Book of Common Prayer
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
41 Blessed are those who care about weak people.
When they are in trouble, the Lord saves them.
2 The Lord guards them and keeps them alive.
They are counted among those who are blessed in the land.
The Lord won’t hand them over to the wishes of their enemies.
3 The Lord will take care of them when they are lying sick in bed.
He will make them well again.
4 I said, “Lord, have mercy on me.
Heal me, because I have sinned against you.”
5 My enemies are saying bad things about me.
They say, “When will he die and his name be forgotten?”
6 When one of them comes to see me,
he says things that aren’t true.
At the same time, he thinks up lies to tell against me.
Then he goes out and spreads those lies around.
7 All my enemies whisper to each other about me.
They want something terrible to happen to me.
8 They say, “He is sick and will die very soon.
He will never get up from his bed again.”
9 Even my close friend, someone I trusted, has failed me.
I even shared my bread with him.
10 But Lord, may you have mercy on me.
Make me well, so I can pay them back.
11 Then I will know that you are pleased with me,
because my enemies haven’t won the battle over me.
12 You will take good care of me because I’ve been honest.
You will let me be with you forever.
13 Give praise to the Lord, the God of Israel,
for ever and ever.
Amen and Amen.
For the director of music. A maskil of David when Doeg, who was from Edom, had gone to Saul. Doeg had told Saul, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”
52 You think you are such a big, strong man!
Why do you brag about the evil things you’ve done?
You are a dishonor to God all the time.
2 You plan ways to destroy others.
Your tongue is like a blade that has a sharp edge.
You are always telling lies.
3 You love evil instead of good.
You would rather lie than tell the truth.
4 You love to harm others with your words, you liar!
5 So God will destroy you forever.
He will grab you and pluck you from your tent.
He will remove you from this life.
6 Those who do what is right will see it and learn a lesson from it.
They will laugh at you and say,
7 “Just look at this fellow!
He didn’t depend on God for his safety.
He put his trust in all his wealth.
He grew strong by destroying others!”
8 But I am like a healthy olive tree.
My roots are deep in the house of God.
I trust in your faithful love
for ever and ever.
9 I will praise you forever for what you have done.
I will praise you when I’m with your faithful people.
I will put my hope in you because you are good.
For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of Korah.
44 God, we have heard what you did.
Those who came before us have told us
what you did in their days,
in days long ago.
2 By your power you drove out the nations.
You gave our people homes in the land.
You crushed the people who were there.
And you made our people do well.
3 They didn’t win the land with their swords.
They didn’t gain success by their own power.
Your powerful right hand and your mighty arm gave them victory.
You gave them success because you loved them.
4 You are my King and my God.
You give victories to the people of Jacob.
5 With your help we push back our enemies.
By your power we walk all over them.
6 I put no trust in my bow.
My sword doesn’t bring me victory.
7 But you give us victory over our enemies.
You put them to shame.
8 All day long we talk about how great God is.
We will praise your name forever.
9 But now you have turned your back on us and made us humble.
You don’t march out with our armies anymore.
10 You made us turn and run from our enemies.
They have taken what belongs to us.
11 You handed us over to be eaten up like sheep.
You have scattered us among the nations.
12 You sold your people for very little.
You didn’t gain anything when you sold them.
13 You have made us something that our neighbors laugh at.
Those who live around us make fun of us and tease us.
14 The nations make jokes about us.
They shake their heads at us.
15 All day long I have to live with my shame.
My face is covered with it.
16 That’s because they laugh at me and attack me with their words.
They want to get even with me.
17 All of this happened to us,
even though we had not forgotten you.
We had not broken the covenant you made with us.
18 Our hearts had not turned away from you.
Our feet had not wandered from your path.
19 But you crushed us and left us to the wild dogs.
You covered us over with deep darkness.
20 We didn’t forget our God.
We didn’t spread out our hands in prayer to a false god.
21 If we had, God would have discovered it.
He knows the secrets of our hearts.
22 But because of you, we face death all day long.
We are considered as sheep to be killed.
23 Lord, wake up! Why are you sleeping?
Get up! Don’t say no to us forever.
24 Why do you turn your face away from us?
Why do you forget our pain and troubles?
25 We are brought down to the dust.
Our bodies lie flat on the ground.
26 Rise up and help us.
Save us because of your faithful love.
Joseph Has Two Dreams
37 Jacob lived in the land of Canaan. It’s the land where his father had stayed.
2 Here is the story of the family line of Jacob.
Joseph was a young man. He was 17 years old. He was taking care of the flocks with some of his brothers. They were the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, the wives of his father Jacob. Joseph brought their father a bad report about his brothers.
3 Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons. That’s because Joseph had been born to him when he was old. Israel made him a beautiful robe. 4 Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them. So they hated Joseph. They couldn’t even speak one kind word to him.
5 Joseph had a dream. When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to the dream I had. 7 We were tying up bundles of grain out in the field. Suddenly my bundle stood up straight. Your bundles gathered around my bundle and bowed down to it.”
8 His brothers said to him, “Do you plan to be king over us? Will you really rule over us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream. They didn’t like what he had said.
9 Then Joseph had another dream. He told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said. “I had another dream. This time the sun and moon and 11 stars were bowing down to me.”
10 He told his father as well as his brothers. Then his father rebuked him. He said, “What about this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers really do that? Will we really come and bow down to the ground in front of you?” 11 His brothers were jealous of him. But his father kept the dreams in mind.
1 I, Paul, am writing this letter. I have been chosen to be an apostle of Christ Jesus just as God planned. Our brother Sosthenes joins me in writing.
2 We are sending this letter to you, the members of God’s church in Corinth. You have been made holy because you belong to Christ Jesus. God has chosen you to be his holy people. He has done the same for all people everywhere who pray to our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is their Lord and ours.
3 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Paul Gives Thanks
4 I always thank my God for you. I thank him because of the grace he has given to you who belong to Christ Jesus. 5 You have been blessed in every way because of him. You have been blessed in all your speech and knowledge. 6 God has shown that what we have spoken to you about Christ is true. 7 There is no gift of the Holy Spirit that you don’t have. You are full of hope as you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to come again. 8 God will also keep you strong in faith to the very end. Then you will be without blame on the day our Lord Jesus Christ returns. 9 God is faithful. He has chosen you to share life with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Taking Sides in the Church
10 Brothers and sisters, I make my appeal to you. I do this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I ask that all of you agree with one another in what you say. I ask that you don’t take sides. I ask that you are in complete agreement in all that you think. 11 My brothers and sisters, I have been told you are arguing with one another. Some people from Chloe’s house have told me this. 12 Here is what I mean. One of you says, “I follow Paul.” Another says, “I follow Apollos.” Another says, “I follow Peter.” And still another says, “I follow Christ.”
13 Does Christ take sides? Did Paul die on the cross for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I didn’t baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius. 15 No one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 It’s true that I also baptized those who live in the house of Stephanas. Besides that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else. 17 Christ did not send me to baptize. He sent me to preach the good news. He commanded me not to preach with wisdom and fancy words. That would take all the power away from the cross of Christ.
Christ Is God’s Power and Wisdom
18 The message of the cross seems foolish to those who are lost and dying. But it is God’s power to us who are being saved. 19 It is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of those who are wise.
I will do away with the cleverness of those who think they are so smart.” (Isaiah 29:14)
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 This is the beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. 2 Long ago Isaiah the prophet wrote,
“I will send my messenger ahead of you.
He will prepare your way.” (Malachi 3:1)
3 “A messenger is calling out in the desert,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord.
Make straight paths for him.’ ” (Isaiah 40:3)
4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the desert. He preached that people should be baptized and turn away from their sins. Then God would forgive them. 5 All the people from the countryside of Judea went out to him. All the people from Jerusalem went too. When they admitted they had sinned, John baptized them in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothes made out of camel’s hair. He had a leather belt around his waist. And he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 Here is what John was preaching. “After me, there is someone coming who is more powerful than I am. I’m not good enough to bend down and untie his sandals. 8 I baptize you with water. But he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus Is Baptized and Tempted
9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee. John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. 10 Jesus was coming up out of the water. Just then he saw heaven being torn open. Jesus saw the Holy Spirit coming down on him like a dove. 11 A voice spoke to him from heaven. It said, “You are my Son, and I love you. I am very pleased with you.”
12 At once the Holy Spirit sent Jesus out into the desert. 13 He was in the desert 40 days. There Satan tempted him. The wild animals didn’t harm Jesus. Angels took care of him.
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