Book of Common Prayer
BOOK I (Psalms 1-41)
The Righteous and the Wicked[a]
1 How blessed is the person,
who does not take[b] the advice of the wicked,
who does not stand on the path with sinners,
and who does not sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But he delights in the Lord’s instruction,[c]
and meditates in his instruction[d] day and night.
3 He will be like a tree planted by streams of water,
yielding its fruit in its season,
and whose leaf does not wither.
He will prosper in everything he does.
4 But this is not the case with the wicked.
They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not escape[e] judgment,
nor will sinners have a place[f] in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will be destroyed.
The Nations and God’s Anointed
2 Why are the nations in an uproar,
and their people involved in a vain plot?
2 As the kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers conspire together against the Lord and his anointed one, they say,[g]
3 “Let us tear off their shackles from us,[h]
and cast off their chains.”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
5 In his anger he rebukes them,
and in his wrath he terrifies them:
6 “I have set my king on Zion,
my holy mountain.”
The Anointed King Speaks
7 Let me announce the decree of the Lord
that he told me:
“You are my son,
today I have become your father.
8 Ask of me, and I will give you
the nations as your inheritance,
the ends of the earth as your possession.
9 You will break them with an iron rod,
you will shatter them like pottery.”
10 Therefore, kings, act wisely!
Earthly rulers, be warned!
11 Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss[i] the son before he becomes[j] angry,
and you die where you stand.[k]
Indeed, his wrath can flare up quickly.
How blessed are those who take refuge in him.
A Davidic Psalm, when he fled from his son Absalom.
God Delivers His Servants
3 Lord, I have so many persecutors!
Many are rising up against me!
2 Many are saying about me,
“God will never deliver him!”
3 But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.
4 I cry aloud[l] to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.
5 I lie down and sleep,
I wake up, because the Lord sustains me.
6 I will not fear multitudes of[m] people,
who set themselves against me on every side.
7 Arise, Lord!
Deliver me, my God!
For you strike the jaw of all my enemies,
and you break the teeth of the wicked.
8 Deliverance comes from the Lord!
May your blessing be on your people.
To the Director: With stringed instruments. A Davidic Psalm
Trust God under Adversity
4 When I call, answer me,
my righteous God![n]
When I was in distress, you set me free.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.
2 You people,
how long will you malign my reputation?
How long will you love what is vain[o]
and what is false?
3 But understand this:[p]
the Lord has set apart the godly for himself!
The Lord will hear me when I cry out to him!
A Davidic psalm,[a] which he sang to the Lord, because of the words of Cush the descendant of Benjamin.
A Prayer for Vindication
7 Lord, my God,
I seek refuge in you.
Deliver me from those who persecute me!
Rescue me!
2 Otherwise, they will rip me to shreds like a lion,
tearing me[b] apart with no one to rescue me.[c]
3 Lord, my God, if I have done this thing,
if there is injustice on my hands,
4 if I have rewarded those who did me good with evil,
if I have plundered my enemy without justification,
5 then, let my enemy pursue me,
let him overtake me,
and let him trample my life to the ground.
Let him put my honor into the dust.
6 Get up, Lord, in your anger!
Rise up, because of the fury of my enemies;
Arouse yourself for me;
you have ordained justice.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples gather around you,
and you will sit[d] high above them.
8 For the Lord will judge the peoples.
Judge me according to my righteousness, Lord,
and according to my integrity, Exalted One.
9 Let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
but establish the righteous.
For you are the righteous God
who discerns the inner thoughts.[e]
10 God is my shield,[f]
the one who delivers the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
a God who is angry with sinners[g] every day.
12 If the ungodly one[h] doesn’t repent,
God will sharpen his sword;
he will string his bow and prepare it.
13 He prepares weapons of death for himself,
he makes his arrows into fiery shafts.
14 But the wicked one[i] travails with evil,
he conceives malice and gives birth to lies.
15 He digs a pit, even excavates it;
then he fell into the hole that he had made.
16 The trouble[j] he planned will return on his own head,
and his violence will descend on his skull.
17 But as for me,
I will praise the Lord for his righteousness,
and I will sing to the name of the Lord Most High.
Saul Disobeys the Lord
15 Samuel told Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people, Israel. Now listen to the words[a] of the Lord. 2 This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘I’ll punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, when he set himself against Israel[b] in the way, as they were going up from Egypt. 3 Now, go and attack Amalek. Completely destroy[c] all that they have. Don’t spare them, but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, both ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”
7 Saul attacked the Amalekites from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt. 8 He captured alive Agag king of Amalek, but he completely destroyed all the people, executing them with swords. 9 Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle—the fattened animals and lambs—along with all that was good. They were not willing to completely destroy them, but they did completely destroy everything that was worthless and inferior.
The Lord Rejects Saul
10 This message from the Lord came to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I made Saul king, because he has turned away from following me and has not carried out my commands.” Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the Lord all night.
12 Samuel got up early in the morning to meet Saul, but Samuel was told, “Saul went up to Carmel to set up a monument for himself. Then he turned around and traveled on to Gilgal.”
13 Samuel approached Saul. “May the Lord bless you,” Saul said. “I’ve carried out the Lord’s command.”
14 Samuel said, “Then what is this bleating of sheep in my ears and the lowing of cattle that I hear?”
15 Saul replied, “They brought them from the Amalekites. The people spared the best of the sheep and cattle to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God, and the rest they completely destroyed.”
16 “Be quiet!” Samuel said. “I’ll tell you what the Lord told me last night.”
Saul told him, “Speak.”
17 So Samuel replied, “Is it not true that though you were small in your own eyes you became head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed you king over Israel? 18 The Lord sent you on a mission: ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they’re destroyed.’ 19 Why didn’t you obey the Lord, but grabbed the spoil and did evil in the Lord’s sight?”
20 Saul told Samuel, “I did obey the Lord. I went on the mission on which the Lord sent me, I brought Agag king of Amalek, and I completely destroyed the Amalekites. 21 The people took some of the spoil—sheep, cattle, and the best of what was to be completely destroyed—to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”
22 Samuel said,
“Does the Lord delight as much in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as in obeying the Lord?
Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice,
to pay attention is better[a] than the fat of rams.
23 Indeed, rebellion is the sin of divination,
and arrogance is iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected this message from the Lord,
he has rejected you from being king.”
19 and after eating some food, he felt strong again. For several days he stayed with the disciples in Damascus. 20 He immediately started to preach about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “This is the Son of God.”
21 Everyone who heard him was astonished and said, “This is the man who harassed those who were calling on Jesus’[a] name in Jerusalem, isn’t it? Didn’t he come here to bring them in chains to the high priests?” 22 But Saul grew more and more persuasive, and continued to confound the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that this man was the Messiah.[b]
23 After several days had gone by, the Jewish leaders[c] plotted to murder Saul,[d] 24 but their plot became known to him.[e] They were even watching the gates day and night to murder him, 25 but his disciples took him one night and let him down through the city wall by lowering him in a basket.
26 When Saul[f] arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they all were afraid of him because they wouldn’t believe he was a disciple. 27 Barnabas, however, introduced Saul[g] to the apostles, telling them how on the road Saul[h] had seen the Lord, who had spoken to him, and how courageously he had spoken in the name of Jesus in Damascus. 28 So he freely circulated[i] among them in Jerusalem, speaking courageously in the name of the Lord. 29 He kept talking and arguing with the Hellenistic Jews, but they were bent on murdering him. 30 When the brothers found out about the plot,[j] they took him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus.
31 So the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed peace. As it continued to be built up and to live in the fear of the Lord, it kept increasing in numbers through the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Dies on the Cross(A)
44 It was already about noon,[a] and the whole land[b] became dark until three in the afternoon[c] 45 because the sun had stopped shining, and the curtain[d] in the sanctuary was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus cried out with a loud voice and said, “Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.”[e] After he said this, he breathed his last.
47 When the centurion[f] saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, “This man certainly was righteous!” 48 When all the crowds who had come together for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they beat their chests and left. 49 But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, were standing at a distance watching these things.
Jesus is Buried(B)
50 Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council,[g] a good and righteous man— 51 he had not voted for their plan and action—from the Jewish town of Arimathea; and he was waiting for the kingdom of God. 52 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb cut in the rock, in which no one had yet been laid.
54 It was the Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was just beginning. 55 So the women who had come with Jesus[h] from Galilee, following close behind, saw the tomb and how his body was laid. 56 Then they went back and prepared spices and perfumes, and on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
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