Book of Common Prayer
BOOK 1
The Righteous and the Wicked Contrasted.
1 How blessed is the man who (A)does not walk in the (B)counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the [a](C)path of sinners,
Nor (D)sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his (E)delight is (F)in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates (G)day and (H)night.
3 He will be like (I)a tree firmly planted by [b]streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its [c]leaf does not wither;
And [d]in whatever he does, (J)he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
But they are like (K)chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore (L)the wicked will not stand in the (M)judgment,
Nor sinners in (N)the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord [e](O)knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of (P)the wicked will perish.
The Reign of the Lord’s Anointed.
2 Why are (Q)the [f]nations in an uproar
And the peoples (R)devising a vain thing?
2 The (S)kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
(T)Against the Lord and against His [g](U)Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us (V)tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!”
4 He who [h]sits in the heavens (W)laughs,
The Lord (X)scoffs at them.
5 Then He will speak to them in His (Y)anger
And (Z)terrify them in His fury, saying,
6 “But as for Me, I have [i]installed (AA)My King
Upon Zion, (AB)My holy mountain.”
7 “I will surely tell of the [j]decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, ‘You are (AC)My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 ‘Ask of Me, and (AD)I will surely give (AE)the [k]nations as Your inheritance,
And the very (AF)ends of the earth as Your possession.
9 ‘You shall [l](AG)break them with a [m]rod of iron,
You shall (AH)shatter them like [n]earthenware.’”
10 Now therefore, O kings, (AI)show discernment;
Take warning, O [o]judges of the earth.
11 [p]Worship the Lord with [q](AJ)reverence
And rejoice with (AK)trembling.
12 [r]Do homage to (AL)the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
For (AM)His wrath may [s]soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who (AN)take refuge in Him!
Morning Prayer of Trust in God.
A Psalm of David, when [t]he fled from Absalom his son.
3 O Lord, how (AO)my adversaries have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
2 Many are saying [u]of my soul,
“There is no [v](AP)deliverance for him in God.” [w]Selah.
3 But You, O Lord, are (AQ)a shield about me,
My (AR)glory, and the One who (AS)lifts my head.
4 I was crying to the Lord with my voice,
And He (AT)answered me from (AU)His holy [x]mountain. Selah.
5 [y]I (AV)lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.
6 I will (AW)not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have (AX)set themselves against me round about.
7 (AY)Arise, O Lord; (AZ)save me, O my God!
For You [z]have (BA)smitten all my enemies on the [aa]cheek;
You [ab]have (BB)shattered the teeth of the wicked.
8 [ac](BC)Salvation belongs to the Lord;
Your (BD)blessing [ad]be upon Your people! Selah.
Evening Prayer of Trust in God.
[ae]For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
4 (BE)Answer me when (BF)I call, O God [af]of my righteousness!
You have [ag](BG)relieved me in my distress;
Be (BH)gracious to me and (BI)hear my prayer.
2 O sons of men, how long will (BJ)my [ah]honor become (BK)a reproach?
How long will you love (BL)what is worthless and aim at (BM)deception? [ai]Selah.
3 But know that the Lord has [aj](BN)set apart the (BO)godly man for Himself;
The Lord (BP)hears when I call to Him.
4 [ak](BQ)Tremble, [al](BR)and do not sin;
[am](BS)Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
5 Offer [an]the (BT)sacrifices of righteousness,
And (BU)trust in the Lord.
6 Many are saying, “(BV)Who will show us any good?”
(BW)Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O Lord!
7 You have put (BX)gladness in my heart,
More than when their grain and new wine abound.
8 In peace I will [ao]both (BY)lie down and sleep,
For You alone, O Lord, make me to (BZ)dwell in safety.
The Lord Implored to Defend the Psalmist against the Wicked.
A [a]Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord [b]concerning Cush, a Benjamite.
7 O Lord my God, (A)in You I have taken refuge;
Save me from all those who pursue me, and (B)deliver me,
2 Or he will tear [c]my soul (C)like a lion,
[d]Dragging me away, while there is none to deliver.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this,
If there is (D)injustice in my hands,
4 If I have (E)rewarded evil to [e]my friend,
Or have (F)plundered [f]him who without cause was my adversary,
5 Let the enemy pursue [g]my soul and overtake [h]it;
And let him trample my life down to the ground
And lay my glory in the dust. [i]Selah.
6 (G)Arise, O Lord, in Your anger;
(H)Lift up Yourself against (I)the rage of my adversaries,
And (J)arouse Yourself [j]for me; You have appointed judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the (K)peoples encompass You,
And over [k]them return on high.
8 The Lord (L)judges the peoples;
[l](M)Vindicate me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
9 O let (N)the evil of the wicked come to an end, but (O)establish the righteous;
For the righteous God (P)tries the hearts and [m]minds.
10 My (Q)shield is [n]with God,
Who (R)saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a (S)righteous judge,
And a God who has (T)indignation every day.
12 If [o]a man (U)does not repent, He will (V)sharpen His sword;
He has (W)bent His bow and [p]made it ready.
13 He has also prepared [q]for Himself deadly weapons;
He makes His (X)arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, he travails with wickedness,
And he (Y)conceives mischief and brings forth falsehood.
15 He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has (Z)fallen into the hole which he made.
16 His (AA)mischief will return upon his own head,
And his (AB)violence will descend upon [r]his own pate.
11 (A)My son, do not reject the [a]discipline of the Lord
Or loathe His reproof,
12 For (B)whom the Lord loves He reproves,
Even (C)as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.
13 (D)How blessed is the man who finds wisdom
And the man who gains understanding.
14 For her (E)profit is better than the profit of silver
And her gain better than fine gold.
15 She is (F)more precious than [b]jewels;
And nothing you desire compares with her.
16 [c](G)Long life is in her right hand;
In her left hand are (H)riches and honor.
17 Her (I)ways are pleasant ways
And all her paths are (J)peace.
18 She is a (K)tree of life to those who take hold of her,
And happy are all who hold her fast.
19 The Lord (L)by wisdom founded the earth,
By understanding He (M)established the heavens.
20 By His knowledge the (N)deeps were broken up
And the (O)skies drip with dew.
18 (A)Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and (B)truth. 19 We will know by this that we are (C)of the truth, and will [a]assure our heart before Him 20 [b]in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. 21 (D)Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have (E)confidence [c]before God; 22 and (F)whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we (G)keep His commandments and do (H)the things that are pleasing in His sight.
23 This is His commandment, that we [d](I)believe in (J)the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as (K)He [e]commanded us. 24 The one who (L)keeps His commandments (M)abides in Him, and He in him. (N)We know by this that (O)He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
Testing the Spirits
4 (P)Beloved, do not believe every (Q)spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because (R)many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: (S)every spirit that (T)confesses that (U)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that (V)does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the (W)antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and (X)now it is already in the world. 4 You are from God, (Y)little children, and (Z)have overcome them; because (AA)greater is He who is in you than (AB)he who is in the world. 5 (AC)They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 (AD)We are from God; (AE)he who knows God listens to us; (AF)he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know (AG)the spirit of truth and (AH)the spirit of error.
John’s Questions
11 (A)When Jesus had finished [a]giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there (B)to teach and [b]preach in their cities.
2 (C)Now when (D)John, [c]while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You (E)the [d]Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” 4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 (F)the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the (G)poor have the [e]gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he [f]who (H)does not [g]take offense at Me.”
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