Book of Common Prayer
Book 1
(Psalms 1-41)
1 Great blessings belong to those
who don’t listen to evil advice,
who don’t live like sinners,
and who don’t join those who make fun of God.[a]
2 Instead, they love the Lord’s teachings
and think about them day and night.
3 So they grow strong,
like a tree planted by a stream—
a tree that produces fruit when it should
and has leaves that never fall.
Everything they do is successful.
4 But the wicked are not like that.
They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 When the time for judgment comes, the wicked will be found guilty.
Sinners have no place among those who do what is right.[b]
6 The Lord shows his people how to live,
but the wicked have lost their way.
2 Why are the nations so angry?
Why are the people making such foolish plans?
2 Their kings and leaders join together
to fight against the Lord and his chosen king.[c]
3 They say, “Let’s rebel against them.
Let’s break free from them!”
4 But the one who rules in heaven laughs at them.
The Lord makes fun of them.
5 He speaks to them in anger,
and it fills them with fear.
6 He says, “I have chosen this man to be king,
and he will rule on Zion, my holy mountain.”
7 Let me tell you about the Lord’s agreement:
He said to me, “Today I have become your father,[d]
and you are my son.
8 If you ask, I will give you the nations.
Everyone on earth will be yours.
9 You will rule over them with great power.
You will scatter your enemies like broken pieces of pottery!”
10 So, kings and rulers, be smart
and learn this lesson.
11 Serve the Lord with fear and trembling.
12 Show that you are loyal to his son,[e]
or the Lord will be angry and destroy you.
He is almost angry enough to do that now,
but those who go to him for protection will be blessed.
A song of David written during the time he was running from his son Absalom.
3 Lord, I have so many enemies.
So many people have turned against me.
2 They say to themselves, “God will not rescue him!” Selah
3 But you, Lord, protect me.
You bring me honor;
you give me hope.
4 I will pray to the Lord,
and he will answer me from his holy mountain. Selah
5 I can lie down to rest and know that I will wake up,
because the Lord covers and protects me.
6 So I will not be afraid of my enemies,
even if thousands of them surround me.
7 Lord, get up![f]
My God, come rescue me!
If you hit my enemies on the cheek,
you will break all their teeth.
8 Lord, the victory[g] is yours!
You are so good to your people. Selah
To the director: With stringed instruments. A song of David.
4 God, you showed that I was innocent.
You gave me relief from all my troubles.
So listen to me now when I call to you for help.
Be kind to me and hear my prayer.
2 Men,[h] how long will you try to dishonor me?
Do you enjoy wasting your time searching for new lies against me? Selah
3 You can be sure that anyone who serves the Lord faithfully is special to him.
The Lord listens when I pray to him.
4 Tremble with fear, and stop sinning.[i]
Think about this when you go to bed, and calm down. Selah
5 Give the right sacrifices to the Lord,
and put your trust in him!
6 Many people say, “I wish I could enjoy the good life.
Lord, give us some of those blessings.”[j]
7 But you have made me happier than they will ever be with all their wine and grain.
8 When I go to bed, I sleep in peace,
because, Lord, you keep me safe.
A song[a] of David that he sang to the Lord about Cush from the tribe of Benjamin.
7 Lord my God, I come to you for protection.
Save me from those who are chasing me.
2 If you don’t help me, I will be torn apart like an animal caught by a lion.
I will be carried away with no one to save me.
3 Lord my God, I have done nothing wrong.
4 I have done nothing to hurt a friend[b]
or to help his enemies.
5 If that is not the truth, then punish me.
Let an enemy chase me, catch me, and kill me.
Let him grind me into the dirt and put me in my grave. Selah
6 Lord, get up[c] and show your anger!
My enemy is angry, so stand and fight against him.
Get me the justice that you demand.
7 Gather the nations around you,
and take your place as judge.
8 Lord, judge the people.
Lord, judge me.
Prove that I am right and that I am innocent.
9 Stop those who do evil.
Support those who do good.
God, you are fair.
You know what people are thinking.
10 God helps people who want to do right,
so he will protect me.
11 God is a good judge.
He always condemns evil.
12-13 If the wicked will not change,
then God is ready to punish them.
He has prepared his deadly weapons.
His sword is sharp.
His bow is strung, drawn back,
and ready to shoot its flaming arrow.
14 The minds of the wicked are full of evil;
they are pregnant with wicked plans,
which give birth to lies.
15 They dig a pit to trap others,
but they are the ones who will fall into it.
16 The trouble they cause will come back on them.
They plan harm for others,
but they are the ones who will be hurt.
17 I praise the Lord because he is good.
I praise the name of the Lord Most High.
Punishment for Israel
6 This is what the Lord says: “I will definitely punish Israel for the many crimes they have done. They sold honest people for a little silver. They sold the poor for the price of a pair of sandals. 7 They pushed their faces into the ground and walked on them. They stopped listening to suffering people. Fathers and sons had sexual relations with the same woman. They ruined my holy name. 8 They took clothes from the poor, and then they sat on those clothes while worshiping at their altars. They loaned money to the poor, and then they took their clothes as a promise for payment.[a] They made people pay fines and used the money to buy wine for themselves to drink in the temple of their god.
9 “But it was I who destroyed the Amorites[b] before them. They were as tall as cedar trees and as strong as oaks, but I destroyed their fruit above and their roots below.[c]
10 “I was the one who brought you from the land of Egypt. For 40 years I led you through the desert. I helped you take the Amorites’ land. 11 I made some of your sons to be prophets and some of your young men to be Nazirites. People of Israel, it is true.” This is what the Lord said. 12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine. You told the prophets not to prophesy. 13 You have become more than I can bear. I am bent low like a wagon loaded with grain. 14 No one will escape, not even the fastest runner. Strong men will not be strong enough. Soldiers will not be able to save themselves. 15 People with bows and arrows will not survive. Fast runners will not escape. People on horses will not escape alive. 16 At that time even very brave soldiers will run away. They will not take the time to put their clothes on.” This is what the Lord said.
1 Greetings from Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ.
To all of you who share in the same valuable faith that we have. This faith was given to us because our God and Savior Jesus Christ always does what is good and right.
2 Grace and peace be given to you more and more, because now you know God and Jesus our Lord.
God Has Given Us Everything We Need
3 Jesus has the power of God. And his power has given us everything we need to live a life devoted to God. We have these things because we know him. Jesus chose us by his glory and goodness, 4 through which he also gave us the very great and rich gifts that he promised us. With these gifts you can share in being like God. And so you will escape the ruin that comes to people in the world because of the evil things they want.
5 Because you have these blessings, do all you can to add to your life these things: to your faith add goodness; to your goodness add knowledge; 6 to your knowledge add self-control; to your self-control add patience; to your patience add devotion to God; 7 to your devotion add kindness toward your brothers and sisters in Christ, and to this kindness add love. 8 If all these things are in you and growing, you will never fail to be useful to God. You will produce the kind of fruit that should come from your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But those who don’t grow in these blessings are blind. They cannot see clearly what they have. They have forgotten that they were cleansed from their past sins.
10 My brothers and sisters, God called you and chose you to be his. Do your best to live in a way that shows you really are God’s called and chosen people. If you do all this, you will never fall. 11 And you will be given a very great welcome into the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, a kingdom that never ends.
Jesus Enters Jerusalem Like a King(A)
21 Jesus and his followers were coming closer to Jerusalem. But first they stopped at Bethphage at the hill called the Mount of Olives. From there Jesus sent two of his followers into town. 2 He said to them, “Go to the town you can see there. When you enter it, you will find a donkey with her colt. Untie them both, and bring them to me. 3 If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkeys, tell them, ‘The Master needs them. He will send them back soon.’”
4 This showed the full meaning of what the prophet said:
5 “Tell the people of Zion,[a]
‘Now your king is coming to you.
He is humble and riding on a donkey.
He is riding on a young donkey, born from a work animal.’” (B)
6 The followers went and did what Jesus told them to do. 7 They brought the mother donkey and the young donkey to him. They covered the donkeys with their coats, and Jesus sat on them. 8 On the way to Jerusalem, many people spread their coats on the road for Jesus. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Some of the people were walking ahead of Jesus. Others were walking behind him. They all shouted,
Praise to God in heaven!”
10 Then Jesus went into Jerusalem. All the people in the city were confused. They asked, “Who is this man?”
11 The crowds following Jesus answered, “This is Jesus. He is the prophet from the town of Nazareth in Galilee.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International