Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 40[a]
Gratitude and Prayer for Help
1 For the leader. A psalm of David.
A
2 Surely, I wait for the Lord;
who bends down to me and hears my cry,(A)
3 Draws me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the muddy clay,(B)
Sets my feet upon rock,
steadies my steps,
4 And puts a new song[b] in my mouth,(C)
a hymn to our God.
Many shall look on in fear
and they shall trust in the Lord.
5 Blessed the man who sets
his security in the Lord,
who turns not to the arrogant
or to those who stray after falsehood.(D)
6 You, yes you, O Lord, my God,
have done many wondrous deeds!
And in your plans for us
there is none to equal you.(E)
Should I wish to declare or tell them,
too many are they to recount.(F)
7 [c]Sacrifice and offering you do not want;(G)
you opened my ears.
Holocaust and sin-offering you do not request;
8 so I said, “See; I come
with an inscribed scroll written upon me.
9 I delight to do your will, my God;
your law is in my inner being!”(H)
10 When I sing of your righteousness
in a great assembly,
See, I do not restrain my lips;
as you, Lord, know.(I)
11 I do not conceal your righteousness
within my heart;
I speak of your loyalty and your salvation.
I do not hide your mercy or faithfulness from a great assembly.
12 Lord, may you not withhold
your compassion from me;
May your mercy and your faithfulness
continually protect me.(J)
B
13 But evils surround me
until they cannot be counted.
My sins overtake me,
so that I can no longer see.
They are more numerous than the hairs of my head;
my courage fails me.(K)
14 Lord, graciously rescue me!(L)
Come quickly to help me, Lord!
15 May those who seek to destroy my life
be shamed and confounded.
Turn back in disgrace
those who desire my ruin.(M)
16 Let those who say to me “Aha!”(N)
Be made desolate on account of their shame.
17 While those who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you.
May those who long for your salvation
always say, “The Lord is great.”(O)
18 Though I am afflicted and poor,
my Lord keeps me in mind.
You are my help and deliverer;
my God, do not delay!
Psalm 54[a]
Confident Prayer in Great Peril
1 For the leader. On stringed instruments. A maskil of David, 2 when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “David is hiding among us.”(A)
I
3 O God, by your name[b] save me.
By your strength defend my cause.
4 O God, hear my prayer.
Listen to the words of my mouth.
5 Strangers have risen against me;
the ruthless seek my life;
they do not keep God before them.(B)
Selah
II
6 God is present as my helper;(C)
the Lord sustains my life.
7 Turn back the evil upon my foes;
in your faithfulness, destroy them.(D)
8 Then I will offer you generous sacrifice
and give thanks to your name, Lord, for it is good.
9 Because it has rescued me from every trouble,
and my eyes look down on my foes.(E)
Psalm 51[a]
The Miserere: Prayer of Repentance
1 For the leader. A psalm of David, 2 when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had gone in to Bathsheba.(A)
I
3 Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love;
in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions.
4 Thoroughly wash away my guilt;
and from my sin cleanse me.
5 For I know my transgressions;
my sin is always before me.(B)
6 Against you, you alone have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your eyes
So that you are just in your word,
and without reproach in your judgment.(C)
7 Behold, I was born in guilt,
in sin my mother conceived me.[b](D)
8 Behold, you desire true sincerity;
and secretly you teach me wisdom.
9 Cleanse me with hyssop,[c] that I may be pure;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.(E)
10 You will let me hear gladness and joy;
the bones you have crushed will rejoice.
II
11 Turn away your face from my sins;
blot out all my iniquities.
12 A clean heart create for me, God;
renew within me a steadfast spirit.(F)
13 Do not drive me from before your face,
nor take from me your holy spirit.(G)
14 Restore to me the gladness of your salvation;
uphold me with a willing spirit.
15 I will teach the wicked your ways,
that sinners may return to you.
16 Rescue me from violent bloodshed, God, my saving God,
and my tongue will sing joyfully of your justice.(H)
17 Lord, you will open my lips;
and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
18 For you do not desire sacrifice[d] or I would give it;
a burnt offering you would not accept.(I)
19 My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn.
III
12 Resplendent and unfading is Wisdom,
and she is readily perceived by those who love her,
and found by those who seek her.(A)
13 She hastens to make herself known to those who desire her;(B)
14 one who watches for her at dawn will not be disappointed,
for she will be found sitting at the gate.
15 For setting your heart on her is the perfection of prudence,
and whoever keeps vigil for her is quickly free from care;
16 Because she makes her rounds, seeking those worthy of her,
and graciously appears to them on the way,
and goes to meet them with full attention.(C)
17 [a]For the first step toward Wisdom is an earnest desire for discipline;(D)
18 then, care for discipline is love of her;
love means the keeping of her laws;
To observe her laws is the basis for incorruptibility;
19 and incorruptibility makes one close to God;
20 thus the desire for Wisdom leads to a kingdom.
21 If, then, you find pleasure in throne and scepter, you princes of peoples,
honor Wisdom, that you may reign as kings forever.
II. Praise of Wisdom by Solomon[b]
Introduction
22 Now what wisdom is, and how she came to be I shall proclaim;
and I shall conceal no secrets from you,
But from the very beginning I shall search out
and bring to light knowledge of her;
I shall not diverge from the truth.(E)
23 Neither shall I admit consuming jealousy to my company,
because that can have no fellowship with Wisdom.(F)
IV. The Ideal Christian Life in the World
Chapter 3
Mystical Death and Resurrection.[a] 1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.(A) 2 Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.(B) 4 When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.
Renunciation of Vice.[b] 5 Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly:(C) immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry.[c] 6 Because of these the wrath of God[d] is coming [upon the disobedient].(D) 7 By these you too once conducted yourselves, when you lived in that way. 8 But now you must put them all away:[e] anger, fury, malice, slander, and obscene language out of your mouths.(E) 9 Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices(F) 10 [f]and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator.(G) 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian,[g] slave, free; but Christ is all and in all.(H)
Chapter 7
The Healing of a Centurion’s Slave.(A) 1 [a]When he had finished all his words to the people, he entered Capernaum.[b] 2 A centurion[c] there had a slave who was ill and about to die, and he was valuable to him. 3 When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and save the life of his slave. 4 They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying, “He deserves to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us.” 6 And Jesus went with them, but when he was only a short distance from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof.[d] 7 Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him and, turning, said to the crowd following him, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 10 When the messengers returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.
Raising of the Widow’s Son.[e] 11 (B)Soon afterward he journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her.(C) 13 When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.(D) 16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming, “A great prophet has arisen in our midst,” and “God has visited his people.”(E) 17 This report about him spread through the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region.
The Messengers from John the Baptist.[f]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.