Book of Common Prayer
Book I
Psalms 1–41
1 Blessed is the person who obeys the law of the Lord.
They don’t follow the advice of evil people.
They don’t make a habit of doing what sinners do.
They don’t join those who make fun of the Lord and his law.
2 Instead, the law of the Lord gives them joy.
They think about his law day and night.
3 That kind of person is like a tree that is planted near a stream of water.
It always bears its fruit at the right time.
Its leaves don’t dry up.
Everything godly people do turns out well.
4 Sinful people are not like that at all.
They are like straw
that the wind blows away.
5 When the Lord judges them, their life will come to an end.
Sinners won’t have any place among those who are godly.
6 The Lord watches over the lives of godly people.
But the lives of sinful people will lead to their death.
2 Why do the nations plan evil together?
Why do they make useless plans?
2 The kings of the earth rise up against the Lord.
The rulers of the earth join together against his anointed king.
3 “Let us break free from their chains,” they say.
“Let us throw off their ropes.”
4 The God who sits on his throne in heaven laughs.
The Lord makes fun of those rulers and their plans.
5 When he is angry, he warns them.
When his anger blazes out, he terrifies them.
6 He says to them,
“I have placed my king on my holy mountain of Zion.”
7 I will announce what the Lord has promised.
He said to me, “You are my son.
Today I have become your father.
8 Ask me, and I will give the nations to you.
All nations on earth will belong to you.
9 You will break them with an iron scepter.
You will smash them to pieces like clay pots.”
10 Kings, be wise!
Rulers of the earth, be warned!
11 Serve the Lord and have respect for him.
Celebrate his rule with trembling.
12 Obey the son completely, or he will be angry.
Your way of life will lead to your death.
His anger can blaze out at any moment.
Blessed are all those who go to him for safety.
A psalm of David when he ran away from his son Absalom.
3 Lord, I have so many enemies!
So many people are rising up against me!
2 Many are saying about me,
“God will not save him.”
3 Lord, you are like a shield that keeps me safe.
You bring me honor. You help me win the battle.
4 I call out to the Lord.
He answers me from his holy mountain.
5 I lie down and sleep.
I wake up again, because the Lord takes care of me.
6 I won’t be afraid even though tens of thousands
attack me on every side.
7 Lord, rise up!
My God, save me!
Strike all my enemies in the face.
Break the teeth of sinful people.
8 Lord, you are the one who saves.
May your blessing be on your people.
For the director of music. A psalm of David to be played on stringed instruments.
4 My faithful God,
answer me when I call out to you.
Give me rest from my trouble.
Have mercy on me. Hear my prayer.
2 How long will you people turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love what will certainly fail you?
How long will you pray to statues of gods?
3 Remember that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself.
The Lord hears me when I call out to him.
4 Tremble and do not sin.
When you are in bed,
look deep down inside yourself and be silent.
5 Offer to the Lord the sacrifices that godly people offer.
Trust in him.
6 Lord, many are asking, “Who will make us successful?”
Lord, may you do good things for us.
7 Fill my heart with joy
when the people have lots of grain and fresh wine.
8 In peace I will lie down and sleep.
Lord, you alone keep me safe.
A shiggaion of David. He sang it to the Lord about Cush, who was from the tribe of Benjamin.
7 Lord my God, I go to you for safety.
Help me. Save me from all those who are chasing me.
2 If you don’t, they will tear me apart as if they were lions.
They will rip me to pieces so that no one can save me.
3 Lord my God, suppose I have done something wrong.
Suppose I am guilty.
4 Or I have done evil to my friend.
Or I have robbed my enemy without any reason.
5 Then let my enemy chase me and catch me.
Let him stomp me into the ground.
Let him bury me in the dust.
6 Lord, rise up in your anger.
Rise up against the great anger of my enemies.
My God, wake up. Command that the right thing be done.
7 Let all the people of the earth gather around you.
Rule over them from your throne in heaven.
8 Lord, judge all people.
Lord, show that I have done what is right.
Most High God, remember that I am honest.
9 God, you always do what is right.
You look deep down inside the hearts and minds of people.
Bring to an end the terrible things sinful people do.
Make godly people safe.
10 The Most High God is like a shield that keeps me safe.
He saves those whose hearts are honest.
11 God judges fairly.
He shows his anger every day.
12 If evil people don’t change their ways,
God will sharpen his sword.
He will get his bow ready to use.
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons.
He has made his flaming arrows ready.
14 Whoever is full of evil
plans trouble and ends up telling lies.
15 Whoever digs a hole and shovels it out
falls into the pit they have made.
16 The trouble they cause comes back on them.
The terrible things they do will happen to them.
17 I will give thanks to the Lord because he does what is right.
I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.
Adam and Eve
4 Here is the story of the heavens and the earth when they were created. The Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
5 At that time, bushes had not yet appeared on the earth. Plants had not started to grow. The Lord God had not sent rain on the earth. And there was no one to farm the land. 6 But streams came from the earth. They watered the entire surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed a man. He made him out of the dust of the ground. God breathed the breath of life into him. And the man became a living person.
8 The Lord God had planted a garden in the east in Eden. He put in the garden the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made every kind of tree grow out of the ground. The trees were pleasing to look at. Their fruit was good to eat. There were two trees in the middle of the garden. One of them had fruit that let people live forever. The other had fruit that let people tell the difference between good and evil.
10 A river watered the garden. It flowed out of Eden. From there the river separated into four other rivers. 11 The name of the first river is the Pishon. It winds through the whole land of Havilah. Gold is found there. 12 The gold of that land is good. Onyx and sweet-smelling resin are also found there. 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon. It winds through the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris. It runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is called the Euphrates.
15 The Lord God put the man in the Garden of Eden. He put him there to farm its land and take care of it. 16 The Lord God gave the man a command. He said, “You may eat fruit from any tree in the garden. 17 But you must not eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you do, you will certainly die.”
18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”
19 The Lord God had formed all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He had made all of them out of the ground. He brought them to the man to see what names he would give them. And the name the man gave each living creature became its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, all the birds in the sky, and all the wild animals.
But Adam didn’t find a helper that was just right for him. 21 So the Lord God caused him to fall into a deep sleep. While the man was sleeping, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs. Then the Lord God closed the opening in the man’s side. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman. He made her from the rib he had taken out of the man. And the Lord God brought her to the man.
23 The man said,
“Her bones have come from my bones.
Her body has come from my body.
She will be named ‘woman,’
because she was taken out of a man.”
24 That’s why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife. The two of them become one.
25 Adam and his wife were both naked. They didn’t feel any shame.
God Speaks His Final Word Through His Son
1 In the past, God spoke to our people through the prophets. He spoke at many times. He spoke in different ways. 2 But in these last days, he has spoken to us through his Son. He is the one whom God appointed to receive all things. God also made everything through him. 3 The Son is the shining brightness of God’s glory. He is the exact likeness of God’s being. He uses his powerful word to hold all things together. He provided the way for people to be made pure from sin. Then he sat down at the right hand of the King, the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became higher than the angels. The name he received is more excellent than theirs.
The Son Is Greater Than the Angels
5 God never said to any of the angels,
“You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.” (Psalm 2:7)
Or,
“I will be his Father.
And he will be my Son.” (2 Samuel 7:14; 1 Chronicles 17:13)
6 God’s first and only Son is over all things. When God brings him into the world, he says,
“Let all God’s angels worship him.” (Deuteronomy 32:43)
7 Here is something else God says about the angels.
“God makes his angels to be like spirits.
He makes those who serve him to be like flashes of lightning.” (Psalm 104:4)
8 But here is what he says about the Son.
“You are God. Your throne will last for ever and ever.
Your kingdom will be ruled by justice.
9 You have loved what is right and hated what is evil.
So your God has placed you above your companions.
He has filled you with joy by pouring the sacred oil on your head.” (Psalm 45:6,7)
10 He also says,
“Lord, in the beginning you made the earth secure. You placed it on its foundations.
The heavens are the work of your hands.
11 They will pass away. But you remain.
They will all wear out like a piece of clothing.
12 You will roll them up like a robe.
They will be changed as a person changes clothes.
But you remain the same.
Your years will never end.” (Psalm 102:25–27)
13 God never said to an angel,
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your control.” (Psalm 110:1)
14 All angels are spirits who serve. God sends them to serve those who will receive salvation.
The Word Became a Human Being
1 In the beginning, the Word was already there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were made through him. Nothing that has been made was made without him. 4 Life was in him, and that life was the light for all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness. But the darkness has not overcome the light.
6 There was a man sent from God. His name was John. 7 He came to be a witness about that light. He was a witness so that all people might believe. 8 John himself was not the light. He came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 The Word was in the world. And the world was made through him. But the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to what was his own. But his own people did not accept him. 12 Some people did accept him and did believe in his name. He gave them the right to become children of God. 13 To be a child of God has nothing to do with human parents. Children of God are not born because of human choice or because a husband wants them to be born. They are born because of what God does.
14 The Word became a human being. He made his home with us. We have seen his glory. It is the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father. And the Word was full of grace and truth.
15 John was a witness about the Word. John cried out and said, “This was the one I was talking about. I said, ‘He who comes after me is more important than I am. He is more important because he existed before I was born.’ ” 16 God is full of grace. From him we have all received grace in place of the grace already given. 17 In the past, God gave us grace through the law of Moses. Now, grace and truth come to us through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. But the One and Only is God and is at the Father’s side. The one at the Father’s side has shown us what God is like.
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