Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 25[a]
Prayer for Guidance and Help
1 [b]Of David.
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;
2 in you, O my God, I trust.
Do not let me be put to shame,
or permit my enemies to gloat over me.
3 No one who places his hope in you
will ever be put to shame,
but shame will be the lot of all
who break faith without justification.
4 [c]Make your ways known to me, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and instruct me,
for you are God, my Savior,
and in you I hope all the day long.
6 Be mindful, O Lord, that mercy and kindness
have been yours from of old.
7 Remember not the sins of my youth
or my many transgressions,
but remember me in your kindness,
for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.
8 [d]Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore, he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them the path to follow.
10 The ways of the Lord[e] are kindness and truth
for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
11 For the sake of your name,[f] O Lord,
pardon my iniquity, great though it be.
12 Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord?
He will be shown the path he should choose.[g]
13 He will enjoy lasting prosperity,
and his descendants will inherit the land.[h]
14 The Lord manifests himself to those who fear him,[i]
and he makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are ever upon the Lord,
for he alone can free my feet from the snare.
16 [j]Turn to me and have mercy on me,
for I am alone and afflicted.
17 Relieve the anguish of my heart[k]
and free me from my distress.
18 Look upon my affliction and suffering,
and forgive all my sins.
19 Consider how numerous are my enemies,
and how fierce is their hatred of me.
20 Preserve my life and deliver me;
do not let me be put to shame,
for I seek refuge in you.
21 Let integrity and virtue preserve me,
for in you I place my hope.
22 Redeem[l] Israel, O God,
from all its troubles.
Psalms 9–10[a]
Psalm 9[b]
Thanksgiving for the Triumph of Justice
1 For the director.[c] According to Muth Labben. A psalm of David.
2 I will offer praise to you, O Lord,
with my whole heart;
I will recount all your wondrous deeds.[d]
3 I will rejoice and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name,[e] O Most High.
4 For my enemies have turned back;
in your presence they stumble and perish.
5 But you have upheld my just cause,
you who are seated on your throne as a righteous judge.
6 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked,
erasing their name forever and ever.
7 The enemies have suffered endless ruin;
their cities have been utterly destroyed,
and not even their memory remains.
8 The Lord is enthroned forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.
9 He governs the world in righteousness
and judges the peoples with equity.
10 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a refuge in times of distress.
11 Those who revere your name place their trust in you,
for you never abandon those who seek you, O Lord.
12 Sing praise to the Lord enthroned in Zion;[f]
proclaim to the nations his wondrous deeds.
13 For the avenger of blood remembers them;
he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
14 Have mercy on me, O Lord;
behold how my enemies afflict me,
you who save me from the gates of death.
15 Then I will recount all your praises
and rejoice in your salvation
at the gates of the Daughter of Zion.[g]
16 [h]The nations have fallen into the pit they made;
their feet have been caught in the snare they laid.
17 The Lord has made himself known and rendered judgment;
the wicked are ensnared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion,[i] Selah
18 The wicked will depart into the netherworld,
all the nations that turned away from God.
19 But the needy will not be forgotten forever,
nor will the hope of the afflicted ever come to naught.
20 Rise up, O Lord! Do not let man triumph;
let the nations be judged before you.
21 Strike them with fear, O Lord;
let the nations know that they are mere mortals. Selah
Psalm 15[a]
The Righteous: Guests of God
1 A psalm of David.
O Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may abide on your holy mountain?[b]
2 [c]The one who leads a blameless life
and does what is right,
who speaks the truth from the heart
3 and does not slander anyone,
who does not harm a friend
and does not scorn a neighbor,
4 who looks with disdain on the wicked
but honors those who fear the Lord,
who abides by his oath,
no matter what the cost,
5 who does not charge interest on a loan
and refuses to accept a bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things
will never fall.
5 Whatever Saul sent David to do, he did it so wisely that he placed him in charge of warriors. This pleased all of the people, and even Saul’s servants.
Saul’s Jealousy. 6 When David returned after having struck down the Philistine, the women came out from the cities of Israel to greet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs, tambourines, and lutes. 7 [a]As the women danced, they sang, “Saul has killed his thousands, and David has killed his ten thousands.” 8 Saul was very angry at this for the saying displeased him. He said, “They give David tens of thousands, and me they only give thousands. What else is he lacking but the kingdom?” 9 From that time on, Saul kept an eye on David.
10 The next morning an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he prophesied right inside of the house. David played on the harp, as he did every day. In the meantime, Saul had a javelin in his hand.[b] 11 Saul cast the javelin, saying to himself, “I will pin David to the wall,” but David eluded him twice. 12 Saul feared David, for the Lord was with him, but he had departed from Saul.
13 Saul sent him away, giving him command over a thousand men. He would go out and come back publicly. 14 David prospered in everything he did, for the Lord was with him. 15 When Saul saw that he was very successful, he grew to dread him. 16 But Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came back publicly.
27 David went out with his men and killed two hundred Philistines. David brought their foreskins and presented the full number to the king so that he might become the king’s son-in-law. So Saul gave him Michal, his daughter, in marriage.
28 When Saul saw and realized that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, his daughter, loved him, 29 Saul dreaded him all the more, and Saul was David’s enemy for the rest of his life. 30 The Philistine leaders continued to go out to battle, and whenever they went out, David would encounter them with more success than all of Saul’s other servants, so that his name became well known.
19 A Church at Antioch.[a] Meanwhile, those who had scattered after the persecution that arose because of Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia,[b] Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word only to Jews. 20 However, among them there were some natives of Cyprus and Cyrene who went to Antioch where they started preaching also to the Greeks, proclaiming to them the good news of the Lord Jesus. 21 The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of them became believers and turned to the Lord.
22 News of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and perceived the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord with resolute devotion, 24 for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith. And a large number of people were added to the Lord.
25 Barnabas then went to Tarsus[c] to look for Saul, 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a large number of people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.
Threats against the Church[d]
27 A Famine in the World.[e] During these days, some prophets[f] came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and predicted through the Spirit that a severe famine would afflict the entire world. This in fact occurred during the reign of Claudius. 29 The disciples decided to send relief to the brethren living in Judea, each according to his means. 30 This they did, delivering it to the elders[g] through Barnabas and Saul.
29 Jesus Heals Peter’s Mother-in-Law. Immediately on leaving the synagogue, he went with James and John into the house of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law[a] was lying in bed, sick with a fever, and they informed Jesus at once about her. 31 Jesus approached her, grasped her by the hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
32 Other Healings. That evening, after sunset, they brought to him all those who were sick or possessed by demons.[b] 33 The whole town was present, crowded around the door. 34 He cured many who were afflicted with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, although he would not permit them to speak because they knew who he was.
35 Jesus Proclaims the Message and Heals the Sick. Early the next morning, long before dawn, he arose and went off to a secluded place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions set forth in search of him, 37 and when they found him they said, “Everybody is looking for you.” 38 He replied, “Let us move on to the neighboring towns so that I may proclaim the message there as well. For this is the reason why I came.” 39 Then he traveled all throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
40 Jesus Heals a Man with Leprosy. A man with leprosy[c] approached and, kneeling before him, begged him, “If you choose to do so, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, “he stretched out his hand and touched him,[d] saying, “I do choose. Be made clean!” 42 Immediately, the leprosy left him and he was cured.
43 Jesus then sent him away at once, after first sternly warning him, 44 “See that you tell no one anything about this. Just go and show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed. That will be proof for them.”[e] 45 However, he went forth and began to proclaim the entire story, spreading the word far and wide. As a result, Jesus could no longer go openly into any town. Rather, he stayed outside in deserted places, and people continued to come to him from every quarter.
Copyright © 2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.