Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 30
You Brought Me Up From the Grave
Heading
A psalm. A song for the dedication of the Temple. By David.
Praise for Answered Prayer
1 I will exalt you, O Lord,
because you lifted me up.
You did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried out to you,
and you healed me.
3 Lord, you snatched my life from the grave.
You kept me alive so I did not go down into the pit.
Join Me in Prayer
4 Make music to the Lord, you his favored ones,
and give thanks when you remember[a] his holiness,
5 for we spend a moment under his anger,
but we enjoy a lifetime in his favor.
In the evening, weeping comes to stay through the night,
but in the morning, there is rejoicing!
Wrestling in Prayer
6 But I—I said in my security,
“I will never be knocked down.”
7 Lord, in your favor you made strength
stand like a mountain for me.
Then you hid your face. I was terrified.
8 To you, O Lord, I call.
To the Lord I cry for mercy:
9 “What gain is there in shedding my blood,
in sending me down to destruction?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your truth?
10 Lord, hear and be merciful to me.
Lord, be a helper for me.”
A Happy Outcome
11 You turned my mourning into dancing.
You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12 so that my whole being[b] may make music to you
and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I thank you forever.
Psalm 32
How Blessed Is the Person Whose Rebellion Is Forgiven
Heading
By David. A maskil.[a]
The Joy of Forgiveness
1 How blessed is the person
whose rebellion is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 How blessed is the person
whose guilt the Lord does not charge against him,
in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Obtaining the Joy of Forgiveness
3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away as I groaned all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me. Interlude
My moisture was dried up by the droughts of summer.
5 I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover up my guilt.
I said, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord,” Interlude
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
6 Because of this, let everyone who receives favor pray to you
at a time when you may be found.
Surely when the mighty waters overflow,
they will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place.
You will protect me from distress. Interlude
You will surround me with shouts of deliverance.
Sharing the Joy of Forgiveness
8 I will make you wise.
I will instruct you in the way that you should go.
I will guide you, keeping my eye on you.
9 Do not be like a horse or a mule, which has no understanding.
Its mouth must be controlled by a bit and bridle,
or else it will not come to you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but mercy will surround those who trust in the Lord.
11 Rejoice in the Lord and celebrate, all you righteous,
and shout joyfully, all you upright in heart.
Book II
Psalms 42–72
Psalms 42 & 43
An Exile’s Prayer: Why Are You Cast Down?[a]
Heading
For the choir director. A maskil[b] by the Sons of Korah.[c]
Longing for the Temple
1 As a doe pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and appear before God?[d]
3 My tears have been food for me day and night,
while people are saying to me all day,
“Where is your God?”
4 I am overcome by my emotions
whenever I remember these things:
how I used to arrive with the crowd,
as I led the procession to the house of God,
with loud shouts of thanksgiving,
with the crowd celebrating the festival.
Refrain
5 Why are you so depressed,[e] O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I will again praise him
for salvation from his presence.[f]
Remembrance of the Lord
6 My God, my soul is depressed within me.
Therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan,
from the heights of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your rapids.
All your breakers and your waves have swept over me.
8 By day the Lord commands his mercy,
and at night his song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go around mourning because of oppression by the enemy?”
10 It is like breaking my bones when my foes taunt me.
All day long they say to me, “Where is your God?”
Refrain
11 Why are you so depressed, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I will again praise him
for my salvation from the face of my God.[g]
Psalm 43
A Plea for Vindication
1 Judge me justly, O God,
and plead my case against an ungodly nation.
Rescue me from the deceitful, wicked man.
2 I know you are God, my stronghold.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go around mourning
because of oppression by the enemy?
3 Send out your light and your truth.
Let them guide me.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and gladness.
Then I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.
Refrain
5 Why are you so depressed, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I will again praise him
for my salvation from the face of my God.[h]
Judgment Against the Idols of Babylon
46
Bel bows down. Nebo stoops.
Babylon’s idols are a heavy load, carried by animals and cattle.
They are dead weight for the tired animals that carry them.
2 The animals stoop. They bow down together.
They are not able to save their burdensome load.
They go into captivity.
3 Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all of you who are left from the house of Israel,
you who have been carried from birth,
you who have been lifted up from before you were born.
4 Until your old age, I am he,
and until you have gray hair, I myself will hold you up.
I myself made you, and I myself will lift you up.
I myself will hold you up, and I will rescue you.
5 Whom can you set beside me as if we were equal?
Whom can you compare to me as if we were alike?
6 People pour out gold from a purse
and weigh out silver on a scale.
They hire a smith,
and he makes the metal into a god.
They bow down to it. They even worship it.
7 They lift it up. They carry it on their shoulders.
They set it up in its place, but it just stands there.
It cannot move from its place.
Even when someone cries out to it, it does not answer.
It cannot save him from his distress.
8 Remember this, and stand firm.
You rebels, take this to heart!
9 Remember the former[a] things that took place long ago,
for I am God, and there is no other.
I am God, and there is no one like me.
10 I am the one who announces the final outcome already in the beginning.
I announce ahead of time things that have not yet been done.
I am the one who says, “My plan will stand,
and I will do everything I want to do.”
11 I am the one who calls a bird of prey from the east.
I call the man who fulfills my plan from a faraway land.
Yes, I have spoken. I will certainly bring it to pass.
I have formed a plan, and I will certainly carry it out.
12 Listen to me, you who have stubborn hearts,
you who are far from righteousness.
13 I will bring my righteousness near. It will not be far away.
I will bring my salvation near. It will not be delayed.
I will set up salvation in Zion,
and I will show my splendor to Israel.
The Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can stand against the schemes of the Devil. 12 For our[a] struggle is not against flesh and blood,[b] but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 For this reason, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to take a stand on the evil day and, after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand, then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness fastened in place, 15 and with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace tied to your feet like sandals. 16 At all times hold up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. 17 Also take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Prayer Requests
18 At every opportunity, pray in the Spirit with every kind of prayer and petition. Stay alert for the same reason, always persevering in your intercession for all the saints. 19 Pray for me also, that when I open my mouth a message will be given to me that boldly reveals the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may speak about it boldly, as it is necessary for me to speak.
Final Comments
21 Tychicus, our dear brother and a faithful minister in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. 22 I am sending him to you for this very reason, that you may know how we are, and that he may comfort your hearts. 23 Peace to the brothers,[c] and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all who have an undying[d] love for our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.[e]
A Demon-Possessed Man and a Herd of Pigs
5 They went to the other side of the sea, into the region of the Gerasenes.[a] 2 As soon as Jesus stepped out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came out of the tombs to meet him. 3 The man lived in the tombs. Nobody could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he pulled the chains apart and broke the shackles in pieces. Nobody had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day, in the tombs and in the mountains, he was constantly crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down in front of him. 7 He cried out with a loud voice, “What do I have to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you to swear by God not to torment me.” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”
9 Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“My name is Legion,” he replied, “because we are many.” 10 He begged Jesus repeatedly that he would not send them out of the region.
11 There was a large herd of pigs there feeding on the hillside. 12 The demons begged him, “Send us to the pigs so we may enter them.”
13 Jesus gave them permission. The unclean spirits went out and entered the pigs. Then the herd of about two thousand pigs rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned. 14 Those who were feeding the pigs ran and reported this in the city and the countryside.
People came to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons sitting there clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen it described for these people what had happened to the demon-possessed man, and they told them about the pigs. 17 They began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.
18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to stay with Jesus. 19 But Jesus would not let him. Instead, he told him, “Go home to your people, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how he had mercy on you.”
20 The man left and began to proclaim in the Decapolis everything Jesus had done for him. And everyone was amazed.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.