Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 119
Delight in God’s Word
א Aleph
1 How[a] happy are those whose way is blameless,(A)
who walk according to the Lord’s instruction!(B)
2 Happy are those who keep his decrees(C)
and seek him with all their heart.(D)
3 They do nothing wrong;(E)
they walk in his ways.
4 You have commanded that your precepts(F)
be diligently kept.
5 If only my ways were committed
to keeping your statutes!(G)
6 Then I would not be ashamed(H)
when I think about all your commands.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart(I)
when I learn your righteous judgments.
8 I will keep your statutes;
never abandon me.(J)
ב Beth
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping your[b] word.(K)
10 I have sought you with all my heart;(L)
don’t let me wander from your commands.(M)
11 I have treasured your word in my heart(N)
so that I may not sin against you.
12 Lord, may you be blessed;
teach me your statutes.(O)
13 With my lips I proclaim
all the judgments from your mouth.(P)
14 I rejoice in the way revealed by your decrees(Q)
as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts(R)
and think about your ways.(S)
16 I will delight in your statutes;(T)
I will not forget your word.
ג Gimel
17 Deal generously with your servant(U)
so that I might live;
then I will keep your word.
18 Open my eyes so that I may contemplate
wondrous things from your instruction.
19 I am a resident alien on earth;(V)
do not hide your commands from me.
20 I am continually overcome
with longing for your judgments.(W)
21 You rebuke the arrogant,
the ones under a curse,(X)
who wander from your commands.(Y)
22 Take insult and contempt away from me,(Z)
for I have kept your decrees.
23 Though princes sit together speaking against me,(AA)
your servant will think about your statutes;(AB)
24 your decrees are my delight
and my counselors.(AC)
Psalm 12
Oppression by the Wicked
For the choir director: according to Sheminith.(A) A psalm of David.
1 Help, Lord, for no faithful one remains;
the loyal have disappeared from the human race.[a](B)
2 They lie to one another;
they speak with flattering lips and deceptive hearts.(C)
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips
and the tongue that speaks boastfully.(D)
4 They say, “Through our tongues we have power;
our lips are our own—who can be our master?” (E)
5 “Because of the devastation of the needy
and the groaning of the poor,
I will now rise up,” says the Lord.
“I will provide safety for the one who longs for it.”(F)
6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in an earthen furnace,
purified seven times.(G)
7 You, Lord, will guard us;[b]
you will protect us[c] from this generation forever.(H)
8 The wicked prowl[d] all around,
and what is worthless is exalted by the human race.(I)
Psalm 13
A Plea for Deliverance
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?(J)
2 How long will I store up anxious concerns[e] within me,
agony in my mind every day?
How long will my enemy dominate me?(K)
3 Consider me and answer, Lord my God.
Restore brightness to my eyes;(L)
otherwise, I will sleep in death.
4 My enemy will say, “I have triumphed over him,”
and my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.(M)
5 But I have trusted in your faithful love;(N)
my heart will rejoice in your deliverance.(O)
6 I will sing to the Lord
because he has treated me generously.(P)
Psalm 14
A Portrait of Sinners
For the choir director. Of David.
1 The fool says in his heart, “There’s no God.”(Q)
They are corrupt; they do vile deeds.
There is no one who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the human race[f](R)
to see if there is one who is wise,
one who seeks God.
3 All have turned away;
all alike have become corrupt.
There is no one who does good,
not even one.(S)
4 Will evildoers never understand?
They consume my people as they consume bread;(T)
they do not call on the Lord.(U)
The City of Peace
2 The vision that Isaiah(A) son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
2 In(B) the last days(C)
the mountain of the Lord’s house(D) will be established
at the top of the mountains
and will be raised above the hills.
All nations will stream to it,(E)
3 and many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob.(F)
He will teach us about his ways
so that we may walk in his paths.”
For instruction will go out of Zion
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He will settle disputes among the nations
and provide arbitration for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plows
and their spears into pruning knives.(G)
Nation will not take up the sword against nation,
and they will never again train for war.(H)
The Day of the Lord
5 House of Jacob,
come and let’s walk in the Lord’s light.(I)
6 For you have abandoned(J) your people,
the house of Jacob,
because they are full of divination from the East
and of fortune-tellers(K) like the Philistines.(L)
They are in league[a] with foreigners.
7 Their[b][c] land is full of silver and gold,
and there is no limit to their treasures;
their land is full of horses,
and there is no limit to their chariots.(M)
8 Their land is full of worthless idols;(N)
they worship the work of their hands,
what their fingers have made.(O)
9 So humanity is brought low,
and each person is humbled.
Do not forgive them!(P)
10 Go into the rocks(Q)
and hide in the dust
from the terror of the Lord(R)
and from his majestic splendor.(S)
11 The pride of mankind[d] will be humbled,(T)
and human loftiness will be brought low;
the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.
Reception and Opposition to the Message
13 This is why we constantly thank God, because when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you welcomed it not as a human message, but as it truly is,(A) the word of God,(B) which also works effectively in you who believe. 14 For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea,(C) since you have also suffered(D) the same things from people of your own country,(E) just as they did from the Jews 15 who killed the Lord Jesus(F) and the prophets and persecuted us.(G) They displease God and are hostile to everyone, 16 by keeping us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. As a result, they are constantly filling up their sins to the limit,(H) and wrath has overtaken them at last.[a]
Paul’s Desire to See Them
17 But as for us, brothers and sisters, after we were forced to leave you[b] for a short time (in person, not in heart(I)), we greatly desired and made every effort to return(J) and see you face to face. 18 So we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul, time and again—but Satan(K) hindered us. 19 For who is our hope or joy(L) or crown(M) of boasting(N) in the presence of our Lord(O) Jesus at his coming?(P) Is it not you?(Q) 20 Indeed you are our glory(R) and joy!
19 Then the scribes and the chief priests(A) looked for a way to get their hands on him(B) that very hour, because they knew he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.(C)
God and Caesar
20 They(D) watched closely(E) and sent spies(F) who pretended to be righteous,[a] so that they could catch him in what he said,(G) to hand him(H) over to the governor’s(I) rule and authority. 21 They questioned him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach correctly,(J) and you don’t show partiality[b](K) but teach truthfully the way of God.(L) 22 Is it lawful(M) for us to pay taxes(N) to Caesar(O) or not?”
23 But detecting their craftiness, he said to them,[c] 24 “Show me a denarius.[d] Whose image and inscription does it have?”
“Caesar’s,” they said.
25 “Well then,” he told them, “give to Caesar(P) the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
26 They were not able to catch him in what he said in public, and being amazed at his answer, they became silent.(Q)
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