Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 25[a]
Prayer for Guidance and Help
1 [b]Of David.
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;
2 in you, O my God, I trust.
Do not let me be put to shame,
or permit my enemies to gloat over me.
3 No one who places his hope in you
will ever be put to shame,
but shame will be the lot of all
who break faith without justification.
4 [c]Make your ways known to me, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and instruct me,
for you are God, my Savior,
and in you I hope all the day long.
6 Be mindful, O Lord, that mercy and kindness
have been yours from of old.
7 Remember not the sins of my youth
or my many transgressions,
but remember me in your kindness,
for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.
8 [d]Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore, he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them the path to follow.
10 The ways of the Lord[e] are kindness and truth
for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
11 For the sake of your name,[f] O Lord,
pardon my iniquity, great though it be.
12 Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord?
He will be shown the path he should choose.[g]
13 He will enjoy lasting prosperity,
and his descendants will inherit the land.[h]
14 The Lord manifests himself to those who fear him,[i]
and he makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are ever upon the Lord,
for he alone can free my feet from the snare.
16 [j]Turn to me and have mercy on me,
for I am alone and afflicted.
17 Relieve the anguish of my heart[k]
and free me from my distress.
18 Look upon my affliction and suffering,
and forgive all my sins.
19 Consider how numerous are my enemies,
and how fierce is their hatred of me.
20 Preserve my life and deliver me;
do not let me be put to shame,
for I seek refuge in you.
21 Let integrity and virtue preserve me,
for in you I place my hope.
22 Redeem[l] Israel, O God,
from all its troubles.
Psalms 9–10[a]
Psalm 9[b]
Thanksgiving for the Triumph of Justice
1 For the director.[c] According to Muth Labben. A psalm of David.
2 I will offer praise to you, O Lord,
with my whole heart;
I will recount all your wondrous deeds.[d]
3 I will rejoice and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name,[e] O Most High.
4 For my enemies have turned back;
in your presence they stumble and perish.
5 But you have upheld my just cause,
you who are seated on your throne as a righteous judge.
6 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked,
erasing their name forever and ever.
7 The enemies have suffered endless ruin;
their cities have been utterly destroyed,
and not even their memory remains.
8 The Lord is enthroned forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.
9 He governs the world in righteousness
and judges the peoples with equity.
10 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a refuge in times of distress.
11 Those who revere your name place their trust in you,
for you never abandon those who seek you, O Lord.
12 Sing praise to the Lord enthroned in Zion;[f]
proclaim to the nations his wondrous deeds.
13 For the avenger of blood remembers them;
he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
14 Have mercy on me, O Lord;
behold how my enemies afflict me,
you who save me from the gates of death.
15 Then I will recount all your praises
and rejoice in your salvation
at the gates of the Daughter of Zion.[g]
16 [h]The nations have fallen into the pit they made;
their feet have been caught in the snare they laid.
17 The Lord has made himself known and rendered judgment;
the wicked are ensnared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion,[i] Selah
18 The wicked will depart into the netherworld,
all the nations that turned away from God.
19 But the needy will not be forgotten forever,
nor will the hope of the afflicted ever come to naught.
20 Rise up, O Lord! Do not let man triumph;
let the nations be judged before you.
21 Strike them with fear, O Lord;
let the nations know that they are mere mortals. Selah
Psalm 15[a]
The Righteous: Guests of God
1 A psalm of David.
O Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may abide on your holy mountain?[b]
2 [c]The one who leads a blameless life
and does what is right,
who speaks the truth from the heart
3 and does not slander anyone,
who does not harm a friend
and does not scorn a neighbor,
4 who looks with disdain on the wicked
but honors those who fear the Lord,
who abides by his oath,
no matter what the cost,
5 who does not charge interest on a loan
and refuses to accept a bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things
will never fall.
Chapter 27
Dictums about Every Circumstance[a]
1 Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you can never be certain what today may bring.[b]
2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
let it come from the lips of someone else and not your own.
3 Stone is heavy and sand is a dead weight,
but heavier than both is a fool’s provocation.
4 Wrath is cruel and anger is overwhelming,
but who can withstand jealousy?
5 Better is an open rebuke
than concealed love.[c]
6 The blows given by a friend[d] are well meant,
but the kisses of an enemy are filled with deceit.
10 Do not forsake your friend or the friend of your father,
and do not run to your brother’s house when troubles befall you;
far better is a friend nearby
than a brother who is far away.
11 Acquire wisdom, my son, and gladden my heart,
so that I may rebut anyone who insults me.
12 The prudent man perceives danger and seeks shelter,
while the simple[a] continue forward and pay the penalty.
Chapter 2
Unity and Humility.[a] 1 Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, any comfort in love, any fellowship in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, having the same love for one another, and united in thought. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vanity, but humbly regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Be concerned not only with your own interests but also with those of others.
5 Let your attitude be identical to that of Christ Jesus.
The Humbled and Exalted Christ[b]
6 Though he was in the form of God,
he did not regard equality with God
as something to be grasped.
7 Rather, he emptied himself,[c]
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
Being found in appearance as a man,
8 he humbled himself,
and became obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
9 Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above all other names,
10 so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue should proclaim
to the glory of God the Father:
Jesus Christ is Lord.[d]
12 Innocence of the Children of God.[e] Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always been obedient when I am present, you must be so all the more now when I am absent, as you work out your salvation in fear and trembling.[f] 13 For it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to desire and to act for his chosen purpose.
15 Peter’s First Denial. Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. That disciple was known to the high priest, so he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, 16 but Peter remained standing outside at the gate. The other disciple who was known to the high priest went out and spoke to the woman who was in charge of the gate, and he brought Peter inside.
17 The woman said to Peter, “Are you not one of this man’s disciples?” He replied, “I am not.” 18 Since it was cold, the servants and the guards had made a charcoal fire, and they were standing around it, warming themselves. Peter was also standing there and warming himself.
25 Peter’s Second and Third Denials. Meanwhile, as Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, “Are you not also one of his disciples?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” 26 Then one of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had sliced off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” 27 Again, Peter denied it. And at that very moment, a cock crowed.
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