Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 1
The Two Ways
1 How happy is the one who does not
walk in the advice of the wicked
or stand in the pathway with sinners
or sit in the company of mockers!(A)
2 Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night.(B)
3 He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams[a]
that bears its fruit in its season,(C)
and its leaf does not wither.(D)
Whatever he does prospers.(E)
4 The wicked are not like this;
instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.(F)
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand up in the judgment,(G)
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
Psalm 2
Coronation of the Son
1 Why(J) do the nations rage(K)
and the peoples plot in vain?(L)
2 The kings of the earth take their stand,(M)
and the rulers conspire together
against the Lord and his Anointed One:[b](N)
3 “Let’s tear off their chains
and throw their ropes off of us.”(O)
4 The one enthroned[c] in heaven laughs;
the Lord ridicules them.(P)
5 Then he speaks to them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath:(Q)
6 “I have installed my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”(R)
7 I will declare the Lord’s decree.
He said to me, “You are my Son;[d]
today I have become your Father.(S)
8 Ask of me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance
and the ends of the earth your possession.(T)
9 You will break them with an iron scepter;
you will shatter them like pottery.”(U)
10 So now, kings, be wise;
receive instruction, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with reverential awe
and rejoice with trembling.(V)
12 Pay homage to[e] the Son or he will be angry
and you will perish in your rebellion,[f](W)
for his anger may ignite at any moment.(X)
All who take refuge in him are happy.(Y)
Psalm 3
Confidence in Troubled Times
A psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom.(Z)
1 Lord, how my foes increase!
There are many who attack me.(AA)
2 Many say about me,
“There is no help for him in God.”(AB)Selah
3 But you, Lord, are a shield around me,(AC)
my glory,(AD) and the one who lifts up my head.(AE)
4 I cry aloud to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.(AF)Selah
5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again because the Lord sustains me.(AG)
6 I will not be afraid of thousands of people
who have taken their stand against me on every side.(AH)
7 Rise up, Lord!(AI)
Save me, my God!
You strike all my enemies on the cheek;(AJ)
you break the teeth of the wicked.(AK)
8 Salvation belongs to the Lord;(AL)
may your blessing be on your people.(AM)Selah
Psalm 4
A Night Prayer
For the choir director: with stringed instruments.(AN) A psalm of David.
1 Answer me when I call,
God, who vindicates me.[g](AO)
You freed me from affliction;(AP)
be gracious to me and hear my prayer.
2 How long, exalted ones,[h] will my honor be insulted?(AQ)
How long will you love what is worthless(AR)
and pursue a lie? Selah
3 Know that the Lord has set apart
the faithful for himself;
the Lord will hear when I call to him.
4 Be angry[i] and do not sin;(AS)
reflect in your heart while on your bed and be silent.(AT) Selah
5 Offer sacrifices in righteousness[j](AU)
and trust in the Lord.(AV)
6 Many are asking, “Who can show us anything good?”
Let the light of your face shine on us, Lord.(AW)
Psalm 7
Prayer for Justice
A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.
1 Lord my God, I seek refuge in you;(A)
save me from all my pursuers and rescue me,(B)
2 or they[a] will tear me like a lion,
ripping me apart with no one to rescue me.(C)
3 Lord my God, if I have done this,
if there is injustice on my hands,(D)
4 if I have done harm to one at peace with me(E)
or have plundered[b] my adversary without cause,(F)
5 may an enemy pursue and overtake me;
may he trample me to the ground(G)
and leave my honor in the dust.(H)Selah
6 Rise up, Lord, in your anger;
lift yourself up against the fury of my adversaries;(I)
awake for me;[c](J)
you have ordained a judgment.(K)
7 Let the assembly of peoples gather around you;(L)
take your seat on high over it.(M)
8 The Lord judges the peoples;(N)
vindicate me, Lord,
according to my righteousness and my integrity.(O)
9 Let the evil of the wicked come to an end,(P)
but establish the righteous.(Q)
The one who examines the thoughts and emotions[d]
is a righteous God.(R)
10 My shield is with God,(S)
who saves the upright in heart.(T)
11 God is a righteous judge
and a God who shows his wrath every day.(U)
12 If anyone does not repent,
he will sharpen his sword;(V)
he has strung his bow and made it ready.(W)
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he tips his arrows with fire.(X)
14 See, the wicked one is pregnant with evil,
conceives trouble, and gives birth to deceit.(Y)
15 He dug a pit and hollowed it out
but fell into the hole he had made.(Z)
16 His trouble comes back on his own head;
his own violence comes down on top of his head.(AA)
17 I will thank the Lord for his righteousness;
I will sing about the name of the Lord Most High.(AB)
Man and Woman in the Garden
4 These are the records(A) of the heavens and the earth, concerning their creation. At the time[a] that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5 no shrub of the field(B) had yet grown on the land,[b] and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not made it rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground. 6 But mist would come up from the earth and water all the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground(C) and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils,(D) and the man became a living being.(E)
8 The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east,(F) and there he placed the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God caused to grow out of the ground every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden,(G) as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.(H)
10 A river went[c] out from Eden to water the garden. From there it divided and became the source of four rivers.[d] 11 The name of the first is Pishon, which flows through the entire land of Havilah,[e](I) where there is gold. 12 Gold from that land is pure;[f] bdellium[g] and onyx[h] are also there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon, which flows through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Tigris,(J) which runs east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.(K)
15 The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden,(L) 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”(M) 18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding(N) to him.” 19 The Lord God formed out of the ground every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and brought each to the man to see what he would call it.(O) And whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the man[i] no helper was found corresponding to him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to come over the man,(P) and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. 22 Then the Lord God made the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man.(Q) 23 And the man said:
This one, at last, is bone of my bone
and flesh of my flesh;
this one will be called “woman,”
for she was taken from man.(R)
24 This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.(S) 25 Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.
The Nature of the Son
1 Long ago God spoke(A) to our ancestors by the prophets(B) at different times and in different ways.(C) 2 In these last days,(D) he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things(E) and made the universe[a](F) through him. 3 The Son is the radiance[b] of God’s glory and the exact expression[c] of his nature,(G) sustaining all things by his powerful word.(H) After making purification for sins,[d] he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.[e](I) 4 So he became superior to the angels, just as the name he inherited is more excellent than theirs.(J)
The Son Superior to Angels
5 For to which of the angels did he ever say,
or again,
6 Again, when he[i] brings his firstborn into the world,(L) he says,
7 And about the angels he says:
8 but to[n] the Son:
Your throne, God,
is forever and ever,
and the scepter of your kingdom
is a scepter of justice.(O)
9 You have loved righteousness
and hated lawlessness;
this is why God, your God,
has anointed you
with the oil of joy(P)
beyond your companions.[o][p]
10 And:
In the beginning, Lord,
you established the earth,
and the heavens are the works of your hands;(Q)
11 they will perish, but you remain.
They will all wear out like clothing;(R)
12 you will roll them up like a cloak,[q]
and they will be changed like clothing.
But you are the same,
and your years will never end.[r](S)
13 Now to which of the angels has he ever said:
14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve those who are going to inherit salvation?(U)
Prologue
1 In the beginning(A) was the Word,(B) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.(C) 2 He was with God in the beginning.(D) 3 All things were created(E) through him,(F) and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In him was life,[a](G) and that life was the light(H) of men. 5 That light shines(I) in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome[b] it.(J)
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John.(K) 7 He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him.[c] 8 He was not the light, but he came to testify(L) about the light. 9 The true light(M) that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.[d](N)
10 He was in the world, and the world was created(O) through him, and yet the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive(P) him,(Q) he gave them the right(R) to be[e] children(S) of God,(T) to those who believe(U) in his name,(V) 13 who were born,(W) not of natural descent,[f] or of the will(X) of the flesh,(Y) or of the will of man,[g] but of God.(Z)
14 The Word(AA) became flesh(AB) and dwelt[h] among us. We observed his glory,(AC) the glory as the one and only(AD) Son[i] from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John testified concerning him and exclaimed, “This was the one of whom I said, ‘The one coming after me(AE) ranks ahead of me,(AF) because he existed before me.’”)(AG) 16 Indeed, we have all received grace(AH) upon[j] grace from his fullness, 17 for the law was given through Moses;(AI) grace and truth(AJ) came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. The one and only(AK) Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s(AL) side[k]—he has revealed him.(AM)
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