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.

¹³ ¶ And it came to pass another day that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood before Moses from the morning unto the evening.

¹⁴ And when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this that thou doest to the people? Why sittest thou thyself alone and all the people stand before thee from morning unto evening?

¹⁵ And Moses said unto his father-in-law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God.

¹⁶ When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I declare unto them the statutes of God and his laws.

¹⁷ Then Moses’ father-in-law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.

¹⁸ Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou and this people that is with thee; for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.

¹⁹ Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people before God that thou may submit the causes unto God.

²⁰ And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws and shalt show them the way in which they must walk and the work that they must do.

²¹ Moreover thou shalt consider out of all the people men of virtue, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness, and place princes over them, of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

²² And let them judge the people at all seasons; and it shall be that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge, so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.

²³ If thou shalt do this thing and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.

²⁴ So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said.

²⁵ And Moses chose men of virtue out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, princes over thousands, over hundreds, over fifties, and over tens.

²⁶ And they judged the people at all seasons; the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.

²⁷ And Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went to his own land.

5 ¶ The elders who are among you I exhort (I am also an elder with them and a witness of the afflictions of the Christ, and also a participant of the glory that shall be revealed).

² Feed the flock of God which is among you, caring for her, not by force, but willingly; not for shameful lucre, but with willing desire;

³ and not as having lordship over the heritage of the Lord, but in such a manner as to be examples of the flock.

⁴ And when the great Prince of the pastors shall appear, ye shall receive the incorruptible crown of glory.

⁵ ¶ Likewise, young people, be subject to the elders in such a manner that you are all subject to one another. Be clothed with humility of will, for God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.

⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time,

⁷ casting all your cares upon him, for he cares for you.

⁸ ¶ Be temperate and vigilant because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour,

⁹ resist him steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are to be accomplished in the company of your brethren that are in the world.

¹⁰ ¶ But the God of all grace, who has called us unto his eternal glory by Jesus, the Christ, after ye have suffered a little while, he himself perfects, confirms, strengthens, and establishes you.

¹¹ To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

¹² By Silvanus, a faithful brother; (according to my reckoning), I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which ye stand.

¹³ Those here at Babylon, chosen together with you, salute you and so does Mark, my son.

¹⁴ Greet one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Jesus, the Christ. Amen.

1 ¶ The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham.

² Abraham begat Isaac; Isaac begat Jacob; Jacob begat Judas and his brothers;

³ Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; Phares begat Esrom; Esrom begat Aram;

⁴ Aram begat Aminadab; Aminadab begat Naasson; Naasson begat Salmon;

⁵ Salmon begat Booz {Greek word for “Boaz”} of Rachab; Booz begat Obed of Ruth; Obed begat Jesse;

⁶ Jesse begat David the king; David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;

⁷ Solomon begat Roboam; Roboam begat Abia; Abia begat Asa;

⁸ Asa begat Josaphat; Josaphat begat Joram; Joram begat Ozias;

⁹ Ozias begat Joatham; Joatham begat Achaz; Achaz begat Ezekias;

¹⁰ Ezekias begat Manasses; Manasses begat Amon; Amon begat Josias;

¹¹ Josias begat Jechonias and his brothers, about the time they were carried away to Babylon;

¹² after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; Salathiel begat Zorobabel;

¹³ Zorobabel begat Abiud; Abiud begat Eliakim; Eliakim begat Azor;

¹⁴ Azor begat Sadoc; Sadoc begat Achim; Achim begat Eliud;

¹⁵ Eliud begat Eleazar; Eleazar begat Matthan; Matthan begat Jacob;

¹⁶ Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

¹⁷ So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; from the carrying away into Babylon unto the Christ are fourteen generations.

3 ¶ In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea

² and saying, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

³ For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, who said, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.

⁴ And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair and a leathern girdle about his loins, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

⁵ Then Jerusalem and all Judaea and all the region round about Jordan went out to him

⁶ and were baptized of him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.