Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 119
א Aleph
1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,
and who seek Him with all their heart.
3 They also do no wrong;
they walk in His ways.
4 You have commanded us
to keep Your precepts diligently.
5 Oh, that my ways were established
to keep Your statutes!
6 Then I shall not be ashamed,
when I have my focus on all Your commandments.
7 I will praise You with an upright heart,
when I have learned Your righteous judgments.
8 I will keep Your statutes;
do not completely abandon me.
ב Beth
9 How shall a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping it according to Your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek You;
do not allow me to wander from Your commandments.
11 Your word I have hidden in my heart,
that I might not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, O Lord;
teach me Your statutes.
13 With my lips I declare
all the decrees of Your mouth.
14 I rejoice in the way of Your testimonies,
as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on Your precepts
and keep my eyes on Your ways.
16 I will delight in Your statutes;
I will not forget Your word.
ג Gimel
17 Deal kindly with Your servant, that I may live
and keep Your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things from Your law.
19 I am a sojourner in the land;
do not hide Your commandments from me.
20 My soul is consumed all the time
with a longing for Your decrees.
21 You have rebuked the proud, those cursed,
who depart from Your commandments.
22 Remove from me reproach and contempt,
for I have kept Your testimonies.
23 Even if princes sit and conspire against me,
Your servant will meditate on Your statutes.
24 Your testimonies are my delight
and my counselors.
Psalm 12
For the Music Director. According to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
1 Help, Lord, for the godly man comes to an end,
for the faithful disappear from sons of men.
2 They speak empty words, each with his own neighbor;
they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
3 The Lord will cut off all flattering lips,
and the tongue that speaks proud things,
4 who have said, “With our tongue will we prevail;
our lips are in our control, who is master over us?”
5 “Because the poor are plundered,
because the needy sigh,
now I will arise,” says the Lord;
“I will place him in the safety for which he yearns.”
6 The words of the Lord are pure words;
they are silver tried in an earthen furnace
refined seven times.
7 You will keep them, O Lord;
You will preserve them from this generation.
8 The wicked walk on every side,
when the worthless of mankind are exalted.
Psalm 13
For the Music Director. A Psalm of David.
1 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me for good?
How long will you hide Your face from me?
2 How long will I harbor cares in my soul
and sorrow in my heart by day?
How long will my enemy loom over me?
3 Take note and answer me, O Lord my God!
Brighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 lest my enemy say, “I have him,”
lest my foes exult when I stumble.
5 I for my part confide in Your kindness;
may my heart exult in Your salvation!
6 I will sing to the Lord,
because He has dealt bountifully with me.
Psalm 14(A)
For the Music Director. A Psalm of David.
1 The fool has said in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,
there is none who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven
on the children of men,
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek God.
3 They all turn aside,
together they become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.
4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge,
who eat my people as they eat bread,
but do not call on the Lord?
5 There they were in great fear,
for God is with the generation of the righteous.
6 You shame the counsel of the poor,
but the Lord is his refuge.
7 Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion!
When the Lord turns back the captivity of His people,
Jacob will rejoice, and Israel will be glad.
The Prayer and Deliverance of Jonah
17 Now the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish. 2 He said:
“I called to the Lord out of my distress,
and He answered me.
Out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
and You heard my voice.
3 You cast me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me.
All Your billows and Your waves
passed over me.
4 Then I said, ‘I am cast away
from Your sight;
yet I will look again
to Your holy temple.’
5 The waters encompassed me; even to my soul
the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped around my head.
6 I went down to the foundations of the mountains;
the earth with its bars was around me forever;
yet You have brought up my life from the pit,
O Lord my God.
7 “When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered the Lord;
and my prayer came to You,
into Your holy temple.
8 “Those who follow vain idols
forsake their true loyalty.
9 But I will sacrifice to You
with the voice of thanksgiving;
I will pay what I have vowed.
Salvation is of the Lord!”
10 Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon dry land.
9 As much time had been lost and as the voyage was now dangerous, because the Day of Atonement was already over, Paul advised them, 10 saying, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion was persuaded more by the captain and the owner of the ship than by what Paul said. 12 Since the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority decided to sail on from there, if somehow we might reach Phoenix, a harbor in Crete, facing southwest and northwest, and winter there.
The Storm at Sea
13 When a south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained the necessary conditions, they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14 But soon afterward a tempestuous wind swept through, called the Euroclydon.[a] 15 When the ship was overpowered and could not head into the wind, we let her drift. 16 Drifting under the lee of an island called Cauda, we could scarcely secure the rowboat. 17 When they had hoisted it aboard, they used ropes to undergird the ship. And fearing that they might run aground on the sand of Syrtis, they let down the mast, and so were driven. 18 We were violently tossed by the storm. The next day they threw cargo overboard. 19 On the third day we threw the tackle of the ship overboard with our own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm was upon us, all hope that we should be saved was lost.
21 After they had long abstained from food, Paul stood in their midst and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete, incurring this injury and loss. 22 But now I advise you to take courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For there stood by me this night the angel of God to whom I belong and whom I serve, 24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. And, look! God has given you all those who sail with you.’ 25 Therefore, men, take courage, for I believe God that it will be exactly as it was told to me. 26 Nevertheless, we must be shipwrecked on a certain island.”
The Mission of the Twelve Apostles(A)
9 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases. 2 And He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey: no staff, no bag, no bread, no money. And do not take two tunics apiece. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5 Whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” 6 So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
Herod’s Anxiety(B)
7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him. And he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, 8 and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen. 9 But Herod said, “I have beheaded John. But who is this of whom I hear such things?” And he tried to see Him.
The Feeding of the Five Thousand(C)
10 When the apostles returned, they told Jesus all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. 11 But when the crowds knew it, they followed Him. And He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.
12 When the day began to end, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the crowds away, so they can go into the towns and surrounding countryside and lodge and get food. For we are in a deserted place here.”
13 He said to them, “You give them something to eat.”
They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people.” 14 There were about five thousand men.
But He said to His disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of fifty.” 15 They did so, and made them all sit down. 16 Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 They all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of broken pieces that remained were collected.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.