Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 119
א Aleph
1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,
and who seek Him with all their heart.
3 They also do no wrong;
they walk in His ways.
4 You have commanded us
to keep Your precepts diligently.
5 Oh, that my ways were established
to keep Your statutes!
6 Then I shall not be ashamed,
when I have my focus on all Your commandments.
7 I will praise You with an upright heart,
when I have learned Your righteous judgments.
8 I will keep Your statutes;
do not completely abandon me.
ב Beth
9 How shall a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping it according to Your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek You;
do not allow me to wander from Your commandments.
11 Your word I have hidden in my heart,
that I might not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, O Lord;
teach me Your statutes.
13 With my lips I declare
all the decrees of Your mouth.
14 I rejoice in the way of Your testimonies,
as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on Your precepts
and keep my eyes on Your ways.
16 I will delight in Your statutes;
I will not forget Your word.
ג Gimel
17 Deal kindly with Your servant, that I may live
and keep Your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things from Your law.
19 I am a sojourner in the land;
do not hide Your commandments from me.
20 My soul is consumed all the time
with a longing for Your decrees.
21 You have rebuked the proud, those cursed,
who depart from Your commandments.
22 Remove from me reproach and contempt,
for I have kept Your testimonies.
23 Even if princes sit and conspire against me,
Your servant will meditate on Your statutes.
24 Your testimonies are my delight
and my counselors.
Psalm 12
For the Music Director. According to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
1 Help, Lord, for the godly man comes to an end,
for the faithful disappear from sons of men.
2 They speak empty words, each with his own neighbor;
they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
3 The Lord will cut off all flattering lips,
and the tongue that speaks proud things,
4 who have said, “With our tongue will we prevail;
our lips are in our control, who is master over us?”
5 “Because the poor are plundered,
because the needy sigh,
now I will arise,” says the Lord;
“I will place him in the safety for which he yearns.”
6 The words of the Lord are pure words;
they are silver tried in an earthen furnace
refined seven times.
7 You will keep them, O Lord;
You will preserve them from this generation.
8 The wicked walk on every side,
when the worthless of mankind are exalted.
Psalm 13
For the Music Director. A Psalm of David.
1 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me for good?
How long will you hide Your face from me?
2 How long will I harbor cares in my soul
and sorrow in my heart by day?
How long will my enemy loom over me?
3 Take note and answer me, O Lord my God!
Brighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 lest my enemy say, “I have him,”
lest my foes exult when I stumble.
5 I for my part confide in Your kindness;
may my heart exult in Your salvation!
6 I will sing to the Lord,
because He has dealt bountifully with me.
Psalm 14(A)
For the Music Director. A Psalm of David.
1 The fool has said in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,
there is none who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven
on the children of men,
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek God.
3 They all turn aside,
together they become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.
4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge,
who eat my people as they eat bread,
but do not call on the Lord?
5 There they were in great fear,
for God is with the generation of the righteous.
6 You shame the counsel of the poor,
but the Lord is his refuge.
7 Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion!
When the Lord turns back the captivity of His people,
Jacob will rejoice, and Israel will be glad.
Samuel Anoints David as King
16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him from ruling over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for Myself from among his sons.”
2 Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.”
And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you will do. And you will anoint for Me him whom I tell to you.”
4 Samuel did that which the Lord spoke, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come in peace?”
5 And he said, “I have come in peace to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and called them to the sacrifice.
6 When they came, he looked on Eliab, and said, “Surely the anointed of the Lord is before Him.”
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees. For man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 So Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all your young men?”
And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is shepherding the flock.”
Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.”
12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy with beautiful eyes and a good appearance.
And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord came on David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
Peter and Cornelius
10 In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, the centurion[a] of a band of soldiers called the Italian Detachment, 2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave many alms to the people and continually prayed to God. 3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius.”
4 When he looked at him he was afraid, and said, “What is it, Lord?”
He said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up as a memorial before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa, and bring back Simon whose surname is Peter. 6 He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must do.”
7 When the angel who spoke to him had departed, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier from among those who continually waited on him. 8 When he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
9 The next day as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray about the sixth hour. 10 He became very hungry and desired to eat. But while they prepared a meal, he fell into a trance 11 and saw heaven opened, and a vessel like a great sheet, tied at the four corners, descending to him, and let down to the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth and wild beasts and reptiles and birds of the air. 13 Then a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”
14 Peter said, “Not at all, Lord. For I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”
15 The voice spoke to him a second time: “What God has cleansed, do not call common.”
16 This happened three times. And again the vessel was taken up into heaven.
12 But Peter rose and ran to the tomb. Stooping down, he saw the linen clothes lying by themselves. He departed, wondering in himself what had happened.
The Walk to Emmaus(A)
13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they communed and reasoned together, Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.
17 He said to them, “What kind of communication are you sharing with one another while you are walking and are sad?”
18 One of them, named Cleopas, answered Him, “Are You the only foreigner in Jerusalem who does not know what has happened there in these days?”
19 He said to them, “What things?”
They said to Him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, powerful in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death and crucified Him. 21 But we were hoping that it was He who was to redeem Israel. Moreover, today is the third day since these things happened. 22 Even some women from among us, who arrived early at the tomb, surprised us. 23 When they did not find His body, they returned saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that He was alive. 24 Then some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said. But they did not see Him.”
25 He said to them, “O fools! And slow of heart to believe what the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter His glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
28 They drew near the village where they were traveling, and He seemed to be going farther. 29 But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us. For it is nearly evening and the day is far spent.” So He went in to stay with them.
30 As He sat at supper with them, He took the bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him. And He vanished out of their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the way and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”
33 They rose up and returned to Jerusalem at once. And they found the eleven and those who were with them assembled together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they reported what had happened on the way, and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.