Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 119
The Great Psalm on the Law of the Lord[a]
Aleph: Blessed Are the Blameless
1 How blessed are those who are blameless in their way,
who walk in the law[b] of the Lord.
2 How blessed are those who keep[c] his testimonies.
With all their heart they seek him.
3 Indeed, they do no wrong.
They walk in his ways.
4 You have commanded that your precepts[d] be kept completely.
5 If only my ways were unwavering in keeping your statutes![e]
6 Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands.
7 I will thank you with an upright heart
as I learn your righteous judgments.[f]
8 I will keep your statutes.
Do not abandon me completely.
Bet: Hidden in My Heart
9 How can a young man keep his path pure?
By guarding it with your words.[g]
10 With all my heart I seek you.
Do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your sayings[h] in my heart,
so that I may not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord!
Teach me your statutes.
13 With my lips I tell about all the judgments
that come from your mouth.
14 I rejoice in the way that is taught by your testimonies
as much as I delight in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts,
and I will consider your paths.
16 In your statutes I delight.
I will not forget your words.
Gimel: Open My Eyes
17 Reward your servant.
Then I will live, and I will keep your words.
18 Uncover my eyes, and I will behold wonders from your law.
19 I am an alien on earth.
Do not hide your commandments from me.
20 My soul is overwhelmed by desire for your judgments at all times.
21 You rebuke the arrogant, who are cursed,
those who stray from your commandments.
22 Remove scorn and contempt from me,
for I guard your testimonies.
23 Though officials sit together and speak against me,
your servant will meditate on your statutes.
24 Yes, your testimonies are my delights.
They are my advisors.
Psalm 12
Proud Words vs. Pure Words
Heading
For the choir director. According to sheminith.[a] A psalm by David.
The Proud Words of the Ungodly
1 Save us, Lord, for the merciful have disappeared.
The faithful have vanished from among mankind.
2 Everyone speaks falsehood to his neighbor.
Their flattering lips speak double-talk.[b]
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips.
May he cut off every tongue that speaks boastfully,
4 which says, “With our tongues we will establish our power.
We say what we please.[c] Who is lord over us?”
The Pure Words of the Lord
5 “Because of the destruction of the oppressed,
because of the groaning of the poor,
now I will rise up,” says the Lord.
“I will keep him safe from the one who puffs against him.”[d]
6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.
7 You, Lord, will keep them safe.
You will protect them from such people forever.
8 The wicked strut around
when depravity is honored by the children of Adam.
Psalm 13
How Long, O Lord?
Heading
For the choir director. A psalm by David.
Anguished Questions
1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I experience worries in my soul,
sorrow in my heart every day?
How long will my enemy tower over me?
An Urgent Prayer
3 Look at me. Answer me, O Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes
so I do not sleep in death,
4 so my enemy does not say, “I have overcome him,”
so my foes do not rejoice when I fall.
A Solid Answer
5 But I trust in your mercy.
My heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord
because he has accomplished his purpose for me.
Psalm 14
The Fool
(Psalm 53)
Heading
For the choir director. By David.
A Description of the Fool
1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt. They do disgusting things.
There is no one who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven on all the children of Adam
to see if there is anyone who understands, anyone who seeks God.
3 Every one of them has turned away.
Altogether they have become rotten.
There is no one who does good.
There is not even one.
The Final Fate of the Fool
4 Don’t any of these evildoers understand,
those who devour my people as if they were eating bread?
They do not call on the Lord.
5 There they are! They are terrified
because God is present in the circle of the righteous.
6 You try to put the plans of the poor to shame,
but the Lord is their refuge.
Closing Prayer
7 Who will provide salvation for Israel from Zion?[e]
When the Lord restores his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
David Is Chosen as King
16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I see a king for myself among his sons.”
2 Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will let you know what you are to do. You are to anoint for me the person that I point out to you.”
4 So Samuel did what the Lord had told him to do and went to Bethlehem. Trembling with fear, the elders of the city came to meet him. They said, “Do you come in peace?”
5 He said, “Yes, in peace. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” He consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they had come, he looked at Eliab and said, “Certainly this is the Lord’s anointed.”
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at how tall he is, because I have rejected him. For the Lord does not look at things the way man does. For man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.”
9 Then Jesse had Shammah pass by. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.”
10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel. Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” 11 Samuel said to Jesse, “Is that all of the young men?”
Jesse said, “There still is the youngest, but he is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said to Jesse, “Send for him, for we cannot sit down to eat until he comes.”
12 He sent for him and brought him in. David had red hair[a] and striking eyes, and was good-looking. The Lord said, “Get up! Anoint him, because this is the one.”
13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers. The Spirit of the Lord rushed on David with power from that day forward. After that Samuel set out and returned to Ramah.
Cornelius Sees a Vision
10 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, who was a centurion in what was called the Italian Regiment. 2 He was devout and God-fearing, as was his entire family. He gave generous gifts to the poor and always prayed to God.
3 One day at about the ninth hour,[a] he clearly saw a vision in which an angel of God came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
4 Cornelius stared at him in terror and replied, “What is it, Lord?”
The angel told him, “Your prayers and your gifts to the poor have gone up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa to get a man named Simon, who is called Peter. 6 He is staying as a guest with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”
7 When the angel who spoke to him had left, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier who was one of his personal attendants. 8 After explaining everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
Peter Sees a Vision
9 The next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray at about the sixth hour.[b] 10 He became hungry and wanted to eat, but while they were preparing the meal, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and an object coming down. It was like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.[c] 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles[d] of the earth and birds of the sky.
13 Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!”
14 But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord, for I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15 Yet the voice came to him a second time: “What God has made clean, you must not continue to call unclean.”
16 This happened three times, and then the object was immediately taken up to heaven.[e]
12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over to look in, he saw only the strips of linen cloth. He went home, amazed at what had happened.
On the Way to Emmaus
13 Now, on that same day, two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about all of these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing this, Jesus himself approached and began to walk along with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 He said to them, “What are you talking about as you walk along?” Saddened, they stopped.
18 One of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
19 “What things?” he asked them.
They replied, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be condemned to death. And they crucified him. 21 But we were hoping that he was going to redeem Israel. Not only that, but besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Also some women of our group amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning. 23 When they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb. They found it just as the women had said, but they did not see him.”
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and to enter his glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28 As they approached the village where they were going, he acted as if he were going to travel farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, since it is almost evening, and the day is almost over.”
So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he reclined at the table with them, he took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and began giving it to them. 31 Suddenly their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. Then he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was speaking to us along the road and while he was explaining the Scriptures to us?” 33 They got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem. They found the Eleven and those who were with them assembled together. 34 They were saying, “The Lord really has been raised! He has appeared to Simon.” 35 They themselves described what had happened along the road, and how they recognized him when he broke the bread.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.