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)
First Series of Speeches
Eliphaz Speaks
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
5 Call out! Will anyone answer you?
Which of the holy ones(A) will you turn to?
2 For anger kills a fool,
and jealousy slays the gullible.(B)
3 I have seen a fool taking root,
but I immediately pronounced a curse on his home.
4 His children are far from safety.
They are crushed at the city gate,(C)
with no one to rescue them.
5 The hungry consume his harvest,
even taking it out of the thorns.[a]
The thirsty[b] pant for his children’s wealth.
6 For distress does not grow out of the soil,
and trouble does not sprout from the ground.
7 But humans are born for trouble(D)
as surely as sparks fly upward.
17 See how happy is the person whom God corrects;
so do not reject the discipline of the Almighty.
18 For he wounds but he also bandages;
he strikes, but his hands also heal.(A)
19 He will rescue you from six calamities;
no harm will touch you in seven.
20 In famine he will redeem you from death,
and in battle, from the power of the sword.(B)
21 You will be safe from slander[a]
and not fear destruction when it comes.(C)
19 And after taking some food, he regained his strength.(A)
Saul Proclaiming the Messiah
Saul was with the disciples in Damascus for some time. 20 Immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues: “He is the Son of God.”(B)
21 All who heard him were astounded and said, “Isn’t this the man in Jerusalem who was causing havoc for those who called on this name and came here for the purpose of taking them as prisoners to the chief priests?” (C)
22 But Saul grew stronger and kept confounding the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.
23 After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plot. So they were watching the gates day and night intending to kill him,(D) 25 but his disciples took him by night and lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the wall.(E)
Saul in Jerusalem
26 When he arrived in Jerusalem,(F) he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, since they did not believe he was a disciple. 27 Barnabas, however, took him and brought him to the apostles and explained to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and that the Lord had talked to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly(G) in the name of Jesus.(H) 28 Saul was coming and going with them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He conversed and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him.(I) 30 When the brothers found out, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.(J)
The Church’s Growth
31 So the church(K) throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.
52 At that, the Jews argued(A) among themselves,(B) “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man(C) and drink his blood,(D) you do not have life in yourselves. 54 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood(E) has eternal life, and I will raise(F) him up on the last day, 55 because my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.(G) 57 Just as the living(H) Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live(I) because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the manna[a] your ancestors ate—and they died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.”(J)
59 He said these things while teaching in the synagogue(K) in Capernaum.(L)
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