Book of Common Prayer
Zayin
49 Remember your word to your servant
by which you give me hope.
50 This is my comfort in affliction,
your promise that gives me life.
51 Though the arrogant utterly scorn me,
I do not turn from your law.
52 When I recite your judgments of old
I am comforted, Lord.
53 Rage seizes me because of the wicked;
they forsake your law.
54 Your statutes become my songs
wherever I make my home.
55 Even at night I remember your name
in observance of your law, Lord.
56 This is my good fortune,
for I have kept your precepts.
Heth
57 My portion is the Lord;
I promise to observe your words.
58 I entreat you with all my heart:
have mercy on me in accord with your promise.
59 I have examined my ways
and turned my steps to your testimonies.
60 I am prompt, I do not hesitate
in observing your commandments.
61 Though the snares of the wicked surround me,
your law I do not forget.
62 At midnight I rise to praise you
because of your righteous judgments.
63 I am the friend of all who fear you,
of all who observe your precepts.
64 The earth, Lord, is filled with your mercy;(A)
teach me your statutes.
Teth
65 You have treated your servant well,
according to your word, O Lord.
66 Teach me wisdom and knowledge,
for in your commandments I trust.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I hold to your promise.
68 You are good and do what is good;
teach me your statutes.
69 The arrogant smear me with lies,
but I keep your precepts with all my heart.
70 Their hearts are gross and fat;(B)
as for me, your law is my delight.
71 It was good for me to be afflicted,
in order to learn your statutes.
72 The law of your mouth is more precious to me
than heaps of silver and gold.
Psalm 49[a]
Confidence in God Rather than in Riches
1 For the leader. A psalm of the Korahites.[b]
2 Hear this, all you peoples!
Give ear, all who inhabit the world,
3 You of lowly birth or high estate,
rich and poor together.
4 My mouth shall speak words of wisdom,
my heart shall offer insights.(A)
5 I will turn my ear to a riddle,[c]
expound my question on a lyre.
I
6 Why should I fear in evil days,
with the iniquity of my assailants surrounding me,
7 Of those who trust in their wealth
and boast of their abundant riches?(B)
8 [d]No man can ransom even a brother,
or pay to God his own ransom.(C)
9 The redemption of his soul is costly;
and he will pass away forever.
10 Will he live on forever, then,
and never see the Pit of Corruption?
11 Indeed, he will see that the wise die,
and the fool will perish together with the senseless,(D)
and they leave their wealth to others.(E)
12 Their tombs are their homes forever,
their dwellings through all generations,
“They named countries after themselves”
13 —but man does not abide in splendor.
He is like the beasts—they perish.(F)
II
14 This is the way of those who trust in themselves,
and the end of those who take pleasure in their own mouth.
Selah
15 Like a herd of sheep they will be put into Sheol,
and Death will shepherd them.
Straight to the grave they descend,
where their form will waste away,
Sheol will be their palace.
16 But God will redeem my life,
will take me[e] from the hand of Sheol.(G)
Selah
17 Do not fear when a man becomes rich,
when the wealth of his house grows great.
18 At his death he will not take along anything,
his glory will not go down after him.(H)
19 During his life his soul uttered blessings;
“They will praise you, for you do well for yourself.”
20 But he will join the company of his fathers,
never again to see the light.(I)
21 In his prime, man does not understand.
He is like the beasts—they perish.
Psalm 53[a]
A Lament over Widespread Corruption
1 For the leader; according to Mahalath. A maskil of David.
I
2 The fool says in his heart,(A)
“There is no God.”(B)
They act corruptly and practice injustice;
there is none that does good.
3 God looks out from the heavens
upon the children of Adam,(C)
To see if there is a discerning person(D)
who is seeking God.
4 All have gone astray;
each one is altogether perverse.
There is not one who does what is good, not even one.(E)
II
5 (F)Do they not know better, those who do evil,
who feed upon my people as they feed upon bread?(G)
Have they not called upon God?
6 They are going to fear his name with great fear,
though they had not feared it before.
For God will scatter the bones
of those encamped against you.
They will surely be put to shame,
for God has rejected them.
III
7 Who will bring forth from Zion
the salvation of Israel?
When God reverses the captivity of his people
Jacob will rejoice and Israel will be glad.(H)
IV. The Story of Elijah[a]
Chapter 17
Elijah Proclaims a Drought.[b] 1 Elijah the Tishbite,[c](A) from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab: “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, during these years there shall be no dew or rain except at my word.” 2 The word of the Lord came to Elijah: 3 Leave here, go east and hide in the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink of the wadi, and I have commanded ravens to feed you there. 5 So he left and did as the Lord had commanded. He left and remained by the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan. 6 (B)Ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the wadi.
7 After some time, however, the wadi ran dry, because no rain had fallen in the land. 8 (C)So the word of the Lord came to him: 9 Arise, go to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow there to feed you. 10 He arose and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the entrance of the city, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called out to her, “Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink.” 11 She left to get it, and he called out after her, “Please bring along a crust of bread.” 12 She said, “As the Lord, your God, lives, I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug. Just now I was collecting a few sticks, to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid. Go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake and bring it to me. Afterwards you can prepare something for yourself and your son. 14 For the Lord, the God of Israel, says: The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the Lord sends rain upon the earth.” 15 She left and did as Elijah had said. She had enough to eat for a long time—he and she and her household. 16 The jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord spoken through Elijah.
17 (D)Some time later the son of the woman, the owner of the house, fell sick, and his sickness grew more severe until he stopped breathing. 18 So she said to Elijah, “Why have you done this to me, man of God? Have you come to me to call attention to my guilt and to kill my son?” 19 Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” Taking him from her lap, he carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. 20 He called out to the Lord: “Lord, my God, will you afflict even the widow with whom I am staying by killing her son?” 21 Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times and he called out to the Lord: “Lord, my God, let the life breath return to the body of this child.” 22 The Lord heard the prayer of Elijah; the life breath returned to the child’s body and he lived. 23 Taking the child, Elijah carried him down into the house from the upper room and gave him to his mother. Elijah said, “See! Your son is alive.” 24 The woman said to Elijah, “Now indeed I know that you are a man of God, and it is truly the word of the Lord that you speak.”
Chapter 2
Plea for Unity and Humility.[a] 1 If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing.(A) 3 Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,(B) 4 each looking out not for his own interests, but [also] everyone for those of others.(C)
5 Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,[b]
6 Who,[c] though he was in the form of God,(D)
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.[d]
7 Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;[e]
and found human in appearance,(E)
8 he humbled himself,(F)
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.[f]
9 Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name[g]
that is above every name,(G)
10 that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,[h]
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,(H)
11 and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,[i]
to the glory of God the Father.(I)
Obedience and Service in the World.[j]
Chapter 2
The Visit of the Magi.[a] 1 When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod,[b] behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star[c] at its rising and have come to do him homage.”(A) 3 When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.[d] 5 (B)They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.” 9 After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 They were overjoyed at seeing the star, 11 [e](C)and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.
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