Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 119
Delight in God’s Word
א Aleph
1 How[a] happy are those whose way is blameless,(A)
who walk according to the Lord’s instruction!(B)
2 Happy are those who keep his decrees(C)
and seek him with all their heart.(D)
3 They do nothing wrong;(E)
they walk in his ways.
4 You have commanded that your precepts(F)
be diligently kept.
5 If only my ways were committed
to keeping your statutes!(G)
6 Then I would not be ashamed(H)
when I think about all your commands.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart(I)
when I learn your righteous judgments.
8 I will keep your statutes;
never abandon me.(J)
ב Beth
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping your[b] word.(K)
10 I have sought you with all my heart;(L)
don’t let me wander from your commands.(M)
11 I have treasured your word in my heart(N)
so that I may not sin against you.
12 Lord, may you be blessed;
teach me your statutes.(O)
13 With my lips I proclaim
all the judgments from your mouth.(P)
14 I rejoice in the way revealed by your decrees(Q)
as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts(R)
and think about your ways.(S)
16 I will delight in your statutes;(T)
I will not forget your word.
ג Gimel
17 Deal generously with your servant(U)
so that I might live;
then I will keep your word.
18 Open my eyes so that I may contemplate
wondrous things from your instruction.
19 I am a resident alien on earth;(V)
do not hide your commands from me.
20 I am continually overcome
with longing for your judgments.(W)
21 You rebuke the arrogant,
the ones under a curse,(X)
who wander from your commands.(Y)
22 Take insult and contempt away from me,(Z)
for I have kept your decrees.
23 Though princes sit together speaking against me,(AA)
your servant will think about your statutes;(AB)
24 your decrees are my delight
and my counselors.(AC)
Psalm 12
Oppression by the Wicked
For the choir director: according to Sheminith.(A) A psalm of David.
1 Help, Lord, for no faithful one remains;
the loyal have disappeared from the human race.[a](B)
2 They lie to one another;
they speak with flattering lips and deceptive hearts.(C)
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips
and the tongue that speaks boastfully.(D)
4 They say, “Through our tongues we have power;
our lips are our own—who can be our master?” (E)
5 “Because of the devastation of the needy
and the groaning of the poor,
I will now rise up,” says the Lord.
“I will provide safety for the one who longs for it.”(F)
6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in an earthen furnace,
purified seven times.(G)
7 You, Lord, will guard us;[b]
you will protect us[c] from this generation forever.(H)
8 The wicked prowl[d] all around,
and what is worthless is exalted by the human race.(I)
Psalm 13
A Plea for Deliverance
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?(J)
2 How long will I store up anxious concerns[e] within me,
agony in my mind every day?
How long will my enemy dominate me?(K)
3 Consider me and answer, Lord my God.
Restore brightness to my eyes;(L)
otherwise, I will sleep in death.
4 My enemy will say, “I have triumphed over him,”
and my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.(M)
5 But I have trusted in your faithful love;(N)
my heart will rejoice in your deliverance.(O)
6 I will sing to the Lord
because he has treated me generously.(P)
Psalm 14
A Portrait of Sinners
For the choir director. Of David.
1 The fool says in his heart, “There’s no God.”(Q)
They are corrupt; they do vile deeds.
There is no one who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the human race[f](R)
to see if there is one who is wise,
one who seeks God.
3 All have turned away;
all alike have become corrupt.
There is no one who does good,
not even one.(S)
4 Will evildoers never understand?
They consume my people as they consume bread;(T)
they do not call on the Lord.(U)
Water Provided
22 Then Moses led Israel on from the Red Sea, and they went out to the Wilderness of Shur. They journeyed for three days in the wilderness without finding water. 23 They came to Marah, but they could not drink the water at Marah because it was bitter—that is why it was named Marah.[a] 24 The people grumbled to Moses, “What are we going to drink?” (A) 25 So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he threw it into the water, the water became drinkable.
The Lord made a statute and ordinance for them at Marah, and he tested them there.(B) 26 He said, “If you will carefully obey the Lord your God, do what is right in his sight, pay attention to his commands, and keep all his statutes, I will not inflict any illnesses on you that I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”(C)
27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy date palms, and they camped there by the water.
Manna and Quail Provided
16 The entire Israelite community departed from Elim and came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt.(D) 2 The entire Israelite community grumbled(E) against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger!” (F)
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. This way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.(G) 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.”[b]
6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “This evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt,(H) 7 and in the morning you will see the Lord’s glory because he has heard your complaints about him. For who are we that you complain about us?” (I) 8 Moses continued, “The Lord will give you meat to eat this evening and all the bread you want in the morning, for he has heard the complaints that you are raising against him. Who are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the Lord.”(J)
9 Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your complaints.’” 10 As Aaron was speaking to the entire Israelite community, they turned toward the wilderness, and there in a cloud the Lord’s glory appeared.(K)
The Living Stone and a Holy People
2 Therefore, rid yourselves of(A) all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander.(B) 2 Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word,[a](C) so that by it you may grow up into your salvation, 3 if you have tasted(D) that the Lord is good.[b](E) 4 As you come to him, a living stone—rejected by people but chosen and honored by[c] God— 5 you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood[d] to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God(F) through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture:
See, I lay a stone in Zion,(G)
a chosen and honored[e] cornerstone,(H)
and the one who believes in him
will never be put to shame.[f](I)
7 So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving,
8 and
They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined(L) for this.
9 But you are a chosen race,[i][j](M) a royal priesthood,[k](N) a holy nation,[l](O) a people for his possession,[m](P) so that you may proclaim the praises[n][o](Q) of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.(R) 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy,(S) but now you have received mercy.
The Vine and the Branches
15 “I am(A) the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes,(B) and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. 3 You are already clean(C) because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.(D) 5 I am the vine; (E) you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit,(F) because you can do nothing without me. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside(G) like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire,(H) and they are burned.(I) 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you.(J) 8 My Father is glorified(K) by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be[a] my disciples.
Christlike Love
9 “As the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Remain in my love.(L) 10 If you keep my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.(M)
11 “I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.(N)
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