Book of Common Prayer
To the director: To the tune “Don’t Destroy.” One of Asaph’s songs of praise.
75 We praise you, God!
We praise you because you[a] are near to us.
We tell about the amazing things you have done.
2 God says, “I have chosen a time for judgment,
and I will judge fairly.
3 The earth and all its people may shake,
but I am the one who keeps it steady. Selah
4 “To those who are proud I say, ‘Stop your boasting.’
I warn the wicked, ‘Don’t brag about how strong you are.
5 Don’t be so sure that you will win.
Don’t boast that victory is yours!’”
6 There is no power on earth
that can make a person important.[b]
7 God is the judge.
He decides who will be important.
He lifts one person up and brings another down.
8 The Lord has a cup in his hand.
It is filled with the poisoned wine of his anger.
He will pour out this wine,
and the wicked will drink it to the last drop.
9 I will always tell people how great God is.
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.
10 God says, “I will take away any power the wicked have
and give it to those who are good.”
To the director: With instruments. One of Asaph’s songs of praise.
76 People in Judah know God.
People in Israel respect his name.
2 His Temple is in Salem.[c]
His house is on Mount Zion.
3 There he shattered the arrows,
shields, swords, and other weapons of war. Selah
4 God, you are glorious coming back
from the hills where you defeated your enemies.
5 They thought they were strong, but now they lie dead in the fields.
Their bodies are stripped of all they owned.
They could not defend themselves.[d]
6 The God of Jacob shouted at them,
and their army of chariots and horses fell dead.
7 God, you are awesome!
No one can stand against you when you are angry.
8-9 You stood as judge and announced your decision.
You saved the humble people of the land.
From heaven you gave the decision,
and the whole earth was silent and afraid.
10 Even human anger can bring you honor
when you use it to punish your enemies.[e]
11 People, you made promises to the Lord your God.
Now give him what you promised.
People everywhere fear and respect God,
and they will bring gifts to him.
12 God defeats great leaders;
all the kings on earth fear him.
A song of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd.
I will always have everything I need.[a]
2 He gives me green pastures to lie in.
He leads me by calm pools of water.
3 He restores my strength.
He leads me on right paths[b] to show that he is good.
4 Even if I walk through a valley as dark as the grave,[c]
I will not be afraid of any danger, because you are with me.
Your rod and staff[d] comfort me.
5 You prepared a meal for me in front of my enemies.
You welcomed me as an honored guest.[e]
My cup is full and spilling over.
6 Your goodness and mercy will be with me all my life,
and I will live in the Lord’s house[f] a long, long time.[g]
A song of David.
27 Lord, you are my Light and my Savior,
so why should I be afraid of anyone?
The Lord is where my life is safe,
so I will be afraid of no one!
2 Evil people might attack me.
They might try to destroy my body.
Yes, my enemies might attack me and try to destroy me,
but they will stumble and fall.
3 Even if an army surrounds me, I will not be afraid.
Even if people attack me in war, I will trust in the Lord.
4 I ask only one thing from the Lord.
This is what I want most:
Let me live in the Lord’s house all my life,
enjoying the Lord’s beauty
and spending time in his palace.[a]
5 He will protect me when I am in danger.
He will hide me in his tent.[b]
He will take me up to his place of safety.
6 If he will help me defeat the enemies around me,
I will offer sacrifices in his tent with shouts of joy.
I will sing and play songs to honor the Lord.
7 Lord, hear my voice.
Be kind and answer me.
8 My heart told me to come to you, Lord,
so I am coming to ask for your help.
9 Don’t turn away from me.
Don’t be angry with your servant.
You are the only one who can help me.
My God, don’t leave me all alone.
You are my Savior.
10 Even if my mother and father leave me,
the Lord will take me in.
11 I have enemies, Lord, so teach me your ways.
Show me the right way to live.
12 My enemies have attacked me.
They have told lies about me and have tried to hurt me.
13 But I really believe
that I will see the Lord’s goodness before I die.[c]
14 Wait for the Lord’s help.
Be strong and brave,
and wait for the Lord’s help.
3 “Come here, you children of witches.
Your father committed adultery,
and your mother was unfaithful.
4 You are children out of control, full of lies.
You make fun of me.
You make faces
and stick out your tongue at me.[a]
5 All you want is to worship false gods
under every green tree.
You kill children by every stream
and sacrifice them in the rocky places.
6 You love to worship the smooth rocks in the rivers.
You pour wine on them to worship them.
You give sacrifices to them, but those rocks are all you get.
Do you think this makes me happy?
7 You make your bed on every hill
and high mountain.[b]
You go up to those places
and offer sacrifices.
8 You hide the things that help you remember me
behind the doors and doorframes.[c]
You were with me,
but you got up to go to them.
You spread out your bed
and gave yourself to them.[d]
You love their beds
and enjoy looking at their naked bodies.[e]
9 You use your oils and perfumes
to look nice for Molech.
You sent your messengers to faraway lands,
and this will bring you down to the place of death.[f]
10 All of them made you tired,
but you never gave up.
You found new strength,
because you enjoyed them.
11 You did not remember me.
You did not even notice me!
So who were you worrying about?
Who were you afraid of?
Why did you lie?
Look, I have been quiet for a long time.
Is that why you didn’t honor me?
12 I could tell about your ‘good works’ and all the ‘religious’ things you do,
but that will not help you.
13 When you need help,
you cry to those false gods that you have gathered around you.
Let them help you!
But I tell you, the wind will blow them all away.
A puff of wind will blow them all away.
But the one who depends on me
will get the land I promised
and enjoy my holy mountain.[g]”
25 We get our new life from the Spirit, so we should follow the Spirit. 26 We must not feel proud and boast about ourselves. We must not cause trouble for each other or be jealous of each other.
Help Each Other
6 Brothers and sisters, someone in your group might do something wrong. You who are following the Spirit should go to the one who is sinning. Help make that person right again, and do it in a gentle way. But be careful, because you might be tempted to sin too. 2 Help each other with your troubles. When you do this, you are obeying the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to do this, you are only fooling yourself. 4 Don’t compare yourself with others. Just look at your own work to see if you have done anything to be proud of. 5 You must each accept the responsibilities that are yours.
Never Stop Doing Good
6 Whoever is being taught God’s word should share the good things they have with the one who is teaching them.
7 If you think you can fool God, you are only fooling yourselves. You will harvest what you plant. 8 If you live to satisfy your sinful self, the harvest you will get from that will be eternal death. But if you live to please the Spirit, your harvest from the Spirit will be eternal life. 9 We must not get tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest of eternal life at the right time. We must not give up. 10 When we have the opportunity to do good to anyone, we should do it. But we should give special attention to those who are in the family of believers.
Jesus Frees a Boy From an Evil Spirit(A)
14 Then Jesus, Peter, James, and John went to the other followers. They saw many people around them. The teachers of the law were arguing with the followers. 15 When the people saw Jesus, they were very surprised and ran to welcome him.
16 Jesus asked, “What are you arguing about with the teachers of the law?”
17 A man answered, “Teacher, I brought my son to you. He is controlled by an evil spirit that keeps him from talking. 18 The spirit attacks him and throws him on the ground. He foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes very stiff. I asked your followers to force the evil spirit out, but they could not.”
19 Jesus answered, “You people today don’t believe! How long must I stay with you? How long must I be patient with you? Bring the boy to me!”
20 So the followers brought the boy to Jesus. When the evil spirit saw Jesus, it attacked the boy. The boy fell down and rolled on the ground. He was foaming at the mouth.
21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been happening to him?”
The father answered, “Since he was very young. 22 The spirit often throws him into a fire or into water to kill him. If you can do anything, please have pity on us and help us.”
23 Jesus said to the father, “Why did you say ‘if you can’? All things are possible for the one who believes.”
24 Immediately the father shouted, “I do believe. Help me to believe more!”
25 Jesus saw that all the people were running there to see what was happening. So he spoke to the evil spirit. He said, “You evil spirit that makes this boy deaf and stops him from talking—I command you to come out of him and never enter him again!”
26 The evil spirit screamed. It caused the boy to fall on the ground again, and then it came out. The boy looked as if he was dead. Many people said, “He is dead!” 27 But Jesus took hold of his hand and helped him stand up.
28 Then Jesus went into the house. His followers were alone with him there. They said, “Why weren’t we able to force that evil spirit out?”
29 Jesus answered, “That kind of spirit can be forced out only with prayer.[a]”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International