Book of Common Prayer
For the director of music. A psalm of David to be played on stringed instruments.
61 God, hear my cry for help.
Listen to my prayer.
2 From a place far away I call out to you.
I call out as my heart gets weaker.
Lead me to the safety of a rock that is high above me.
3 You have always kept me safe from my enemies.
You are like a strong tower to me.
4 I long to live in your holy tent forever.
There I find safety in the shadow of your wings.
5 God, you have heard my promises.
You have given me what belongs to those who worship you.
6 Add many days to the king’s life.
Let him live on and on for many years.
7 May he always enjoy your blessing as he rules.
Let your love and truth keep him safe.
8 Then I will always sing praise to you.
I will keep my promises day after day.
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
62 It is surely true that I find my rest in God.
He is the God who saves me.
2 It is surely true that he is my rock. He is the God who saves me.
He is like a fort to me. I will always be secure.
3 How long will you enemies attack me?
Will all of you throw me down?
I’m like a leaning wall.
I’m like a fence about to fall.
4 Surely my enemies only want to pull me down
from my place of honor.
They take delight in telling lies.
They bless me with what they say.
But in their hearts they ask for bad things to happen to me.
5 Yes, I must find my rest in God.
He is the God who gives me hope.
6 It is surely true that he is my rock and the God who saves me.
He is like a fort to me, so I will always be secure.
7 I depend on God to save me and to honor me.
He is my mighty rock and my place of safety.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people.
Tell him all your troubles.
God is our place of safety.
9 Surely ordinary people are only a breath.
Important people are not what they seem to be.
If they were weighed on a scale, they wouldn’t amount to anything.
Together they are only a breath.
10 Don’t trust in money you have taken from others.
Don’t put false hope in things you have stolen.
Even if your riches grow,
don’t put your trust in them.
11 God, I have heard you say two things.
One is that power belongs to you, God.
12 The other is that your love, Lord, never ends.
You will reward everyone
in keeping with what they have done.
For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.
68 May God rise up and scatter his enemies.
May they turn and run away from him.
2 May you, God, blow them away like smoke.
As fire melts wax,
so may God destroy sinful people.
3 But may those who do what is right be glad
and filled with joy when they are with him.
May they be happy and joyful.
4 Sing to God, sing praise to his name.
Lift up a song to the God who rides on the clouds.
Be glad when you are with him.
His name is the Lord.
5 God is in his holy temple.
He is a father to children whose fathers have died.
He takes care of women whose husbands have died.
6 God gives lonely people a family.
He sets prisoners free, and they go out singing.
But those who refuse to obey him
live in a land that is baked by the sun.
7 God, you led your people out.
You marched through the desert.
8 The ground shook
when you, the God of Sinai, appeared.
The heavens poured down rain
when you, the God of Israel, appeared.
9 God, you gave us plenty of rain.
You renewed your worn-out land.
10 God, your people made their homes in it.
From all your riches, you provided for those who were poor.
11 The Lord gives the message.
The women who make it known are a huge group.
12 They said, “Kings and armies are running away.
The women at home are dividing up
the things the army took from their enemies.
13 Even while the soldiers sleep near the sheep pens,
God wins the battle for them.
He gives the enemy’s silver and gold
to Israel, his dove.”
14 The Mighty One has scattered the kings around the land.
It was like snow falling on Mount Zalmon.
15 Mount Bashan is a majestic mountain.
Mount Bashan is a very rocky mountain.
16 Why are you jealous of Mount Zion, you rocky mountain?
That’s where God chooses to rule.
That’s where the Lord himself will live forever.
17 God has come with tens of thousands of his chariots.
He has come with thousands and thousands of them.
The Lord has come from Mount Sinai.
He has entered his holy place.
18 When he went up to his place on high,
he took many prisoners.
He received gifts from people,
even from those who refused to obey him.
The Lord God went up to live on Mount Zion.
19 Give praise to the Lord. Give praise to God our Savior.
He carries our heavy loads day after day.
20 Our God is a God who saves.
He is the King and the Lord. He saves us from death.
21 God will certainly smash the heads of his enemies.
He will break the hairy heads of those who keep on sinning.
22 The Lord says, “I will bring your enemies from Bashan.
I will bring them up from the bottom of the sea.
23 Then your feet can wade in their blood.
The tongues of your dogs can lick up all the blood they want.”
24 God, those who worship you come marching into view.
My God and King, those who follow you have entered the sacred tent.
25 The singers are walking in front.
Next come the musicians.
Young women playing tambourines are with them.
26 The leaders sing, “Praise God among all those who worship him.
Praise the Lord in the community of Israel.”
27 The little tribe of Benjamin leads the worshipers.
Next comes the great crowd of Judah’s princes.
Then come the princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali.
28 God, show us your power.
Show us your strength.
God, do as you have done before.
29 Do it from your temple at Jerusalem,
where kings will bring you gifts.
30 Give a strong warning to Egypt, that beast among the tall grass.
It is like a herd of bulls among the calves.
May that beast bow down before you with gifts of silver.
Scatter the nations who like to make war.
31 Messengers will come from Egypt.
The people of Cush will be quick to bring gifts to you.
32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth.
Sing praise to the Lord.
33 He rides across the highest places in heaven.
He rides across the ancient skies above.
He thunders with his mighty voice.
34 Tell how powerful God is.
He rules as king over Israel.
The skies show how powerful he is.
35 How wonderful is God in his holy place!
The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Give praise to God!
Joseph’s Brothers Go Down to Egypt
42 Jacob found out that there was grain in Egypt. So he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at one another?” 2 He continued, “I’ve heard there’s grain in Egypt. Go down there. Buy some for us. Then we’ll live and not die.”
3 So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to Egypt to buy grain there. 4 But Jacob didn’t send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with them. He was afraid Benjamin might be harmed. 5 Israel’s sons were among the people who went to buy grain. There wasn’t enough food in the land of Canaan.
6 Joseph was the governor of the land. He was the one who sold grain to all its people. When Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. 7 As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them. But he pretended to be a stranger. He spoke to them in a mean way. “Where do you come from?” he asked.
“From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We’ve come to buy food.”
8 Joseph recognized his brothers, but they didn’t recognize him. 9 Then Joseph remembered his dreams about them. So he said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the places where our land isn’t guarded very well.”
10 “No, sir,” they answered. “We’ve come to buy food. 11 All of us are the sons of one man. We’re honest men. We aren’t spies.”
12 “No!” he said to them. “You have come to see the places where our land isn’t guarded very well.”
13 But they replied, “We were 12 brothers. All of us were the sons of one man. He lives in the land of Canaan. Our youngest brother is now with our father. And one brother is gone.”
14 Joseph said to them, “I still say you are spies! 15 So I’m going to test you. And here’s the test. You can be sure that you won’t leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. You can be just as sure of this as you are sure that Pharaoh lives. I give you my word that you won’t leave here unless your brother comes. 16 Send one of you back to get your brother. The rest of you will be kept in prison. I’ll test your words. Then we’ll find out whether you are telling the truth. You can be sure that Pharaoh lives. And you can be just as sure that if you aren’t telling the truth, we’ll know that you are spies!” 17 So Joseph kept all of them under guard for three days.
Throw Out the Evil Person!
5 It is actually reported that there is sexual sin among you. I’m told that a man is sleeping with his father’s wife. Even people who don’t know God don’t let that kind of sin continue. 2 And you are proud! Shouldn’t you be very sad instead? Shouldn’t you have thrown out of your church the man doing this? 3 Even though I am not right there with you, I am with you in spirit. And because I am with you in spirit, I have already judged the man doing this. I have judged him in the name of our Lord Jesus. 4 So when you come together, I will be with you in spirit. The power of our Lord Jesus will also be with you. 5 When you come together like this, hand this man over to Satan. Then the power of sin in his life will be destroyed. His spirit will be saved on the day the Lord returns.
6 Your bragging is not good. It is like yeast. Don’t you know that just a little yeast makes the whole batch of dough rise? 7 Get rid of the old yeast. Then you can be like a new batch of dough without yeast. That is what you really are. That’s because Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been offered up for us. 8 So let us keep the Feast, but not with the old bread made with yeast. The yeast I’m talking about is hatred and evil. Let us keep the Feast with bread made without yeast. Let us keep it with bread that is honesty and truth.
19 Judas Iscariot was one of them too. He was the one who was later going to hand Jesus over to his enemies.
Jesus Is Accused by Teachers of the Law
20 Jesus entered a house. Again a crowd gathered. It was so large that Jesus and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 His family heard about this. So they went to take charge of him. They said, “He is out of his mind.”
22 Some teachers of the law were there. They had come down from Jerusalem. They said, “He is controlled by Beelzebul! He is driving out demons by the power of the prince of demons.”
23 So Jesus called them over to him. He began to speak to them using stories. He said, “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom fights against itself, it can’t stand. 25 If a family is divided, it can’t stand. 26 And if Satan fights against himself, and his helpers are divided, he can’t stand. That is the end of him. 27 In fact, none of you can enter a strong man’s house unless you tie him up first. Then you can steal things from his house. 28 What I’m about to tell you is true. Everyone’s sins and evil words against God will be forgiven. 29 But whoever speaks evil things against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. Their guilt will last forever.”
30 Jesus said this because the teachers of the law were saying, “He has an evil spirit.”
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers
31 Jesus’ mother and brothers came and stood outside. They sent someone in to get him. 32 A crowd was sitting around Jesus. They told him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside. They are looking for you.”
33 “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” he asked.
34 Then Jesus looked at the people sitting in a circle around him. He said, “Here is my mother! Here are my brothers! 35 Anyone who does what God wants is my brother or sister or mother.”
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