Book of Common Prayer
BOOK 1
The Way of the Righteous and Wicked
1 How blessed is the man who (A)does not walk in the (B)counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the (C)way of sinners,
Nor (D)sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his (E)delight is (F)in the law of [a]Yahweh,
And in His law he meditates (G)day and (H)night.
3 And he will be like (I)a tree firmly planted by [b]streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its [c]leaf does not wither;
And [d]in whatever he does, (J)he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
But they are like (K)chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore (L)the wicked will not rise in the (M)judgment,
Nor sinners in (N)the congregation of the righteous.
6 For Yahweh [e](O)knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of (P)the wicked will perish.
The Reign of Yahweh’s Anointed
2 Why do (Q)the [f]nations rage
And the peoples (R)meditate on a vain thing?
2 The (S)kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
(T)Against Yahweh and against His [g](U)Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us (V)tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!”
4 He who [h]sits in the heavens (W)laughs,
The Lord (X)mocks them.
5 Then He speaks to them in His (Y)anger
And (Z)terrifies them in His fury, saying,
6 “But as for Me, I have [i]installed (AA)My King
Upon Zion, (AB)My holy mountain.”
7 “I will surely tell of the [j]decree of Yahweh:
He said to Me, ‘You are (AC)My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and (AD)I will surely give (AE)the [k]nations as Your inheritance,
And the (AF)ends of the earth as Your possession.
9 You shall [l](AG)break them with a [m]rod of iron,
You shall (AH)shatter them like a potter’s vessel.’”
10 So now, O kings, (AI)show insight;
Take warning, O [n]judges of the earth.
11 Serve Yahweh with (AJ)fear
And rejoice with (AK)trembling.
12 [o]Kiss (AL)the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way,
For (AM)His [p]wrath may [q]soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who (AN)take refuge in Him!
Yahweh, Save Me
A Psalm of David. When [r]he fled from Absalom his son.
3 O Yahweh, how (AO)my adversaries have become many!
Many are rising up against me.
2 Many are saying [s]of my soul,
“There is no (AP)salvation for him in God.” [t]Selah.
3 But You, O Yahweh, are (AQ)a shield about me,
My (AR)glory, and the One who (AS)lifts my head.
4 I was calling to Yahweh with my voice,
And He (AT)answered me from (AU)His holy [u]mountain. Selah.
5 [v]I (AV)lay down and slept;
I awoke, for Yahweh sustains me.
6 I will (AW)not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who all around (AX)have set themselves against me.
7 (AY)Arise, O Yahweh; (AZ)save me, O my God!
For You have (BA)struck all my enemies on the [w]cheek;
You [x]have (BB)shattered the teeth of the wicked.
8 [y](BC)Salvation belongs to Yahweh;
Your (BD)blessing [z]be upon Your people! Selah.
Yahweh Makes Me Abide in Safety
[aa]For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
4 (BE)Answer me when (BF)I call, O God [ab]of my righteousness!
You have [ac](BG)relieved me in my distress;
Be (BH)gracious to me and (BI)hear my prayer.
2 O sons of men, how long will (BJ)my glory become (BK)a reproach?
How long will you love (BL)what is worthless and seek (BM)falsehood? [ad]Selah.
3 But know that Yahweh has [ae](BN)set apart the (BO)holy one for Himself;
Yahweh (BP)hears when I call to Him.
In You I Have Taken Refuge
A [a]Shiggaion of David, which he sang to Yahweh concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite.
7 O Yahweh my God, (A)in You I have taken refuge;
Save me from all those who pursue me, and (B)deliver me,
2 Lest he tear [b]my soul (C)like a lion,
Rending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
3 O Yahweh my God, if I have done this,
If there is (D)injustice in my hands,
4 If I have (E)rewarded evil to him who [c]is at peace with me,
Or have (F)plundered my adversary without cause,
5 Let the enemy pursue [d]my soul and overtake [e]it;
And let him trample my life down to the ground
And cause my glory to dwell in the dust. [f]Selah.
6 (G)Arise, O Yahweh, in Your anger;
(H)Lift up Yourself against (I)the fury of my adversaries,
And (J)arouse Yourself [g]for me; You have appointed judgment.
7 Let the congregation of the (K)peoples encompass You,
And over [h]them return on high.
8 Yahweh (L)judges the peoples;
[i](M)Give justice to me, O Yahweh, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
9 O let (N)the evil of the wicked come to an end, but (O)establish the righteous;
For the righteous God (P)tests the hearts and [j]minds.
10 My (Q)shield is [k]with God,
Who (R)saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a (S)righteous judge,
And a God who has (T)indignation every day.
12 If [l]a man (U)does not repent, He will (V)sharpen His sword;
He has (W)bent His bow and prepared it.
13 He has also prepared [m]for Himself deadly weapons;
He makes His (X)arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, he travails with wickedness,
And he (Y)conceives mischief and gives birth to falsehood.
15 He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has (Z)fallen into the hole which he made.
16 His (AA)mischief will return upon his own head,
And his (AB)violence will descend upon [n]his own skull.
10 Hear (A)the word of Yahweh,
You rulers of (B)Sodom;
Give ear to the law of our God,
You people of Gomorrah.
11 “(C)What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?”
Says Yahweh.
“I [a]have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle;
And in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats [b]I take no pleasure.
12 When you come (D)to appear before Me,
Who requires [c]of you this trampling of My courts?
13 Bring your worthless offerings no longer,
(E)Incense is an abomination to Me.
(F)New moon and sabbath, the (G)calling of convocation—
I cannot (H)endure wickedness and the solemn assembly.
14 My soul hates your new moon festivals and your (I)appointed times,
They have become a burden to Me;
I am (J)weary of bearing them.
15 So when you (K)spread out your hands in prayer,
(L)I will hide My eyes from you;
Indeed, even though you (M)multiply prayers,
I will not listen.
(N)Your hands are full of blood.
16 “(O)Wash yourselves, (P)purify yourselves;
(Q)Remove the evil of your deeds from before My eyes.
(R)Cease to do evil,
17 Learn to do good;
(S)Seek justice,
Reprove the ruthless,
(T)Execute justice for the [d]orphan,
Plead for the widow.
18 “Come now, and (U)let us reason together,”
Says Yahweh,
“(V)Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool.
19 (W)If you are willing and obey,
You will (X)eat the best of the land;
20 But if you refuse and rebel,
You will be (Y)eaten by the sword.”
For (Z)the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.
Thanksgiving
1 (A)Paul and (B)Silvanus and (C)Timothy,
To the (D)church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: (E)Grace to you and peace.
2 (F)We give thanks to God always for all of you, (G)making mention of you in our prayers; 3 remembering without ceasing your (H)work of faith and labor of (I)love and [a](J)steadfastness of hope [b]in our Lord Jesus Christ before (K)our God and Father, 4 knowing, (L)brothers beloved by God, (M)your election, 5 for our (N)gospel did not come to you in word only, but also (O)in power and in the Holy Spirit and with (P)full assurance; just as you know (Q)what kind of men we [c]proved to be among you for your sake. 6 You also became (R)imitators of us and of the Lord, (S)having received (T)the word in much affliction with the (U)joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became a model to all the believers in (V)Macedonia and in (W)Achaia. 8 For (X)the word of the Lord has (Y)sounded forth from you, not only in (Z)Macedonia and (AA)Achaia, but also (AB)in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. 9 For they themselves report about us what kind of an (AC)entrance we had [d]with you, and how you (AD)turned to God (AE)from [e]idols to serve [f](AF)a living and true God, 10 and to (AG)wait for His Son from [g]heaven, whom He (AH)raised from the dead, Jesus, who (AI)rescues us from (AJ)the wrath to come.
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
20 (A)And it happened that on one of the days while (B)He was teaching the people in the temple and (C)proclaiming the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders (D)came up to Him, 2 and they spoke, saying to Him, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?” 3 And Jesus answered and said to them, “I will also ask you a [a]question, and you tell Me: 4 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?” 5 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a (E)prophet.” 7 So they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8 And Jesus said to them, “Neither [b]will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
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