Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 25
A Psalm of David.
1 To You, O Lord,
do I lift up my soul.
2 O my God, I trust in You;
may I not be ashamed;
may my enemies not triumph over me.
3 Yes, let none who wait on You
be ashamed;
let them be ashamed
who transgress without cause.
4 Make me to know Your ways, O Lord;
teach me Your paths.
5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
for You are the God of my salvation;
on You I wait all the day.
6 Remember Your mercies, O Lord, and Your lovingkindness,
for they are from old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth
or my transgressions;
according to Your lovingkindness remember me,
on account of Your goodness, O Lord.
8 Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore He will teach sinners in the way.
9 The meek will He guide in judgment,
and the meek He will teach His way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth,
for those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.
11 For Your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity,
for it is great.
12 Who is the man who fears the Lord?
He will teach him in the way He should choose.
13 He will dwell at ease,
and his descendants will inherit the land.
14 The counsel of the Lord is with those who fear him,
and He will make His covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are ever toward the Lord,
for He will lead my feet from the net.
16 Turn to me, and be gracious to me,
for I am isolated and afflicted.
17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
bring me out of my distresses.
18 Look on my pain and misery,
and forgive all my sins.
19 Consider my enemies, for they are many,
and they hate me with violent hatred.
20 Watch over my life, and deliver me!
Let me not suffer shame,
for I seek refuge in You.
21 Truth and integrity will preserve me
while I wait for You.
22 Redeem Israel, O God,
out of all their troubles.
Psalm 9
For the Music Director. To the melody of “The Death of the Son.” A Psalm of David.
1 I will give thanks to You, O Lord, with my whole heart;
I will declare all Your marvelous works.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.
3 When my enemies are turned back,
they will stumble and perish at Your presence.
4 For You have maintained my right and my cause;
You sat on the throne judging what is right.
5 You have rebuked the nations,
You have destroyed the wicked,
You have wiped out their name forever and ever.
6 O you enemy, destructions have come to you for a perpetual end.
You have destroyed cities;
their memory perished with them.
7 But the Lord remains forever;
He has established His throne for judgment.
8 He will judge the world in righteousness;
He will give judgment to the peoples in uprightness.
9 The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed,
a refuge in times of trouble.
10 Those who know Your name will put their trust in You,
for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.
11 Sing praises to the Lord who dwells in Zion;
declare His deeds among the people.
12 He who avenges deaths remembers them;
He does not forget the cry of the humble.
13 Be gracious to me, O Lord; consider my trouble from those who hate me,
O You who lifts me up from the gates of death,
14 that I may recount all Your praise
in the gates of the daughter of Zion,
that I may rejoice in Your salvation.
15 The nations have sunk down in the pit that they made;
their own foot is caught in the net which they hid.
16 The Lord is known by the judgment that He executes;
the wicked one is snared in the work of his own hands. Meditation. Selah
17 The wicked will be turned to Sheol,
and all the nations that forget God.
18 For the needy will not always be forgotten,
nor will the hope of the poor perish forever.
19 Arise, O Lord, may mortals not prevail;
let the nations be judged in Your sight.
20 Put them in fear, O Lord,
that the nations themselves may know they are mortals. Selah
Psalm 15
A Psalm of David.
1 Lord, who will abide in Your tabernacle?
Who will dwell in Your holy hill?
2 He who walks uprightly,
and does righteousness,
and speaks truth in his heart;
3 he who does not slander with the tongue
and does no evil to his neighbor,
nor bears a reproach against his friend;
4 in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
but who honors those who fear the Lord;
he who swears to avoid evil
and does not change;
5 he who does not put his money out to usury,
nor take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
will never be moved.
13 On the next day, Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from the morning until the evening. 14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why are you sitting by yourself while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?”
15 Then Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. 16 When they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.”
17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You will surely wear yourself out, both you, and these people who are with you, for this thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it by yourself. 19 Now listen to me, I will advise you, and may God be with you: You be a representative for the people to God so that you may bring their disputes to God. 20 And you shall teach them the statutes and laws and shall show them the way in which they must walk and the work that they must do. 21 Moreover, you shall choose out of all the people capable men who fear God, men of truth, hating dishonest gain, and place these men over them, to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 22 Let them judge the people at all times, and let it be that every difficult matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they shall judge, so that it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. 23 If you shall do this thing and God commands you so, then you will be able to endure, and all these people also will go to their place in peace.”
24 So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything that he had said. 25 Moses chose capable men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 26 They judged the people at all times. They brought the difficult cases to Moses, but they judged every small matter themselves.
27 Moses sent out his father-in-law, and he went his way to his own land.
Tending the Flock of God
5 I exhort the elders who are among you, as one who is also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ as well as a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, take care of them, not by constraint, but willingly, not for dishonest gain, but eagerly. 3 Do not lord over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of glory that will not fade away.
5 Likewise you younger ones, submit yourselves to the elders. Yes, all of you be submissive one to another and clothe yourselves with humility, because
“God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”[a]
6 Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. 7 Cast all your care upon Him, because He cares for you.
8 Be sober and watchful, because your adversary the devil walks around as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him firmly in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
10 But after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called us to His eternal glory through Christ Jesus, will restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings
12 With the help of Silas, whom I consider to be a faithful brother to you, I have written briefly, exhorting you and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.
13 The church that is at Babylon, elect together with you, greets you, and so does Mark, my son. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love.
Peace be with all you who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
The Genealogy of Jesus Christ(A)
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the son of Abraham:
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
and Hezron the father of Ram.
4 Ram was the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
and Nahshon the father of Salmon.
5 Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth,
and Obed the father of Jesse.
6 Jesse was the father of David the king.
David the king was the father of Solomon, by her who had been the wife of Uriah.
7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
and Abijah the father of Asa.
8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
and Joram the father of Uzziah.
9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
and Amon the father of Josiah.
11 Josiah was the father of Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were exiled to Babylon.
12 And after they were brought to Babylon,
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,
and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel.
13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud,
Abiud the father of Eliakim,
and Eliakim the father of Azor.
14 Azor was the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Akim,
and Akim the father of Eliud.
15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
and Matthan the father of Jacob.
16 And Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the exile to Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the exile in Babylon to Christ are fourteen generations.
The Preaching of John the Baptist(A)
3 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make His paths straight.’ ”[a]
4 This same John had clothing made of camel’s hair, a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him, 6 and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.