Book of Common Prayer
1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the Law of the LORD. And on His Law does he meditate day and night.
3 For he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of waters, that will bring forth her fruits in due season; whose leaf shall not fade. So, whatever he shall do shall prosper.
4 The wicked are not so; but are as the chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous. And the way of the wicked shall perish.
2 Why do the heathen rage, and the people murmur in vain?
2 The kings of the Earth stand together. And the Princes are assembled together against the LORD, and against His Christ.
3 Let us break their bands and cast their cords from us.
4 But he who dwells in the heavens shall laugh. The LORD shall hold them in derision.
5 Then shall He speak to them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure, saying,
6 “I have set My King upon Zion, My Holy Mountain.”
7 “I will declare the decree. The LORD has said to me, ‘You are My Son. This day have I begotten You.
8 “Ask of Me, and I shall give You the heathen for Your inheritance, and the ends of the Earth for Your possession.
9 “You shall crush them with a scepter of iron; and break them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”
10 Be wise now, therefore, you kings. Be learned, you judges of the Earth.
11 Serve the LORD in fear; and rejoice in trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish on the way when His wrath shall suddenly burn. Blessed are all who trust in Him. A Psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom.
3 LORD, how my adversaries are increased? How many rise against me?
2 Many say to my soul, “There is no help for him in God.” Selah.
3 But You, LORD, are a buckler for me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I called to the LORD with my voice, and He heard me out of His Holy Mountain. Selah.
5 I laid down and slept; and rose up again. For the LORD sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of tens of thousands of people who should beset me all around.
7 O LORD, arise! Help me, my God! For You have struck all my enemies upon the cheekbone. You have broken the teeth of the wicked.
8 Salvation belongs to the LORD. And Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah. To him who excels on Neginoth: A Psalm of David.
4 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness. You have set me at liberty when I was in distress. Have mercy upon me and hear my prayer.
2 O you sons of men, how long will you turn my glory into shame, loving vanity and seeking lies? Selah.
3 But know that the LORD has chosen for Himself a godly man. The LORD will hear when I call to Him.
4 Tremble and do not sin. Examine your own heart upon your bed and be still. Selah.
5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and trust in the LORD.
6 Many say, “Who will show us good?” LORD, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us.
7 You have given me more joy of heart than when their wheat and their wine abounded.
8 I will lay down, and also sleep, in peace. For You only, LORD, make me dwell in safety. To him who excels upon Nehiloth: A Psalm of David.
7 O LORD my God, in You I put my trust. Save me from all who persecute me, and deliver me,
2 lest he devour my soul like a lion, and tear it in pieces, while there is no one to help.
3 O LORD, my God, if I have done this thing, if there is any wickedness in my hands,
4 if I have rewarded evil to him who had peace with me (indeed, I have delivered him without cause),
5 let the enemies persecute my soul and take it. Indeed, let him tread my life down upon the Earth, and lay my honor in the dust. Selah.
6 Arise, O LORD, in Your wrath, and lift up Yourself against the rage of my enemies. Awaken me to the judgment You have appointed.
7 So shall the congregation of the people surround You. For their sakes, therefore, return on High.
8 The LORD shall judge the people. Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and according to my innocence in me.
9 Oh, let the malice of the wicked come to an end. But guide the just. For the righteous God tries the hearts and reins.
10 My defense is in God, Who preserves the upright in heart.
11 God judges the righteous, and he who denounces God, every day.
12 Unless he turns, He has sharpened His sword. He has bent His bow and made it ready.
13 He has also prepared deadly weapons. He will ordain His arrows for those who persecute.
14 Behold, he shall work with wickedness, for he has conceived mischief. But he shall bring forth a lie.
15 He has made a pit, and dug it, and has fallen into the pit he made.
16 His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his cruelty shall fall upon his own head.
17 I will praise the LORD according to His righteousness and will sing praise to the Name of the LORD Most High. To him who excels on Gittith: A Psalm of David.
7 Woe is me, for I am as the summer gatherings, as the grapes of the vintage. There is no cluster to eat. My soul desired the first ripe fruits.
2 The good man has perished from the Earth, and there is no one righteous among men. They all lie in wait for blood. Every man hunts his brother with a net.
3 To make good for the evil of both their hands, the prince asks and the judge judges for a reward. And the great man speaks out the corruption of his soul. So they weave it together.
4 The best of them is as a brier. And the most righteous of them is sharper than a thorn-hedge. The day of your watchmen and your visitation comes. Then shall be their confusion.
5 Do not trust in a friend, or put confidence in a counselor. Keep the doors of your mouth from she who lies in your bosom.
6 For the son reviles the father. The daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies are the men of his own house.
7 Therefore, I will look to the LORD. I will wait for God my Savior. My God will hear me.
26 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” So, Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself.
2 “I consider myself happy, King Agrippa. Because today I shall answer before you all the things of which I am accused by the Jews;
3 “especially because you have knowledge of all customs and questions which are among the Jews. Therefore, I beg you to hear me patiently.
4 “Regarding my life from childhood, all the Jews know that from the beginning it was among my own nation at Jerusalem,
5 “They knew me from the beginning and could testify (if they wished) that according to the straightest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee.
6 “And now I stand accused of hope in the promise made by God to our Fathers;
7 “to which our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God day and night, hope to come. For this hope’s sake, O King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews.
8 “Why should it be thought an incredible thing by you that God should raise the dead again?
9 “Truly, I also thought to myself that I ought to do many things against the Name of Jesus of Nazareth;
10 “which I also did in Jerusalem. For I shut up many of the saints in prison, having received authority from the chief priests. And when they were put to death, I gave sentence.
11 “And I punished them throughout all the synagogues and compelled them to blaspheme. And being extremely enraged against them, I persecuted them, even to strange cities.
12 “At which time, even as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,
13 (at midday, O King) I saw on the way a light from Heaven, surpassing the brightness of the Sun. It shined all around me and those who went with me.
14 “So, when we had all fallen to the Earth, I heard a voice speaking to me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against goads.’
15 “Then I said, ‘Who are You, Lord? And he said, ‘I am Jesus, Whom you persecute.
16 ‘But rise and stand up on your feet. For I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you as a minister and a witness, both of the things which you have seen and of the things in which I will appear to you;
17 ‘I will deliver you from this people, and from the Gentiles to whom now I send you,
18 ‘to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’
19 “So, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.
20 “But I declared first to those of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea; and then to the Gentiles, so that they would repent and turn to God, and do the works of repentance.
21 “For this reason the Jews arrested me in the Temple and planned to kill me.
22 “Nevertheless, I obtained the help of God, and continue to this day, witnessing to both small and great, saying no other things than those which the Prophets and Moses said would come.
23 “That is, that Christ should suffer. And that He would be the first Who would rise from the dead, and would show light to this people, and to the Gentiles.”
26 So they sailed to the region of the Gadarenes (which is near Galilee).
27 And as He went out to land, a certain man from the city met Him. He had had demons for a long time, and he wore no clothes. Nor did he live in a house, but in the graves.
28 And when he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him. And with a loud voice, he said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus the Son of God, the Most High? I beg You, do not torment me!”
29 For He commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. It had often seized him. Therefore, he was bound with chains and kept in shackles. But he broke the bonds and was carried into wilderness by the demon.
30 Then Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion!” (because many demons had entered into him).
31 And they begged him not to command them to go out into the deep.
32 And there was a large herd of swine feeding on a nearby hill. And the demons begged Him to let them enter them. So, He allowed them.
33 Then the demons went out of the man and entered into the swine. And the herd was carried violently down a steep bank into the lake and was choked.
34 When the herdsmen saw what was done, they fled. And when they had left, they reported it in the city and in the country.
35 Then they came out to see what had happened. And they came to Jesus and found the man out of whom the demons had come, sitting at the feet of Jesus (clothed, and in his right mind). And they were afraid.
36 Those who saw it also told them by what means he who had been possessed with the demon was healed.
37 Then the whole multitude of the country surrounding the Gadarenes begged Him to leave, for they were taken with great fear. And He went into the ship and returned.
38 Then the man out of whom the demons had come begged Him to let him stay with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying,
39 “Return to your own house. And show what great things God has done to you.” So, he went his way, and preached throughout all the city what great things Jesus had done to him.
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