Book of Common Prayer
BOOK I (Psalms 1-41)
The Righteous and the Wicked[a]
1 How blessed is the person,
who does not take[b] the advice of the wicked,
who does not stand on the path with sinners,
and who does not sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But he delights in the Lord’s instruction,[c]
and meditates in his instruction[d] day and night.
3 He will be like a tree planted by streams of water,
yielding its fruit in its season,
and whose leaf does not wither.
He will prosper in everything he does.
4 But this is not the case with the wicked.
They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not escape[e] judgment,
nor will sinners have a place[f] in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will be destroyed.
The Nations and God’s Anointed
2 Why are the nations in an uproar,
and their people involved in a vain plot?
2 As the kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers conspire together against the Lord and his anointed one, they say,[g]
3 “Let us tear off their shackles from us,[h]
and cast off their chains.”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
5 In his anger he rebukes them,
and in his wrath he terrifies them:
6 “I have set my king on Zion,
my holy mountain.”
The Anointed King Speaks
7 Let me announce the decree of the Lord
that he told me:
“You are my son,
today I have become your father.
8 Ask of me, and I will give you
the nations as your inheritance,
the ends of the earth as your possession.
9 You will break them with an iron rod,
you will shatter them like pottery.”
10 Therefore, kings, act wisely!
Earthly rulers, be warned!
11 Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss[i] the son before he becomes[j] angry,
and you die where you stand.[k]
Indeed, his wrath can flare up quickly.
How blessed are those who take refuge in him.
A Davidic Psalm, when he fled from his son Absalom.
God Delivers His Servants
3 Lord, I have so many persecutors!
Many are rising up against me!
2 Many are saying about me,
“God will never deliver him!”
3 But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.
4 I cry aloud[l] to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.
5 I lie down and sleep,
I wake up, because the Lord sustains me.
6 I will not fear multitudes of[m] people,
who set themselves against me on every side.
7 Arise, Lord!
Deliver me, my God!
For you strike the jaw of all my enemies,
and you break the teeth of the wicked.
8 Deliverance comes from the Lord!
May your blessing be on your people.
To the Director: With stringed instruments. A Davidic Psalm
Trust God under Adversity
4 When I call, answer me,
my righteous God![n]
When I was in distress, you set me free.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.
2 You people,
how long will you malign my reputation?
How long will you love what is vain[o]
and what is false?
3 But understand this:[p]
the Lord has set apart the godly for himself!
The Lord will hear me when I cry out to him!
A Davidic psalm,[a] which he sang to the Lord, because of the words of Cush the descendant of Benjamin.
A Prayer for Vindication
7 Lord, my God,
I seek refuge in you.
Deliver me from those who persecute me!
Rescue me!
2 Otherwise, they will rip me to shreds like a lion,
tearing me[b] apart with no one to rescue me.[c]
3 Lord, my God, if I have done this thing,
if there is injustice on my hands,
4 if I have rewarded those who did me good with evil,
if I have plundered my enemy without justification,
5 then, let my enemy pursue me,
let him overtake me,
and let him trample my life to the ground.
Let him put my honor into the dust.
6 Get up, Lord, in your anger!
Rise up, because of the fury of my enemies;
Arouse yourself for me;
you have ordained justice.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples gather around you,
and you will sit[d] high above them.
8 For the Lord will judge the peoples.
Judge me according to my righteousness, Lord,
and according to my integrity, Exalted One.
9 Let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
but establish the righteous.
For you are the righteous God
who discerns the inner thoughts.[e]
10 God is my shield,[f]
the one who delivers the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
a God who is angry with sinners[g] every day.
12 If the ungodly one[h] doesn’t repent,
God will sharpen his sword;
he will string his bow and prepare it.
13 He prepares weapons of death for himself,
he makes his arrows into fiery shafts.
14 But the wicked one[i] travails with evil,
he conceives malice and gives birth to lies.
15 He digs a pit, even excavates it;
then he fell into the hole that he had made.
16 The trouble[j] he planned will return on his own head,
and his violence will descend on his skull.
17 But as for me,
I will praise the Lord for his righteousness,
and I will sing to the name of the Lord Most High.
Reuben and Gad Present a Proposal(A)
32 Now, the descendants of Reuben and descendants of Gad happened to be joint owners of a very large herd of cattle. When they observed that Jazer and Gilead were good grazing lands[a] for cattle, 2 the descendants of Gad and descendants of Reuben approached Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the community and said, 3 “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon— 4 the land that the Lord defeated in the sight of the community of Israel—is perfect for cattle and your servants have cattle. 5 If we’ve found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as our possession instead of us crossing the Jordan River.”[b]
6 “Will your relatives have to go to war while you remain here?” Moses asked the descendants of Gad and descendants of Reuben in response.
A Compromise is Offered
16 Then they approached him and said, “Here’s where we’re going to build corrals for our cattle and cities for our families,[a] 17 but we will keep ourselves armed and stay ready to go with the Israelis until we’ve brought them to their own places. Our families intend to live in fortified cities in the presence of the inhabitants of the land, 18 but we won’t return to our homes until every Israeli has taken possession of each of their inheritances, 19 since our inheritance will not be with them across the Jordan River and beyond. Instead, our inheritance is on this side of the Jordan River, facing eastward.”
The Offer is Accepted
20 “If you do this,” Moses replied to them, “that is, if you equip yourselves for war in the Lord’s presence 21 and every one of your armed soldiers crosses over the Jordan River in the presence of the Lord until he has dispossessed his enemies ahead of him 22 and subjugated the land before him,[b] then afterwards when you return, you’ll be able to stand blameless before the Lord and before Israel. This land will then be your possession before the Lord. 23 “But if you won’t do so, look out! You will be sinning against the Lord. Be certain of this, that your sin will catch up to you! 24 So after you’ve built cities for your families and corrals for your cattle, be sure to keep your promises.”
Moses Assigns the Territory
25 Then the descendants of Gad and descendants of Reuben spoke up. “Your servants will do exactly what our master has commanded.” They said. 26 “Our children, wives, flocks, and all our cattle will be settled in the cities of Gilead, 27 but every soldier that we’ve equipped for battle will cross the Jordan River[c] in the presence of the Lord, as our master has spoken.”
26 In the same way, the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, since we do not know how to pray as we should. But the Spirit himself intercedes for us[a] with groans too deep for words, 27 and the one who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, for the Spirit[b] intercedes for the saints according to God’s will.[c] 28 And we know that for those who love God, that is, for those who are called according to his purpose, all things are working together[d] for good.
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that the Son[e] might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined, he also called; and those whom he called, he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Jesus Denounces the Scribes and the Pharisees(A)
23 Then Jesus told the crowds and his disciples, 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees administer the authority of Moses,[a] 3 so do whatever they tell you and follow it, but stop doing what they do, because they don’t do what they say. 4 They tie up burdens that are heavy and unbearable and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they refuse to lift a finger to remove them.
5 “They do everything to be seen by people. They increase the size of their phylacteries[b] and lengthen the tassels of their garments. 6 They love to have the places of honor at festivals, the best seats in the synagogues, 7 to be greeted in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi’[c] by people.
8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’[d] because you have only one teacher, and all of you are brothers. 9 And don’t call anyone on earth ‘Father,’ because you have only one Father, the one in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called ‘Teachers,’ because you have only one teacher, the Messiah![e] 11 The person who is greatest among you must be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
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