Book of Common Prayer
The Psalmist in Sickness Complains of Enemies and False Friends.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
41 Blessed is one who (A)considers the [a]helpless;
The Lord will save him (B)on a day of [b]trouble.
2 The Lord will (C)protect him and keep him alive,
And he will be called [c](D)blessed upon the earth;
And (E)do not turn him over to the desire of his enemies.
3 The Lord will sustain him upon his sickbed;
In his illness, You [d]restore him to health.
4 As for me, I said, “Lord, be gracious to me;
(F)Heal my soul, for (G)I have sinned against You.”
5 My enemies (H)speak evil against me,
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
6 And [e]when he comes to see me, he (I)speaks [f]empty words;
His heart gathers wickedness to itself;
When he goes outside, he tells it.
7 All who hate me whisper together against me;
They (J)plot my harm against me, saying,
8 “A wicked thing is poured out [g]upon him,
So that when he lies down, he will (K)not get up again.”
9 Even my [h](L)close friend in whom I trusted,
Who ate my bread,
Has lifted up his heel against me.
10 But You, Lord, be gracious to me and (M)raise me up,
That I may repay them.
11 By this I know that (N)You are pleased with me,
Because (O)my enemy does not shout in triumph over me.
12 As for me, (P)You uphold me in my integrity,
And You place me (Q)in Your presence forever.
13 (R)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
From everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.
Futility of Boastful Wickedness.
For the music director. A [a]Maskil of David, [b]when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”
52 Why do you (A)boast in evil, you mighty man?
The (B)faithfulness of God endures all day long.
2 Your tongue devises (C)destruction,
Like a (D)sharp razor, (E)you worker of deceit.
3 You (F)love evil more than good,
(G)Lies more than speaking what is right. Selah
4 You love all words that devour,
You (H)deceitful tongue.
5 [c]But God will break you down forever;
He will snatch you up and (I)tear you away from your tent,
And (J)uproot you from the (K)land of the living. Selah
6 The righteous will (L)see and fear,
And they will (M)laugh at him, saying,
7 “Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge,
But (N)trusted in the abundance of his riches
And (O)was strong in [d]his evil desire.”
Former Times of Help and Present Troubles.
For the music director. A [a]Maskil of the sons of Korah.
44 God, we have heard with our ears,
Our (A)fathers have told us
The (B)work that You did in their days,
In the (C)days of old.
2 You with Your own hand (D)drove out the nations;
Then You (E)planted them;
You (F)afflicted the peoples,
Then You (G)let them go free.
3 For by their own sword they (H)did not possess the land,
And their own arm did not save them,
But Your right hand and Your (I)arm and the (J)light of Your presence,
For You (K)favored them.
4 You are (L)my King, God;
(M)Command [b]victories for Jacob.
5 Through You we will (N)push back our adversaries;
Through Your name we will (O)trample down those who rise up against us.
6 For I will (P)not trust in my bow,
Nor will my sword save me.
7 But You (Q)have saved us from our adversaries,
And You have (R)put to shame those who hate us.
8 In God we have (S)boasted all day long,
And we will (T)give thanks to Your name forever. Selah
9 Yet You (U)have rejected us and brought us to (V)dishonor,
And (W)do not go out with our armies.
10 You cause us to (X)turn back from the enemy;
And those who hate us (Y)have taken spoils for themselves.
11 You turn us over [c]to be eaten like (Z)sheep,
And have (AA)scattered us among the nations.
12 You (AB)sell Your people [d]cheaply,
And have not [e]profited by their sale.
13 You make us an object of (AC)reproach to our neighbors,
Of scoffing and (AD)ridicule to those around us.
14 You make us (AE)a proverb among the nations,
A [f](AF)laughingstock among the peoples.
15 All day long my dishonor is before me
And [g]I am covered with my (AG)humiliation,
16 Because of the voice of one who (AH)taunts and reviles,
Because of the presence of the (AI)enemy and the avenger.
17 All this has come upon us, but we have (AJ)not forgotten You,
And we have not (AK)dealt falsely with Your covenant.
18 Our heart has not (AL)turned back,
And our steps (AM)have not deviated from Your way,
19 Yet You have (AN)crushed us in a place of (AO)jackals
And covered us with [h](AP)deep darkness.
20 If we had (AQ)forgotten the name of our God
Or extended our [i]hands to (AR)a strange god,
21 Would God not (AS)find this out?
For He knows the secrets of the heart.
22 But (AT)for Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are regarded as (AU)sheep to be slaughtered.
23 (AV)Wake Yourself up, why (AW)do You sleep, Lord?
Awake, (AX)do not reject us forever.
24 Why do You (AY)hide Your face
And (AZ)forget our affliction and oppression?
25 For our (BA)souls have sunk down into the dust;
Our bodies cling to the earth.
26 (BB)Rise up, be our help,
And (BC)redeem us because of Your mercy.
Patrol of the Earth
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, that is, the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, [a]as follows: 8 I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a (A)red horse, and he was standing among the (B)myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, [b]sorrel, and (C)white horses behind him. 9 Then I said, “What are these, my (D)lord?” And the (E)angel who was speaking with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.” 10 And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees responded and said, “These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to [c](F)patrol the earth.” 11 So they responded to the angel of the Lord who was (G)standing among the myrtle trees and said, “We have [d]patrolled the earth, and behold, (H)all the earth is [e]still and quiet.”
12 Then the angel of the Lord said, “Lord of armies, (I)how long will You (J)take no pity on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been (K)indignant for these (L)seventy years?” 13 And the Lord responded to the (M)angel who was speaking with me with [f]gracious words, (N)comforting words. 14 So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “(O)Proclaim, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “I am (P)exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. 15 But I am very (Q)angry with the nations who are (R)carefree; for while I was only a little angry, they [g](S)furthered the disaster.” 16 Therefore the Lord says this: “I will (T)return to Jerusalem with compassion; My (U)house will be built in it,” declares the Lord of armies, “and a measuring (V)line will be stretched over Jerusalem.”’ 17 Again, proclaim, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “My (W)cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again (X)comfort Zion and again (Y)choose Jerusalem.”’”
Message to the Seven Churches
4 (A)John to (B)the seven churches that are in (C)Asia: (D)Grace to you and peace from (E)Him who is, and who was, and who [a]is to come, and from (F)the [b]seven spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, (G)the faithful witness, the (H)firstborn of the dead, and the (I)ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who (J)loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— 6 and He made us into a (K)kingdom, (L)priests to [c](M)His God and Father—(N)to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 (O)Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and (P)every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will (Q)mourn over Him. [d]So it is to be. Amen.
8 “I am (R)the Alpha and the Omega,” says the (S)Lord God, “(T)who is and who was and who [e]is to come, the Almighty.”
The Patmos Vision
9 (U)I, John, your (V)brother and (W)fellow participant in the tribulation and (X)kingdom and [f](Y)perseverance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos (Z)because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was (AA)in the [g]Spirit on (AB)the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice (AC)like the sound of a trumpet, 11 saying, “(AD)Write [h]on a scroll what you see, and send it to the (AE)seven churches: to (AF)Ephesus, (AG)Smyrna, (AH)Pergamum, (AI)Thyatira, (AJ)Sardis, (AK)Philadelphia, and (AL)Laodicea.”
12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And after turning I saw (AM)seven golden lampstands; 13 and (AN)in the middle of the lampstands I saw one (AO)like [i]a son of man, (AP)clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and (AQ)wrapped around the chest with a golden sash. 14 His head and His (AR)hair were white like white wool, like snow; and (AS)His eyes were like a flame of fire. 15 His (AT)feet were like [j]burnished bronze when it has been heated to a glow in a furnace, and His (AU)voice was like the sound of many waters. 16 In His right hand He held (AV)seven stars, and out of His mouth came a (AW)sharp two-edged sword; and His (AX)face was like (AY)the sun [k]shining in its strength.
17 When I saw Him, I (AZ)fell at His feet like a dead man. And He (BA)placed His right hand on me, saying, “(BB)Do not be afraid; (BC)I am the first and the last, 18 and the (BD)living One; and I [l](BE)was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have (BF)the keys of death and of Hades. 19 Therefore (BG)write (BH)the things which you have seen, [m]and the things which are, and the things which will take place (BI)after these things. 20 As for the (BJ)mystery of the (BK)seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the (BL)seven golden lampstands: the (BM)seven stars are the angels of (BN)the seven churches, and the seven (BO)lampstands are the seven churches.
43 “(A)Now when the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they come in and live there; and (B)the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”
Changed Relationships
46 (C)While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His (D)mother and (E)brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47 [[a]Someone said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to You.”] 48 But [b]Jesus replied to the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” 49 And extending His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold: My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother, and sister, and mother.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.