Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 119
Delight in God’s Word
א Alef
1 How[a] happy are those whose way is blameless,(A)
who live according to the Lord’s instruction!(B)
2 Happy are those who keep His decrees(C)
and seek Him with all their heart.(D)
3 They do nothing wrong;(E)
they follow His ways.
4 You have commanded that Your precepts(F)
be diligently kept.
5 If only my ways were committed
to keeping Your statutes!(G)
6 Then I would not be ashamed(H)
when I think about all Your commands.
7 I will praise You with a sincere heart(I)
when I learn Your righteous judgments.
8 I will keep Your statutes;
never abandon me.(J)
ב Bet
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping Your[b] word.(K)
10 I have sought You with all my heart;(L)
don’t let me wander from Your commands.(M)
11 I have treasured Your word in my heart(N)
so that I may not sin against You.
12 Lord, may You be praised;
teach me Your statutes.(O)
13 With my lips I proclaim
all the judgments from Your mouth.(P)
14 I rejoice in the way revealed by Your decrees(Q)
as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on Your precepts(R)
and think about Your ways.(S)
16 I will delight in Your statutes;(T)
I will not forget Your word.
ג Gimel
17 Deal generously with Your servant(U)
so that I might live;
then I will keep Your word.
18 Open my eyes so that I may contemplate
wonderful things from Your instruction.
19 I am a stranger on earth;(V)
do not hide Your commands from me.
20 I am continually overcome
with longing for Your judgments.(W)
21 You rebuke the proud,
the ones under a curse,(X)
who wander from Your commands.(Y)
22 Take insult and contempt away from me,(Z)
for I have kept Your decrees.
23 Though princes sit together speaking against me,(AA)
Your servant will think about Your statutes;(AB)
24 Your decrees are my delight
and my counselors.(AC)
Psalm 12
Oppression by the Wicked
For the choir director: according to Sheminith.(A) A Davidic psalm.
1 Help, Lord, for no faithful one remains;
the loyal have disappeared from the human race.(B)
2 They lie to one another;
they speak with flattering lips and deceptive hearts.(C)
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips
and the tongue that speaks boastfully.(D)
4 They say, “Through our tongues we have power;[a]
our lips are our own—who can be our master?”(E)
5 “Because of the oppression of the afflicted
and the groaning of the poor,
I will now rise up,” says the Lord.
“I will put the one who longs for it in a safe place.”(F)
6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in an earthen furnace,
purified seven times.(G)
7 You, Lord, will guard us;[b]
You will protect us[c] from this generation forever.(H)
8 The wicked wander[d] everywhere,
and what is worthless is exalted by the human race.(I)
Psalm 13
A Plea for Deliverance
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.
1 Lord, how long will You forget me?
Forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?(J)
2 How long will I store up anxious concerns[e] within me,
agony in my mind every day?
How long will my enemy dominate me?(K)
3 Consider me and answer, Lord my God.
Restore brightness to my eyes;(L)
otherwise, I will sleep in death.
4 My enemy will say, “I have triumphed over him,”
and my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.(M)
5 But I have trusted in Your faithful love;(N)
my heart will rejoice in Your deliverance.(O)
6 I will sing to the Lord
because He has treated me generously.(P)
Psalm 14
A Portrait of Sinners
For the choir director. Davidic.
1 The fool says in his heart, “God does not exist.”(Q)
They are corrupt; they do vile deeds.
There is no one who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the human race(R)
to see if there is one who is wise,
one who seeks God.
3 All have turned away;
all alike have become corrupt.
There is no one who does good,
not even one.[f](S)
4 Will evildoers never understand?
They consume My people as they consume bread;(T)
they do not call on the Lord.(U)
17 [a]Now the Lord had appointed a huge fish(A) to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in[b] the fish three days and three nights.(B)
Jonah’s Prayer
2 Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside[c] the fish:(C)
2 I called to the Lord in my distress,(D)
and He answered me.
I cried out for help in the belly of Sheol;(E)
You heard my voice.(F)
3 You threw me into the depths,(G)
into the heart of the seas,(H)
and the current[d] overcame me.
All Your breakers and Your billows swept over me.(I)
4 But I said: I have been banished(J)
from Your sight,(K)
yet I will look once more[e]
toward Your holy temple.(L)
5 The waters engulfed me up to the neck;[f](M)
the watery depths overcame me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.(N)
6 I sank to the foundations of the mountains;(O)
the earth with its prison bars closed behind me forever!(P)
But You raised my life(Q) from the Pit, Lord my God!(R)
7 As my life was fading away,(S)
I remembered Yahweh.(T)
My prayer came to You,(U)
to Your holy temple.(V)
8 Those who cling to worthless idols(W)
forsake faithful love,(X)
9 but as for me, I will sacrifice(Y) to You
with a voice of thanksgiving.(Z)
I will fulfill(AA) what I have vowed.
Salvation[g] is from the Lord!(AB)
10 Then the Lord commanded the fish,(AC) and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Paul’s Advice Ignored
9 By now much time had passed, and the voyage was already dangerous. Since the Fast[a](A) was already over, Paul gave his advice 10 and told them, “Men, I can see that this voyage is headed toward damage and heavy loss, not only of the cargo and the ship but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion paid attention to the captain and the owner of the ship rather than to what Paul said.(B) 12 Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to set sail from there, hoping somehow to reach Phoenix, a harbor on Crete(C) open to the southwest and northwest, and to winter there.
Storm-Tossed Ship
13 When a gentle south wind sprang up, they thought they had achieved their purpose. They weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14 But not long afterward, a fierce wind called the “northeaster”[b] rushed down from the island. 15 Since the ship was caught and was unable to head into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 After running under the shelter of a little island called Cauda,[c] we were barely able to get control of the skiff. 17 After hoisting it up, they used ropes and tackle and girded the ship. Then, fearing they would run aground on the Syrtis,[d] they lowered the drift-anchor, and in this way they were driven along. 18 Because we were being severely battered by the storm, they began to jettison the cargo the next day.(D) 19 On the third day, they threw the ship’s gear overboard with their own hands.
20 For many days neither sun nor stars appeared, and the severe storm kept raging. Finally all hope that we would be saved was disappearing. 21 Since many were going without food, Paul stood up among them and said, “You men should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete and sustain this damage and loss. 22 Now I urge you to take courage, because there will be no loss of any of your lives, but only of the ship. 23 For this night an angel of the God I belong to and serve stood by me,(E) 24 and said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. And, look! God has graciously given you all those who are sailing with you.’ 25 Therefore, take courage, men, because I believe God that it will be just the way it was told to me.(F) 26 However, we must run aground on a certain island.”(G)
Commissioning the Twelve
9 Summoning the Twelve,(A) He gave them power and authority over all the demons, and power to heal[a] diseases.(B) 2 Then He sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.(C)
3 “Take nothing for the road,”(D) He told them, “no walking stick,(E) no traveling bag, no bread, no money; and don’t take an extra shirt. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there. 5 If they do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”(F) 6 So they went out and traveled from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing everywhere.
Herod’s Desire to See Jesus
7 Herod the tetrarch(G) heard about everything that was going on.(H) He was perplexed, because some said that John had been raised from the dead, 8 some that Elijah had appeared,(I) and others that one of the ancient prophets had risen.(J) 9 “I beheaded John,” Herod said, “but who is this I hear such things about?” And he wanted to see Him.(K)
Feeding 5,000
10 When the apostles returned,(L) they reported to Jesus all that they had done.(M) He took them along and withdrew privately to a[b] town called Bethsaida.(N) 11 When the crowds found out, they followed Him. He welcomed them,(O) spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and cured[c] those who needed healing.
12 Late in the day,[d](P) the Twelve approached and said to Him, “Send the crowd away,(Q) so they can go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find food and lodging, because we are in a deserted place here.”
13 “You give them something to eat,” He told them.
“We have no more than five loaves(R) and two fish,” they said, “unless we go and buy food for all these people.” 14 (For about 5,000 men were there.)
Then He told His disciples, “Have them sit down[e] in groups of about 50 each.” 15 They did so, and had them all sit down. 16 Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,(S) He blessed and broke them.(T) He kept giving them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 Everyone ate and was filled. Then they picked up[f] 12 baskets of leftover pieces.
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