Book of Common Prayer
Aleph[a]
119 Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of Yahweh.
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies;
they seek him with a whole heart.
3 They also do no wrong;
they walk in his ways.
4 You have commanded[b] your precepts,
that we should keep them diligently.
5 Oh that my ways were steadfast,
to keep your statutes!
6 Then I would not be ashamed
when I look to all your commands.
7 I will give you thanks with an upright heart,
when I learn your righteous laws.
8 I will heed your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.
Beth
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By taking heed according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I have sought you;
do not let me stray from your commands.
11 In my heart I have hidden your word,[c]
so that I may not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Yahweh.
Teach me your statutes.
13 With my lips I have told of
all the ordinances of your mouth.
14 In the way of your testimonies I have rejoiced
as I would over all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts
and look at[d] your ways.
16 I will take delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
Gimel
17 Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live
and heed your word.
18 Uncover my eyes, that I may look at[e]
wonderful things from your law.
19 I am a sojourner on the earth;[f]
do not hide your commands from me.
20 My soul is crushed with longing
for your ordinances at all times.
21 You rebuke the arrogant, the accursed,
who stray from your commands.
22 Remove from[g] me scorn and contempt,
for I have kept your testimonies.
23 Even though princes sit and speak against me,
your servant meditates on your statutes.
24 Your testimonies are my delight,
my counselors.[h]
Human Faithlessness and God’s Faithfulness
For the music director; on the Sheminith.[a] A psalm of David.[b]
12 Save, O Yahweh, for the pious have ceased to be;
for the faithful have vanished
from among the children of humankind.
2 They speak falseness to each other.[c]
With flattering lips,
with a double heart[d] they speak.
3 May Yahweh cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue speaking great boasts—
4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail.
Our lips are on our side.
Who is master over us?”
5 “Because of the oppression of the afflicted,
because of the groaning of the poor,
now I will rise up,” Yahweh says.
“I shall put them in the safety for which they[e] long.”
6 The words of Yahweh are pure words
like silver refined in the crucible on the ground,
refined seven times.
7 You, O Yahweh, will protect them.
You will preserve him[f]
from this generation always.
8 The wicked prowl about
when vileness is exalted among the children of humankind.
Trust in the Salvation of Yahweh
For the music director. A psalm of David.[g]
13 How long, O Yahweh? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take counsel[h] in my soul,
and sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider[i] and answer me, O Yahweh my God.
Give light to my eyes
lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 and lest my enemy should say, “I have overcome him,”
lest my enemies rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But as for me, I have trusted in your steadfast love.[j]
My heart will rejoice in your deliverance.
6 [k] I will sing to Yahweh
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
The Folly of the Godless and God’s Final Triumph
For the music director. Of David.[l]
14 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt.
They do abominable deeds.
There is none who does good.
2 Yahweh looks down from heaven upon the children of humankind
to see whether there is one who has insight,
one who cares about God.
3 All have gone astray;
they are altogether corrupt.
There is not one who does good;
there is not even one.
4 All who do evil—do they not know,
they who eat my people as though they were eating bread?
They do not call on Yahweh.
5 There they are very fearful[m]
because God is with the generation of the righteous.
6 You would put to shame the plan of the poor,
because[n] Yahweh is his refuge.
7 Oh that from Zion[o] would come salvation for Israel!
When Yahweh returns the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be happy.
14 And Boaz said to her at mealtime,[a] “Come here and eat from the bread and dip your morsel in the wine vinegar.” So she sat beside the gleaners, and he offered to her roasted grain. And she ate and was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 And she got up to glean, and Boaz instructed his servants saying, “Let her also glean between the sheaves and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out for her from your bundles and leave it so that she may glean—and do not rebuke her.”
17 So she gleaned in the field until the evening and she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. 18 And she picked it up and went to the town. Her mother-in-law saw how much she had gleaned. And she took it out and gave to her what she had left over after being satisfied.[b] 19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today[c] and where did you work? May he who took notice of you be blessed.” And she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked[d] and said, “The name of the man who I worked with today is Boaz.” 20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by Yahweh, whose loyal love has not forsaken the living or the dead.” And Naomi said to her, “The man is a close relative for us, he is one of our redeemers.” 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Also, he said to me, ‘You shall stay close with the servants which are mine until they have finished all of the harvest which is mine.’” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maidservants so that you will not be bothered[e] in another field.” 23 So she stayed close with the maidservants of Boaz to glean until the end of the barley harvest and wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
Qualifications for Overseers
3 The saying is trustworthy: if anyone aspires to supervision, he desires a good work. 2 Therefore the overseer must be irreproachable, the husband of one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, skillful in teaching, 3 not addicted to wine, not a violent person, but gentle, peaceable, not loving money, 4 managing his own household well, having children in submission with all dignity 5 (but if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), 6 not newly converted, lest he become conceited and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 But he must also have a good testimony from those outside, in order that he may not fall into disgrace and the trap of the devil.
Qualifications for Deacons
8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not insincere, not devoted to much wine, not fond of dishonest gain, 9 holding the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience, 10 and these also must be tested first; then let them serve if they[a] are above reproach. 11 The wives[b] likewise must be dignified, not slanderous, temperate, faithful in all things. 12 Deacons must be husbands of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. 13 For those who have served well acquire a good standing for themselves, and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
The Mystery of Godliness Described
14 I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you in a short time. 15 But if I am delayed, I am writing[c] in order that you may know how one must conduct oneself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and mainstay[d] of the truth. 16 And most certainly, great is the mystery of godliness:
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
18 Therefore he said, “What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it? 19 It is like a mustard seed that a man took and[a] sowed in his own garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the sky nested in its branches.”
The Parable of the Yeast
20 And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and[b] hid in[c] three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.”
The Narrow Door
22 And he was going throughout towns and villages, teaching and making his journey toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, are there only[d] a few who are saved?” And he said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able to, 25 when once the master of the house has gotten up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open the door[e] for us!’ And he will answer and[f] say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from!’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets!’ 27 And he will reply, saying to you, ‘I do not know where you are from! Go away from me, all you evildoers!’[g] 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves thrown outside! 29 And they will come from east and west, and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. 30 And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
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