Book of Common Prayer
מ Mem
97 Lord, I really love your law!
All day long I spend time thinking about it.
98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,
because your commands are always in my heart.
99 I know more than all my teachers do,
because I spend time thinking about your covenant laws.
100 I understand more than the elders do,
because I obey your rules.
101 I’ve kept my feet from every path that sinners take
so that I might obey your word.
102 I haven’t turned away from your laws,
because you yourself have taught me.
103 Your words are very sweet to my taste!
They are sweeter than honey to me.
104 I gain understanding from your rules.
So I hate every path that sinners take.
נ Nun
105 Your word is like a lamp that shows me the way.
It is like a light that guides me.
106 I have made a promise
to follow your laws, because they are right.
107 I have suffered very much.
Lord, keep me alive as you have promised.
108 Lord, accept the praise I freely give you.
Teach me your laws.
109 I keep putting my life in danger.
But I won’t forget to obey your law.
110 Evil people have set a trap for me.
But I haven’t wandered away from your rules.
111 Your covenant laws are your gift to me forever.
They fill my heart with joy.
112 I have decided to obey your orders
to the very end.
ס Samekh
113 I hate people who can’t make up their minds.
But I love your law.
114 You are my place of safety.
You are like a shield that keeps me safe.
I have put my hope in your word.
115 Get away from me, you who do evil!
Then I can do what my God commands me to do.
116 My God, keep me going as you have promised. Then I will live.
Don’t let me lose all hope.
117 Take good care of me, and I will be saved.
I will always honor your orders.
118 You turn your back on all those who wander away from your orders.
Their wrong thoughts will be proved to be wrong.
119 You throw away all the sinners on earth as if they were trash.
So I love your covenant laws.
120 My body trembles because I have respect for you.
I have great respect for your laws.
For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of Asaph.
81 Sing joyfully to God! He gives us strength.
Give a loud shout to the God of Jacob!
2 Let the music begin. Play the tambourines.
Play sweet music on harps and lyres.
3 Blow the ram’s horn on the day of the New Moon feast.
Blow it again when the moon is full and the Feast of Booths begins.
4 This is an order given to Israel.
It is a law of the God of Jacob.
5 He gave it as a covenant law for the people of Joseph.
It was given when God went out to punish Egypt.
There I heard a voice I didn’t recognize.
6 The voice said, “I removed the load from your shoulders.
I set your hands free from carrying heavy baskets.
7 You called out when you were in trouble, and I saved you.
I answered you out of a thundercloud.
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
8 “My people, listen and I will warn you.
Israel, I wish you would listen to me!
9 Don’t have anything to do with the gods of other nations.
Don’t bow down and worship any god other than me.
10 I am the Lord your God.
I brought you up out of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.
11 “But my people wouldn’t listen to me.
Israel wouldn’t obey me.
12 So I let them go their own stubborn way.
I let them follow their own sinful plans.
13 “I wish my people would listen to me!
I wish Israel would live as I want them to live!
14 Then I would quickly bring their enemies under control.
I would use my power against their attackers.
15 Those who hate me would bow down to me in fear.
They would be punished forever.
16 But you would be fed with the finest wheat.
I would satisfy you with the sweetest honey.”
A psalm of Asaph.
82 God takes his place at the head of a large gathering of leaders.
He announces his decisions among them.
2 He says, “How long will you stand up for those who aren’t fair to others?
How long will you show mercy to sinful people?
3 Stand up for the weak and for children whose fathers have died.
Protect the rights of people who are poor or treated badly.
4 Save those who are weak and needy.
Save them from the power of sinful people.
5 “You leaders don’t know anything.
You don’t understand anything.
You are in the dark about what is right.
Law and order have been destroyed all over the world.
6 “I said, ‘You leaders are like gods.
You are all children of the Most High God.’
7 But you will die, like mere human beings.
You will die like every other leader.”
8 God, rise up. Judge the earth.
All the nations belong to you.
19 Gideon and the 100 men with him reached the edge of the enemy camp. It was about ten o’clock at night. It was just after the guard had been changed. Gideon and his men blew their trumpets. They broke the jars that were in their hands. 20 The three fighting groups blew their trumpets. They smashed their jars. They held their torches in their left hands. They held in their right hands the trumpets they were going to blow. Then they shouted the battle cry, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 Each man stayed in his position around the camp. But all the Midianites ran away in fear. They were crying out as they ran.
22 When the 300 trumpets were blown, the Lord caused all the men in the enemy camp to start fighting one another. They attacked one another with their swords. The army ran away to Beth Shittah toward Zererah. They ran all the way to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. 23 Israelites from the tribes of Naphtali, Asher and all of Manasseh were called out. They chased the Midianites. 24 Gideon sent messengers through the entire hill country of Ephraim. They said, “Come on down against the Midianites. Take control of the waters of the Jordan River before they get there. Do it all the way to Beth Barah.”
So all the men of Ephraim were called out. They took control of the waters of the Jordan all the way to Beth Barah. 25 They also captured Oreb and Zeeb. Those men were two of the Midianite leaders. The men of Ephraim killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb. They killed Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They chased the Midianites. And they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon. He was by the Jordan River.
Zebah and Zalmunna
8 The men of Ephraim asked Gideon, “Why have you treated us like this? Why didn’t you ask us to help you when you went out to fight against Midian?” In anger they challenged Gideon.
2 But he answered them, “What I’ve done isn’t anything compared to what you have done. Ephraim’s grapes have been gathered. Isn’t what is left over better than all the grapes that have been gathered from Abiezer’s vines? 3 God handed Oreb and Zeeb over to you. They were Midianite leaders. So what was I able to do compared to what you did?” After Gideon had said that, they didn’t feel angry with him anymore.
4 Gideon and his 300 men were very tired. But they kept on chasing their enemies. They came to the Jordan River and went across it. 5 Gideon said to the men of Sukkoth, “Give my troops some bread. They are worn out. And I’m still chasing Zebah and Zalmunna. They are the kings of Midian.”
6 But the officials of Sukkoth objected. They said, “Have you already killed Zebah and Zalmunna? Have you cut their hands off and brought them back to prove it? If you haven’t, why should we give bread to your troops?”
7 Gideon replied, “The Lord will hand Zebah and Zalmunna over to me. When he does, I’ll tear your skin with thorns from desert bushes.”
8 From there Gideon went up to Peniel. He asked its men for the same thing. But they answered as the men of Sukkoth had. 9 So he said to the men of Peniel, “I’ll be back after I’ve won the battle. Then I’ll tear down this tower.”
10 Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor. They had an army of about 15,000 men. That’s all that were left of the armies of the tribes from the east. About 120,000 men who carried swords had died in battle. 11 Gideon went up the trail the people of the desert had made. It ran east of Nobah and Jogbehah. He attacked the army by surprise. 12 Zebah and Zalmunna ran away. They were the two kings of Midian. Gideon chased them and captured them. He destroyed their whole army.
12 When Peter saw this, he said, “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us? It’s not as if we’ve made this man walk by our own power or godliness. 13 The God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has done this. God has brought glory to Jesus, who serves him. But you handed Jesus over to be killed. Pilate had decided to let him go. But you spoke against Jesus when he was in Pilate’s court. 14 You spoke against the Holy and Blameless One. You asked for a murderer to be set free instead. 15 You killed the one who gives life. But God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 16 This man whom you see and know was made strong because of faith in Jesus’ name. Faith in Jesus has healed him completely. You can see it with your own eyes.
17 “My fellow Israelites, I know you didn’t realize what you were doing. Neither did your leaders. 18 But God had given a promise through all the prophets. And this is how he has made his promise come true. He said that his Messiah would suffer. 19 So turn away from your sins. Turn to God. Then your sins will be wiped away. The time will come when the Lord will make everything new. 20 He will send the Messiah. Jesus has been appointed as the Messiah for you. 21 Heaven must receive him until the time when God makes everything new. He promised this long ago through his holy prophets. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me. He will be one of your own people. You must listen to everything he tells you. 23 Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.’ (Deuteronomy 18:15,18,19)
24 “Beginning with Samuel, all the prophets spoke about this. They said these days would come. 25 What the prophets said was meant for you. The covenant God made with your people long ago is yours also. He said to Abraham, ‘All nations on earth will be blessed through your children.’ (Genesis 22:18; 26:4) 26 God raised up Jesus, who serves him. God sent him first to you. He did it to bless you. He wanted to turn each of you from your evil ways.”
What John Says About Jesus
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him. John said, “Look! The Lamb of God! He takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I was talking about. I said, ‘A man who comes after me is more important than I am. That’s because he existed before I was born.’ 31 I did not know him. But God wants to make it clear to Israel who this person is. That’s the reason I came baptizing with water.”
32 Then John told them, “I saw the Holy Spirit come down from heaven like a dove. The Spirit remained on Jesus. 33 I myself did not know him. But the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘You will see the Spirit come down and remain on someone. He is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen it happen. I am a witness that this is God’s Chosen One.”
John’s Disciples Follow Jesus
35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 He saw Jesus walking by. John said, “Look! The Lamb of God!”
37 The two disciples heard him say this. So they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned around and saw them following. He asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” Rabbi means Teacher.
39 “Come,” he replied. “You will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying. They spent the rest of the day with him. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.
40 Andrew was Simon Peter’s brother. Andrew was one of the two disciples who heard what John had said. He had also followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon. He told him, “We have found the Messiah.” Messiah means Christ. 42 And he brought Simon to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas.” Cephas means Peter, or Rock.
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