Book of Common Prayer
Meditations and Prayers Relating to the Law of God.
Aleph.
119 How blessed are those whose way is [a](A)blameless,
Who (B)walk in the law of the Lord.
2 How blessed are those who (C)observe His testimonies,
Who (D)seek Him (E)with all their heart.
3 They also (F)do no unrighteousness;
They walk in His ways.
4 You have [b](G)ordained Your precepts,
[c]That we should keep them diligently.
5 Oh that my (H)ways may be established
To (I)keep Your statutes!
6 Then I (J)shall not be ashamed
When I look [d]upon all Your commandments.
7 I shall (K)give thanks to You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments.
8 I shall keep Your statutes;
Do not (L)forsake me utterly!
Beth.
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By (M)keeping it according to Your word.
10 With (N)all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me (O)wander from Your commandments.
11 Your word I have (P)treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, O Lord;
(Q)Teach me Your statutes.
13 With my lips I have (R)told of
All the (S)ordinances of Your mouth.
14 I have (T)rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
[e]As much as in all riches.
15 I will (U)meditate on Your precepts
And [f]regard (V)Your ways.
16 I shall [g](W)delight in Your statutes;
I shall (X)not forget Your word.
Gimel.
17 (Y)Deal bountifully with Your servant,
That I may live and keep Your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold
Wonderful things from Your law.
19 I am a (Z)stranger in the earth;
Do not hide Your commandments from me.
20 My soul is crushed [h](AA)with longing
After Your ordinances at all times.
21 You (AB)rebuke the arrogant, [i]the (AC)cursed,
Who (AD)wander from Your commandments.
22 (AE)Take away reproach and contempt from me,
For I (AF)observe Your testimonies.
23 Even though (AG)princes sit and talk against me,
Your servant (AH)meditates on Your statutes.
24 Your testimonies also are my (AI)delight;
They are [j]my counselors.
God, a Helper against the Treacherous.
For the choir director; [a]upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.
12 Help, Lord, for (A)the godly man ceases to be,
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
2 They (B)speak [b]falsehood to one another;
With (C)flattering [c]lips and with a double heart they speak.
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
The tongue that (D)speaks great things;
4 Who (E)have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are [d]our own; who is lord over us?”
5 “Because of the (F)devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now (G)I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will (H)set him in the safety for which he longs.”
6 The (I)words of the Lord are pure words;
As silver (J)tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.
7 You, O Lord, will keep them;
You will (K)preserve him from this generation forever.
8 The (L)wicked strut about on every side
When [e](M)vileness is exalted among the sons of men.
Prayer for Help in Trouble.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
13 How long, O Lord? Will You (N)forget me forever?
How long (O)will You hide Your face from me?
2 How long shall I (P)take counsel in my soul,
Having (Q)sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
3 (R)Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
(S)Enlighten my eyes, or I will (T)sleep the sleep of death,
4 And my enemy will (U)say, “I have overcome him,”
And (V)my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.
5 But I have (W)trusted in Your lovingkindness;
My heart shall (X)rejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will (Y)sing to the Lord,
Because He has (Z)dealt bountifully with me.
Folly and Wickedness of Men.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
14 The fool has (AA)said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed abominable [f]deeds;
There is (AB)no one who does good.
2 The Lord has (AC)looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there are any who [g](AD)understand,
Who (AE)seek after God.
3 They have all (AF)turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
There is (AG)no one who does good, not even one.
Job’s Friends Are No Help
6 Then Job [a]answered,
Job’s Life Seems Futile
7 “[a]Is not man (A)forced to labor on earth,
And are not his days like the days of (B)a hired man?
2 “As a slave who pants for the shade,
And as a hired man who eagerly waits for his wages,
3 So am I allotted months of vanity,
And (C)nights of trouble are appointed me.
4 “When I (D)lie down I say,
‘When shall I arise?’
But the night continues,
And I am [b]continually tossing until dawn.
5 “My (E)flesh is clothed with worms and a crust of dirt,
My skin hardens and runs.
6 “My days are (F)swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
And come to an end (G)without hope.
7 “Remember that my life (H)is but breath;
My eye will (I)not again see good.
8 “The (J)eye of him who sees me will behold me no longer;
Your eyes will be on me, but (K)I will not be.
9 “When a (L)cloud vanishes, it is gone,
So (M)he who goes down to (N)Sheol does not come up.
10 “He will not return again to his house,
Nor will (O)his place know him anymore.
11 “Therefore (P)I will not restrain my mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit,
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12 “Am I the sea, or (Q)the sea monster,
That You set a guard over me?
13 “If I say, ‘(R)My bed will comfort me,
My couch will [c]ease my complaint,’
14 Then You frighten me with dreams
And terrify me by visions;
15 So that my soul would choose suffocation,
Death rather than my [d]pains.
16 “I [e](S)waste away; I will not live forever.
Leave me alone, (T)for my days are but a breath.
17 “(U)What is man that You magnify him,
And that You [f]are concerned about him,
18 That (V)You examine him every morning
And try him every moment?
19 “[g](W)Will You never turn Your gaze away from me,
Nor let me alone until I swallow my spittle?
20 “(X)Have I sinned? What have I done to You,
O (Y)watcher of men?
Why have You set me as Your target,
So that I am a burden to myself?
21 “Why then (Z)do You not pardon my transgression
And take away my iniquity?
For now I will (AA)lie down in the dust;
And You will seek me, (AB)but I will not be.”
Cornelius’s Vision
10 Now there was a man at (A)Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was (B)called the Italian [a]cohort, 2 a devout man and (C)one who feared God with all his household, and (D)gave many [b]alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually. 3 About (E)the [c]ninth hour of the day he clearly saw (F)in a vision (G)an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, “Cornelius!” 4 And (H)fixing his gaze on him and being much alarmed, he said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and [d]alms (I)have ascended (J)as a memorial before God. 5 Now dispatch some men to (K)Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; 6 he is staying with a tanner named (L)Simon, whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who was speaking to him had left, he summoned two of his [e]servants and a devout soldier of those who were his personal attendants, 8 and after he had explained everything to them, he sent them to (M)Joppa.
9 On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, (N)Peter went up on (O)the housetop about (P)the [f]sixth hour to pray. 10 But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he (Q)fell into a trance; 11 and he *saw (R)the [g]sky opened up, and an [h]object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, 12 and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and [i]crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the [j]air. 13 A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, [k]kill and eat!” 14 But Peter said, “By no means, (S)Lord, for (T)I have never eaten anything [l]unholy and unclean.” 15 Again a voice came to him a second time, “(U)What God has cleansed, no longer consider [m]unholy.” 16 This happened three times, and immediately the [n]object was taken up into the [o]sky.
Jesus Teaches at the Feast
7 After these things Jesus (A)was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because (B)the Jews (C)were seeking to kill Him. 2 Now the feast of the Jews, (D)the Feast of Booths, was near. 3 Therefore His (E)brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your (F)disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. 4 For no one does anything in secret [a]when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” 5 For not even His (G)brothers were believing in Him. 6 So Jesus *said to them, “(H)My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune. 7 (I)The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that (J)its deeds are evil. 8 Go up to the feast yourselves; I do not go up to this feast because (K)My time has not yet fully come.” 9 Having said these things to them, He stayed in Galilee.
10 But when His (L)brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as if, in secret. 11 (M)So the Jews (N)were seeking Him at the feast and were saying, “Where is He?” 12 There was much grumbling among the crowds concerning Him; (O)some were saying, “He is a good man”; others were saying, “No, on the contrary, He leads the people astray.” 13 Yet no one was speaking openly of Him for (P)fear of the Jews.
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