Book of Common Prayer
BOOK ONE
Psalms 1–41
Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor stands in the path of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that brings forth its fruit in its season;
its leaf will not wither,
and whatever he does will prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so,
but are like the chaff
which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the ungodly will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the ungodly will perish.
Psalm 2
1 Why do the nations rage,
and the peoples plot in vain?
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 tear off their bonds
and cast away their ropes from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord ridicules them.
5 Then He will speak to them in His wrath
and terrify them in His burning anger:
6 “I have installed My king
on Zion, My holy hill.”
7 I will declare the decree of the Lord:
He said to me, “You are My son;
this day have I begotten you.
8 Ask of Me,
and I will give you the nations for your inheritance,
and the ends of the earth for your possession.
9 You will break them with a scepter of iron;
you will dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
10 Now then, you kings, be wise;
be admonished, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear;
tremble with trepidation!
12 Kiss the son, lest He become angry,
and you perish in the way,
for His wrath kindles in a flash.
Blessed are all who seek refuge in Him.
Psalm 3
A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.
1 Lord, how my foes have multiplied!
Many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying about my life,
“There is no help for him in God.” Selah[a]
3 But You, O Lord, are a shield for me,
my glory and the One who raises up my head.
4 I cried to the Lord with my voice,
and He answered me from His holy hill. Selah
5 I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of multitudes of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
7 Arise, O Lord;
save me, O my God!
For You have struck all my enemies on the cheek;
You have broken the teeth of the wicked.
8 Salvation belongs to the Lord.
Your blessing is on Your people. Selah
Psalm 4
For the Music Director. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
1 Hear me when I call,
O God of my righteousness!
You have given me relief when I was in distress;
have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
2 O people, how long will you turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love vanity and seek after lies? Selah
3 Know that the Lord set apart the faithful for Himself;
the Lord hears when I call to Him.
4 Tremble in awe, and do not sin.
Commune with your own heart on your bed,
and be still. Selah
5 Offer sacrifices of righteousness,
and trust in the Lord.
6 Many are saying, “Who will show us any good?”
Lift up the light of Your face over us.
7 You have placed gladness in my heart
that is better than when their corn and their new wine abound.
8 I will both lie down in peace and sleep;
for You, Lord,
make me dwell safely and securely.
Psalm 7
A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite.
1 O Lord my God, in You I put my trust;
save me from all those who 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 is iniquity in the palms of my hands,
4 if I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me,
or have delivered my adversary without cause,
5 then may the enemy pursue my life and overtake me;
may my enemy trample my life to the ground,
and lay my honor in the dust. Selah
6 Arise, O Lord, in Your anger;
rise up because of the rage of my adversaries,
and awaken Yourself for me; You have commanded justice.
7 The congregation of the peoples surround You;
return above it to heaven’s heights.
8 The Lord will judge the peoples;
grant me justice, O Lord, according to my righteousness,
and according to my integrity within me.
9 May the evil of the wicked come to an end;
may You vindicate the righteous one;
You are a righteous God who examines the minds and hearts.
10 My defense depends on God,
who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
and God has indignation every day.
12 If one does not repent,
God will sharpen His sword;
He has bent His bow and made it ready.
13 He has prepared for Himself deadly weapons;
He makes His arrows flaming shafts.
14 The wicked man writhes in pain of iniquity;
he has conceived mischief and brought forth falsehood.
15 He who digs a hole and hollows it
will then fall into his own pit.
16 His mischief will return on his own head;
his violence will descend on the crown of his own head.
17 I will thank the Lord according to His righteousness,
and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.
Wait on the Lord
7 Woe is me!
Because I am as the gathering of summer fruit,
as the gleaning of grapes;
there is no cluster to eat,
no early fig that my soul desires.
2 The godly has perished from the earth,
and no one is upright among men.
All of them lie in wait for bloodshed;
each hunts his brother with a net.
3 Both hands are upon evil, to do it well.
The prince and the judge request the bribe,
the powerful asserts the craving of his very soul—
they intertwine together.
4 The best among them is like a brier,
the most upright among them a bramble;
the day of your watchmen,
of your punishment, has come;
now their confusion is at hand.
5 Do not trust in a companion,
do not rely on a friend;
from her who lies in your embrace,
guard the doors of your mouth.
6 For the son dishonors the father,
the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
the enemies of a man are members of his own household.
7 But as for me, I watch for the Lord;
I await the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.
Paul’s Defense Before Agrippa
26 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.”
So Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense: 2 “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate that today I shall make my defense before you against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 especially because you are an expert in all customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to patiently listen to me.
4 “My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning in my own nation and at Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. 5 They knew me from the beginning and could testify, if they wished, how according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived as a Pharisee. 6 And now I stand on trial for hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, 7 to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God day and night. Concerning this hope, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews. 8 Why is it judged incredible by you that God raises the dead?
9 “I, too, thought that I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth, 10 which I indeed did in Jerusalem and locked up many of the saints in prison by authority from the chief priests. And when they were killed, I cast my vote against them. 11 I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme. And being extremely enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.
Paul Tells of His Conversion(A)
12 “So I went to Damascus with authority and a commission from the chief priests. 13 At midday, O King, I saw along the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
15 “I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’
“He said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and a witness both of what you have seen and of what I will yet reveal to you. 17 I will deliver you from your people and from the Gentiles to whom I now send you, 18 to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’
Paul’s Testimony to Jews and Gentiles
19 “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those at Damascus, then at Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do works proving their repentance. 21 For these reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. 22 Therefore having obtained help from God, I continue to this day, testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would happen: 23 that the Christ must suffer, that He would be the first who would rise from the dead, and would announce light to His own people and to the Gentiles.”
The Healing of the Gadarene Demoniac(A)
26 They sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is across from Galilee. 27 When He stepped out on land, a man from the city who had demons for a long time met Him. He wore no clothes, nor did he live in a 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 You to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I plead with You, do not torment me.” 29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. It often had seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles. But he broke the shackles and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.
30 Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
He said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged Him not to command them to go out into the abyss.
32 There was a large herd of swine feeding on the mountain. They begged Him to permit them to enter them, and He permitted them. 33 Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
34 When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and reported it in the city and in the country. 35 Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told them how he who had been possessed by demons was healed. 37 Then the whole crowd from the surrounding country of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So He went into the boat and returned.
38 Now the man from whom the demons had departed asked Him if he could stay with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” So he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.