Book of Common Prayer
MEM
97 I love your Law very much.
I think about it all the time.
98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies.
They are always in my thoughts.
99 I understand more than all my teachers,
because I think about your rules.
100 I understand more than people who are old,
because I respect your teaching.
101 I do not follow evil ways,
so that I can obey your word.
102 I do not turn away from your rules,
because you are my teacher.
103 Your words are very good.
They taste sweeter than honey in my mouth!
104 Your teaching helps me to understand things,
so I hate anything that is false.
NUN
105 Your word is like a lamp that shines as my guide.
It shows me the right way to live.
106 I have made a strong promise
that I will always obey your righteous rules.
107 I have a lot of trouble and pain.
Lord, please keep me safe,
as you have promised to do.
108 Lord, please accept the praise
that I choose to offer to you.
Teach me your rules.
109 My life is always in danger,
but I never forget your Law.
110 Wicked people try to catch me in a trap,
but I do not turn away from your teaching.
111 Your laws will always be with me.
They make me happy deep inside.
112 I have decided to obey your commands always,
until the end of my life.
SAMEKH
113 I hate hypocrites,
but I love your Law.
114 You are the safe place where I can hide.
You keep me safe like a soldier's shield.
I know that I can trust your word.
115 Go away from me, you evil people!
I will obey my God's commands.
116 Help me to be strong, Lord,
as your word promises.
Do not let me be ashamed because of my hope.
117 Please help me so that I will be safe.
Then I will always obey your commands.
118 You refuse people who turn away from your laws.
You do not accept them,
because they speak lies to deceive people.
119 The wicked people in the world are like rubbish to you.
So I choose to obey your rules.
120 I respect your great strength,
so that my body shakes with fear.
I am afraid of the laws by which you judge people.
Asaph wrote this song for the music leader. Use special music.
God gives us strength[a]
81 Sing with joy to praise God!
He is the one who makes us strong!
Shout aloud to the God of Jacob.[b]
2 Start the music! Beat your tambourines!
Make beautiful music on your harps and lyres.
3 Start the New Moon Festival
with the sound of the trumpet.
Also do it on the day of the Full Moon.[c]
4 This is a rule for Israel's people.
The God of Jacob commanded us to do it.
5 When God punished the land of Egypt,
he gave this rule to Joseph's family.
I heard a voice that I did not know.
6 It said: ‘I took the heavy load off your back.
You no longer had to carry those heavy baskets.
7 When you had trouble, you called to me for help
and I made you safe.
I answered your prayers
from the middle of the dark storm.
I tested you at Meribah,
when you had no water in the wilderness.
Selah.
8 I said, “My people, listen to me!
I warn you now.
Listen carefully to me, Israel's people!
9 There must not be any strange god among you.
You must never worship a foreign god.
10 I am the Lord, your God.
I brought you out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide,
and I will fill it with many good things.”[d]
11 But my people refused to listen to me.
My people, Israel, did not obey me.
12 So I let them follow their own proud ideas.
They could do whatever they wanted to do.
13 But my people should listen to me!
Yes, Israel should obey my commands!
14 Then I would quickly win against their enemies.
I would attack them all.’
15 (Then people who hate the Lord
would fall down with fear in front of him.
They would be ashamed for ever.)
16 ‘But I would feed you, my people, with the best wheat.
I would give you plenty of honey from the rock,
for you to eat and be full.’
This is a psalm that Asaph wrote.
God and the gods[e]
82 God calls the powerful rulers to meet in heaven.
He sits on his throne to judge them.
2 He asks them, ‘How long will you continue to judge people
in a way that is not fair?
How long will you say that wicked people are right?
Selah.
3 You must help poor people and those with no family
to receive justice.
Help those who have pain and trouble
to receive the help that they need.
4 Rescue weak and helpless people,
so that evil people cannot hurt them.
5 The powerful leaders know nothing
and they understand nothing.
They walk about in a dark place.
At the same time the foundation of the earth shakes![f]
6 I said, “You are gods.
You are all sons of the Most High God.
7 But you will die, as all people die.
You will come to an end, like all other rulers.” ’[g]
8 God, now do something!
Judge all the nations of the earth.
For they all belong to you.
The king remembers Mordecai
6 That night the king could not sleep. He asked a servant to bring the kingdom's history book. He asked the servant to read the book to him.
2 The history book included a report of how two of the king's eunuchs wanted to kill King Xerxes. Their names were Bigthana and Teresh. The report said that Mordecai had told the king about this.[a] 3 When the king heard this, he asked his servant, ‘When Mordecai saved my life, what great honour did we give to him?’ The king's servants replied, ‘We did not do anything for him.’
4 The king said, ‘Who is now in the palace yard?’
Haman had just arrived at the palace. His men had built the wooden tower. Now he wanted to ask the king to hang Mordecai on it to kill him. 5 The king's servants said to the king, ‘Haman is in the palace yard.’ The king said, ‘Bring him here to me.’
6 Haman came in to the king's room. The king asked him, ‘If I want to give great honour to a man, what should we do for that man?’
Haman thought to himself, ‘I am sure that I am that man. The king must want to give me honour.’ 7 So Haman replied to the king, ‘This is what you should do for that man, if you want to give him honour. 8 Your servants should bring some royal clothes that you yourself have worn. They should bring a horse that you yourself have ridden on as king. They should put a special crown on the horse's head to show that it belongs to you. 9 Then give the clothes and the horse to one of your royal officers. Tell the officer to put the king's clothes on the man that you want to give honour to. Then the officer must put the man on the king's horse. He must lead him through all the streets of the city. As he goes, the officer must shout, “This is what the king does for a man that he want to give honour to!” ’
10 The king said to Haman, ‘That is a good idea! Go quickly! Get my clothes and my horse. Go and do everything that you have suggested. Do it for the Jew, Mordecai, who sits at the king's gate. Be careful to do for him everything that you said.’
11 So Haman took the king's clothes and the king's horse to Mordecai. He put the king's clothes on Mordecai. Then he led Mordecai on the horse through all the streets of the city. Haman went in front and he shouted, ‘Look! This is what the king does for a man that he want to give honour to!’
12 After this, Mordecai returned to sit at the king's gate. But Haman hurried back home. He covered his face because he was ashamed and upset. 13 He told his wife, Zeresh, and his friends about everything that had happened to him. Then his advisors, as well as his wife, said to him, ‘It seems that you have already lost some of your power to Mordecai. If he really is Jewish, you will never win against him. He will destroy you completely.’
14 While they were speaking, the king's eunuchs arrived. Very quickly they took Haman to the special meal that Esther had prepared.
Paul speaks in Ephesus about Jesus
19 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul travelled through the region of Asia. He arrived in Ephesus and he found some believers there. 2 Paul asked them, ‘When you believed the message about Jesus, did you receive God's Holy Spirit?’
The believers answered, ‘We did not even know that there is a Holy Spirit.’
3 So Paul asked them, ‘When someone baptized you, what kind of baptism was that?’
‘We received the baptism that John spoke about,’ they answered.
4 Then Paul said, ‘John baptized people who knew that they had done wrong things. They wanted to stop doing these things. But John also said to the people, “You must believe in the man who will come soon.” This person is Jesus.’ 5 When the believers in Ephesus understood this, Paul baptized them. This showed that they now believed in the Lord Jesus. 6 Then Paul put his hands on each believer's head. When he did this, the Holy Spirit came down on them. They spoke in different languages and they spoke messages from God. 7 There were about 12 men there.
8 For three months, Paul went to the Jewish meeting place in Ephesus on their day of rest. He was not afraid to speak to the people there. He talked strongly with them about the kingdom of God. 9 But some of them did not accept what Paul said. They refused to believe the message about Jesus. Some of them said bad things against the Way of the Lord Jesus and many people in the group heard this. So Paul stopped speaking to people in that meeting place. He left there and he took with him the other believers. Every day he talked with people in another place. It was a large room, where a man called Tyrannus usually taught people. 10 Paul taught the people there for two years. During that time, all the people who lived in Asia region heard the message about the Lord Jesus. This included Jews and Gentiles.
The Devil tries to make Jesus do wrong things
4 Then Jesus returned from the Jordan River.[a] He was full of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit led him into the wilderness. 2 He stayed there for 40 days and he did not eat anything. During this time the Devil tried to cause Jesus to do wrong things.[b] At the end of 40 days, Jesus was very hungry.
3 The Devil said to Jesus, ‘If you are the Son of God, speak to this stone. Tell it to become bread.’
4 ‘No!’ Jesus replied, ‘The Bible says that food alone cannot cause people to live.’[c]
5 After that, the Devil led Jesus up to a high place. In one moment, he showed Jesus all the countries in the whole world. 6 He said to Jesus, ‘I will let you rule the whole world. I will give you power over all these things. That power all belongs to me. So I can give it to anyone that I choose. 7 You must bend down low and worship me. Then I will give you power over the whole world.’[d]
8 ‘No!’ Jesus replied, ‘The Bible says,
“Only worship your Lord God.
He is the only one that you should obey.” ’[e]
9 The Devil now took Jesus to Jerusalem. He took him to stand on the highest part of the temple. Then he said to Jesus, ‘If you are the Son of God, jump down from here to the ground. 10 You know that the Bible says:
“God will tell his angels to keep you safe.”
11 “They will hold you safely in their hands.
They will not let you hurt your foot on a stone.” ’[f]
12 ‘No!’ Jesus replied. ‘The Bible says,
“Do not test the Lord God, to see if he will save you.” ’[g]
13 In those ways, the Devil tried to make Jesus do many wrong things. When he had finished this, he left Jesus alone. He waited for another chance.
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