Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 41
For the music leader. A psalm of David.
41 Those who pay close attention to the poor are truly happy!
The Lord rescues them during troubling times.
2 The Lord protects them and keeps them alive;
they are widely regarded throughout the land as happy people.
You[a] won’t hand them over to the will of their enemies.
3 The Lord will strengthen them when they are lying in bed, sick.
You will completely transform the place where they lie ill.
4 But me? I said, “Lord, have mercy on me!
Heal me because I have sinned against you.”
5 My enemies speak maliciously about me:
“When will he die and his name disappear?”
6 Whenever they come to visit, they say nothing of value.
Their hearts collect evil gossip;
once they leave, they tell it to everybody.
7 All of those who hate me talk about me, whispering to each other,
plotting evil against me:
8 “Some horrible thing has been poured into him;
the next time he lies down, he won’t get up.”
9 Even my good friend,
the one I trusted,
who shared my food,
has kicked me with his heel—a betrayer!
10 But you, Lord, please have mercy on me and lift me up
so I can pay them back!
11 Then I’ll know you are pleased with me
because my enemy won’t be shouting in triumph over me.
12 You support me in my integrity;
you put me in your presence forever.
13 Bless the Lord, the God of Israel,
from forever to forever!
Amen and Amen!
Psalm 52
For the music leader. A maskil[a] of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, “David has gone to Ahimelech’s house.”
52 Hey, powerful person!
Why do you brag about evil?
God’s faithful love lasts all day long.
2 Your tongue devises destruction:
it’s like a sharpened razor, causing deception.
3 You love evil more than good;
you love lying more than speaking what is right. Selah
4 You love all destructive words;
you love the deceiving tongue.
5 But God will take you down permanently;
he will snatch you up,
tear you out of your tent,
and uproot you from the land of the living! Selah
6 The righteous will see and be in awe;
they will laugh at those people:
7 “Look at them! They didn’t make God their refuge.
Instead, they trusted in their own great wealth.
They sought refuge in it—to their own destruction!”
8 But I am like a green olive tree in God’s house;
I trust in God’s faithful love forever and always.
9 I will give thanks to you, God, forever,
because you have acted.
In the presence of your faithful people,
I will hope in your name because it’s so good.
Psalm 44
For the music leader. A maskil[a] of the Korahites.
44 We have heard it, God, with our own ears;
our ancestors told us about it:
about the deeds you did in their days,
in days long past.
2 You, by your own hand, removed all the nations,
but you planted our ancestors.
You crushed all the peoples,
but you set our ancestors free.
3 No, not by their own swords
did they take possession of the land—
their own arms didn’t save them.
No, it was your strong hand, your arm,
and the light of your face
because you were pleased with them.
4 It’s you, God! You who are my king,
the one who orders salvation for Jacob.
5 We’ve pushed our foes away by your help;
we’ve trampled our enemies by your name.
6 No, I won’t trust in my bow;
my sword won’t save me
7 because it’s you who saved us from our foes,
you who put those who hate us to shame.
8 So we glory in God at all times
and give thanks to your name forever. Selah
9 But now you’ve rejected and humiliated us.
You no longer accompany our armies.
10 You make us retreat from the enemy;
our adversaries plunder us.
11 You’ve handed us over like sheep for butchering;
you’ve scattered us among the nations.
12 You’ve sold your people for nothing,
not even bothering to set a decent price.
13 You’ve made us a joke to all our neighbors;
we’re mocked and ridiculed by everyone around us.
14 You’ve made us a bad joke to the nations,
something to be laughed at by all peoples.
15 All day long my disgrace confronts me,
and shame covers my face
16 because of the voices of those
who make fun of me and bad-mouth me,
because of the enemy who is out for revenge.
17 All this has come upon us,
but we haven’t forgotten you
or broken your covenant.
18 Our hearts haven’t turned away,
neither have our steps strayed from your way.
19 But you’ve crushed us in the place where jackals[b] live,
covering us with deepest darkness.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread out our hands to some strange deity,
21 wouldn’t God have discovered it?
After all, God knows every secret of the heart.
22 No, God, it’s because of you that we are getting killed every day—
it’s because of you that we are considered sheep ready for slaughter.
23 Wake up! Why are you sleeping, Lord?
Get up! Don’t reject us forever!
24 Why are you hiding your face,
forgetting our suffering and oppression?
25 Look: we’re going down to the dust;
our stomachs are flat on the ground!
26 Stand up! Help us!
Save us for the sake of your faithful love.
4 Those who trust others too quickly
have empty heads,
and those who sin injure themselves.
5 Those who rejoice in wickedness
will be condemned.[a]
6 And those who are reticent to speak
diminish wickedness.
7 Never repeat something that you’ve heard,
and you will not lose anything.
8 Don’t report it to a friend or an enemy,
and, as long as it wouldn’t be a sin for you, don’t reveal it.
9 People might hear you or observe you,
and in time they will hate you.
10 Have you heard some word?
Let it perish along with you.
Have courage!
It won’t make you burst.
11 Because of something spoken,
a fool will suffer labor pains
like those caused by a baby
about to be delivered.
12 Like an arrow stuck in a thigh,
so is a word in the belly of a fool.
13 Question a friend;
perhaps he didn’t do it.
And if he did, question him
so he doesn’t do it again.
14 Question a neighbor;
perhaps she didn’t say it.
And if she did say it,
question her so that she doesn’t repeat it.
15 Question a friend, because it often
turns out to be a false accusation.
Don’t trust everything that is said.
16 There are those who slip,
and it wasn’t intentional.
Who hasn’t sinned with the tongue?
17 Question your neighbor
before issuing a threat,
and give the Law of the Most High
its place.[b]
Two witnesses
11 Then I was given a measuring rod, which was like a pole. And I was told, “Get up and measure God’s temple, the altar, and those who worship there. 2 But don’t measure the court outside the temple. Leave that out, because it has been given to the nations, and they will trample the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.
3 “And I will allow my two witnesses to prophesy for one thousand two hundred sixty days, wearing mourning clothes. 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 If anyone wants to hurt them, fire comes out of their mouth and burns up their enemies. So if anyone wants to hurt them, they have to be killed in this way. 6 They have the power to close up the sky so that no rain will fall for as long as they prophesy. They also have power over the waters, to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with any plague, as often as they wish.
7 “When they have finished their witnessing, the beast that comes up from the abyss will make war on them, gain victory over them, and kill them. 8 Their dead bodies will lie on the street of the great city that is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9 And for three and a half days, members of the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will look at their dead bodies, but they won’t let their dead bodies be put in a tomb. 10 Those who live on earth will rejoice over them. They will celebrate and give each other gifts, because these two prophets had brought such pain to those who live on earth.
11 “But after three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet. Great fear came over those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, ‘Come up here.’ And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies watched them. 13 At that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed by the earthquake, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.”
14 The second horror is over. The third horror is coming soon.
Controversy over Beelzebul
14 Jesus was throwing out a demon that causes muteness. When the demon was gone, the man who couldn’t speak began to talk. The crowds were amazed. 15 But some of them said, “He throws out demons with the authority of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons.” 16 Others were testing him, seeking a sign from heaven.
17 Because Jesus knew what they were thinking, he said to them, “Every kingdom involved in civil war becomes a wasteland, and a house torn apart by divisions will collapse. 18 If Satan is at war with himself, how will his kingdom endure? I ask this because you say that I throw out demons by the authority of Beelzebul. 19 If I throw out demons by the authority of Beelzebul, then by whose authority do your followers throw them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. 20 But if I throw out demons by the power[a] of God, then God’s kingdom has already overtaken you. 21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his possessions are secure. 22 But as soon as a stronger one attacks and overpowers him, the stronger one takes away the armor he had trusted and divides the stolen goods.
23 “Whoever isn’t with me is against me, and whoever doesn’t gather with me, scatters. 24 When an unclean spirit leaves a person, it wanders through dry places looking for a place to rest. But it doesn’t find any. Then it says, ‘I’ll go back to the house I left.’ 25 When it arrives, it finds the house cleaned up and decorated. 26 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself. They go in and make their home there. That person is worse off at the end than at the beginning.”
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible