Book of Common Prayer
A song. A psalm of Asaph.
83 God, don’t remain silent.
Don’t refuse to listen.
Do something, God.
2 See how your enemies are growling like dogs.
See how they are rising up against you.
3 They make clever plans against your people.
They make evil plans against those you love.
4 “Come,” they say. “Let’s destroy that whole nation.
Then the name of Israel won’t be remembered anymore.”
5 All of them agree on the evil plans they have made.
They join forces against you.
6 Their forces include the people of Edom,
Ishmael, Moab and Hagar.
7 They also include the people of Byblos, Ammon, Amalek,
Philistia and Tyre.
8 Even Assyria has joined them
to give strength to the people of Moab and Ammon.
9 Do to them what you did to the people of Midian.
Do to them what you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.
10 Sisera and Jabin died near the town of Endor.
Their bodies were left on the ground like human waste.
11 Do to the nobles of your enemies what you did to Oreb and Zeeb.
Do to all their princes what you did to Zebah and Zalmunna.
12 They said, “Let’s take over
the grasslands that belong to God.”
13 My God, make them like straw that the wind blows away.
Make them like tumbleweed.
14 Destroy them as fire burns up a forest.
Destroy them as a flame sets mountains on fire.
15 Chase them with your mighty winds.
Terrify them with your storm.
16 Lord, put them to shame
so that they will seek you.
17 May they always be filled with terror and shame.
May they die in dishonor.
18 May you, the Lord, let your enemies know who you are.
You alone are the Most High God over the whole earth.
Book II
Psalms 42–72
For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of Korah.
42 A deer longs for streams of water.
God, I long for you in the same way.
2 I am thirsty for God. I am thirsty for the living God.
When can I go and meet with him?
3 My tears have been my food
day and night.
All day long people say to me,
“Where is your God?”
4 When I remember what has happened,
I tell God all my troubles.
I remember how I used to walk to the house of God.
The Mighty One guarded my steps.
We shouted with joy and praised God
as we went along with the joyful crowd.
5 My spirit, why are you so sad?
Why are you so upset deep down inside me?
Put your hope in God.
Once again I will have reason to praise him.
He is my Savior and my God.
6 My spirit is very sad deep down inside me.
So I will remember you here where the Jordan River begins.
I will remember you here on the Hermon mountains
and on Mount Mizar.
7 You have sent wave upon wave of trouble over me.
It roars down on me like a waterfall.
All your waves and breakers have rolled over me.
8 During the day the Lord sends his love to me.
During the night I sing about him.
I say a prayer to the God who gives me life.
9 I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go around in sorrow?
Why am I treated so badly by my enemies?”
10 My body suffers deadly pain
as my enemies make fun of me.
All day long they say to me,
“Where is your God?”
11 My spirit, why are you so sad?
Why are you so upset deep down inside me?
Put your hope in God.
Once again I will have reason to praise him.
He is my Savior and my God.
43 My God, when you hand down your decision, let it be in my favor.
Stand up for me against an unfaithful nation.
Save me from those lying and sinful people.
2 You are God, my place of safety.
Why have you turned your back on me?
Why must I go around in sorrow?
Why am I beaten down by my enemies?
3 Send me your light and your faithful care.
Let them lead me.
Let them bring me back to your holy mountain,
to the place where you live.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God.
I will go to God. He is my joy and my delight.
God, you are my God.
I will praise you by playing the lyre.
5 My spirit, why are you so sad?
Why are you so upset deep down inside me?
Put your hope in God.
Once again I will have reason to praise him.
He is my Savior and my God.
For the director of music. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.
85 Lord, you were good to your land.
You blessed the people of Jacob with great success again.
2 You forgave the evil things your people did.
You took away all their sins.
3 You stopped being angry with them.
You turned your great anger away from them.
4 God our Savior, make us new again.
Stop being unhappy with us.
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you be angry for all time to come?
6 Won’t you give us new life again?
Then we’ll be joyful because of what you have done.
7 Lord, show us your faithful love.
Save us.
8 I will listen to what God the Lord says.
He promises peace to his faithful people.
But they must not turn to foolish ways.
9 I know he’s ready to save those who have respect for him.
Then his glory can be seen in our land.
10 God’s truth and faithful love join together.
His peace and holiness kiss each other.
11 His truth springs up from the earth.
His holiness looks down from heaven.
12 The Lord will certainly give what is good.
Our land will produce its crops.
13 God’s holiness leads the way in front of him.
It prepares the way for his coming.
A prayer of David.
86 Lord, hear me and answer me.
I am poor and needy.
2 Keep my life safe, because I am faithful to you.
Save me, because I trust in you.
You are my God.
3 Lord, have mercy on me.
I call out to you all day long.
4 Bring joy to me.
Lord, I put my trust in you.
5 Lord, you are forgiving and good.
You are full of love for all who call out to you.
6 Lord, hear my prayer.
Listen to my cry for mercy.
7 When I’m in trouble, I will call out to you.
And you will answer me.
8 Lord, there’s no one like you among the gods.
No one can do what you do.
9 Lord, all the nations you have made
will come and worship you.
They will bring glory to you.
10 You are great. You do wonderful things.
You alone are God.
11 Lord, teach me how you want me to live.
Do this so that I will depend on you, my faithful God.
Give me a heart that doesn’t want anything
more than to worship you.
12 Lord my God, I will praise you with all my heart.
I will bring glory to you forever.
13 Great is your love for me.
You have kept me from going down into the place of the dead.
14 God, proud people are attacking me.
A gang of mean people is trying to kill me.
They don’t care about you.
15 But Lord, you are a God who is tender and kind.
You are gracious.
You are slow to get angry.
You are faithful and full of love.
16 Come to my aid and have mercy on me.
Show your strength by helping me.
Save me because I serve you just as my mother did.
17 Prove your goodness to me.
Then my enemies will see it and be put to shame.
Lord, you have helped me and given me comfort.
Jacob Goes Down to Egypt
46 So Israel started out with everything that belonged to him. When he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
2 God spoke to Israel in a vision at night. “Jacob! Jacob!” he said.
“Here I am,” Jacob replied.
3 “I am God. I am the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt. There I will make you into a great nation. 4 I will go down to Egypt with you. I will surely bring you back again. And when you die, Joseph will close your eyes with his own hand.”
5 Then Jacob left Beersheba. Israel’s sons put their father Jacob and their families in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6 So Jacob and his whole family went to Egypt. They took their livestock with them. And they took everything they had acquired in Canaan. 7 Jacob brought his sons and grandsons with him to Egypt. He also brought his daughters and granddaughters. He brought his whole family with him.
28 Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph. He sent him to get directions to Goshen. And so they arrived in the area of Goshen. 29 Then Joseph had his servants get his chariot ready. He went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as he came to his father, Joseph threw his arms around him. Then Joseph wept for a long time.
30 Israel said to Joseph, “I have seen for myself that you are still alive. Now I’m ready to die.”
31 Then Joseph spoke to his brothers and to the rest of his father’s family. He said, “I will go up and speak to Pharaoh. I’ll say to him, ‘My brothers and the rest of my father’s family have come to me. They were living in the land of Canaan. 32 The men are shepherds. They take care of livestock. They’ve brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.’ 33 Pharaoh will send for you. He’ll ask, ‘What do you do for a living?’ 34 You should answer, ‘We’ve taken care of livestock from the time we were boys. We’ve done just as our fathers did.’ It’s the practice of the people of Egypt not to mix with shepherds. So Pharaoh will let you settle in the area of Goshen.”
Paul’s Rights as an Apostle
9 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Haven’t I seen Jesus our Lord? Aren’t you the result of my work for the Lord? 2 Others may not think of me as an apostle. But I am certainly one to you! You are the proof that I am the Lord’s apostle.
3 That is what I say to stand up for myself when people judge me. 4 Don’t we have the right to eat and drink? 5 Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife with us when we travel? The other apostles do. The Lord’s brothers do. Peter does. 6 Or are Barnabas and I the only ones who have to do other work for a living? Are we the only ones who can’t just do the work of apostles all the time?
7 Who serves as a soldier but doesn’t get paid? Who plants a vineyard but doesn’t eat any of its grapes? Who takes care of a flock but doesn’t drink any of the milk? 8 Do I say this only on human authority? The Law says the same thing. 9 Here is what is written in the Law of Moses. “Do not stop an ox from eating while it helps separate the grain from the straw.” (Deuteronomy 25:4) Is it oxen that God is concerned about? 10 Doesn’t he say that for us? Yes, it was written for us. Whoever plows and separates the grain hopes to share the harvest. And it is right for them to hope for this. 11 We have planted spiritual seed among you. Is it too much to ask that we receive from you some things we need? 12 Others have the right to receive help from you. Don’t we have even more right to do so?
But we didn’t use that right. No, we have put up with everything. We didn’t want to keep the good news of Christ from spreading.
13 People who serve in the temple get their food from the temple. Don’t you know this? People who serve at the altar eat from what is offered on the altar. Don’t you know this? 14 So those who preach the good news should also receive their living from their work. That is what the Lord has commanded.
15 But I haven’t used any of those rights. And I’m not writing because I hope you will do things like that for me. I would rather die than allow anyone to take away my pride in my work.
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus. They told him all they had done and taught. 31 But many people were coming and going. So they did not even have a chance to eat. Then Jesus said to his apostles, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place. You need to get some rest.”
32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a quiet place. 33 But many people who saw them leaving recognized them. They ran from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus came ashore, he saw a large crowd. He felt deep concern for them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
35 By that time it was late in the day. His disciples came to him. “There is nothing here,” they said. “It’s already very late. 36 Send the people away. Then they can go to the nearby countryside and villages to buy something to eat.”
37 But Jesus answered, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s pay! Should we go and spend that much on bread? Are we supposed to feed them?”
38 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five loaves and two fish.”
39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of 100s and 50s. 41 Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up to heaven and gave thanks. He broke the loaves into pieces. Then he gave them to his disciples to pass around to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 All of them ate and were satisfied. 43 The disciples picked up 12 baskets of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of men who had eaten was 5,000.
Jesus Walks on the Water
45 Right away Jesus made his disciples get into the boat. He had them go on ahead of him to Bethsaida. Then he sent the crowd away. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.