Book of Common Prayer
To the Overcomer, A Psalm of David.
1 ¶ In thee, O LORD, have I waited; let me never be ashamed; deliver me in thy righteousness.
2 Incline thine ear unto me; deliver me speedily; be thou my strong rock, for a house of defence to save me.
3 For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake thou shalt lead me and guide me.
4 Thou shalt pull me out of the net that they have laid in secret for me; for thou art my strength.
5 Into thy hand shall I commit my spirit; thou shalt ransom me, O LORD God of truth.
6 I have hated those that regard lying vanities; but I wait in the LORD.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy, for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities
8 and hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy; thou hast set my feet in a wide place.
9 ¶ Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: my eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly.
10 For my life is spent with grief and my years with sighing: my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones are consumed.
11 I was a reproach among all my enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to my acquaintances: those that see me without flee from me.
12 I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I have become like a lost vessel.
13 For I have heard the slander of many; fear was on every side; while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life.
14 But I trusted in thee, O LORD; I said, Thou art my God.
15 My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those that persecute me.
16 Make thy face to shine upon thy slave; save me for thy mercies’ sake.
17 Let me not be ashamed, O LORD, for I have called upon thee; let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be cut off for Sheol.
18 Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.
19 ¶ Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for those that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for those that wait in thee before the sons of men!
20 Thou shalt keep them in the secret place of thy face from the pride of man; thou shalt keep them in the tabernacle protected from the strife of tongues.
21 Blessed be the LORD, for he has shown me his marvellous mercy in a strong city.
22 For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes; nevertheless thou hast heard the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee.
23 O love the LORD, all ye his merciful ones, for the LORD preserves the faithful and plentifully rewards the proud doer.
24 Be of good courage and strengthen your hearts, all ye that wait in the LORD.
A Psalm of David.
1 ¶ Plead my cause, O LORD, with those that strive with me; fight against those that fight against me.
2 Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up in my help.
3 Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against those that persecute me; say unto my soul; I am thy saving health.
4 Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul; let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt.
5 Let them be as chaff before the wind, and let the angel of the LORD chase them.
6 Let their way be dark and slippery, and let the angel of the LORD persecute them.
7 For without cause they have hid their net for me in a pit, which without cause they have dug for my soul.
8 Let destruction come upon him at unawares, and let his net that he has hid catch himself; into that very destruction let him fall.
9 And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD; it shall rejoice in his saving health.
10 All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee, who delivers the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoils him?
11 ¶ False witnesses rose up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.
12 They rewarded me evil for good until my soul was alone.
13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer rose up in my bosom.
14 I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother; I bowed down heavily, as one that mourns for his mother.
15 But in my adversity they rejoiced and gathered themselves together; yea, the smiters gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they tore me apart and did not cease:
16 With immature hypocritical mockers, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.
17 ¶ Lord, how long wilt thou look on? Restore my soul from their destructions, my life from the lions.
18 I will give thee thanks in the great congregation; I will praise thee among many people.
19 Let not those that are my enemies wrongfully rejoice over me; neither let those that hate me wink with the eye without a cause.
20 For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful matters against those that are meek in the land.
21 Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me and said, Aha, aha, our eye has seen it.
22 This thou hast seen, O LORD; do not keep silence; O Lord, do not be far from me.
23 Stir up thyself and awake to my judgment, even unto my cause, my God and my Lord.
24 Judge me, O LORD my God, according to thy righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me.
25 Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it; let them not say, We have swallowed him up.
26 Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at my hurt; let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me.
27 Let them shout for joy and be glad that favour my righteous cause; let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, who has pleasure in the peace of his slave.
28 And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.
3 ¶ And when the seventh month was come and the sons of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man in Jerusalem.
2 Then stood up Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings upon it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God.
3 And they set the altar upon its bases, for fear was upon them because of the peoples of those lands, and they offered burnt offerings upon it unto the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening.
4 They kept also the feast of the tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the ordinance, each thing in its day,
5 and in addition to this, the continual burnt offering and the new moons and all the sanctified feasts of the LORD and every spontaneous freewill offering unto the LORD.
6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings unto the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid.
7 And they gave money unto the masons and to the carpenters; and food and drink and oil unto the Zidonians and to those of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the will of Cyrus, king of Persia, over them.
8 ¶ And in the second year of their coming unto the house of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren, the priests and the Levites, and all those that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem, and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the LORD.
9 Then Jeshua stood with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren, the Levites.
10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the ordinance of David, king of Israel.
11 And they sang, praising and giving thanks unto the LORD because he is good, for his mercy endures for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, praising the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.
12 But many of the priests and Levites and of the heads of the fathers, who were ancient men that had seen the first house, as the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice while many shouted aloud for joy:
13 so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.
10 ¶ Now if Timothy comes, see that he may stay with you securely, for he does the work of the Lord, as I also do.
11 Let no man therefore despise him, but conduct him forth in peace that he may come unto me, for I look for him with the brothers.
12 As touching our brother Apollos, I greatly desired him to come unto you with some of the brothers, but his will was not at all to come at this time, but he will come when he shall have opportunity.
13 ¶ Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.
14 Let all your things be done with charity.
15 I beseech you, brethren (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia and that they have dedicated themselves to the ministry of the saints),
16 that ye submit yourselves unto such and to each one that helps and labours.
17 I am glad of the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, for they have filled your absence.
18 For they have refreshed my spirit and yours; therefore, acknowledge ye those that are such.
19 ¶ The congregations {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} that is in their house.
20 All the brothers greet you. Greet ye one another with a holy kiss.
21 The salutation of me, Paul, is with my own hand.
22 If any man does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema. Our Lord has come.
23 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
24 My charity in Christ Jesus be with you all. Amen.
22 ¶ Then was brought unto him one possessed with a demon, blind, and dumb, and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spoke and saw.
23 And all the people were amazed and said, Is not this the son of David?
24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow does not cast out demons but by Beelzebub the prince of the demons.
25 And Jesus knew their thoughts and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself shall not remain;
26 and if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom remain?
27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
28 But if I cast out the demons by the Spirit of God, then certainly the kingdom of God is come unto you.
29 Or else how can one enter into the strong man’s house and spoil his goods except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
30 He that is not with me is against me, and he that does not gather with me scatters abroad.
31 Therefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men.
32 And whosoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him, but whosoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age, neither in the age to come.
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