Book of Common Prayer
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 26
A Psalm of David.
1 Judge me, O Lord,
for I have walked in my integrity.
I have trusted in the Lord;
I will not slip.
2 Examine me, O Lord, and test me;
try my affections and my heart.
3 For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes,
and I have walked in Your truth.
4 I have not sat with the worthless,
nor will I go with hypocrites.
5 I have hated the congregation of evildoers,
and will not sit with the wicked.
6 I will wash my hands in innocence;
thus I will go around Your altar, O Lord,
7 that I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving,
and tell of all Your wondrous works.
8 Lord, I have loved the refuge of Your house,
and the place where Your honor dwells.
9 Do not gather my soul with sinners,
nor my life with murderers,
10 in whose hands is wickedness,
and their right hand is full of bribes.
11 But as for me, I will walk in my integrity;
redeem me and be gracious to me.
12 My foot stands in an even place;
with the congregations I will bless the Lord.
13 Sing, O heavens!
And be joyful, O earth!
And break forth into singing, O mountains!
For the Lord has comforted His people
and will have mercy on His afflicted.
14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,
and the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 Can a woman forget her nursing child,
and have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget.
16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
your walls are continually before Me;
17 your builders hurry;
your destroyers and those who devastated you shall depart from you.
18 Lift up your eyes and look all around;
all these gather themselves together and come to you.
As I live, says the Lord,
you shall surely put on all of them as ornaments
and bind them on you as a bride does.
19 For your waste and your desolate places,
and the land of your destruction,
shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants,
and those who swallowed you up shall be far away.
20 The children whom you shall have,
after you have lost the others,
shall say again in your ears,
“The place is too cramped for me;
make room for me that I may dwell here.”
21 Then you shall say in your heart,
“Who bore these for me,
since I have lost my children and am barren,
a captive and a wanderer?
And who has brought these up?
I was left alone;
from where did these come?”
22 Thus says the Lord God:
See, I will lift up My hand to the nations
and set up My standard to the peoples;
and they shall bring your sons in their arms,
and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders;
23 kings shall be your foster fathers
and their queens your nursing mothers;
they shall bow down to you with their faces toward the ground
and lick up the dust of your feet.
And you shall know that I am the Lord,
for those who wait for Me shall not be ashamed.
The Greatest in the Kingdom(A)
18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 Jesus called a little child to Him and set him in their midst, 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself like this little child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever receives one such little child in My name receives Me.
Temptations to Sin(B)
6 “But whoever misleads one of these little ones who believe in Me, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung about his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of temptations! For it must be that temptations come, but woe to that man by whom the temptation comes! 8 Therefore if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life lame or maimed than having two hands or two feet to be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than having two eyes to be thrown into the fire of hell.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep(C)
10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11 For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.
12 “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go in search for the one which went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine which never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
Psalm 19
For the Music Director. A Psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament shows His handiwork.
2 Day unto day utters speech,
and night unto night declares knowledge.
3 There is no speech and there are no words;
their voice is not heard.
4 Their line has gone out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them has He set a tent for the sun,
5 which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
it rejoices as a strong man to run a race.
6 Its going forth is from one end of the heavens,
and its circuit extends to the other end,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
converting the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
8 the statutes of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the judgments of the Lord are true
and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
yes, than much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is Your servant warned,
and by keeping them comes great reward.
12 Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.
13 Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be upright
and innocent from great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.
Psalm 126
A Song of Ascents.
1 When the Lord restored the captives of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with singing.
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
we are glad.
4 Restore our captives, O Lord,
as the streams in the Negev.
5 Those who sow in tears
shall reap in joy.
6 He who goes forth and weeps,
bearing precious seed to sow,
shall come home again with rejoicing,
bringing his grain sheaves with him.
Little Children Blessed(A)
13 They brought young children to Him, that He might touch them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, He was very displeased and said to them, “Allow the little children to come to Me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall not enter it.” 16 And He took them up in His arms, put His hands on them, and blessed them.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.