Book of Common Prayer
ז ZAYIN
49 Remember the word to Your servant,
Upon which You have caused me to hope.
50 This is my (A)comfort in my affliction,
For Your word has given me life.
51 The proud have me in great derision,
Yet I do not turn aside from Your law.
52 I remembered Your judgments of old, O Lord,
And have comforted myself.
53 (B)Indignation has taken hold of me
Because of the wicked, who forsake Your law.
54 Your statutes have been my songs
In the house of my pilgrimage.
55 (C)I remember Your name in the night, O Lord,
And I keep Your law.
56 This has become mine,
Because I kept Your precepts.
ח HETH
57 (D)You are my portion, O Lord;
I have said that I would keep Your words.
58 I entreated Your favor with my whole heart;
Be merciful to me according to Your word.
59 I (E)thought about my ways,
And turned my feet to Your testimonies.
60 I made haste, and did not delay
To keep Your commandments.
61 The cords of the wicked have bound me,
But I have not forgotten Your law.
62 (F)At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You,
Because of Your righteous judgments.
63 I am a companion of all who fear You,
And of those who keep Your precepts.
64 (G)The earth, O Lord, is full of Your mercy;
Teach me Your statutes.
ט TETH
65 You have dealt well with Your servant,
O Lord, according to Your word.
66 Teach me good judgment and (H)knowledge,
For I believe Your commandments.
67 Before I was (I)afflicted I went astray,
But now I keep Your word.
68 You are (J)good, and do good;
Teach me Your statutes.
69 The proud have (K)forged[a] a lie against me,
But I will keep Your precepts with my whole heart.
70 (L)Their heart is [b]as fat as grease,
But I delight in Your law.
71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
That I may learn Your statutes.
72 (M)The law of Your mouth is better to me
Than thousands of coins of gold and silver.
The Confidence of the Foolish
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
49 Hear this, all peoples;
Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
2 Both low and high,
Rich and poor together.
3 My mouth shall speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will disclose my [a]dark saying on the harp.
5 Why should I fear in the days of evil,
When the iniquity at my heels surrounds me?
6 Those who (A)trust in their wealth
And boast in the multitude of their riches,
7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother,
Nor (B)give to God a ransom for him—
8 For (C)the redemption of their souls is costly,
And it shall cease forever—
9 That he should continue to live eternally,
And (D)not [b]see the Pit.
10 For he sees wise men die;
Likewise the fool and the senseless person perish,
And leave their wealth to others.
11 [c]Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever,
Their dwelling places to all generations;
They (E)call their lands after their own names.
12 Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not [d]remain;
He is like the beasts that perish.
13 This is the way of those who are (F)foolish,
And of their posterity who approve their sayings. Selah
14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave;
Death shall feed on them;
(G)The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning;
(H)And their beauty shall be consumed in [e]the grave, far from their dwelling.
15 But God (I)will redeem my soul from the power of [f]the grave,
For He shall (J)receive me. Selah
16 Do not be afraid when one becomes rich,
When the glory of his house is increased;
17 For when he dies he shall carry nothing away;
His glory shall not descend after him.
18 Though while he lives (K)he blesses himself
(For men will praise you when you do well for yourself),
19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers;
They shall never see (L)light.[g]
20 A man who is in honor, yet does not understand,
(M)Is like the beasts that perish.
Folly of the Godless, and the Restoration of Israel(A)
To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath.” A [a]Contemplation of David.
53 The (B)fool has said in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity;
(C)There is none who does good.
2 God looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
To see if there are any who understand, who (D)seek God.
3 Every one of them has turned aside;
They have together become corrupt;
There is none who does good,
No, not one.
Sacrificial Service for Christ
24 (A)I now rejoice in my sufferings (B)for you, and fill up in my flesh (C)what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for (D)the sake of His body, which is the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to (E)the [a]stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, 26 (F)the [b]mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, (G)but now has been revealed to His saints. 27 (H)To them God willed to make known what are (I)the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: [c]which is (J)Christ in you, (K)the hope of glory. 28 Him we preach, (L)warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, (M)that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me (N)mightily.
Not Philosophy but Christ
2 For I want you to know what a great (O)conflict[d] I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, [e]both of the Father and of Christ, 3 (P)in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
4 Now this I say (Q)lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. 5 For (R)though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing [f]to see (S)your good order and the (T)steadfastness of your faith in Christ.
6 (U)As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 (V)rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding [g]in it with thanksgiving.
Love Your Enemies(A)
27 (B)“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 (C)bless those who curse you, and (D)pray for those who spitefully use you. 29 (E)To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. (F)And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30 (G)Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. 31 (H)And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
32 (I)“But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 (J)And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 35 But (K)love your enemies, (L)do good, and (M)lend, [a]hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and (N)you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. 36 (O)Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
Do Not Judge(P)
37 (Q)“Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. (R)Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 (S)Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your (T)bosom. For (U)with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.