Book of Common Prayer
1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
2 Why do the heathen rage, and the people devise a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break Their bonds asunder, and cast away Their cords from us.”
4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision.
5 Then shall He speak unto them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure:
6 “Yet have I set My King upon My holy hill of Zion.”
7 “I will declare the decree: The Lord hath said unto Me, ‘Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee.
8 Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession.
9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”
10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings; be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.
3 Lord, how they have increased that trouble me! Many are they that rise up against me!
2 Many there be that say of my soul, “There is no help for him in God.” Selah
3 But Thou, O Lord, art a shield for me, my glory and the lifter up of mine head.
4 I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill. Selah
5 I laid me down and slept; I awaked, for the Lord sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people that have set themselves against me round about.
7 Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God! For Thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheekbone; Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.
8 Salvation belongeth unto the Lord. Thy blessing is upon Thy people. Selah
4 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! Thou hast set me at large when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? How long will ye love vanity and seek after lies? Selah
3 But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for Himself; the Lord will hear when I call unto Him.
4 Stand in awe, and sin not; commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah
5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord.
6 There are many that say, “Who will show us any good?” Lord, lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance upon us.
7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time when their corn and wine increased.
8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep; for Thou Lord only, makest me dwell in safety.
7 O Lord my God, in Thee do I put my trust. Save me from all them that persecute me; and deliver me,
2 lest they tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces while there is none to deliver.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there be iniquity on my hands,
4 if I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me (yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy),
5 let the enemy persecute my soul and take it; yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay mine honor in the dust. Selah
6 Arise, O Lord, in Thine anger; lift up Thyself against the rage of mine enemies, and awaken for me the judgment that Thou hast commanded.
7 So shall the congregation of the people compass Thee about; for their sakes, therefore, return Thou on high.
8 The Lord shall judge the people: Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to mine integrity that is in me.
9 O let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the just; for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.
10 My defense is of God, who saveth the upright in heart.
11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.
12 If he turn not, He will whet His sword; He hath bent His bow and made it ready.
13 He hath also prepared for Him the instruments of death; He ordaineth His arrows against the persecutors.
14 Behold, the wicked travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief and brought forth falsehood.
15 He made a pit and dug it, and has fallen into the ditch which he hath made.
16 His mischief shall return upon his own head; and his violent dealings shall come down upon his own pate.
17 I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.
7 Woe is me! For I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage: There is no cluster to eat; my soul desired the first ripe fruit.
2 The good man is perished out of the earth, and there is none upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.
3 That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man uttereth his wicked desire; so they wrap it up.
4 The best of them is as a brier; the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge. The day of thy watchman and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.
5 Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide; keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.
6 For the son dishonoreth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law: a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.
7 Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.
26 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, “Thou art permitted to speak for thyself.” Then Paul stretched forth his hand and answered for himself:
2 “I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee concerning all the things whereof I am accused by the Jews,
3 especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews. Therefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently.
4 “My manner of life from my youth, which was from the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, is known to all the Jews.
5 They knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee.
6 And now I stand and am judged because of the hope of the promise made by God unto our fathers,
7 unto which promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God day and night, hope to come. For this hope’s sake, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews.
8 Why should it be thought an incredible thing by you that God should raise the dead?
9 “I myself verily thought that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth,
10 which things I also did in Jerusalem; and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.
11 And I punished them often in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly maddened against them, I persecuted them even unto foreign cities.
12 “Thereupon, as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,
13 at midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, brighter than the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and those who journeyed with me.
14 And when we had all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, ‘Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? It is hard for thee to kick against the goads.’
15 And I said, ‘Who art Thou, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
16 But rise and stand upon thy feet, for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose: to make thee a minister and a witness, both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in which I will appear unto thee,
17 delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles unto whom now I send thee,
18 to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith that is in Me.’
19 “Thereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision,
20 but showed first unto those at Damascus and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
21 For these causes the Jews seized me in the temple and went about to kill me.
22 Having therefore obtained the help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying nothing other than what the prophets and Moses said should come:
23 that Christ should suffer, and that He should be the first who should rise from the dead, and should show light unto the people and to the Gentiles.”
26 And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.
27 And when He went forth to land, there met Him from the city a certain man who had had devils a long time, and wore no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.
28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of God Most High? I beseech Thee, torment me not!”
29 (For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him, and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he broke the bands and was driven by the devil into the wilderness.)
30 And Jesus asked him, saying, “What is thy name?” And he said, “Legion,” because many devils had entered into him.
31 And they besought Him that He would not command them to go out into the deep.
32 And there was there a herd of many swine feeding on the mountain. And they besought Him that He would suffer them to enter into them. And He suffered them.
33 Then went the devils out of the man and entered into the swine, and the herd ran violently down a steep slope into the lake and were choked.
34 When those who fed them saw what was done, they fled and went and told it in the city and in the country.
35 Then they went out to see what was done. And they came to Jesus, and found the man out of whom the devils had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind. And they were afraid.
36 Those also who had seen it told them by what means he that had been possessed by the devils was healed.
37 Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes and round about besought Him to depart from them, for they were taken with great fear. And He went up into the boat, and returned back again.
38 Now the man out of whom the devils had departed besought Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying,
39 “Return to thine own house, and show what great things God hath done unto thee.” And he went his way, and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done unto him.
Copyright © 1994 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc.