Book of Common Prayer

A Psalm of David.

Aleph

¹ ¶ Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul.

Beth

² O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not my enemies triumph over me.

Gimel

³ Yea, none that wait on thee shall be ashamed; those which rebel without cause shall be ashamed.

Daleth

⁴ Show me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.

He

⁵ Cause me to walk in thy truth and teach me: for thou art the God of my saving health; I have waited for thee all the day.

Vau

⁶ Remember, O LORD, thy compassion and thy mercies, for they have been ever of old.

Zain

⁷ Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my rebellions; according to thy mercy remember me for thy goodness’ sake, O LORD.

Cheth

⁸ ¶ Good and upright is the LORD: therefore he will teach sinners in the way.

Teth

⁹ He will cause the humble to pass through the judgment, and the meek he will teach his way.

Jod

¹⁰ All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.

Caph

¹¹ For thy name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my iniquity; for it is great.

Lamed

¹² Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.

Mem

¹³ His soul shall rest in that which is good; and his seed shall inherit the earth.

Nun

¹⁴ The secret of the LORD is for those that fear him, and he will show them his covenant.

Samech

¹⁵ ¶ Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD, for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.

Ain

¹⁶ Turn thee unto me and have mercy upon me, for I am desolate and afflicted.

Tzaddi

¹⁷ The troubles of my heart are enlarged; O bring thou me out of my distresses.

Resh

¹⁸ Look upon my affliction and my pain and forgive all my sins.

Resh

¹⁹ Consider my enemies, for they are multiplied; and they hate me with cruel hatred.

Schin

²⁰ O keep my soul and deliver me; let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in thee.

Tau

²¹ Integrity and uprightness shall preserve me, for I have waited for thee.

Pe

²² Ransom Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

To the Overcomer upon Muthlabben, A Psalm of David.

¹ ¶ I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all thy marvellous works.

² I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High

³ because my enemies are turned back; they shall fall and perish at thy presence.

⁴ For thou hast accomplished my judgment and my cause; thou didst sit in the throne judging according to righteousness.

⁵ Thou hast reprehended the Gentiles, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.

⁶ O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and the cities that thou hast destroyed; their memorial is perished with them.

⁷ But the LORD shall endure for ever; he has prepared his throne for judgment.

⁸ And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall judge the peoples in uprightness.

⁹ The LORD also will be a refuge to the humble, a refuge for the time of trouble.

¹⁰ And those that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, O LORD, hast not forsaken those that seek thee.

¹¹ ¶ Sing unto the LORD, he who dwells in Zion; declare among the people his doings.

¹² When he makes requirement for blood, he remembers them; he does not forget the cry of the humble.

¹³ Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer from those that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:

¹⁴ that I may show forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy saving health.

¹⁵ The Gentiles are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid their own foot is taken.

¹⁶ The LORD is known by the judgment which he has executed; the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion (meditate on this for ever). Selah.

¹⁷ The wicked shall be put into Sheol, all the Gentiles that forget God.

¹⁸ For the humble shall not always be forgotten: the hope of the poor shall not perish for ever.

¹⁹ Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the Gentiles be judged in thy sight.

²⁰ Put fear into them, O LORD: that the Gentiles may know themselves to be but men. Selah.

A Psalm of David.

¹ ¶ LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in the mountain of thy holiness?

² He that walks in integrity and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.

³ He that does not backbite with his tongue nor does evil to his neighbour nor takes up a reproach against his neighbour.

⁴ In whose eyes the vile person is not esteemed; but he honours those that fear the LORD. He that swears to his own hurt and does not change.

⁵ He that does not put out his money to usury nor takes a bribe against the innocent. He that does these things shall never be moved.

⁵ And David went out wherever Saul sent him and behaved himself prudently, and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s slaves.

⁶ ¶ And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with instruments of music.

⁷ And the women sang as they played and said, Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands.

⁸ And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him, and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands; and what can he have more but the kingdom?

⁹ And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.

¹⁰ And it came to pass on the next day that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house, and David played with his hand as at other times, and there was a spear in Saul’s hand.

¹¹ And Saul cast the spear, saying, I will smite David to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice.

¹² ¶ But Saul was afraid of David because the LORD was with him and had departed from Saul.

¹³ Therefore, Saul removed him from him and made him captain over a thousand, and he went out and came in before the people.

¹⁴ And David behaved himself prudently in all his ways, and the LORD was with him.

¹⁵ Therefore, when Saul saw that he behaved himself very prudently, he was afraid of him.

¹⁶ But all Israel and Judah loved David because he went out and came in before them.

²⁷ Therefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men, and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them all to the king that he might be the king’s son-in-law. And Saul gave him Michal, his daughter, to wife.

²⁸ But Saul, seeing and knowing that the LORD was with David and that his daughter Michal loved him,

²⁹ was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul became David’s enemy continually.

³⁰ Then the princes of the Philistines went forth, and it came to pass after they went forth that David behaved himself more prudently than all the slaves of Saul so that his name was much set by.

¹⁹ ¶ Now those who were scattered abroad by the tribulation that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice and Cyprus and Antioch, preaching the word to no one except only unto the Jews.

²⁰ And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they came into Antioch, spoke unto the Greeks, preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus.

²¹ And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord.

²² Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} which was in Jerusalem, and they sent forth Barnabas that he should go unto Antioch.

²³ Who, when he came and had seen the grace of God, was glad and exhorted them all to remain in their purpose of heart in the Lord.

²⁴ For he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and many people were added unto the Lord.

²⁵ Then Barnabas departed to Tarsus to seek Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch.

²⁶ And it came to pass that for a whole year they gathered themselves together with the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} and taught many people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

²⁷ ¶ And in those days prophets came down from Jerusalem unto Antioch.

²⁸ And one of them named Agabus stood up and signified by the Spirit that there should be great famine throughout all the world, which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.

²⁹ Then the disciples, each one according to what he had, determined to send relief unto the brethren who dwelt in Judea,

³⁰ which they likewise did and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

²⁹ ¶ And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

³⁰ But Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick of a fever, and soon they told him of her.

³¹ And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up; and the fever left her by and by, and she ministered unto them.

³² In the evening, when the sun was down, they brought unto him all that were diseased and those that were possessed with devils.

³³ And all the city was gathered together at the door.

³⁴ And he healed many that were sick of diverse diseases and cast out many devils and suffered not the devils to speak because they knew him.

³⁵ And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out and departed into a solitary place and prayed there.

³⁶ And Simon and those that were with him followed after him.

³⁷ And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee.

³⁸ And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns that I may preach there also, for truly I came forth for that purpose.

³⁹ And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee and cast out devils.

⁴⁰ ¶ And a leper came to him, beseeching him and kneeling down to him and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

⁴¹ And Jesus, having mercy on him, put forth his hand and touched him and said unto him, I will; be thou clean.

⁴² And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was clean.

⁴³ And he straitly charged him and forthwith sent him away

⁴⁴ and said unto him, See thou say nothing to any man, but go, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

⁴⁵ But he went out and began to publish it much and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places; and they came to him from every quarter.