Book of Common Prayer
Prologue—Psalms 1–2[a]
Psalm 1[b]
True Happiness
1 Blessed[c] is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stand in the way of sinners,
nor sit in the company of scoffers.
2 Rather, his delight is in the law of the Lord,[d]
and on that law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted near streams of water,
which bears fruit in its season,
and whose leaves never wither.[e]
In the same way,
everything he does will prosper.
4 This is not true of the wicked,
for they are like chaff that the wind blows away.[f]
5 Therefore, the wicked will not stand firm at the judgment,[g]
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord watches over[h] the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 2[i]
Universal Reign of the Messiah
1 Why do the nations rage
and the peoples devise futile plots?
2 The kings of the earth rise up,
and the princes conspire together
against the Lord
and against his Anointed One:[j]
3 “Let us finally break their shackles
and cast away their chains from us.”
4 The one who is enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord mocks their plans.
5 Then he rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
6 “I myself have anointed my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”[k]
7 I will proclaim the decree[l] of the Lord:
He said to me, “You are my son;
this day I have begotten you.”
8 Simply make the request of me,
and I will give you the nations as your inheritance,
and the ends of the earth as your possession.[m]
9 You will rule them with an iron scepter;
you will shatter them like a potter’s vessel.[n]
10 Therefore, O kings, pay heed;
take warning, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice before him;
with trembling 12 bow down in homage[o]
lest he become angry
and you perish from the way,
for his wrath can flare up in an instant.
Blessed are all those
who take refuge in him.
Book I—Psalms 3–41[p]
Psalm 3[q]
Trust in God in Time of Danger
1 A psalm of David. When he was fleeing from his son Absalom.
2 O Lord, how great is the number of my enemies,
how many are those who rise up against me.
3 How numerous are the ones who say of me,
“He will not receive salvation from God.” Selah[r]
4 But you, O Lord, are a shield to protect me;
you are my glory and the one who raises my head high.[s]
5 Whenever I cry aloud to the Lord,
he answers me from his holy mountain.[t] Selah
6 I lie down and sleep;
I awaken again, for the Lord sustains me.[u]
7 Thus, I will not fear the multitudes
who have surrounded me on every side.
8 Rise up, O Lord!
Rescue me, O my God!
You will strike all my enemies across the face[v]
and break the teeth of the wicked.
9 Salvation comes from the Lord.
May your blessing be upon your people. Selah
Psalm 4[w]
Joyful Confidence in God
1 For the director.[x] With stringed instruments. A psalm of David.
2 When I call upon you, answer me, O God,
you who uphold my rights.
When I was in distress, you set me free;
have pity on me and listen to my prayer.
3 How long[y] will you people turn my glory into shame,
cherishing what is worthless and pursuing what is false? Selah
4 Remember that the Lord wonderfully favors those who are faithful,[z]
and the Lord listens when I call out to him.
5 [aa]When you are angry, be careful not to sin;
reflect in silence
as you lie upon your beds. Selah
6 Offer worthy sacrifices
and place your trust in the Lord.
7 Many exclaim, “Who will show us better times!
Let the light of your face shine on[ab] us, O Lord!”
8 You have granted my heart[ac] greater joy
than others experience when grain and wine abound.
9 In peace I lie down and sleep,
for only with your help, O Lord,
can I rest secure.
Psalm 7[a]
Appeal to the Divine Judge
1 A plaintive song of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush,[b] a Benjaminite.
2 O Lord, my God, I take refuge in you;
keep me safe from all my pursuers and deliver me,
3 lest like a lion they tear me to pieces
and carry me off, with no one to rescue me.
4 O Lord, my God, if I have done this,
if my hands are stained with guilt,
5 if I have repaid a friend with treachery—
I who spared the lives of those who without cause were my enemies—[c]
6 then let my foe pursue and overtake me;
let him trample my life into the ground
and leave my honor in the dust. Selah
7 Rise up, O Lord, in your indignation;
rise against the fury of my enemies.
Rouse yourself for me,
and fulfill the judgment you have decreed.
8 Let the peoples assemble in your presence
as you sit above them enthroned on high.
9 The Lord is the judge of the nations.
Therefore, pass judgment on me, O Lord, according to my righteousness,
according to my innocence, O Most High.
10 Put an end to the malice of the wicked
but continue to sustain the righteous,
O God of justice,
you who search minds and hearts.[d]
11 God is a shield to me;
he saves those who are upright of heart.
12 God is a just judge,
a God who expresses his indignation every day.
13 When a sinner refuses to repent,
God sharpens his sword,
and he bends and aims his bow.
14 He has prepared deadly weapons for him
and made his arrows into fiery shafts.
15 [e]Behold, he who conceives iniquity
and is pregnant with mischief
will give birth to lies.
16 He digs a pit and makes it deep,
but he will fall into the trap he has made.
17 His wickedness will recoil upon his own head,
and his violence will fall back on his own crown.
18 I will offer thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness,
and I will sing hymns of praise[f] to the name of the Lord Most High.
The Trial of Israel
For Three Crimes of Israel
6 Thus says the Lord:
For three crimes of Israel, and for four,
I will not revoke my decree.
They sell righteous people for silver
and the poor for a pair of sandals.
7 They have trampled the heads of the poor
into the dust of the earth
and thrust the lowly out of their way.
Father and son lie with the same prostitute,
profaning my holy name.
8 They lie down beside every altar
upon garments acquired as surety,[a]
while drinking in the house of their God
the wine purchased with the fines they impose.
9 Yet I was the one
who destroyed the Amorites[b] before them;
they were as tall as the cedars
and as strong as the oaks.
I was the one
who destroyed their fruit above
and their roots below.
10 I was the one
who brought you up from the land of Egypt
and for forty years led you through the desert
to take possession of the land of the Amorites.
11 I was the one
who raised up some of your sons to be prophets
and some of your young men to be Nazirites.
Is this not indeed true, O Israelites?
says the Lord.
12 But you forced the Nazirites to drink wine
and commanded the prophets, “Do not prophesy!”
13 Therefore, I will crush you
just as a cart crushes when it is fully laden.
14 The swift will be unable to take flight;
the strong man will not retain his strength,
and the warrior will be unable to save his life.
15 The archer will not stand his ground;
the swift of foot will not escape,
nor will the horseman save his life.
16 Even the bravest of warriors
will flee away naked on that day,
says the Lord.
Salutation
Chapter 1
Address.[a] 1 Simon Peter,[b] a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: 2 may grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge[c] of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Exhortation to Growth in Christian Virtues
Strengthen Your Vocation.[d] 3 His divine power has bestowed on us everything that is necessary for life and for devotion through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and virtue. 4 By these he has given us his precious promises, great beyond all price, so that through them you may escape from the corruption with which evil desires have infected the world and thereby may come to share in the divine nature.[e]
5 [f]In view of all this, you should make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with piety, 7 and piety with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love.
8 If you possess these qualities and they increase in abundance, they will prevent your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ from being ineffective and unfruitful. 9 For anyone who lacks them is near-sighted or blind, since he has forgotten how his past sins were washed away.[g]
10 Therefore, brethren, be diligent in providing a firm foundation for your call and election. If you do this, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a glorious welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.[h]
Encounters at Jerusalem
Chapter 21
The Entry into Jerusalem.[a] 1 When they drew near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent off two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village directly ahead of you, and as soon as you enter you will find a tethered donkey and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, tell them, ‘The Lord needs them.’ Then he will let you have them at once.” 4 This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the prophet:
5 “Say to the daughter of Zion:[b]
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”
6 The disciples went off and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their cloaks on their backs, and he sat on them.[c] 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that preceded him and those that followed kept shouting:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord![d]
Hosanna in the highest!”
10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was filled with excitement. “Who is this?” the people asked, 11 and the crowds replied, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Copyright © 2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.