Book of Common Prayer
The Ways of the Righteous and the Wicked
1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the advice of the wicked;
nor does he stand in the way of sinners;
nor does he sit in the assembly of mockers.
2 Instead, in the law of Yahweh is his delight,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 And so, he is like a tree planted by streams of water
that gives its fruit in its season;
its leaf also does not wither.
Therefore all that he does prospers.
4 Not so the wicked.
Instead, they are like the chaff that the wind scatters.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for Yahweh knows the way of the righteous,[a]
but the way of the wicked will perish.
The Messiah’s Reign
2 Why are nations in tumult,
and countries plotting[b] in vain?[c]
2 The kings of the earth establish themselves,
and the rulers conspire[d] together
against Yahweh and his anointed:
3 “Let us tear off their bonds,
and cast their cords from us!”
4 He who sits enthroned in the heavens laughs.
The Lord derides them.
5 Then he speaks to them in his wrath,
and in his fury he terrifies them:
6 “But as for me, I have set my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”
7 I will tell the decree;
Yahweh said to me:
“You are my son;
today I have begotten you.
8 Ask from me and I will make the nations your heritage,
and your possession the ends of the earth.
9 You will break them with an iron rod.
Like a potter’s vessel you will shatter them.”
10 So then, O kings, be wise.
Be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve Yahweh with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son
lest he be angry and you perish on the way,
for his anger burns quickly.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
A Call to Yahweh in Distress
A psalm of David at his fleeing from the presence of Absalom, his son.[e]
3 Yahweh, how many are my enemies;
many are rising against me.
2 Many are saying about my soul,
“There is no deliverance for him from[f] God. Selah[g]
3 But[h] you, Yahweh, are a shield around me,
my glory and the one who lifts up my head.
4 With my voice I call to Yahweh
and he answers me from his holy hill.[i] Selah
5 I lay down and slept;
I woke up because Yahweh sustains me.
6 I am not afraid of the ten thousands of people
who all around have set themselves against me.
7 Rise up, O Yahweh; deliver me, O my God;
for you strike all my enemies on the cheek.
The teeth of the wicked you break.
8 To Yahweh belongs deliverance;
may your blessing be over your people. Selah
Safety in Yahweh
For the music director; with stringed instruments. A psalm of David.[j]
4 When I call, answer me, O God of my righteousness.[k]
In trouble deliver me.[l]
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.
2 O sons of man, how long will my honor[m] be a disgrace?
How long will you love vanity?
How long will you seek lies?[n] Selah
3 But know that Yahweh has set apart[o] for himself the faithful one.[p]
Yahweh hears when I call to him.
4 Be disturbed but do not sin.
Commune in your heart[q] on your bed and be silent. Selah
5 Offer correct sacrifices,[r]
and trust in[s] Yahweh.
6 Many are saying, “Who will show us something good?”
Lift up over[t] us the light of your face, O Yahweh.
7 You have put gladness in my heart
more than when[u] their grain and their wine abound.
8 In peace I will lie down and sleep at once,[v]
for you alone, O Yahweh, make me dwell safely.
Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies
A Shiggaion[a] of David which he sang to Yahweh
on account of Cush, a Benjaminite.[b]
7 O Yahweh, my God, in you I have taken refuge.
Save me from all who pursue me, and deliver me.
2 Or else he will tear me apart like a lion,
ripping to pieces, with none to deliver.
3 O Yahweh, my God, if I have done this,
if there is wrong in my hands,
4 if I have repaid my ally[c] with harm,
or if I have plundered my enemy without cause,
5 let the enemy of my soul pursue,
and overtake and trample my life into the ground,
and lay my honor in the dust. Selah
6 Rise up, O Yahweh, in your anger,
and lift yourself up against the wrath[d] of my oppressors,
and awake for me,
since you have commanded judgment.
7 And let the assembly of peoples surround you,
and over it return on high.
8 Yahweh judges the nations.
O Yahweh, vindicate me
according to my innocence[e] and according to my integrity within me.
9 Let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
but establish the righteous,
and test the hearts and innermost being, O righteous God.
10 My shield is with God
who saves the upright of heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
and a God who has indignation every day.
12 If he[f] does not repent, he[g] will sharpen his sword.
He has bent his bow and he has strung[h] it.
13 And he has prepared for him weapons of death.
He has made his arrows fiery shafts.
14 See, he[i] travails with[j] evil.
He is pregnant with trouble,
and he gives birth to deception.
15 He makes a pit and digs it out,
then falls in the trap he has made.
16 His trouble comes back on his head,
and his violence comes down on his skull.
17 I will thank Yahweh according to his righteousness,
and I will sing praise to the name of Yahweh, the Most High.
Judgment on Israel
6 Thus says Yahweh: “For three transgressions of Israel and for four I will not revoke the punishment,[a] because they sell the righteous for money and the poor for a pair of sandals! 7 Those who trample the heads of the powerless into the dust of the ground and turn aside the way of the destitute, a man and his father have sexual relations with[b] the same girl, so that they profane my holy name. 8 They stretch themselves out beside every altar on clothing taken in pledge and they drink wine, bought with fines imposed,[c] in the house of their God. 9 Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them,[d] who was as tall as[e] cedars and was as strong as the oaks. I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath. 10 And I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and I led you in the wilderness forty years to take possession of the land of the Amorite. 11 And I raised up some of your sons to be prophets and some of your young men to be Nazirites. Is it not so, O people[f] of Israel? This is the declaration of Yahweh! 12 But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets, saying, ‘You shall not prophesy.’ 13 Look! I am going to press you down in your place just as a utility cart full of mature stalks of grain is pressed down. 14 Flight will perish from the swift and the strong person will not muster his strength and the warrior will not save his life. 15 And the one who takes hold of the bow will not stand and the one who is swift on his feet will not save himself, nor will the one who rides the horse save his life. 16 Even those who are strong of heart among the mighty will flee away naked from the city on that day. This is the declaration of Yahweh!”
Greeting
1 Simeon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a faith equal in value to ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 because his divine power has bestowed on us all things that are necessary for life and godliness, through the knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence of character, 4 through which things he has bestowed on us his precious and very great promises, so that through these you may become sharers of the divine nature after[a] escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire, 5 and for this same reason, and by[b] applying all diligence, supply with your faith excellence of character, and with excellence of character, knowledge, 6 and with knowledge, self-control, and with self-control, patient endurance, and with patient endurance, godliness, 7 and with godliness, brotherly love, and with brotherly love, love.
Make Your Calling and Election Secure
8 For if[c] these things are yours and are increasing, this does not make you useless or unproductive in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For the one for whom these things are not present is blind, being nearsighted, having forgotten the cleansing[d] of his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be zealous even more to make your calling and election secure, because if you[e] do these things, you will never ever stumble. 11 For in this way entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly supplied for you.
The Triumphal Entry
21 And when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village before you, and right away you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her. Untie them[a] and[b] bring them[c] to me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you will say, ‘The Lord needs them,’[d] and he will send them at once.” 4 Now this took place so that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,
5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
and[e] on a colt, the foal of a pack animal.’”[f]
6 So the disciples went[g] and did[h] just as Jesus directed them, 7 and[i] brought the donkey and the colt and put their[j] cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8 And a very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them[k] on the road. 9 And the crowds who went ahead of him and the ones who followed were shouting, saying,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord![l]
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”[m]
10 And when[n] he entered into Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee!”
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