Book of Common Prayer
Davidic[a]
Patiently Trust in God
37 Don’t be angry because of those who do evil,
do not be jealous because of those who commit iniquity.
2 Indeed, they soon will wither like grass,
and like green herbs they will fade away.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good.
Dwell in the land and feed on 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 him, and he will act.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as a light,
and your justice as the noonday sun.[b]
7 Be silent in the Lord’s presence
and wait patiently for him.
Don’t be angry because of the one whose way prospers
or the one who implements evil schemes.
8 Calm your anger and abandon wrath.
Don’t be angry—
it only leads to evil.
9 Those who do evil will perish.
But those who wait[c] on the Lord will inherit the land.
10 Yet a little while longer,
and the wicked will be no more.
You will search for his place,
but he will not be there.
11 The humble will inherit the land;
they will take in abundant peace.
12 The wicked person plots against the righteous,
and grinds his teeth at him.
13 But the Lord laughs at him
because he sees that his day is coming!
14 The wicked take out a sword and bend the bow,
to bring down the humble and the poor
to slay those who are righteous in conduct.
15 But their sword will pierce their own heart,
and their bows will be broken!
16 Better is the little that the righteous have
than the abundance of many wicked people.
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
but the Lord upholds the righteous.
18 The Lord knows the day of the blameless,
and their inheritance will last forever.
19 They will not experience shame in times of trouble;
in times of famine they will have plenty.
20 Indeed, the wicked will perish.
The Lord’s enemies will be consumed like flowers[d] in the fields.
They will vanish like[e] smoke.
21 The wicked borrow but never pay back;
but the righteous are generous and give.
22 For those blessed by God[f] will inherit the land,
but those cursed by him will be cut off.
23 A man’s steps are established by the Lord,
and the Lord[g] delights in his way.
24 Though he stumbles,
he will not fall down flat,
for the Lord will hold up his hand.
25 I once was young and now I am old,
but I have not seen a righteous person forsaken
or his descendants begging for bread.
26 Every day he is generous, lending freely,
and his descendants are blessed.
27 Depart from evil, and do good,
and you will live in the land[h] forever.
28 Indeed, the Lord loves justice,
and he will not abandon his godly ones.
They are kept safe forever,
but the lawless will be chased away,[i]
and the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will inherit the land,
and they will dwell in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous one produces wisdom;
his tongue speaks justice.
31 The instruction[j] of his God is in his heart;
his steps will not slip.
32 The wicked stalks the righteous person, seeking to kill him,
33 but the Lord will not let him fall into his hands.
He will not be condemned when he is put on trial.
34 Wait on the Lord,
Keep faithful to his way,
and he will exalt you to possess the land.
You will see the wicked cut off.
35 I once observed a wicked and oppressive person,
flourishing like a green tree in native soil.
36 But then he[k] passed away;[l]
in fact, he simply was not there.
When I looked for him,
he could not be found.
37 Observe the blameless!
Take note of the upright!
Indeed, the future of that man is peace.
38 Sinners will be destroyed together;
the future of the wicked will be cut off.
39 But deliverance for the righteous one comes from the Lord;
he is their strength in times of distress.
40 The Lord helps and delivers them;
he will deliver them from the wicked,
and he will save them because they have sought refuge in him.
The Ten Commandments(A)
20 Then God spoke all these words:
| א[a] | 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt— from the house of slavery. 3 You are to have no other gods as a substitute for me.[b] |
| ב | 4 “You are not to craft for yourselves an idol or anything resembling what is in the skies above, or on earth beneath, or in the water sources under the earth. 5 You are not to bow down to them in worship or serve them, because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the guilt of parents[c] on children, to the third and fourth generation[d] of those who hate me, 6 but showing gracious love to the thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. |
| ג | 7 “You are not to misuse the name of the Lord your God,[e] because the Lord will not leave unpunished the one who misuses his name.[f] |
| ד | 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, maintaining its holiness.[g] 9 Six days you are to labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You are not to do any work—neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your livestock, nor any foreigner who lives among you—[h] 11 because the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them in six days. Then he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. |
| ה | 12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. |
| ו | 13 “You are not to commit murder. |
| ז | 14 “You are not to commit adultery. |
| ח | 15 “You are not to steal. |
| ט | 16 “You are not to give false testimony against your neighbor. |
| י | 17 “You are not to desire[i] your neighbor’s house,[j] nor your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox, his donkey, nor anything else that pertains to your neighbor.” |
The People are Terrified in God’s Presence
18 All the people experienced the thunder and lightning, the sound of the ram’s horn, and the smoking mountain. And as the people experienced it, they trembled and stood at a distance. 19 They told Moses, “You speak to us and we will listen, but don’t let God speak with us, or we may die.
20 Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you may fear him in order that you don’t sin.” 21 Then the people stood at a distance, and Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.
Paul’s Service in the Church
24 Now I am rejoicing while suffering for you as I complete in my flesh whatever remains of the Messiah’s[a] sufferings on behalf of his body, which is the church. 25 I became its servant[b] as God commissioned me to work for you, so that I may complete my ministry of[c] the word of God. 26 This secret was hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints, 27 to whom God wanted to make known the glorious riches of this secret among the gentiles—which is the Messiah[d] in you, our glorious hope. 28 It is he whom we proclaim as we admonish and wisely teach everyone, so that we may present everyone mature[e] in the Messiah.[f] 29 I work hard and struggle to do this, using the energy that he powerfully provides in me.
2 For I want you to know how much I struggle for you, for those in Laodicea, and for all who have never seen me face to face.[g] 2 Because they are united in love, I pray[h] that their hearts may be encouraged by all the riches that come from a complete understanding of the full knowledge of the Messiah,[i] who is[j] the mystery of God. 3 In him are stored all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this so that no one will mislead you with nice-sounding rhetoric. 5 For although I am physically absent, I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see how stable you are and how firm your faith in the Messiah[k] is.
Fullness of Life
6 So then, just as you have received the Messiah[l] Jesus the Lord, continue to live dependent on him. 7 For you have been rooted in him and are being built up and strengthened in the faith, just as you were taught, while you continue to be thankful.
Jesus is Tempted by Satan(A)
4 After this, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. 2 After fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, he finally became hungry.
3 Then the tempter came. “Since[a] you are the Son of God,” he said, “tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”
4 But he answered, “It is written,
‘One must not live on bread alone,
but on every word coming
out of the mouth of God.’”[b]
5 Then the Devil took him to the Holy City[c] and had him stand on the highest point of the Temple. 6 He told Jesus,[d] “Since[e] you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, because it is written,
‘God[f] will put his angels in charge of you,’
and,
‘With their hands they will hold you up,
so that you will never hit your foot against a rock.’”[g]
7 Jesus responded to him, “It is also written, ‘You must not tempt the Lord[h] your God.’”[i]
8 Once more the Devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, along with their splendor. 9 He told Jesus,[j] “I will give you all these things if you will bow down and worship me!”
10 Then Jesus told him, “Go away,[k] Satan! Because it is written,
‘You must worship the Lord your God
and serve only him.’”[l]
11 So the Devil left him, and angels came and began ministering to him.
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