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.
Job’s Suffering is Grave
6 In rebuttal, Job replied:
Job Acknowledges the Brevity of Life
7 “Men have harsh servitude on earth, do they not?
His days are like those of a hired laborer, are they not?[a]
2 I’m like a servant who longs for the shade,
like a hired laborer who is looking for his wages.
3 Truly I’ve been allotted months of emptiness;
nights of trouble have been appointed for me.
4 “When I lie down I ask,
‘When will I wake up?’
But the night continues
and I keep tossing and turning until dawn.[b]
5 My skin[c] is covered with worms and clods of dirt;
my skin becomes rough and then breaks out afresh.
6 My days pass as swiftly as a hand-loom;
they come to their conclusion without hope.
7 Remember that my life is a breath;
my eyes won’t go back to seeing good things.[d]
8 The eyes of the one who sees me won’t see me anymore;
your eyes will look[e] for me
but I won’t be around![f]
9 As a cloud fades away and vanishes,
the one who descends to the afterlife[g] doesn’t return.[h]
10 He doesn’t return again to his house,
and his place won’t recognize him anymore.”
Job Intends to Complain
11 “In addition, I won’t keep my opinion[i] to myself;
I’ll speak from my distressed spirit;
I’ll complain with my bitter soul.
12 Am I the sea, or a sea monster,
that you keep watching me?
13 For I’ve said, ‘My bed will comfort me;
my couch will ease my burdens[j] while I complain.’
14 But then you scared me with dreams;
you terrified me with visions.
15 I would rather die by strangulation
than continue living.[k]
16 I hate the thought of living forever!
Leave me alone, because my days are pointless.”
Job Acknowledges Humankind’s Insignificance
17 “What is a human being, that you make so much of him;
that you set your affections on him,
18 visit him every morning,
and test him continually?
19 Why won’t you look away from me?
Why don’t you leave me alone so I can swallow my saliva?
20 So what if I sin? What have I done against you,
you observer of humankind?
Why have you made me your target?
Why burden yourself with me?
21 Why haven’t you pardoned my transgression
and taken away my iniquity?
Now I’m about to lie down in the dust.
You will seek me diligently,
but I won’t be around!”[l]
Cornelius Has a Vision
10 Now in Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion[a] in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He was a devout man who feared God, as did everyone in his home. He gave many gifts to the poor among the people and always prayed to God.
3 One day, about three in the afternoon,[b] he had a vision and clearly saw an angel of God coming to him and saying to him, “Cornelius!”
4 He stared at the angel[c] in terror and asked, “What is it, Lord?”
The angel[d] answered him, “Your prayers and your gifts to the poor have arisen as a reminder[e] to God. 5 Send men now to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter. 6 He is a guest of Simon, a leatherworker, whose house is by the sea.”
7 When the angel who had spoken to him had gone, Cornelius[f] summoned two of his household servants and a devout soldier, one of those who served him regularly. 8 He explained everything to them and sent them to Joppa.
Peter Has a Vision
9 Around noon[g] the next day, while they were on their way and coming close to the town, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became very hungry and wanted to eat, and while the food[h] was being prepared, he fell into a trance 11 and saw heaven open and something like a large linen sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners to the ground. 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals, reptiles, and birds of the air.
13 Then a voice told him,[i] “Get up, Peter! Kill something and eat it.”
14 But Peter said, “Absolutely not, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean!”
15 Again the voice came to him a second time, “You must stop calling unclean what God has made clean.” 16 This happened three times. Then the sheet[j] was quickly taken back into heaven.
The Unbelief of Jesus’ Brothers
7 After this, Jesus traveled[a] throughout Galilee, because he didn’t want to travel[b] in Judea, since the Jewish leaders[c] there were trying to kill him. 2 Now the Jewish Festival of Tents[d] was approaching. 3 So his brothers told him, “You should leave this place and go to Judea, so that your disciples can see the actions that you’re doing, 4 since no one acts in secret if he wants to be known publicly. If you’re going to do these things, you should reveal yourself to the world!” 5 Not even his brothers believed in him.
6 Jesus told them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.[e] 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its actions are evil. 8 Go up to the festival yourselves. I am not going to this festival yet,[f] because my time hasn’t fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.
Jesus Arrives in Jerusalem
10 But after his brothers had gone up to the festival, he went up himself, not openly but, as it were,[g] in secret. 11 The Jewish leaders[h] kept looking for him at the festival, asking, “Where is that man?” 12 And there was a great deal of discussion about him among the crowds.[i] Some were saying, “He is a good man,” while others were saying, “No, he is deceiving the crowds!” 13 Nevertheless, no one would speak openly about him because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders.[j]
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