Book of Common Prayer
A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
89 Lord, I will sing about your great love forever.
For all time to come, I will tell how faithful you are.
2 I will tell everyone that your love stands firm forever.
I will tell them that you are always faithful, even in heaven itself.
3 You said, “Here is the covenant I have made with my chosen one.
Here is the promise I have made to my servant David.
4 ‘I will make your family line continue forever.
I will make your kingdom secure for all time to come.’ ”
5 Lord, the heavens praise you for your wonderful deeds.
When your holy angels gather together,
they praise you for how faithful you are.
6 Who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?
Who among the angels is like the Lord?
7 God is highly respected among his holy angels.
He’s more wonderful than all those who are around him.
8 Lord God who rules over all, who is like you?
Lord, you are mighty. You are faithful in everything you do.
9 You rule over the stormy sea.
When its waves rise up, you calm them down.
10 You crushed Egypt and killed her people.
With your powerful arm you scattered your enemies.
11 The heavens belong to you. The earth is yours also.
You made the world and everything that is in it.
12 You created everything from north to south.
Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon sing to you with joy.
13 Your arm is powerful.
Your hand is strong.
Your right hand is mighty.
14 Your kingdom is built on what is right and fair.
Your faithful love leads the way in front of you.
15 Blessed are those who have learned to shout praise to you.
Lord, they live in the light of your kindness.
16 All day long they are full of joy because of who you are.
They celebrate the fact that you do what is right.
17 You bring them glory and give them strength.
You are pleased to honor our king.
18 Our king is like a shield that keeps us safe.
He belongs to the Lord.
He belongs to the Holy One of Israel.
19 You once spoke to your faithful people in a vision.
You said, “I have given strength to a soldier.
I have raised up a young man from among the people.
20 I have found my servant David.
I have poured my sacred oil on his head.
21 My powerful hand will keep him going.
My mighty arm will give him strength.
22 No enemy will have the victory over him.
No evil person will treat him badly.
23 I will crush the king’s enemies.
I will completely destroy them.
24 I will love him and be faithful to him.
Because of me his power will increase.
25 I will give him a great kingdom.
It will reach from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River.
26 He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father.
You are my God. You are my Rock and Savior.’
27 I will also make him my oldest son.
Among all the kings of the earth, he will be the most important one.
28 I will continue to love him forever.
I will never break my covenant with him.
29 I will make his family line continue forever.
His kingdom will last as long as the heavens.
30 “What if his sons turn away from my laws
and do not follow them?
31 What if they disobey my orders
and fail to keep my commands?
32 Then I will punish them for their sins.
I will strike them with a rod.
I will whip them for their evil acts.
33 But I will not stop loving David.
I will always be faithful to him.
34 I will not break my covenant.
I will not go back on my word.
35 Once and for all, I have made a promise.
It is based on my holiness.
And I will not lie to David.
36 His family line will continue forever.
His kingdom will last as long as the sun.
37 It will last forever like the moon,
that faithful witness in the sky.”
38 But you have turned your back on your anointed king.
You have been very angry with him.
39 You have broken the covenant you made with him.
You have thrown your servant’s crown into the dirt.
40 You have broken through the walls around his city.
You have completely destroyed his secure places.
41 All those who pass by have carried off what belonged to him.
His neighbors make fun of him.
42 You have made his enemies strong.
You have made all of them happy.
43 You have made his sword useless.
You have not helped him in battle.
44 You have put an end to his glory.
You have knocked his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short the days of his life.
You have covered him with shame.
46 Lord, how long will you hide yourself? Will it be forever?
How long will your anger burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my life is.
You have created all people for such a useless purpose!
48 Who can live and not die?
Who can escape the power of the grave?
49 Lord, where is the great love you used to have?
You faithfully promised it to David.
50 Lord, remember how my enemies have made fun of me.
I’ve had to put up with mean words from all the nations.
51 Lord, your enemies have said mean things.
They have laughed at everything your anointed king has done.
52 Give praise to the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.
30 Rachel saw that she wasn’t having any children by Jacob. So she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”
2 Jacob became angry with her. He said, “Do you think I’m God? He’s the one who has kept you from having children.”
3 Then she said, “Here’s my servant Bilhah. Sleep with her so that she can have children for me. Then I too can have a family through her.”
4 So Rachel gave Jacob her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her. 5 And Bilhah became pregnant. She had a son by him. 6 Then Rachel said, “God has stood up for my rights. He has listened to my prayer and given me a son.” So she named him Dan.
7 Rachel’s servant Bilhah became pregnant again. She had a second son by Jacob. 8 Then Rachel said, “I’ve had a great struggle with my sister. Now I’ve won.” So she named him Naphtali.
9 Leah saw that she had stopped having children. So she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 10 Leah’s servant Zilpah had a son by Jacob. 11 Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” So she named him Gad.
12 Leah’s servant Zilpah had a second son by Jacob. 13 Then Leah said, “I’m so happy! The women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.
14 While the wheat harvest was being gathered, Reuben went out into the fields. He found some mandrake plants. He brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
15 But Leah said to her, “Isn’t it enough that you took my husband away? Are you going to take my son’s mandrakes too?”
Rachel said, “All right. Jacob can sleep with you tonight if you give me your son’s mandrakes.”
16 Jacob came in from the fields that evening. Leah went out to meet him. “You have to sleep with me tonight,” she said. “I’ve traded my son’s mandrakes for that time with you.” So he slept with her that night.
17 God listened to Leah. She became pregnant and had a fifth son by Jacob. 18 Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me because I gave my female servant to my husband.” So she named the boy Issachar.
19 Leah became pregnant again. She had a sixth son by Jacob. 20 Then Leah said, “God has given me a priceless gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor. I’ve had six sons by him.” So she named the boy Zebulun.
21 Some time later she had a daughter. She named her Dinah.
22 Then God listened to Rachel. He showed concern for her. He made it possible for her to have children. 23 She became pregnant and had a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” 24 She said, “May the Lord give me another son.” So she named him Joseph.
The Word of Life Became a Human Being
1 Here is what we announce to everyone about the Word of life. The Word was already here from the beginning. We have heard him. We have seen him with our eyes. We have looked at him. Our hands have touched him. 2 This life has appeared. We have seen him. We are witnesses about him. And we announce to you this same eternal life. He was already with the Father. He has appeared to us. 3 We announce to you what we have seen and heard. We do it so you can share life together with us. And we share life with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing this to make our joy complete.
Walking in the Light
5 Here is the message we have heard from him and announce to you. God is light. There is no darkness in him at all. 6 Suppose we say that we share life with God but still walk in the darkness. Then we are lying. We are not living out the truth. 7 But suppose we walk in the light, just as he is in the light. Then we share life with one another. And the blood of Jesus, his Son, makes us pure from all sin.
8 Suppose we claim we are without sin. Then we are fooling ourselves. The truth is not in us. 9 But God is faithful and fair. If we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins. He will forgive every wrong thing we have done. He will make us pure. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar. His word is not in us.
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
9 As Jesus went along, he saw a man who was blind. He had been blind since he was born. 2 Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned? Was this man born blind because he sinned? Or did his parents sin?”
3 “It isn’t because this man sinned,” said Jesus. “It isn’t because his parents sinned. He was born blind so that God’s power could be shown by what’s going to happen. 4 While it is still day, we must do the works of the one who sent me. Night is coming. Then no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 After he said this, he spit on the ground. He made some mud with the spit. Then he put the mud on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him. “Wash in the Pool of Siloam.” Siloam means Sent. So the man went and washed. And he came home able to see.
8 His neighbors and people who had seen him earlier begging asked questions. “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” they asked. 9 Some claimed that he was.
Others said, “No. He only looks like him.”
But the man who had been blind kept saying, “I am the man.”
10 “Then how were your eyes opened?” they asked.
11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed. Then I could see.”
12 “Where is this man?” they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said.
The Pharisees Want to Know How the Blind Man Was Healed
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 The day Jesus made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath day. 15 So the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied. “Then I washed. And now I can see.”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “Jesus has not come from God. He does not keep the Sabbath day.”
But others asked, “How can a sinner do such signs?” So the Pharisees did not agree with one another.
17 Then they turned again to the blind man. “What do you have to say about him?” they asked. “It was your eyes he opened.”
The man replied, “He is a prophet.”
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