Book of Common Prayer
49 Remember the word unto Thy servant, upon which Thou hast caused me to hope.
50 This is my comfort in my affliction, for Thy word hath quickened me.
51 The proud have held me greatly in derision, yet have I not departed from Thy law.
52 I remembered Thy judgments of old, O Lord, and have comforted myself.
53 Horror hath taken hold upon me, because of the wicked that forsake Thy law.
54 Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.
55 I have remembered Thy name, O Lord, in the night and have kept Thy law.
56 This I had, because I kept Thy precepts.
57 Thou art my portion, O Lord; I have said that I would keep Thy words.
58 I entreated Thy favor with my whole heart; be merciful unto me according to Thy word.
59 I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto Thy testimonies.
60 I made haste, and delayed not to keep Thy commandments.
61 The cords of the wicked have robbed me, but I have not forgotten Thy law.
62 At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto Thee, because of Thy righteous judgments.
63 I am a companion of all them that fear Thee, and of them that keep Thy precepts.
64 The earth, O Lord, is full of Thy mercy; teach me Thy statutes.
65 Thou hast dealt well with Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word.
66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I have believed Thy commandments.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now have I kept Thy word.
68 Thou art good, and doest good; teach me Thy statutes.
69 The proud have forged a lie against me, but I will keep Thy precepts with my whole heart.
70 Their heart is as fat as grease, but I delight in Thy law.
71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn Thy statutes.
72 The law of Thy mouth is better for me than thousands of gold and silver.
49 Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world,
2 both low and high, rich and poor together.
3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
4 I will incline mine ear to a parable; I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
5 Why should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity at my heels shall compass me about?
6 They that trust in their wealth and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches,
7 none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him
8 (for the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever),
9 that they should still live for ever, and not see corruption.
10 For he seeth that wise men die; likewise the fool and the brutish person perish and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their inward thought is that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.
12 Nevertheless man, though he be in honor, abideth not; he is like the beasts that perish.
13 This their way is their folly, yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah
14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them, and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning, and their beauty shall be consumed in the grave away from their dwelling.
15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, for He shall receive me. Selah
16 Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased.
17 For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away; his glory shall not descend after him.
18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul (and men will praise thee when thou doest well for thyself),
19 he shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.
20 Man, though he is in honor but understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.
53 The fool hath said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt and have done abominable iniquity; there is none that doeth good.
2 God looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that understood, that had sought God.
3 Every one of them has turned back; they have altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
4 Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge—those who eat up my people as they eat bread? They have not called upon God.
5 There they were in great fear, where no fear was; for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee; thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them.
6 O that the salvation of Israel might come out of Zion! When God bringeth back His captive people, Jacob shall rejoice and Israel shall be glad.
3 And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
2 And the Lord said unto Satan, “The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord who hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee! Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?”
3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.
4 And He answered and spoke unto those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And unto him He said, “Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.”
5 And I said, “Let them set a clean miter upon his head.” So they set a clean miter upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by.
6 And the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying,
7 “Thus saith the Lord of hosts: ‘If thou wilt walk in My ways, and if thou wilt keep My ordinance, then thou shalt also judge My house, and shalt also keep My courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these who stand by.
8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows who sit before thee; for they are men wondered at. For behold, I will bring forth My Servant the Branch.
9 For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua: upon one stone shall be seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave the engraving thereof,’ saith the Lord of hosts, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
10 In that day,’ saith the Lord of hosts, ‘shall ye call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree.’”
4 After this I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven; and the first voice which I heard was, as it were, of a trumpet talking with me, which said, “Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter.”
2 And immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was set in Heaven, and One sat on the throne.
3 And He that sat thereon was to look upon like a jasper and a sardius stone; and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in appearance like unto an emerald.
4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats; and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment, and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;
6 and before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four living beings full of eyes in front and behind.
7 And the first being was like a lion, and the second being like a calf, and the third being had the face of a man, and the fourth being was like a flying eagle.
8 And each of the four living beings had six wings about him, and they were full of eyes within; and they rested not day and night, saying, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come!”
45 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant whom his lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, that he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But if that evil servant shall say in his heart, ‘My lord delayeth his coming,’
49 and shall begin to smite his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunken,
50 the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 and shall cut him asunder and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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