Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 8
For the Music Director. According to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, our Lord,
how excellent is Your name in all the earth!
You have set Your glory
above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have ordained strength
because of Your enemies,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I consider Your heavens,
the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which You have established,
4 what is man that You are mindful of him,
and the son of man that You attend to him?
5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
and whatever travels the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord,
how excellent is Your name in all the earth!
Psalm 138
A Psalm of David.
1 I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before the gods I will sing Your praise.
2 I will worship toward Your holy temple,
and praise Your name
for Your lovingkindness and for Your truth;
for You have exalted Your word
above all Your name.
3 On the day I called, You answered me,
and strengthened me in my soul.
4 All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of Your mouth.
5 Indeed, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 Though the Lord is exalted, yet He has concern for the lowly,
but the proud one He knows from a distance.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
You will preserve me;
You stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and Your right hand saves me.
8 The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me;
Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;
do not forsake the works of Your hands.
The Fall
3 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit from the trees of the garden; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You will not eat of it, nor will you touch it, or else you will die.’ ”
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 For God knows that on the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasing to the eyes and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 The Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 He said, “I heard Your voice in the garden and was afraid because I was naked, so I hid myself.”
11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
12 The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What have you done?”
And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 The Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this,
You are cursed above all livestock,
and above every beast of the field;
you will go on your belly,
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
15 I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he will bruise your head,
and you will bruise his heel.”
Adam and Christ
12 Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, so death has spread to all men, because all have sinned.
13 For until the law, sin was in the world. But sin is not counted when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of Adam’s sin, who was a type of Him who was to come.
15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if through the trespass of one man many died, then how much more has the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. 16 The gift is not like the result that came through the one who sinned. For the judgment from one sin led to condemnation, but the free gift, which came after many trespasses, leads to justification. 17 For if by one man’s trespass death reigned through him, then how much more will those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
18 Therefore just as through the trespass of one man came condemnation for all men, so through the righteous act of One came justification of life for all men. 19 For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One the many will be made righteous.
20 But the law entered, so that sin might increase, but where sin increased, grace abounded much more, 21 so that just as sin reigned in death, grace might reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.