Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 101[a]
Norm of Life for a Good Ruler
1 A psalm of David.
I will sing of kindness and justice;
to you, O Lord, I will offer praise in song.
2 I will walk in the path of blamelessness;
when will you come to me?[b]
Within my house[c] I will act
with integrity of heart.
3 I will not allow any shameful act
to be done before my eyes.
[d]I will refuse to associate
with people who do evil.
4 Let the perverse of heart remain far from me;
I will not tolerate the wicked.
5 [e]Anyone who secretly slanders a neighbor
I will reduce to silence.
Anyone with haughty glances and an arrogant heart
I cannot endure.
6 The faithful in the land are the ones
whom I will choose to be my companions.
Only the one who follows the path of integrity
will be allowed to be my servant.
7 No one who practices deceit
will be permitted to remain in my house.
No one who utters lies
will be numbered among my companions.[f]
8 Morning after morning[g] I will banish
all the wicked from the land,
removing all evildoers from the city of the Lord.
Psalm 109[a]
Prayer for One Falsely Accused
1 For the director.[b] A psalm of David.
[c]O God, whom I praise,
do not remain silent.
2 Wicked and deceitful men
have opened their mouths against me;[d]
they have spoken against me with lying tongues.
3 They confront me with words of hatred
and assail me without cause.
4 In return for my love they denounce me
even as I offer up prayers for them.[e]
5 They give me back evil in exchange for good
and hatred in place of my love.[f]
6 [g]They say:[h]
“Choose a wicked man to oppose him,
an accuser to stand on his right.
7 At his judgment, let him be found guilty,
with even his prayers deemed sinful.[i]
8 “May his remaining days be few,
with someone else appointed to take his office.[j]
9 May his children become fatherless
and his wife become widowed.
10 “May his children be vagrants and beggars,
driven from the ruins they use for shelter.
11 May the creditor seize all he has,
and strangers abscond with his life savings.
12 [k]“May no one extend mercy to him
or take pity on his fatherless children.
13 May his posterity be doomed to extinction
and his name be blotted out within a generation.
14 “May the iniquity of his ancestors be remembered by the Lord,
and the sin of his mother never be wiped out.
15 May their guilt be continually before the Lord,
and may he banish all remembrance of them from the earth.
16 [l]“For he never thought of showing mercy;
rather, he hounded to death
the poor and the needy and the brokenhearted.
17 He loved to level curses[m] at others;
may they recoil on him.
He took no pleasure in blessing;
may no blessing be his.
18 [n]“He clothed himself with cursing as his garment;
it seeped into his body like water
and into his bones like oil.
19 May it be like the robe that envelops him,
like the belt that encircles him every day.”
20 May these evils my accusers wish for me
be inflicted upon them by the Lord.[o]
21 [p]But you, O Lord, my God,
treat me kindly for your name’s sake;[q]
deliver me because of your overwhelming kindness.
22 For I am poor and needy,[r]
and my heart is pierced within me.
23 I am fading away[s] like an evening shadow;
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak from fasting;
my flesh is wasting away.
25 I have become an object of ridicule to my accusers;
upon seeing me, they toss their heads.[t]
26 Come to my aid, O Lord, my God;
save me because of your kindness.[u]
27 Let them know that your hand has done this,
that you, O Lord, have accomplished it.
28 When they curse, you will bless;
when they attack, they will be put to shame,
and your servant will rejoice.[v]
29 My accusers will be clothed in disgrace,
wrapped in their shame as in a cloak.
30 I will thank the Lord with my lips,
and before all the people I will praise him.[w]
121 [a]Since my conduct has been just and upright,
do not abandon me to those who oppress me.
122 Guarantee the well-being of your servant;[b]
do not allow the arrogant to oppress me.
123 My eyes fail[c] as I long for your salvation
and for the promise of your justice.
124 Deal with your servant in accordance with your kindness,[d]
and teach me your decrees.
125 I am your servant; grant me discernment
so that I may understand your statutes.
126 It is time, O Lord, for you to take action;
your law has been broken.
127 That is why I love your precepts
more than gold, even the purest gold.[e]
128 That is why I regard all your commandments as right
and despise every way that is false.
Pe
129 [f]Wonderful are your statutes;
therefore, I willingly observe them.
130 The explanation[g] of your words gives light
and imparts understanding to the simple.
131 I open wide my mouth and sigh,[h]
longing eagerly for your precepts.
132 [i]Turn and have mercy on me,
as you always do to those who love your name.[j]
133 Guide my steps in accord with your word
and never let evil triumph over me.
134 Rescue me from the oppression of men
so that I may observe your commandments.
135 Allow your face to shine[k] upon your servant
and teach me your decrees.
136 Streams of tears flow from my eyes
because your law is disregarded.[l]
Sadhe
137 [m]You are righteous, O Lord,
and your judgments are right.
138 You have set down your statutes as righteous
and as completely faithful.
139 Zeal has consumed me
because my adversaries ignore your words.
140 Your word has been tested through and through,[n]
and your servant cherishes it.
141 Although I am despised and unimportant,
I do not forget your commands.
142 Your righteousness is everlasting,
and your law is forever true.
143 I am afflicted by anguish and distress,
but your precepts are my delight.
144 Your statutes are forever righteous;
grant me understanding and I will live.
Qoph
15 Look down from heaven and see,
from your holy and glorious dwelling.
Where are your zeal and your might,
your compassion and your tender mercy?
Do not withhold them from me.
16 For you are our Father.
Although Abraham does not know us
and Israel[a] does not acknowledge us,
you, O Lord, are our Father;
forever you have been called our Redeemer.
17 Why, O Lord, do you allow us
to wander from your ways,
and harden our hearts
so that we do not fear you?
Return for the sake of your servants,
for the tribes that are your heritage.
18 For a brief period of time
your people possessed your holy place,
but now your enemies have trampled down your sanctuary.
19 For far too long we have been
like those whom you do not rule,
like those who do not bear your name.
Chapter 64
1 Oh that you would tear open the heavens and come down
so that the mountains would quake in your presence,
2 as when fire sets brushwood ablaze
or causes water to boil.
Thus your name would be known to your adversaries
and the nations would tremble at your presence.
3 When you descended to perform awesome deeds
that we did not anticipate,
the mountains quaked when you appeared.
4 Throughout the ages no ear has ever heard,
nor has any eye ever seen,
any other god except you
performing such deeds for those who trust him.
5 You welcome those who lead an upright life
and rejoice to imitate your ways.
When we sin, you become angry,
but when we follow your ways,
we know that we will be saved.
6 All of us have become unclean,
and all of our righteous deeds are like filthy rags
We all become withered like leaves,
and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.
7 There is no one who invokes your name
or attempts to hold fast to you.
For you have hidden your face from us
and have delivered us up because of our sins.
8 Yet, O Lord, you are our Father;
we are the clay and you are our potter;
all of us are the work of your hands.
9 Do not let your anger go to extremes, O Lord,
and do not remember our sinfulness forever.
Look upon us all,
for we are all your people.
Chapter 3[a]
Qualifications of Bishops. This saying can be trusted: Whoever wants to be a bishop desires a noble task. 2 Therefore, a bishop must be above reproach, the husband of only one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, and a good teacher. 3 He must not be a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not prone to quarreling, not greedy.4 He must manage his own household well and ensure that his children are submissive and respectful in every way. 5 For if someone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of the Church of God? 6 He should not be a recent convert so that he will not become conceited and incur the same condemnation as the devil. 7 He must also enjoy a good reputation among outsiders so that he may not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s snare.
Qualifications of Deacons. 8 Similarly, deacons must exhibit a sense of dignity, not indulging in double-talk or excessive consumption of wine, and not being greedy. 9 They must hold fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 Let them first be tested. They can be appointed as deacons only if they are beyond reproach.
11 Women[b] must likewise exhibit a sense of dignity and not be given to spreading slander. They must be temperate and faithful in all things.
12 Deacons must have only one wife and be able to manage their children and their own households. 13 Those deacons whose work is exemplary will achieve a high standing and gain great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.
14 Greatness of the Divine Majesty. While I am hoping to come to you soon, I am writing to you about these matters 15 so that if I am delayed, you will know how to regulate your conduct in God’s household—that is, in the Church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth. 16 Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great:
He was made visible in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,[c]
seen by angels,
proclaimed to the Gentiles,
believed in throughout the world,
taken up in glory.
27 The Authority of Jesus Questioned.[a] They returned once again to Jerusalem. As Jesus was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders approached him 28 and asked, “By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you the authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question. Give me an answer, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Did John’s baptism originate from heaven or from men? Tell me!”
31 They argued among themselves, “If we say: ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 32 But how can we say, ‘From men’?”—for they were afraid of the people, who all regarded John as a true prophet.
33 Therefore, they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Then neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Chapter 12
The Parable of the Tenants.[b] 1 Then Jesus began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went off on a journey.
2 “When the time arrived, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard. 3 But they seized the servant, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again, he sent them another servant, but they beat him over the head and treated him shamefully. 5 Then he sent another, and that one they killed. He also sent many others, some of whom they beat, and others of whom they killed.
6 “Finally, he had only one other to send—his beloved son. And so he sent him to them, thinking: ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 And so they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and put those tenants to death and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not read this Scripture:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
11 by the Lord this has been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes’?”
12 They wanted to arrest him because they realized that this parable was directed at them, but they were afraid of the crowd. Therefore, they left him and went away.
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