Book of Common Prayer
Meditations and Prayers Relating to the Law of God.
Aleph.
119 How blessed are those whose way is [a](A)blameless,
Who (B)walk in the law of the Lord.
2 How blessed are those who (C)observe His testimonies,
Who (D)seek Him (E)with all their heart.
3 They also (F)do no unrighteousness;
They walk in His ways.
4 You have [b](G)ordained Your precepts,
[c]That we should keep them diligently.
5 Oh that my (H)ways may be established
To (I)keep Your statutes!
6 Then I (J)shall not be ashamed
When I look [d]upon all Your commandments.
7 I shall (K)give thanks to You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments.
8 I shall keep Your statutes;
Do not (L)forsake me utterly!
Beth.
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By (M)keeping it according to Your word.
10 With (N)all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me (O)wander from Your commandments.
11 Your word I have (P)treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, O Lord;
(Q)Teach me Your statutes.
13 With my lips I have (R)told of
All the (S)ordinances of Your mouth.
14 I have (T)rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
[e]As much as in all riches.
15 I will (U)meditate on Your precepts
And [f]regard (V)Your ways.
16 I shall [g](W)delight in Your statutes;
I shall (X)not forget Your word.
Gimel.
17 (Y)Deal bountifully with Your servant,
That I may live and keep Your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold
Wonderful things from Your law.
19 I am a (Z)stranger in the earth;
Do not hide Your commandments from me.
20 My soul is crushed [h](AA)with longing
After Your ordinances at all times.
21 You (AB)rebuke the arrogant, [i]the (AC)cursed,
Who (AD)wander from Your commandments.
22 (AE)Take away reproach and contempt from me,
For I (AF)observe Your testimonies.
23 Even though (AG)princes sit and talk against me,
Your servant (AH)meditates on Your statutes.
24 Your testimonies also are my (AI)delight;
They are [j]my counselors.
God, a Helper against the Treacherous.
For the choir director; [a]upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.
12 Help, Lord, for (A)the godly man ceases to be,
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
2 They (B)speak [b]falsehood to one another;
With (C)flattering [c]lips and with a double heart they speak.
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
The tongue that (D)speaks great things;
4 Who (E)have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are [d]our own; who is lord over us?”
5 “Because of the (F)devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now (G)I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will (H)set him in the safety for which he longs.”
6 The (I)words of the Lord are pure words;
As silver (J)tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.
7 You, O Lord, will keep them;
You will (K)preserve him from this generation forever.
8 The (L)wicked strut about on every side
When [e](M)vileness is exalted among the sons of men.
Prayer for Help in Trouble.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
13 How long, O Lord? Will You (N)forget me forever?
How long (O)will You hide Your face from me?
2 How long shall I (P)take counsel in my soul,
Having (Q)sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
3 (R)Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
(S)Enlighten my eyes, or I will (T)sleep the sleep of death,
4 And my enemy will (U)say, “I have overcome him,”
And (V)my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.
5 But I have (W)trusted in Your lovingkindness;
My heart shall (X)rejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will (Y)sing to the Lord,
Because He has (Z)dealt bountifully with me.
Folly and Wickedness of Men.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
14 The fool has (AA)said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed abominable [f]deeds;
There is (AB)no one who does good.
2 The Lord has (AC)looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there are any who [g](AD)understand,
Who (AE)seek after God.
3 They have all (AF)turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
There is (AG)no one who does good, not even one.
Samuel Goes to Bethlehem
16 Now the Lord said to Samuel, “(A)How long will you grieve over Saul, since (B)I have rejected him from being king over Israel? (C)Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to (D)Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have (E)selected a king for Myself among his sons.” 2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? When Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “(F)Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 You shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and (G)I will show you what you shall do; and (H)you shall anoint for Me the one whom I [a]designate to you.” 4 So Samuel did what the Lord said, and came to (I)Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, “(J)Do you come in peace?” 5 He said, “In peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. (K)Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” He also consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they entered, he looked at (L)Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for [b]God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, (M)but the Lord looks at the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called (N)Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” 9 Next Jesse made [c](O)Shammah pass by. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” 10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the children?” And he said, “(P)There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and [d]bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.”
David Anointed
12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with (Q)beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the Lord said, “(R)Arise, anoint him; for this is he.” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and (S)anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and (T)the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
Cornelius’s Vision
10 Now there was a man at (A)Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was (B)called the Italian [a]cohort, 2 a devout man and (C)one who feared God with all his household, and (D)gave many [b]alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually. 3 About (E)the [c]ninth hour of the day he clearly saw (F)in a vision (G)an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, “Cornelius!” 4 And (H)fixing his gaze on him and being much alarmed, he said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and [d]alms (I)have ascended (J)as a memorial before God. 5 Now dispatch some men to (K)Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; 6 he is staying with a tanner named (L)Simon, whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who was speaking to him had left, he summoned two of his [e]servants and a devout soldier of those who were his personal attendants, 8 and after he had explained everything to them, he sent them to (M)Joppa.
9 On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, (N)Peter went up on (O)the housetop about (P)the [f]sixth hour to pray. 10 But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he (Q)fell into a trance; 11 and he *saw (R)the [g]sky opened up, and an [h]object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, 12 and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and [i]crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the [j]air. 13 A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, [k]kill and eat!” 14 But Peter said, “By no means, (S)Lord, for (T)I have never eaten anything [l]unholy and unclean.” 15 Again a voice came to him a second time, “(U)What God has cleansed, no longer consider [m]unholy.” 16 This happened three times, and immediately the [n]object was taken up into the [o]sky.
12 But Peter got up and (A)ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he *saw the linen wrappings [a]only; and he went away (B)to his home, marveling at what had happened.
The Road to Emmaus
13 And behold, (C)two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was [b]about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. 16 But (D)their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. 17 And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You [c]the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?” 19 And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about (E)Jesus the Nazarene, who was a (F)prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our (G)rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. 21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to (H)redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. 22 But also some women among us amazed us. (I)When they were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.” 25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that (J)the prophets have spoken! 26 (K)Was it not necessary for the [d]Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 Then beginning [e]with (L)Moses and [f]with all the (M)prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
28 And they approached the village where they were going, and (N)He acted as though He were going farther. 29 But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day [g]is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them. 30 When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and (O)blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. 31 Then their (P)eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from [h]their sight. 32 They said to one another, “[i]Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He (Q)was [j]explaining the Scriptures to us?” 33 And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and (R)found gathered together the eleven and (S)those who were with them, 34 saying, “(T)The Lord has really risen and (U)has appeared to Simon.” 35 They began to relate [k]their experiences on the road and how (V)He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.
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