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!
Eighth Address to a Son:
Wisdom Avoids Entanglements
6 My son, if you have guaranteed your neighbor’s debts,
if you have shaken hands for a stranger,
2 you are trapped by the promises from your mouth;
you are captured by the promises from your mouth.
3 Because you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands,
go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor.
4 Do not allow your eyes to sleep,
or your eyelids to slumber.
5 Save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of a hunter,
or like a bird from the hand of a trapper.
Wisdom Warns Against Laziness
6 Go to the ant, you slacker![a]
Observe its ways and become wise.
7 Although it has no overseer, officer, or ruler,
8 it stores its food in summer.
It gathers its provisions at harvest time.
9 How long will you lie there, you slacker?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of your hands to rest,
11 and poverty will come on you like a prowler,
and scarcity will come on you like a warrior.
Dishonesty Leads to Disaster
12 A worthless, wicked scoundrel,
who goes around with a corrupt mouth,
13 who winks with his eye, signals with his foot,
and gestures with his fingers,
14 who plots evil with a deceitful heart—
he always spreads conflict.
15 Therefore his disaster will come upon him suddenly.
All at once he will be broken, and there will be no remedy.
Things That Are Disgusting to the Lord
16 These are six things the Lord hates,
seven things that really disgust him:
17 arrogant eyes, a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that run quickly to do evil,
19 a false witness who breathes lies,
and a person who spreads conflict between brothers.
Faith, Love, and Obedience
5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the God who has given birth[a] also loves one who has been born of him. 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep his commands. 3 In fact, this is love for God: that we keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 because everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. 5 Who is the one who overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
6 This is the one who came by water and blood: Jesus Christ. He did not come by the water alone but by the water and by the blood. The Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 In fact, there are three that testify:[b] 8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and these three are one.
9 If we accept the testimony of people, God’s testimony is even greater, because it is the testimony that God gave about his Son. 10 The one who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in him, but the one who does not believe has made God out to be a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God gave about his Son. 11 This is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 The one who has the Son has life. The one who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
16 “To what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces who call to others, 17 ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance. We sang a dirge, but you did not mourn.’ 18 John did not come eating or drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 But the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘See, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her actions.”
Woe to Unrepentant Cities
20 Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles were performed, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles which were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 You, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No, you will go down to hell.[a] For if the miracles performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.