Book of Common Prayer
Alef [a]
Living in the Law of God
119 How blessed are those whose life[b] is blameless,
who walk in the Law of the Lord!
2 How blessed are those who observe his decrees,
who seek him with all of their heart,
3 who practice no evil
while they walk in his ways.
4 You have commanded concerning your precepts,
that they be guarded with diligence.
5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast,
so I may keep your statutes.
6 Then I will not be ashamed,
since my eyes will be fixed on all of your commands.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart,
as I learn your righteous decrees.
8 I will keep your statutes;
do not ever abandon me.
Bet
The Benefits of the Word
9 How can a young man keep his behavior pure?
By guarding it in accordance with your word.
10 I have sought you with all of my heart;
do not let me drift away from your commands.
11 I have stored what you have said[c] in my heart,
so I won’t sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, Lord!
Teach me your statutes.
13 I have spoken with my lips
about all your decrees that you have announced.[d]
14 I find joy in the path of your decrees,
as if I owned all kinds of riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts,
and I will respect your ways.
16 I am delighted with your statutes;
I will not forget your word.[e]
Gimmel
Living and Keeping God’s Word
17 Deal kindly with your servant
so I may live and keep your word.[f]
18 Open my eyes
so that I will observe amazing things from your instruction.[g]
19 Since I am a stranger on the earth,
do not hide your commands from me.
20 My soul is consumed with longing
for your decrees at all times.
21 You rebuke the accursed ones,
who wander from your commands.
22 Remove scorn and disrespect from me,
for I observe your decrees.
23 Though nobles take their seat and gossip about me,
your servant will meditate on your statutes.
24 I take joy in your decrees,
for they are my counselors.
To the Director: On an eight stringed harp.[a] A Davidic Psalm.
Human and Divine Words Contrasted
12 Help, Lord, for godly people no longer exist;
trustworthy people have disappeared from humanity.[b]
2 Everyone speaks lies to his neighbor;
they speak with flattering lips and hidden motives.[c]
3 The Lord will cut off all slippery lips,
and the tongue that boasts great things,
4 those who say,
“By our tongues we will prevail;
our lips belong to us.
Who is master[d] over us?”
5 “Because the poor are being oppressed,
because the needy are sighing,
I will now arise,” says the Lord,
“I will establish in safety those who yearn for it.”
6 The words of the Lord are pure,
like silver refined in an earthen furnace,
purified seven times over.
7 You, Lord, will keep them[e] safe,
you will guard them[f] from this generation forever.
8 The wicked, however,[g] keep walking around,
exalting the vileness of human beings.[h]
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
A Prayer for Deliverance
13 How long? Lord, will you forget me forever?[i]
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I struggle in my soul at night
and have sorrow in my heart during the day?
How long will my enemy rise up against me?
3 Look at me!
Answer me, Lord, my God!
Give light to my eyes!
Otherwise, I will sleep in death;
4 Otherwise, my enemy will say,
“I have overcome him;”
Otherwise, my persecutor will rejoice
when I am shaken.
5 As for me, I have trusted in your gracious love,
my heart will rejoice in your deliverance.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
for he has dealt bountifully with me.
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
The Fool and God’s Response
14 Fools say to themselves, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt and commit evil deeds;
not one of them practices what is good.
2 The Lord looks down from the heavens upon humanity[j]
to see if anyone shows discernment as he searches for God.
3 All have turned away,
together they have become corrupt;
no one practices what is good, not even one.
4 Will those who do evil ever learn?
They devour my people like they devour bread,
and never call on the Lord.
5 There they are seized with terror,
because God is with those who are[k] righteous.
God Provides Water for the People
22 Then Moses led Israel from the Reed[a] Sea and they went to the desert of Shur. They traveled into the desert for three days and did not find water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water at Marah because it was bitter. (That is why it’s called[b] Marah.)[c] 24 Then the people complained against Moses: “What are we to drink?” 25 Moses[d] cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree, which he threw into the water, and the water became sweet.
There the Lord[e] presented to them a statute and an ordinance, and there he tested them. 26 He said, “If you will carefully obey the Lord your God, do what he sees to be right, listen to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, then I won’t inflict on you all the diseases that I inflicted on the Egyptians, because I am the Lord your healer.” 27 Then they came to Elim where there were twelve springs of water and 70 palm trees, and they camped there by the water.
Manna and Quail Provided
16 Later, they left Elim, and the whole congregation of the Israelis came to the desert[f] of Sin, which lay between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt. 2 The whole congregation of the Israelis complained against Moses and Aaron in the desert. 3 The Israelis told them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt when we sat by the cooking pots,[g] when we ate bread until we were filled—because you brought us to this desert to kill this entire congregation with hunger.”
4 The Lord told Moses, “Listen very carefully! I’ll cause food to rain down for you from heaven, and the people are to go out and gather each day’s portion on that day. In this way I’ll test them to demonstrate whether or not they’ll live according to my instructions. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be double what they gather on other days.”[h]
6 So Moses and Aaron addressed the entire congregation of the Israelis: “This evening you will know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaints against him.[i] After all, who are we that you complain against us?” 8 Moses also said, “When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and bread in the morning to satisfy you, the Lord will hear your complaints directed[j] against him. Who are we? Your complaints aren’t against us, but rather against the Lord.”
9 Then Moses instructed Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelis, ‘Come near into the Lord’s presence, because he has heard your complaints.’”
10 While Aaron was speaking to all the congregation of the Israelis, they turned toward the desert, and there the glory of the Lord was seen in the cloud.
Live as God’s Chosen People
2 Therefore, rid yourselves of every kind of evil and deception, hypocrisy, jealousy, and every kind of slander. 2 Like newborn babies, thirst for the pure milk of the word so that by it you may grow in your salvation. 3 Surely you have tasted that the Lord is good!
4 As you come to him, the living stone who was rejected by people but was chosen and precious in God’s sight, 5 you, too, as living stones, are building yourselves up into a spiritual house and a holy priesthood, so that you may offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus, the Messiah.[a] 6 This is why it says in Scripture:
“Look! I am laying a chosen, precious cornerstone[b] in Zion.
The one who believes in him will never be ashamed.”[c]
7 Therefore he is precious to you who believe, but to those who do not believe,
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,[d]
8 a stone they stumble over
and a rock they trip on.”[e]
They keep on stumbling because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people to be his very own and to proclaim the wonderful deeds[f] of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
10 Once you were not a people,
but now you are the people of God.
Once you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy.
Jesus the True Vine
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vintner. 2 He cuts off every branch that does not produce fruit in me, and he cuts back every branch that does produce fruit, so that it might produce more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of what I’ve spoken to you.
4 “Abide in me, and I will abide in you. Just as the branch cannot produce fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who abides in me while I abide in him[a] produces much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Unless a person abides in me, he is thrown away like a pruned[b] branch and dries up. People gather such branches,[c] throw them into a fire, and they are burned up.
7 “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you can ask for anything you want, and you’ll receive it. 8 This is how my Father is glorified, when you produce a lot of fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 Just as the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. So abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you’ll abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 I’ve told you this, so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.