Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 37
A Psalm of David.
1 Do not fret because of evildoers,
nor be jealous of those who do injustice.
2 For they will quickly wither like the grass,
and fade like the green herbs.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land, and practice faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
and He will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust also in Him, and He will bring it to pass.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your judgment as the noonday.
7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
do not fret because of those who prosper in their way,
because of those who make wicked schemes.
8 Let go of anger, and forsake wrath;
do not fret—it surely leads to evil deeds.
9 For evildoers will be cut off,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the earth.
10 For yet a little while, and the wicked will not be;
you will look diligently for their place, and it will not be.
11 But the meek will inherit the earth,
and will delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous,
and grind their teeth against them.
13 The Lord will laugh at him,
for He sees that his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn out the sword
and have bent their bow,
to cast down the poor and needy,
and to slay those on the upright path.
15 Their sword will enter into their own heart,
and their bows will be broken.
16 Better is a little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
but the Lord supports the righteous.
18 The Lord knows the days of people of integrity,
and their inheritance will be forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in the evil time,
and in the days of famine they will be satisfied.
20 But the wicked will perish,
and the enemies of the Lord will be like the glory of pastures;
they will waste away, in smoke they will waste away.
21 The wicked borrows and does not repay,
but the righteous is gracious and gives.
22 For those who are blessed of Him will inherit the earth,
but those who are cursed of Him will be cut off.
23 The steps of a man are made firm by the Lord;
He delights in his way.
24 Though he falls, he will not be hurled down,
for the Lord supports him with His hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old;
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
nor their offspring begging bread.
26 The righteous are gracious and lend,
and their offspring are a source of blessing.
27 Depart from evil and do good,
and abide forevermore.
28 For the Lord loves justice,
and does not forsake His saints;
they are preserved forever,
but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will inherit the land,
and dwell on it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and their tongue speaks justice.
31 The law of their God is in their heart;
none of their steps will slip.
32 The wicked watch the righteous,
and seek to kill them.
33 The Lord will not forsake them to their hand,
nor condemn them when they are judged.
34 Hope in the Lord,
and keep His way,
and He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35 I have seen the wicked in great power,
and spreading himself like a luxuriant tree.
36 Yet he passed away, and he was not;
I sought him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the blameless man, and consider the upright,
for the end of that man is peace.
38 But the transgressors will be destroyed together;
the end of the wicked is to be cut off.
39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their refuge in the time of distress.
40 The Lord will help them and deliver them;
He will deliver them from the wicked,
and save them, because they take refuge in Him.
The Prayer of Habakkuk
3 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, on Shigionoth.
2 O Lord, I have heard the report of You,
and was afraid;
O Lord, revive Your work
in the midst of the years!
In the midst of these years
make them known;
in wrath remember mercy.
3 God came from Teman,
and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah
His glory covered the heavens,
and the earth was full of His praise.
4 His brightness was like the light;
rays flashed from His hand,
and there His power was hidden.
5 Pestilence went out before Him,
and plague followed His feet.
6 He stood and measured the earth;
He looked and shook the nations.
The eternal mountains were scattered,
the perpetual hills bowed.
His ways are everlasting.
7 I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction;
the curtains of the land of Midian trembled.
8 Were you displeased with the rivers, O Lord?
Was Your anger against the rivers,
and was Your wrath against the sea
when You rode on Your horses,
on Your chariots of salvation?
9 You made bare Your bow;
oaths were the arrows at Your command. Selah
You divided the earth with the rivers.
10 The mountains saw You and trembled;
the overflowing water passed by.
The deep lifted its voice,
and lifted its hands on high.
11 The sun and moon stood still in their places;
at the light of Your arrows they went,
at the flash of Your glittering spear.
12 You marched throughout the earth in indignation;
You threshed the nations in anger.
13 You went forth to deliver Your people,
to deliver Your anointed one.
You wounded the head of the house of the wicked,
laying him bare from head to foot. Selah
14 You pierced with his own arrows
the leaders of his villages.
They came like a whirlwind to scatter me;
their rejoicing was like devouring the poor in secret.
15 You trampled the sea with Your horses,
through the wakes of great waters.
16 I heard, and my body trembled;
my lips quivered at the sound;
rottenness entered my bones;
my legs tremble beneath me.
Yet I will wait quietly for the day
when calamity comes on the people invading us.
A Hymn of Faith
17 Though the fig tree does not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines;
though the yield of the olive fails,
and the fields produce no food;
though the flocks are cut off from the fold,
and there be no herd in the stalls—
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will exult in the God of my salvation.
Pressing Toward the Mark
12 Not that I have already attained or have already been perfected, but I follow after it so that I may lay hold of that for which I was seized by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers, I do not count myself to have attained, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal to the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Therefore let those of us who are mature be thus minded. And if you think differently in any way, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, according to what we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.
17 Brothers, become fellow imitators with me and observe those who walk according to our example. 18 For many are walking in such a way that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. I have told you of them often and tell you again, even weeping. 19 Their destination is destruction, their god is their appetite, their glory is in their shame, their minds are set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, from where also we await for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our body of humiliation, so that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working of His power even to subdue all things to Himself.
The Prayer of Jesus
17 When Jesus spoke these words, He lifted His eyes toward heaven and said:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may also glorify You. 2 As You have given Him authority over all flesh, He will give eternal life to all whom You have given Him. 3 This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. 4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me in Your own presence with the glory which I had with You before the world existed.
6 “I have revealed Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they know that all things You have given Me are from You. 8 For I have given them the words which You gave Me. They have received them and certainly know that I came from You, and they have believed that You sent Me.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.