Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 5
The Refuge of the Righteous
For the choir director: with the flutes. A psalm of David.
1 Listen to my words, Lord;
consider my sighing.(A)
2 Pay attention to the sound of my cry,(B)
my King and my God,(C)
for I pray to you.
3 In the morning,(D) Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I plead my case to you(E) and watch expectantly.
4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil cannot dwell with you.(F)
5 The boastful cannot stand in your sight;(G)
you hate all evildoers.(H)
6 You destroy those who tell lies;(I)
the Lord abhors violent and treacherous people.(J)
7 But I enter your house
by the abundance of your faithful love;(K)
I bow down toward your holy temple
in reverential awe of you.(L)
8 Lord, lead me in your righteousness(M)
because of my adversaries;
make your way straight before me.(N)
9 For there is nothing reliable in what they say;(O)
destruction is within them;
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongues.(P)
10 Punish them, God;
let them fall by their own schemes.(Q)
Drive them out(R) because of their many crimes,
for they rebel against you.(S)
11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;(T)
let them shout for joy forever.
May you shelter them,(U)
and may those who love your name boast about you.(V)
12 For you, Lord, bless the righteous one;
you surround him with favor like a shield.(W)
Psalm 6
A Prayer for Mercy
For the choir director: with stringed instruments, according to Sheminith.(X) A psalm of David.
1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger;
do not discipline me in your wrath.(Y)
2 Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am weak;[a](Z)
heal me,(AA) Lord, for my bones are shaking;(AB)
3 my whole being is shaken with terror.(AC)
And you, Lord—how long?(AD)
4 Turn, Lord! Rescue me;
save me because of your faithful love.(AE)
5 For there is no remembrance of you in death;
who can thank you in Sheol?(AF)
Psalm 10
Need for God’s Justice
1 Lord,[a][b] why do you stand so far away?(A)
Why do you hide in times of trouble?(B)
2 In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue their victims;
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.(C)
3 For the wicked one boasts about his own cravings;(D)
the one who is greedy curses[c] and despises the Lord.(E)
4 In all his scheming,
the wicked person arrogantly thinks,[d]
“There’s no accountability,
since there’s no God.”(F)
5 His ways are always secure;[e]
your lofty judgments have no effect on him;[f]
he scoffs at all his adversaries.(G)
6 He says to himself, “I will never be moved—
from generation to generation I will be without calamity.”(H)
7 Cursing, deceit, and violence fill his mouth;
trouble and malice are under his tongue.(I)
8 He waits in ambush near settlements;(J)
he kills the innocent in secret places.
His eyes are on the lookout for the helpless;(K)
9 he lurks in secret like a lion in a thicket.
He lurks in order to seize a victim;
he seizes a victim and drags him in his net.
10 So he is oppressed and beaten down;
helpless people fall because of the wicked one’s strength.(L)
11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten;
he hides his face and will never see.”(M)
12 Rise up, Lord God! Lift up your hand.(N)
Do not forget the oppressed.(O)
13 Why has the wicked person despised God?
He says to himself, “You will not demand an account.”(P)
14 But you yourself have seen trouble and grief,
observing it in order to take the matter into your hands.(Q)
The helpless one entrusts himself to you;
you are a helper of the fatherless.(R)
15 Break the arm of the wicked, evil person,(S)
until you look for his wickedness,
but it can’t be found.(T)
16 The Lord is King forever and ever;(U)
the nations will perish from his land.(V)
17 Lord, you have heard the desire of the humble;
you will strengthen their hearts.
You will listen carefully,(W)
18 doing justice for the fatherless and the oppressed
so that mere humans from the earth may terrify them no more.(X)
Psalm 11
Refuge in the Lord
For the choir director. Of David.
1 I have taken refuge in the Lord.(Y)
How can you say to me,
“Escape to the mountains[g] like a bird!(Z)
2 For look, the wicked string bows;
they put their arrows on bowstrings
to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.(AA)
3 When the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?” (AB)
4 The Lord is in his holy temple;(AC)
the Lord—his throne is in heaven.(AD)
His eyes watch;
his gaze[h] examines everyone.[i]
5 The Lord examines the righteous,
but he hates the wicked
and[j] those who love violence.(AE)
6 Let him rain burning coals[k] and sulfur on the wicked;
let a scorching wind be the portion in their cup.(AF)
7 For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds.
The upright will see his face.(AG)
A Father’s Example
4 Listen, sons, to a father’s discipline,(A)
and pay attention so that you may gain understanding,
2 for I am giving you good instruction.(B)
Don’t abandon my teaching.
3 When I was a son with my father,
tender and precious to my mother,
4 he taught me and said,
“Your heart must hold on to my words.
Keep my commands and live.(C)
5 Get wisdom, get understanding;(D)
don’t forget or turn away from the words from my mouth.
6 Don’t abandon wisdom, and she will watch over you;
love her,(E) and she will guard you.
7 Wisdom is supreme—so get wisdom.
And whatever else you get, get understanding.(F)
8 Cherish her, and she will exalt you;
if you embrace her, she will honor you.(G)
9 She will place a garland of favor on your head;
she will give you a crown of beauty.”(H)
Two Ways of Life
10 Listen, my son. Accept my words,(I)
and you will live many years.(J)
11 I am teaching you the way of wisdom;
I am guiding you on straight paths.(K)
12 When you walk, your steps will not be hindered;(L)
when you run, you will not stumble.(M)
13 Hold on to instruction; don’t let go.(N)
Guard it, for it is your life.
14 Keep off the path of the wicked;(O)
don’t proceed on the way of evil ones.
15 Avoid it; don’t travel on it.
Turn away from it, and pass it by.
16 For they can’t sleep
unless they have done what is evil;
they are robbed of sleep
unless they make someone stumble.(P)
17 They eat the bread of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence.
18 The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,(Q)
shining brighter and brighter until midday.
19 But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom;(R)
they don’t know what makes them stumble.(S)
The Straight Path
20 My son, pay attention to my words;
listen closely to my sayings.(T)
21 Don’t lose sight of them;(U)
keep them within your heart.
22 For they are life to those who find them,
and health to one’s whole body.
23 Guard your heart above all else,[a]
for it is the source of life.(V)
24 Don’t let your mouth speak dishonestly,(W)
and don’t let your lips talk deviously.
25 Let your eyes look forward;
fix your gaze[b] straight ahead.(X)
26 Carefully consider the path[c] for your feet,(Y)
and all your ways will be established.
27 Don’t turn to the right or to the left;(Z)
keep your feet away from evil.
Knowing God through Love
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God(A) and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 God’s love was revealed among us[a] in this way: God sent(B) his one and only Son(C) into the world so that we might live(D) through him. 10 Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us(E) and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice[b](F) for our sins. 11 Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.(G) 12 No one has ever seen God.(H) If we love one another, God remains in[c] us and his love is made complete in us. 13 This is how we know that we remain in him(I) and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.(J) 14 And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent his Son(K) as the world’s Savior. 15 Whoever confesses(L) that Jesus is the Son of God—God remains in him and he in God. 16 And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. 17 In this, love is made complete with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment,(M) because as he is, so also are we in this world.(N) 18 There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear,(O) because fear involves punishment.[d] So the one who fears is not complete in love.(P) 19 We love[e] because he first loved us.(Q) 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and yet hates his brother or sister,(R) he is a liar.(S) For the person who does not love his brother or sister(T) whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.[f] 21 And we have this command from him: The one who loves God must also love his brother and sister.
7 As these men were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind?(A) 8 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothes? See, those who wear soft clothes are in royal palaces. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.(B) 10 This is the one about whom it is written:
11 “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared,[b] but the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been suffering violence,[c] and the violent have been seizing it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if you’re willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come.(D) 15 Let anyone who has ears[d] listen.(E)
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