Book of Common Prayer
Meditations and Prayers Relating to the Law of God.
Aleph.
119 How blessed are those whose way is [a](A)blameless,
Who (B)walk in the law of the Lord.
2 How blessed are those who (C)observe His testimonies,
Who (D)seek Him (E)with all their heart.
3 They also (F)do no unrighteousness;
They walk in His ways.
4 You have [b](G)ordained Your precepts,
[c]That we should keep them diligently.
5 Oh that my (H)ways may be established
To (I)keep Your statutes!
6 Then I (J)shall not be ashamed
When I look [d]upon all Your commandments.
7 I shall (K)give thanks to You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments.
8 I shall keep Your statutes;
Do not (L)forsake me utterly!
Beth.
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By (M)keeping it according to Your word.
10 With (N)all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me (O)wander from Your commandments.
11 Your word I have (P)treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, O Lord;
(Q)Teach me Your statutes.
13 With my lips I have (R)told of
All the (S)ordinances of Your mouth.
14 I have (T)rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
[e]As much as in all riches.
15 I will (U)meditate on Your precepts
And [f]regard (V)Your ways.
16 I shall [g](W)delight in Your statutes;
I shall (X)not forget Your word.
Gimel.
17 (Y)Deal bountifully with Your servant,
That I may live and keep Your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold
Wonderful things from Your law.
19 I am a (Z)stranger in the earth;
Do not hide Your commandments from me.
20 My soul is crushed [h](AA)with longing
After Your ordinances at all times.
21 You (AB)rebuke the arrogant, [i]the (AC)cursed,
Who (AD)wander from Your commandments.
22 (AE)Take away reproach and contempt from me,
For I (AF)observe Your testimonies.
23 Even though (AG)princes sit and talk against me,
Your servant (AH)meditates on Your statutes.
24 Your testimonies also are my (AI)delight;
They are [j]my counselors.
God, a Helper against the Treacherous.
For the choir director; [a]upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.
12 Help, Lord, for (A)the godly man ceases to be,
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
2 They (B)speak [b]falsehood to one another;
With (C)flattering [c]lips and with a double heart they speak.
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
The tongue that (D)speaks great things;
4 Who (E)have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are [d]our own; who is lord over us?”
5 “Because of the (F)devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now (G)I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will (H)set him in the safety for which he longs.”
6 The (I)words of the Lord are pure words;
As silver (J)tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.
7 You, O Lord, will keep them;
You will (K)preserve him from this generation forever.
8 The (L)wicked strut about on every side
When [e](M)vileness is exalted among the sons of men.
Prayer for Help in Trouble.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
13 How long, O Lord? Will You (N)forget me forever?
How long (O)will You hide Your face from me?
2 How long shall I (P)take counsel in my soul,
Having (Q)sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
3 (R)Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
(S)Enlighten my eyes, or I will (T)sleep the sleep of death,
4 And my enemy will (U)say, “I have overcome him,”
And (V)my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.
5 But I have (W)trusted in Your lovingkindness;
My heart shall (X)rejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will (Y)sing to the Lord,
Because He has (Z)dealt bountifully with me.
Folly and Wickedness of Men.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
14 The fool has (AA)said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed abominable [f]deeds;
There is (AB)no one who does good.
2 The Lord has (AC)looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there are any who [g](AD)understand,
Who (AE)seek after God.
3 They have all (AF)turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
There is (AG)no one who does good, not even one.
God’s Universal Reign
2 The word which (A)Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 Now it will come about that
(B)In the last days
The (C)mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established [a]as the chief of the mountains,
And will be raised above the hills;
And (D)all the nations will stream to it.
3 And many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
That He may teach us [b]concerning His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For the [c]law will go forth (E)from Zion
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 And He will judge between the nations,
And will [d]render decisions for many peoples;
And (F)they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
(G)Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they learn war.
5 Come, (H)house of Jacob, and let us walk in the (I)light of the Lord.
6 For You have (J)abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob,
Because they are filled with influences from the east,
And they are soothsayers (K)like the Philistines,
And they (L)strike bargains with the children of foreigners.
7 Their land has also been filled with silver and gold
And there is no end to their treasures;
Their land has also been filled with (M)horses
And there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land has also been (N)filled with idols;
They worship the (O)work of their hands,
That which their fingers have made.
9 So (P)the common man has been humbled
And the man of importance has been abased,
But (Q)do not forgive them.
10 (R)Enter the rock and hide in the dust
(S)From the terror of the Lord and from the splendor of His majesty.
11 The [e](T)proud look of man will be abased
And the (U)loftiness of man will be humbled,
And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
13 For this reason we also constantly (A)thank God that when you received the (B)word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it (C)not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, (D)which also performs its work in you who believe. 14 For you, brethren, became (E)imitators of (F)the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are (G)in Judea, for (H)you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, (I)even as they did from the Jews, 15 (J)who both killed the Lord Jesus and (K)the prophets, and [a]drove us out. [b]They are not pleasing to God, [c]but hostile to all men, 16 (L)hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles (M)so that they may be saved; with the result that they always (N)fill up the measure of their sins. But (O)wrath has come upon them [d]to the utmost.
17 But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a [e]short while—(P)in [f]person, not in [g]spirit—were all the more eager with great desire (Q)to see your face. 18 [h]For (R)we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, [i](S)more than once—and yet (T)Satan (U)hindered us. 19 For who is our hope or (V)joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His [j](W)coming? 20 For you are (X)our glory and joy.
Tribute to Caesar
19 The scribes and the chief priests (A)tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and they feared the people; for they understood that He spoke this parable against them. 20 (B)So they watched Him, and sent spies who [a]pretended to be righteous, in order (C)that they might [b]catch Him in some statement, so that they could deliver Him to the rule and the authority of (D)the governor. 21 They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You [c]are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. 22 Is it [d]lawful for us (E)to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 23 But He detected their trickery and said to them, 24 “Show Me a [e]denarius. Whose [f]likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” 25 And He said to them, “Then (F)render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 26 And they were unable to [g](G)catch Him in a saying in the presence of the people; and being amazed at His answer, they became silent.
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