Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 1
The Two Ways
1 How happy is the one who does not
walk in the advice of the wicked
or stand in the pathway with sinners
or sit in the company of mockers!(A)
2 Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night.(B)
3 He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams[a]
that bears its fruit in its season,(C)
and its leaf does not wither.(D)
Whatever he does prospers.(E)
4 The wicked are not like this;
instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.(F)
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand up in the judgment,(G)
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
Psalm 2
Coronation of the Son
1 Why(J) do the nations rage(K)
and the peoples plot in vain?(L)
2 The kings of the earth take their stand,(M)
and the rulers conspire together
against the Lord and his Anointed One:[b](N)
3 “Let’s tear off their chains
and throw their ropes off of us.”(O)
4 The one enthroned[c] in heaven laughs;
the Lord ridicules them.(P)
5 Then he speaks to them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath:(Q)
6 “I have installed my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”(R)
7 I will declare the Lord’s decree.
He said to me, “You are my Son;[d]
today I have become your Father.(S)
8 Ask of me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance
and the ends of the earth your possession.(T)
9 You will break them with an iron scepter;
you will shatter them like pottery.”(U)
10 So now, kings, be wise;
receive instruction, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with reverential awe
and rejoice with trembling.(V)
12 Pay homage to[e] the Son or he will be angry
and you will perish in your rebellion,[f](W)
for his anger may ignite at any moment.(X)
All who take refuge in him are happy.(Y)
Psalm 3
Confidence in Troubled Times
A psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom.(Z)
1 Lord, how my foes increase!
There are many who attack me.(AA)
2 Many say about me,
“There is no help for him in God.”(AB)Selah
3 But you, Lord, are a shield around me,(AC)
my glory,(AD) and the one who lifts up my head.(AE)
4 I cry aloud to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.(AF)Selah
5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again because the Lord sustains me.(AG)
6 I will not be afraid of thousands of people
who have taken their stand against me on every side.(AH)
7 Rise up, Lord!(AI)
Save me, my God!
You strike all my enemies on the cheek;(AJ)
you break the teeth of the wicked.(AK)
8 Salvation belongs to the Lord;(AL)
may your blessing be on your people.(AM)Selah
Psalm 4
A Night Prayer
For the choir director: with stringed instruments.(AN) A psalm of David.
1 Answer me when I call,
God, who vindicates me.[g](AO)
You freed me from affliction;(AP)
be gracious to me and hear my prayer.
2 How long, exalted ones,[h] will my honor be insulted?(AQ)
How long will you love what is worthless(AR)
and pursue a lie? Selah
3 Know that the Lord has set apart
the faithful for himself;
the Lord will hear when I call to him.
4 Be angry[i] and do not sin;(AS)
reflect in your heart while on your bed and be silent.(AT) Selah
5 Offer sacrifices in righteousness[j](AU)
and trust in the Lord.(AV)
6 Many are asking, “Who can show us anything good?”
Let the light of your face shine on us, Lord.(AW)
Psalm 7
Prayer for Justice
A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.
1 Lord my God, I seek refuge in you;(A)
save me from all my pursuers and rescue me,(B)
2 or they[a] will tear me like a lion,
ripping me apart with no one to rescue me.(C)
3 Lord my God, if I have done this,
if there is injustice on my hands,(D)
4 if I have done harm to one at peace with me(E)
or have plundered[b] my adversary without cause,(F)
5 may an enemy pursue and overtake me;
may he trample me to the ground(G)
and leave my honor in the dust.(H)Selah
6 Rise up, Lord, in your anger;
lift yourself up against the fury of my adversaries;(I)
awake for me;[c](J)
you have ordained a judgment.(K)
7 Let the assembly of peoples gather around you;(L)
take your seat on high over it.(M)
8 The Lord judges the peoples;(N)
vindicate me, Lord,
according to my righteousness and my integrity.(O)
9 Let the evil of the wicked come to an end,(P)
but establish the righteous.(Q)
The one who examines the thoughts and emotions[d]
is a righteous God.(R)
10 My shield is with God,(S)
who saves the upright in heart.(T)
11 God is a righteous judge
and a God who shows his wrath every day.(U)
12 If anyone does not repent,
he will sharpen his sword;(V)
he has strung his bow and made it ready.(W)
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he tips his arrows with fire.(X)
14 See, the wicked one is pregnant with evil,
conceives trouble, and gives birth to deceit.(Y)
15 He dug a pit and hollowed it out
but fell into the hole he had made.(Z)
16 His trouble comes back on his own head;
his own violence comes down on top of his head.(AA)
17 I will thank the Lord for his righteousness;
I will sing about the name of the Lord Most High.(AB)
11 When Micaiah son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, 12 he went down to the scribe’s chamber in the king’s palace. All the officials were sitting there—Elishama the scribe, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor,(A) Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. 13 Micaiah reported to them all the words he had heard when Baruch read from the scroll in the hearing of the people. 14 Then all the officials sent word to Baruch through Jehudi son of Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah, son of Cushi, saying, “Bring the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and went to them. 15 They said to him, “Sit down and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch read it in their hearing.
16 When they had heard all the words, they turned to each other in fear and said to Baruch, “We must surely tell the king all these things.” 17 Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, how did you write all these words? At his dictation?” [a]
18 Baruch said to them, “At his dictation. He recited all these words to me while I was writing on the scroll in ink.”
Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll
19 The officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must hide and tell no one where you are.” 20 Then, after depositing the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, the officials came to the king at the courtyard and reported everything in the hearing of the king. 21 The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe. Jehudi then read it in the hearing of the king and all the officials who were standing by the king. 22 Since it was the ninth month, the king was sitting in his winter quarters(B) with a fire burning in front of him. 23 As soon as Jehudi would read three or four columns, Jehoiakim would cut the scroll[b] with a scribe’s knife and throw the columns into the fire in the hearth until the entire scroll was consumed by the fire in the hearth. 24 As they heard all these words, the king and all his servants did not become terrified(C) or tear their clothes. 25 Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah had urged the king not to burn the scroll, he did not listen to them. 26 Then the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to seize the scribe Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah, but the Lord hid them.
Love: The Superior Way
13 If I speak human or angelic tongues[a] but do not have love,(A) I am a noisy gong(B) or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy(C) and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can move mountains(D) but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give away all my possessions, and if I give over my body in order to boast[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient,(E) love is kind. Love does not envy,(F) is not boastful, is not arrogant,(G) 5 is not rude, is not self-seeking,(H) is not irritable,(I) and does not keep a record of wrongs. 6 Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth.(J) 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures(K) all things.
8 Love never ends.(L) But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will come to an end. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put aside childish things. 12 For now we see only a reflection[c] as in a mirror, but then face to face.(M) Now I know in part, but then I will know fully,(N) as I am fully known.(O) 13 Now these three remain: faith, hope,(P) and love—but the greatest of these is love.
5 Jesus sent out these twelve after giving them instructions: “Don’t take the road that leads to the Gentiles, and don’t enter any Samaritan(A) town. 6 Instead, go to the lost sheep(B) of the house of Israel.(C) 7 As you go, proclaim, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’(D) 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy,[a] drive out demons.(E) Freely you received, freely give. 9 Don’t acquire gold, silver, or copper for your money-belts.(F) 10 Don’t take a traveling bag for the road, or an extra shirt, sandals, or a staff, for the worker(G) is worthy of his food. 11 When you enter any town or village, find out who is worthy, and stay there until you leave. 12 Greet a household when you enter it,(H) 13 and if the household is worthy, let your peace be on it; but if it is unworthy, let your peace return to you.(I) 14 If anyone does not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet(J) when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment(K) for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.(L)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.