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.
Eliphaz Says the Innocent Do Not Suffer
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,
God Is Just
5 “Call now, is there anyone who will answer you?
And to which of the (A)holy ones will you turn?
2 For (B)irritation kills the fool,
And jealousy brings death to the simple.
3 I have seen the (C)fool taking root,
And I (D)cursed his home immediately.
4 His (E)sons are far from safety,
They are also [a]oppressed at the gate,
And there is no one to save them.
5 [b]The hungry devour his harvest
And take it to a place of thorns,
And the [c](F)schemer is eager for their wealth.
6 For (G)disaster does not come from the dust,
Nor does trouble sprout from the ground,
7 For (H)man is born for trouble,
As sparks fly upward.
17 “Behold, (A)happy is the person whom God disciplines,
So do not reject the (B)discipline of [a]the Almighty.
18 For (C)He inflicts pain, and [b]gives relief;
He wounds, but His hands also heal.
19 In six troubles (D)He will save you;
Even in seven, (E)evil will not touch you.
20 In (F)famine He will redeem you from death,
And (G)in war, from the power of the sword.
21 You will be (H)hidden [c]from the scourge of the tongue,
(I)And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.
26 You will (A)come to the grave at a ripe age,
Like the stacking of grain in its season.
27 Behold this; we have investigated it, and so it is.
Hear it, and know for yourself.”
19 and he took food and was strengthened.
Saul Begins to Preach Christ
Now (A)for several days he was with (B)the disciples who were in Damascus, 20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus (C)in the synagogues, [a]saying, “He is (D)the Son of God.” 21 All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, “Is this not the one who in Jerusalem (E)destroyed those who (F)called on this name, and had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” 22 But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the [b]Christ.
23 When (G)many days had elapsed, (H)the Jews plotted together to do away with him, 24 but (I)their plot became known to Saul. (J)They were also closely watching the gates day and night so that they might put him to death; 25 but his disciples took him at night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a large basket.
26 (K)When he came to Jerusalem, he tried repeatedly to associate with the disciples; and yet they were all afraid of him, as they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But (L)Barnabas took hold of him and brought him to the apostles and described to them how he had (M)seen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how (N)he had (O)spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus at Damascus. 28 And he was with them, [c]moving about freely in Jerusalem, (P)speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he was talking and arguing with the [d](Q)Hellenistic Jews; but they were attempting to put him to death. 30 Now when (R)the [e]brothers learned of it, they brought him down to (S)Caesarea and (T)sent him away to (U)Tarsus.
31 So (V)the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria [f]enjoyed peace, as it was being built up; and as it [g]continued in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it kept increasing.
52 (A)Then the Jews (B)began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of (C)the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will (D)raise him up on the last day. 55 For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood (E)remains in Me, and I in him. 57 Just as the (F)living Father (G)sent Me, and I live because of the Father, the one who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread that (H)came down out of heaven, not as (I)the fathers ate and died; the one who eats this bread (J)will live forever.”
Words to the Disciples
59 These things He said (K)in the synagogue as He taught (L)in Capernaum.
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