Book of Common Prayer
BOOK 1
The Righteous and the Wicked Contrasted.
1 Blessed is the person who (A)does not walk in the (B)counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the [a](C)path of sinners,
Nor (D)sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his (E)delight is (F)in the Law of the Lord,
And on His Law he meditates (G)day and (H)night.
3 He will be like (I)a tree planted by [b]streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season,
And its [c]leaf does not wither;
And [d]in whatever he does, (J)he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
But they are like (K)chaff which the wind blows away.
5 Therefore (L)the wicked will not stand in the (M)judgment,
Nor sinners in (N)the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord [e](O)knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of (P)the wicked will perish.
The Reign of the Lord’s Anointed.
2 Why are (Q)the [f]nations restless
And the peoples (R)plotting in vain?
2 The (S)kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers conspire together
(T)Against the Lord and against His [g](U)Anointed, saying,
3 “Let’s (V)tear their shackles apart
And throw their ropes away from us!”
4 He who [h]sits in the heavens (W)laughs,
The Lord (X)scoffs at them.
5 Then He will speak to them in His (Y)anger
And (Z)terrify them in His fury, saying,
6 “But as for Me, I have installed (AA)My King
Upon Zion, (AB)My holy mountain.”
7 “I will announce the [i]decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, ‘You are (AC)My Son,
Today I have fathered You.
8 Ask it of Me, and (AD)I will certainly give (AE)the [j]nations as Your inheritance,
And the (AF)ends of the earth as Your possession.
9 You shall [k](AG)break them with a [l]rod of iron,
You shall (AH)shatter them like [m]earthenware.’”
10 Now then, you kings, (AI)use insight;
Let yourselves be instructed, you [n]judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with [o](AJ)reverence
And rejoice with (AK)trembling.
12 [p]Kiss (AL)the Son, that He not be angry and you perish on the way,
For (AM)His wrath may be kindled quickly.
How blessed are all who (AN)take refuge in Him!
Morning Prayer of Trust in God.
A Psalm of David, when [q]he fled from his son Absalom.
3 Lord, how (AO)my enemies have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
2 Many are saying of my soul,
“There is no (AP)salvation for him in God.” Selah
3 But You, Lord, are (AQ)a shield around me,
My (AR)glory, and the One who (AS)lifts my head.
4 I was crying out to the Lord with my voice,
And He (AT)answered me from (AU)His holy [r]mountain. Selah
5 [s]I (AV)lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.
6 I will (AW)not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have (AX)set themselves against me all around.
7 (AY)Arise, Lord; (AZ)save me, my God!
For You [t]have (BA)struck all my enemies on the [u]cheek;
You [v]have (BB)shattered the teeth of the wicked.
8 [w](BC)Salvation belongs to the Lord;
May Your (BD)blessing [x]be upon Your people! Selah
Evening Prayer of Trust in God.
[y]For the music director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
4 (BE)Answer me when (BF)I call, God [z]of my righteousness!
You have [aa](BG)relieved me in my distress;
Be (BH)gracious to me and (BI)hear my prayer.
2 You sons of man, how long will (BJ)my [ab]honor be treated as (BK)an insult?
How long will you love (BL)what is worthless and strive for a (BM)lie? Selah
3 But know that the Lord has [ac](BN)set apart the (BO)godly person for Himself;
The Lord (BP)hears when I call to Him.
The Lord Implored to Defend the Psalmist against the Wicked.
A [a]Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord [b]concerning Cush, a Benjaminite.
7 O Lord my God, (A)in You I have taken refuge;
Save me from all those who pursue me, and (B)rescue me,
2 Or he will tear [c]my soul (C)like a lion,
Dragging me away, while there is no one to rescue me.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this,
If there is (D)injustice in my hands,
4 If I have (E)done evil to [d]my friend,
Or have (F)plundered [e]my enemy for no reason,
5 Let the enemy pursue [f]my soul and overtake [g]it;
And let him trample my life to the ground
And lay my glory in the dust. Selah
6 (G)Arise, Lord, in Your anger;
(H)Raise Yourself against (I)the rage of my enemies,
And (J)stir Yourself [h]for me; You have ordered judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the (K)peoples encompass You,
And return on high over it.
8 The Lord (L)judges the peoples;
[i](M)Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
9 Please let (N)the evil of the wicked come to an end, but (O)establish the righteous;
For the righteous God (P)puts hearts and [j]minds to the test.
10 My (Q)shield is [k]with God,
Who (R)saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a (S)righteous judge,
And a God who (T)shows indignation every day.
12 If one (U)does not repent, He will (V)sharpen His sword;
He has (W)bent His bow and taken aim.
13 He has also prepared deadly weapons for Himself;
He makes His (X)arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, an evil person is pregnant with injustice,
And he (Y)conceives harm and gives birth to lies.
15 He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has (Z)fallen into the hole which he made.
16 His (AA)harm will return on his own head,
And his (AB)violence will descend on the top of his own head.
11 (A)My son, do not reject the [a]discipline of the Lord
Or loathe His rebuke,
12 For (B)whom the Lord loves He disciplines,
Just (C)as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.
13 (D)Blessed is a person who finds wisdom,
And one who obtains understanding.
14 For [b]her (E)profit is better than the profit of silver,
And her produce better than gold.
15 She is (F)more precious than [c]jewels,
And nothing you desire compares with her.
16 [d](G)Long life is in her right hand;
In her left hand are (H)riches and honor.
17 Her (I)ways are pleasant ways,
And all her paths are (J)peace.
18 She is a (K)tree of life to those who take hold of her,
And happy are those who hold on to her.
19 The Lord founded the earth (L)by wisdom,
He (M)established the heavens by understanding.
20 By His knowledge the (N)ocean depths were burst open,
And the (O)clouds drip with dew.
18 (A)Little children, let’s not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and (B)truth. 19 We will know by this that we are (C)of the truth, and will set our heart at ease before Him, 20 that if our heart condemns us, that God is greater than our heart, and He knows all things. 21 (D)Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have (E)confidence [a]before God; 22 and (F)whatever we ask, we receive from Him, because we (G)keep His commandments and do (H)the things that are pleasing in His sight.
23 This is His commandment, that we [b](I)believe in (J)the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as (K)He [c]commanded us. 24 The one who (L)keeps His commandments (M)remains in Him, and He in him. (N)We know by this that (O)He remains in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
Testing the Spirits
4 (P)Beloved, do not believe every (Q)spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because (R)many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: (S)every spirit that (T)confesses that (U)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that (V)does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the (W)antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and (X)now it is already in the world. 4 You are from God, (Y)little children, and (Z)have overcome them; because (AA)greater is He who is in you than (AB)he who is in the world. 5 (AC)They are from the world, therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 (AD)We are from God. (AE)The one who knows God listens to us; (AF)the one who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know (AG)the spirit of truth and (AH)the spirit of error.
John’s Questions
11 (A)When Jesus had finished [a]giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He went on from there (B)to teach and [b]preach in their cities.
2 (C)Now while in prison, (D)John heard about the works of Christ, and he sent word by his disciples, 3 and said to Him, “Are You (E)the Coming One, or are we to [c]look for someone else?” 4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 (F)those who are blind receive sight and those who limp walk, those with leprosy are cleansed and those who are deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the (G)poor have the [d]gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is [e]any person who (H)does not [f]take offense at Me.”
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