her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you go to work? May the one who took notice of you be blessed!” Then she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked. “The man at whose place I worked today is named Boaz,” she said. 20 (A)“May he be blessed by the Lord, who never fails to show kindness to the living and to the dead,” Naomi exclaimed to her daughter-in-law. She continued, “This man is a near relative of ours, one of our redeemers.”[b] 21 “He even told me,” added Ruth the Moabite, “Stay with my young people until they complete my entire harvest.” 22 “You would do well, my daughter,” Naomi rejoined, “to work with his young women; in someone else’s field you might be insulted.” 23 So she stayed gleaning with Boaz’s young women until the end of the barley and wheat harvests.
Chapter 3
Qualifications of Various Ministers. 1 [a]This saying is trustworthy:[b] whoever aspires to the office of bishop desires a noble task.(A) 2 Therefore, a bishop must be irreproachable, married only once, temperate, self-controlled, decent, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not aggressive, but gentle, not contentious, not a lover of money.(B) 4 He must manage his own household well, keeping his children under control with perfect dignity; 5 for if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of the church of God? 6 He should not be a recent convert, so that he may not become conceited and thus incur the devil’s punishment.[c] 7 He must also have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, the devil’s trap.(C)
8 [d]Similarly, deacons must be dignified, not deceitful, not addicted to drink, not greedy for sordid gain, 9 holding fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 Moreover, they should be tested first; then, if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. 11 Women,[e] similarly, should be dignified, not slanderers, but temperate and faithful in everything.(D) 12 Deacons may be married only once and must manage their children and their households well. 13 Thus those who serve well as deacons gain good standing and much confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus.
The Mystery of Our Religion.[f] 14 I am writing you about these matters, although I hope to visit you soon. 15 But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth.(E) 16 Undeniably great is the mystery of devotion,
18 [a]Then he said, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? 19 It is like a mustard seed that a person took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and ‘the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.’”(A)
The Parable of the Yeast.(B) 20 Again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed [in] with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”
The Narrow Door; Salvation and Rejection.[b] 22 He passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” He answered them, 24 (C)“Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.(D) 25 After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’(E) 26 And you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’ 27 (F)Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know where [you] are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!’ 28 (G)And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.(H) 30 For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”(I)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.