Book of Common Prayer
Security of Those Who Trust in the Lord, and Insecurity of the Wicked.
A Psalm of David.
37 (A)Do not fret because of evildoers,
Be not (B)envious toward wrongdoers.
2 For they will (C)wither quickly like the grass
And (D)fade like the green herb.
3 (E)Trust in the Lord and do good;
(F)Dwell in the land and [a](G)cultivate faithfulness.
4 (H)Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will (I)give you the desires of your heart.
5 (J)Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring forth (K)your righteousness as the light
And your judgment (L)as the noonday.
7 [b]Rest in the Lord and (M)wait [c]patiently for Him;
(N)Do not fret because of him who (O)prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Cease from anger and (P)forsake wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
9 For (Q)evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will (R)inherit the land.
10 Yet (S)a little while and the wicked man will be no more;
And you will look carefully for (T)his place and he will not be there.
11 But (U)the humble will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in (V)abundant prosperity.
12 The wicked (W)plots against the righteous
And (X)gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord (Y)laughs at him,
For He sees (Z)his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword and (AA)bent their bow
To cast down the (AB)afflicted and the needy,
To (AC)slay those who are upright in conduct.
15 Their sword will enter their own heart,
And their (AD)bows will be broken.
16 (AE)Better is the little of the righteous
Than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the (AF)arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the Lord (AG)sustains the righteous.
18 The Lord (AH)knows the days of the [d]blameless,
And their (AI)inheritance will be forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And (AJ)in the days of famine they will have abundance.
20 But the (AK)wicked will perish;
And the enemies of the Lord will be like the [e]glory of the pastures,
They vanish—(AL)like smoke they vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous (AM)is gracious and gives.
22 For (AN)those blessed by Him will (AO)inherit the land,
But those (AP)cursed by Him will be cut off.
23 (AQ)The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
And He (AR)delights in his way.
24 When (AS)he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,
Because (AT)the Lord is the One [f]who holds his hand.
25 I have been young and now I am old,
Yet (AU)I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or (AV)his [g]descendants begging bread.
26 All day long (AW)he is gracious and lends,
And (AX)his [h]descendants are a blessing.
27 (AY)Depart from evil and do good,
[i]So you will abide (AZ)forever.
28 For the Lord (BA)loves [j]justice
And (BB)does not forsake His godly ones;
They are (BC)preserved forever,
But the [k](BD)descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will (BE)inherit the land
And (BF)dwell in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous (BG)utters wisdom,
And his tongue (BH)speaks justice.
31 The (BI)law of his God is in his heart;
His (BJ)steps do not slip.
32 The (BK)wicked spies upon the righteous
And (BL)seeks to kill him.
33 The Lord will (BM)not leave him in his hand
Or (BN)let him be condemned when he is judged.
34 (BO)Wait for the Lord and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
When the (BP)wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35 I have (BQ)seen a wicked, violent man
Spreading himself like a (BR)luxuriant [l]tree in its native soil.
36 Then [m]he passed away, and lo, he (BS)was no more;
I sought for him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the [n](BT)blameless man, and behold the (BU)upright;
For the man of peace will have a [o](BV)posterity.
38 But transgressors will be altogether (BW)destroyed;
The [p]posterity of the wicked will be (BX)cut off.
39 But the (BY)salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength (BZ)in time of trouble.
40 (CA)The Lord helps them and delivers them;
He (CB)delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they (CC)take refuge in Him.
30 There is (A)no wisdom and no understanding
And no counsel against the Lord.
31 The (B)horse is prepared for the day of battle,
But (C)victory belongs to the Lord.
On Life and Conduct
22 A (D)good name is to be more desired than great wealth,
Favor is better than silver and gold.
2 The rich and the poor [a]have a common bond,
The Lord is the (E)maker of them all.
3 The (F)prudent sees the evil and hides himself,
But the [b]naive go on, and are punished for it.
4 The reward of humility and the [c]fear of the Lord
Are riches, honor and life.
5 (G)Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
He who guards himself will be far from them.
6 (H)Train up a child [d]in the way he should go,
Even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Apostasy
4 But (A)the Spirit explicitly says that (B)in later times some will [a]fall away from the faith, paying attention to (C)deceitful spirits and (D)doctrines of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars (E)seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 3 men who (F)forbid marriage and advocate (G)abstaining from foods which (H)God has created to be (I)gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For (J)everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is (K)received with gratitude; 5 for it is sanctified by means of (L)the word of God and prayer.
A Good Minister’s Discipline
6 In pointing out these things to (M)the brethren, you will be a good (N)servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the [b](O)sound doctrine which you (P)have been following. 7 But [c]have nothing to do with (Q)worldly (R)fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of (S)godliness; 8 for (T)bodily discipline is only of little profit, but (U)godliness is profitable for all things, since it (V)holds promise for the (W)present life and also for the life to come. 9 (X)It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. 10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed (Y)our hope on (Z)the living God, who is (AA)the Savior of all men, especially of believers.
11 [d](AB)Prescribe and teach these things. 12 (AC)Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, (AD)love, faith and purity, show yourself (AE)an example [e]of those who believe. 13 (AF)Until I come, give attention to the public (AG)reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. 14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through (AH)prophetic utterance with (AI)the laying on of hands by the [f](AJ)presbytery. 15 Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. 16 (AK)Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will [g](AL)ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.
Tares among Wheat
24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “(A)The kingdom of heaven [a]may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed [b]tares among the wheat, and went away. 26 But when the [c]wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. 27 The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? [d]How then does it have tares?’ 28 And he said to them, ‘An [e]enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he *said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but (B)gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
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