Book of Common Prayer
95 1 An earnest exhortation to praise God, 4 for the government of the world and the election of the Church. 8 An admonition not to follow the rebellion of the old fathers, that tempted God in the wilderness. 11 For the which they might not enter into the land of promise.
1 Come, let us rejoice unto the Lord: let us sing [a]aloud unto the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his face with praise: let us sing loud unto him with Psalms.
3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all [b]gods,
4 In whose hand are the deep places of the earth, and the [c]heights of the mountains are his,
5 To whom the Sea belongeth, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us [d]worship and fall down, and kneel before the Lord our maker.
7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his [e]hand: today, if ye will hear his voice,
8 [f]Harden not your heart, as in [g]Meribah, and as in the day of [h]Massah in the wilderness,
9 When your fathers (A)tempted me, proved me, though they had seen my work.
10 Forty years have I contended with this generation, and said, They are a people that [i]err in heart, for they have not known my ways.
11 Wherefore I sware in my wrath, saying, Surely they shall not enter into [j]my rest.
32 1 David punished with grievous sickness for his sins, counteth them blessed to whom God doth not impute their transgressions. 5 And after that he had confessed his sins, and obtained pardon, 6 he exhorteth the wicked men to live godly, 11 and the good to rejoice.
A Psalm of David to give [a]instruction.
1 Blessed is he whose wickedness is [b]forgiven, and whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man, unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
3 When I held my [c]tongue, my bones consumed, or when I [d]roared all the day,
4 (For thine hand is heavy upon me day and night: and my moisture is turned into the drought of Summer. Selah.)
5 Then I [e]acknowledged my sin unto thee, neither hid I mine iniquity: for I thought, I will confess against myself my wickedness unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the punishment of my sin. Selah.
6 Therefore shall everyone that is godly, make his prayer unto thee in a [f]time, when thou mayest be found: surely in the flood of great waters [g]they shall not come near him.
7 Thou art my secret place: thou preservest me from trouble: thou compassest me about with joyful deliverance. Selah.
8 I will [h]instruct thee, and teach thee in the way that thou shalt go, and I will guide thee with mine eye.
9 Be ye not like an horse, or like a mule which understand not: whose [i]mouths thou dost bind with bit and bridle, lest they come near thee.
10 Many sorrows shall come to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him.
11 Be glad ye righteous, and [j]rejoice in the Lord, and be joyful all ye, that are upright in heart.
143 1 An earnest prayer for remission of sins, acknowledging that the enemies did thus cruelly persecute him by God’s just judgment. 8 He desireth to be restored to grace, 10 To be governeth by his holy Spirit, that he may spend the remnant of his life in the true fear and service of God.
A Psalm of David.
1 Hear my prayer, O Lord, and hearken unto my supplication: answer me in thy [a]truth, and in thy [b]righteousness.
2 (And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy [c]sight shall none that liveth, be justified.)
3 For the enemy hath persecuted my soul: he hath smitten my life down to the earth: he hath laid me in the darkness, as they that have been dead [d]long ago:
4 And my spirit was in perplexity in me, and mine [e]heart within me was amazed.
5 Yet do I remember the time [f]past: I meditate in all thy works, yea, I do meditate in the works of thine hands.
6 I stretch forth mine hands unto thee: my soul desireth after thee, as the thirsty land. Selah.
7 Hear me speedily, O Lord, for my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, else I shall be like unto them that go down into the pit.
8 Let me hear thy loving-kindness in the [g]morning, for in thee is my trust; [h]show me the way, that I should walk in, for I lift up my soul unto thee.
9 Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies: for [i]I hid me with thee.
10 [j]Teach me to [k]do thy will, for thou art my God: let thy good Spirit lead me unto the land of righteousness.
11 Quicken me, O Lord, for thy Name’s sake, and for thy righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.
12 And for thy mercy [l]slay mine enemies, and destroy all them that oppress my soul: for I am thy [m]servant.
102 1 It seemeth that this prayer was appointeth to the faithful to pray in the captivity of Babylon. 16 A consolation for the building of the Church: 18 whereof followeth the praise of God to be published unto all posterity. 22 The conversion of the Gentiles, 28 and the stability of the Church.
A prayer [a]of the afflicted, when he shall be in distress, and pour forth his meditation before the Lord.
1 O Lord hear my prayer, and let my [b]cry come unto thee.
2 Hide not thy face from me in the time of my trouble: incline thine ears unto me, when I call, make haste to hear me.
3 For my days are [c]consumed like smoke, and my bones are burnt like an hearth.
4 Mine heart is smitten, and withered like grass, because I forgat [d]to eat my bread.
5 For the voice of my groaning, my bones do cleave to my skin.
6 I am like a [e]pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the deserts.
7 I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.
8 Mine enemies revile me daily, and they that rage against me, have [f]sworn against me.
9 Surely I have [g]eaten ashes as bread, and mingled my drink with weeping,
10 Because of thine [h]indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast heaved me up, and cast me down.
11 My days are like a shadow that fadeth, and I am withered like grass.
12 But thou, O Lord, dost [i]remain forever, and thy remembrance from generation to generation.
13 Thou wilt arise and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to have mercy thereon, for the [j]appointed time is come.
14 For thy servants delight in the [k]stones thereof, and have pity on the dust thereof.
15 Then the heathen shall fear the Name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory,
16 When the Lord shall build up Zion, and shall appear [l]in his glory,
17 And shall turn unto the prayer of the desolate, and not despise their prayer.
18 This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be [m]created, shall praise the Lord.
19 For he hath looked down from the height of his Sanctuary: out of the heaven did the Lord behold the earth,
20 That he might hear the mourning of the prisoner, and deliver the [n]children of death.
21 That they may declare the Name of the Lord in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem,
22 When the people shall be gathered [o]together, and the kingdoms to serve the Lord.
23 He [p]abated my strength in the way, and shortened my days.
24 And I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years endure from generation to generation.
25 Thou hast aforetime laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thine hands.
26 [q]They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: even they all shall wax old as doth a garment: as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed.
27 But thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
28 The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall stand [r]fast in thy sight.
130 The people of God from their bottomless miseries do cry unto God, and are heard. 3 They confess their sins, and flee unto God’s mercies.
A song of degrees.
1 Out of the [a]deep places have I called unto thee, O Lord.
2 Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears attend to the voice of my prayers.
3 If thou, O Lord, straightly markest iniquities, O Lord, [b]who shall stand?
4 But mercy is with thee, that thou [c]mayest be feared.
5 I have waited on the Lord: my soul hath waited, and I have trusted in his word.
6 My soul waiteth on the Lord more than the morning watch watcheth for the morning.
7 Let Israel wait on the Lord: for with the Lord is [d]mercy, and with him is great redemption.
8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
3 1 Jonah is sent again to Ninevah. 5 The repentance of the king of Ninevah.
1 And the word of the Lord came unto [a]Jonah the second time, saying,
2 Arise, go unto Nineveh that great city, and preach unto it the preaching which I bid thee.
3 So Jonah arose, and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord: now Nineveh was a [b]great and excellent city of three days journey.
4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s [c]journey, and he cried and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
5 So the people of Nineveh [d]believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them, even to the least of them.
6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he rose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
7 And he proclaimed and said through Nineveh, (by the counsel of the king and his nobles) saying, Let neither man, nor [e]beast, bullock nor sheep taste anything, neither feed nor drink water.
8 But let man and beast put on sackcloth, and [f]cry mightily unto God: yea, let every man turn from his evil way, and from the wickedness that is in their hands.
9 [g]Who can tell if God will turn, and repent and turn away from his fierce wrath, that we perish not?
10 And God saw their [h]works that they turned from their evil ways: and [i]God repented of the evil that he had said that he would do unto them, and he did it not.
4 The great goodness of God toward his creatures.
1 Therefore it displeased [j]Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.
2 And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? therefore I prevented it to flee unto [k]Tarshish: for I knew, that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
3 Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life [l]from me: for it is better for me to die than to live.
4 Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be [m]angry?
5 So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the East side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow [n]till he might see what should be done in the city.
6 And the Lord God prepared a [o]gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, and deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.
7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd, that it withered.
8 And when the sun did arise, God prepared also a fervent East wind: and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted and wished in his heart to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.
9 And God said unto Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be [p]angry unto the death.
10 Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd for the which thou hast not labored, neither madest it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night,
11 And should [q]not I spare Nineveh that great city, wherein are sixscore thousand persons, that [r]cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand, and also much cattle?
12 1 He doth not only by the examples of the Fathers before recited, exhort them to patience and constancy, 3 but also by the example of Christ. 11 That the chastenings of God cannot be rightly judged by the outward sense of our flesh.
1 Wherefore, (A)[a]let us also, seeing that we are compassed with so great a cloud of witnesses, cast away everything that presseth down, and the sin that [b]hangeth so fast on: let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 [c][d]Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who for the [e]joy that was set before him, endured the cross, and despised the shame, and is set at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 [f]Consider therefore him that endureth such speaking against of sinners, lest ye should be wearied and faint in your minds.
4 [g]Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
5 [h]And ye have forgotten the consolation, which speaketh unto you as unto children, (B)My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, neither faint when thou art rebuked of him.
6 For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth: and he scourgeth every son that he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God offered himself unto you as unto sons: for what son is it whom the father chasteneth not?
8 If therefore ye be without correction, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9 [i]Moreover we have had the fathers of our bodies which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: should we not much rather be in subjection unto the father of spirits, that we might live?
10 [j]For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but he chastened us for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
11 Now no chastising for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: but afterward, it bringeth the quiet fruit of righteousness, unto them which are thereby exercised.
12 [k]Wherefore lift up your hands which [l]hang down, and your weak knees,
13 And make [m]straight steps unto your feet, lest that which is halting, be turned out of the way, but let it rather be healed.
14 (C)[n]Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without the which no man shall see the Lord.
9 ¶ [a]He spake also this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were just, and despised others.
10 Two men went up into the Temple to pray: the one a Pharisee, and the other a Publican.
11 [b]The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, O God, I thank thee that I am not as other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this Publican.
12 I fast twice in the week: I give tithe of all that ever I possess.
13 But the Publican standing [c]afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes to heaven, but smote his breast, saying, O God, be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you, this man departed to his house, justified rather than the other: (A)for every man that exalteth himself shall be brought low, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
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