Book of Common Prayer
Meditations and Prayers Relating to the Law of God.
Aleph
119 Blessed are those whose way is [a](A)blameless,
Who (B)walk in the Law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are those who (C)comply with His [b]testimonies,
And (D)seek Him (E)with all their heart.
3 They also (F)do no injustice;
They walk in His ways.
4 You have [c](G)ordained Your precepts,
[d]That we are to keep them diligently.
5 Oh that my (H)ways may be established
To (I)keep Your statutes!
6 Then I (J)will not be ashamed
When I look at all Your commandments.
7 I will (K)give thanks to You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments.
8 I will keep Your statutes;
Do not utterly (L)abandon me!
Beth
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By (M)keeping it according to Your word.
10 With (N)all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me (O)wander from Your commandments.
11 I have (P)treasured Your word in my heart,
So that I may not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, Lord;
(Q)Teach me Your statutes.
13 With my lips I have (R)told of
All the (S)ordinances of Your mouth.
14 I have (T)rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
[e]As much as in all riches.
15 I will (U)meditate on Your precepts
And [f]regard (V)Your ways.
16 I shall [g](W)delight in Your statutes;
I will (X)not forget Your word.
Gimel
17 (Y)Deal generously with Your servant,
That I may live and keep Your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold
Wonderful things from Your Law.
19 I am a (Z)stranger on the earth;
Do not hide Your commandments from me.
20 My soul is crushed [h](AA)with longing
For Your ordinances at all times.
21 You (AB)rebuke the arrogant, [i]the (AC)cursed,
Who (AD)wander from Your commandments.
22 (AE)Take disgrace and contempt away from me,
For I (AF)comply with Your testimonies.
23 Even though (AG)rulers sit and speak against me,
Your servant (AH)meditates on Your statutes.
24 Your testimonies also are my (AI)delight;
They are [j]my advisers.
God, a Helper against the Treacherous.
For the music director; [a]upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.
12 Help, Lord, for (A)the godly person has come to an end,
For the faithful have disappeared from the sons of mankind.
2 They (B)speak [b]lies to one another;
They speak with [c](C)flattering lips and a double heart.
3 May the Lord cut off all [d]flattering lips,
The tongue that (D)speaks great things;
4 Who (E)have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are [e]our own; who is lord over us?”
5 “Because of the (F)devastation of the poor, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now (G)I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will (H)put him in the safety for which he longs.”
6 The (I)words of the Lord are pure words;
Like silver (J)refined in a furnace on the ground, filtered seven times.
7 You, Lord, will keep them;
You will (K)protect him from this generation forever.
8 The (L)wicked strut about on every side
When [f](M)vileness is exalted among the sons of mankind.
Prayer for Help in Trouble.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
13 How long, Lord? Will You (N)forget me forever?
How long (O)will You hide Your face from me?
2 How long am I to (P)feel anxious in my soul,
With (Q)grief in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
3 (R)Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
(S)Enlighten my eyes, or I will (T)sleep the sleep of death,
4 And my enemy will (U)say, “I have overcome him,”
And (V)my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.
5 But I have (W)trusted in Your faithfulness;
My heart shall (X)rejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will (Y)sing to the Lord,
Because He has (Z)looked after me.
Foolishness and Wickedness of People.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
14 The fool has (AA)said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed detestable acts;
There is (AB)no one who does good.
2 The Lord has (AC)looked down from heaven upon the sons of mankind
To see if there are any who [g](AD)understand,
Who (AE)seek God.
3 They have all (AF)turned aside, together they are corrupt;
There is (AG)no one who does good, not even one.
Israel Encouraged
41 “(A)Listen to Me (B)in silence, you coastlands,
And let the peoples (C)gain new strength;
(D)Let them come forward, then let them speak;
(E)Let’s come together for judgment.
2 (F)Who has stirred one from the east
Whom He (G)calls in righteousness to His [a]feet?
He (H)turns nations over to him
And subdues kings.
He makes them like (I)dust with his sword,
Like the wind-driven (J)chaff with his bow.
3 He pursues them, passing on in safety,
By a way he had not been [b]traversing with his feet.
4 (K)Who has performed and accomplished it,
Summoning the generations from the beginning?
‘(L)I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. (M)I am He.’”
5 The (N)coastlands have seen and are afraid;
The (O)ends of the earth tremble;
They have approached and have come.
6 Each one helps his neighbor
And says to his brother, “Be strong!”
7 So the (P)craftsman encourages the (Q)smelter,
And he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil,
Saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
And he fastens it with nails,
(R)So that it will not totter.
8 “But you, Israel, (S)My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
Descendant of (T)Abraham My (U)friend,
9 You whom I have [c](V)taken from the ends of the earth
And called from its (W)remotest parts,
And said to you, ‘You are (X)My servant,
I have (Y)chosen you and have not rejected you.
10 Do not (Z)fear, for I am with you;
Do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, (AA)I will also help you,
I will also uphold you with My righteous (AB)right hand.’
11 Behold, (AC)all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;
(AD)Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.
12 (AE)You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them,
Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.
13 For I am the Lord your God (AF)who takes hold of your right hand,
Who says to you, ‘(AG)Do not fear, I will help you.’
14 Do not fear, you (AH)worm Jacob, you people of Israel;
I will help you,” declares the Lord, “and (AI)your [d]Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15 Behold, I turned you into a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges;
(AJ)You will thresh the (AK)mountains and pulverize them,
And make the hills like chaff.
16 You will (AL)winnow them, and the wind will carry them away,
And the storm will scatter them;
But you will (AM)rejoice in the Lord,
You will boast in the Holy One of Israel.
Made Alive in Christ
2 And [a]you [b]were (A)dead [c]in your offenses and sins, 2 in which you (B)previously walked according to the [d]course of (C)this world, according to (D)the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in (E)the [e]sons of disobedience. 3 Among them [f]we too all (F)previously lived in (G)the lusts of our flesh, [g]indulging the desires of the flesh and of the [h]mind, and were (H)by nature (I)children of wrath, (J)just as the rest. 4 But God, being (K)rich in mercy, because of (L)His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were (M)dead [i]in our wrongdoings, made us alive together [j]with Christ ((N)by grace you have been saved), 6 and (O)raised us up with Him, and (P)seated us with Him in (Q)the heavenly places in (R)Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the [k]boundless (S)riches of His grace in (T)kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For (U)by grace you have been saved (V)through faith; and [l]this is not of yourselves, it is (W)the gift of God; 9 (X)not a result of works, so that (Y)no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, (Z)created in (AA)Christ Jesus for (AB)good works, which God (AC)prepared beforehand so that we would (AD)walk in them.
Crowds Healed
29 (A)And immediately after they left (B)the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with [a]James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and they immediately *spoke to [b]Jesus about her. 31 And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she served them.
32 Now (C)when evening came, (D)after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were (E)demon-possessed. 33 And the whole (F)city had gathered at the door. 34 And He (G)healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew [c]who He was.
35 (H)And in the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and (I)prayed there for a time. 36 Simon and his companions eagerly searched for Him; 37 and they found Him and *said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” 38 He *said to them, “Let’s go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may also [d]preach there; for this is why I came.” 39 (J)And He went into their synagogues [e]preaching throughout Galilee, and casting out the demons.
40 (K)And a man with [f]leprosy *came to [g]Jesus, imploring Him and (L)kneeling down, and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” 41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. 43 And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, 44 and He *said to him, “(M)See that you say nothing to anyone; but (N)go, show yourself to the priest and (O)offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 45 But he went out and began to (P)proclaim it [h]freely and to (Q)spread the news around, to such an extent that [i]Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but [j]stayed out in unpopulated areas; and (R)they were coming to Him from everywhere.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.