Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 25
Dependence on the Lord
Of David.
1 Lord, I appeal to you.[a](A)
2 My God, I trust in you.
Do not let me be disgraced;(B)
do not let my enemies gloat over me.(C)
3 No one who waits for you
will be disgraced;(D)
those who act treacherously without cause
will be disgraced.(E)
4 Make your ways known to me, Lord;
teach me your paths.(F)
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,(G)
for you are the God of my salvation;(H)
I wait for you all day long.(I)
6 Remember, Lord, your compassion
and your faithful love,
for they have existed from antiquity.[b](J)
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth(K)
or my acts of rebellion;(L)
in keeping with your faithful love, remember me
because of your goodness, Lord.(M)
8 The Lord is good and upright;(N)
therefore he shows sinners the way.(O)
9 He leads the humble in what is right(P)
and teaches them his way.(Q)
10 All the Lord’s ways show faithful love and truth
to those who keep his covenant and decrees.(R)
11 Lord, for the sake of your name,
forgive my iniquity, for it is immense.(S)
12 Who is this person who fears the Lord?(T)
He will show him the way he should choose.(U)
13 He will live a good life,
and his descendants will inherit the land.[c](V)
14 The secret counsel of the Lord
is for those who fear him,
and he reveals his covenant to them.(W)
15 My eyes are always on the Lord,
for he will pull my feet out of the net.(X)
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am alone and afflicted.(Y)
17 The distresses of my heart increase;[d](Z)
bring me out of my sufferings.(AA)
18 Consider my affliction and trouble,(AB)
and forgive all my sins.(AC)
19 Consider my enemies; they are numerous,(AD)
and they hate me violently.(AE)
20 Guard me and rescue me;(AF)
do not let me be disgraced,
for I take refuge in you.(AG)
21 May integrity and what is right
watch over me,
for I wait for you.(AH)
22 God, redeem Israel, from all its distresses.(AI)
Psalm 9
Celebration of God’s Justice
For the choir director: according to Muth-labben. A psalm of David.
1 I will thank the Lord with all my heart;
I will declare all your wondrous works.(A)
2 I will rejoice and boast about you;(B)
I will sing about your name, Most High.(C)
3 When my enemies retreat,
they stumble and perish before you.(D)
4 For you have upheld my just cause;(E)
you are seated on your throne as a righteous judge.(F)
5 You have rebuked the nations:(G)
You have destroyed the wicked;(H)
you have erased their name forever and ever.(I)
6 The enemy has come to eternal ruin;
you have uprooted the cities,
and the very memory of them has perished.(J)
7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever;(K)
he has established his throne for judgment.(L)
8 And he judges the world with righteousness;
he executes judgment on the nations with fairness.(M)
9 The Lord is a refuge for the persecuted,
a refuge in times of trouble.(N)
10 Those who know your name trust in you
because you have not abandoned
those who seek you, Lord.(O)
11 Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Zion;(P)
proclaim his deeds among the nations.(Q)
12 For the one who seeks an accounting
for bloodshed remembers them;(R)
he does not forget the cry of the oppressed.(S)
13 Be gracious to me, Lord;
consider my affliction at the hands of those who hate me.(T)
Lift me up from the gates of death,(U)
14 so that I may declare all your praises.
I will rejoice in your salvation(V)
within the gates of Daughter Zion.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they made;
their foot is caught in the net they have concealed.(W)
16 The Lord has made himself known;
he has executed justice,(X)
snaring the wicked
by the work of their hands.(Y)Higgaion. Selah
Psalm 15
A Description of the Godly
A psalm of David.
2 The one who lives blamelessly, practices righteousness,
and acknowledges the truth in his heart(C)—
3 who does not slander with his tongue,(D)
who does not harm his friend
or discredit his neighbor,(E)
4 who despises the one rejected by the Lord[a]
but honors those who fear the Lord,(F)
who keeps his word whatever the cost,(G)
5 who does not lend his silver at interest(H)
or take a bribe against the innocent(I)—
the one who does these things will never be shaken.(J)
Spies Sent to Jericho
2 Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies(A) from the Acacia Grove,[a] saying, “Go and scout the land, especially Jericho.” So they left, and they came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab,(B) and stayed there.
2 The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelite men have come here tonight to investigate the land.” 3 Then the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab and said, “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house,(C) for they came to investigate the entire land.”
4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them.(D) So she said, “Yes, the men did come to me, but I didn’t know where they were from. 5 At nightfall, when the city gate was about to close, the men went out, and I don’t know where they were going. Chase after them quickly, and you can catch up with them!” 6 But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them(E) among the stalks of flax that she had arranged on the roof. 7 The men pursued them along the road to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as they left to pursue them, the city gate was shut.
The Promise to Rahab
8 Before the men fell asleep, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land(F) and that the terror of you has fallen on us,(G) and everyone who lives in the land is panicking because of you.[b](H) 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt,(I) and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings you completely destroyed(J) across the Jordan. 11 When we heard this, we lost heart,(K) and everyone’s courage failed[c] because of you,(L) for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.(M) 12 Now please swear to me by the Lord that you will also show kindness to my father’s family, because I showed kindness to you.(N) Give me a sure sign[d] 13 that you will spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them, and save us from death.”
14 The men answered her, “We will give our lives for yours. If you don’t report our mission, we will show kindness and faithfulness to you when the Lord gives us the land.”
Israel’s Rejection Not Total
11 I ask, then, has God rejected his people?(A) Absolutely not!(B) For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,(C) from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.(D) Or don’t you know(E) what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he pleads with God against Israel? 3 Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and they are trying to take my life 4 But what was God’s answer to him? I have left seven thousand for myself who have not bowed down to Baal.[b](G) 5 In the same way, then, there is also at the present time a remnant chosen by grace.(H) 6 Now if by grace,(I) then it is not by works; otherwise grace ceases to be grace.[c]
7 What then? Israel did not find what it was looking for,(J) but the elect did find it. The rest were hardened,(K) 8 as it is written,
9 And David says,
Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a pitfall and a retribution to them.
10 Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and their backs be bent continually.[e](M)
Israel’s Rejection Not Final
11 I ask, then, have they stumbled so as to fall? Absolutely not! On the contrary, by their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles(N) to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their transgression brings riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fullness bring!(O)
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
25 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins[a] who took their lamps[b] and went out to meet the groom.(A) 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise.(B) 3 When the foolish took their lamps, they didn’t take oil with them; 4 but the wise ones took oil in their flasks with their lamps. 5 When the groom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “In the middle of the night there was a shout: ‘Here’s the groom! Come out to meet him.’
7 “Then all the virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’
9 “The wise ones answered, ‘No, there won’t be enough for us and for you. Go instead to those who sell oil, and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “When they had gone to buy some, the groom arrived, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.(C) 11 Later the rest of the virgins also came and said, ‘Master, master, open up for us!’
12 “He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you!’
13 “Therefore be alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour.[c]
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