Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 37
A Psalm of David.
1 Do not fret because of evildoers,
nor be jealous of those who do injustice.
2 For they will quickly wither like the grass,
and fade like the green herbs.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land, and practice faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
and He will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust also in Him, and He will bring it to pass.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your judgment as the noonday.
7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
do not fret because of those who prosper in their way,
because of those who make wicked schemes.
8 Let go of anger, and forsake wrath;
do not fret—it surely leads to evil deeds.
9 For evildoers will be cut off,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the earth.
10 For yet a little while, and the wicked will not be;
you will look diligently for their place, and it will not be.
11 But the meek will inherit the earth,
and will delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous,
and grind their teeth against them.
13 The Lord will laugh at him,
for He sees that his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn out the sword
and have bent their bow,
to cast down the poor and needy,
and to slay those on the upright path.
15 Their sword will enter into their own heart,
and their bows will be broken.
16 Better is a little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
but the Lord supports the righteous.
18 The Lord knows the days of people of integrity,
and their inheritance will be forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in the evil time,
and in the days of famine they will be satisfied.
20 But the wicked will perish,
and the enemies of the Lord will be like the glory of pastures;
they will waste away, in smoke they will waste away.
21 The wicked borrows and does not repay,
but the righteous is gracious and gives.
22 For those who are blessed of Him will inherit the earth,
but those who are cursed of Him will be cut off.
23 The steps of a man are made firm by the Lord;
He delights in his way.
24 Though he falls, he will not be hurled down,
for the Lord supports him with His hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old;
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
nor their offspring begging bread.
26 The righteous are gracious and lend,
and their offspring are a source of blessing.
27 Depart from evil and do good,
and abide forevermore.
28 For the Lord loves justice,
and does not forsake His saints;
they are preserved forever,
but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will inherit the land,
and dwell on it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and their tongue speaks justice.
31 The law of their God is in their heart;
none of their steps will slip.
32 The wicked watch the righteous,
and seek to kill them.
33 The Lord will not forsake them to their hand,
nor condemn them when they are judged.
34 Hope in the Lord,
and keep His way,
and He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35 I have seen the wicked in great power,
and spreading himself like a luxuriant tree.
36 Yet he passed away, and he was not;
I sought him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the blameless man, and consider the upright,
for the end of that man is peace.
38 But the transgressors will be destroyed together;
the end of the wicked is to be cut off.
39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their refuge in the time of distress.
40 The Lord will help them and deliver them;
He will deliver them from the wicked,
and save them, because they take refuge in Him.
Isaiah Reassures King Ahaz
7 And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Aram, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.
2 It was said to the house of David, “Aram is allied with Ephraim.” Then his heart trembled and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood tremble with the wind.
3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah: Go out now to meet Ahaz, you, and Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field, 4 and say to him, Take heed, and be quiet. Do not fear nor be fainthearted because of the two tails of these smoking firebrands, because of the fierce anger of Rezin with Aram and of the son of Remaliah, 5 because Aram, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have taken evil counsel against you, saying, 6 Let us go up against Judah, and trouble it, and let us make a breach there for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeel. 7 Thus says the Lord God:
It shall not stand,
nor shall it come to pass.
8 For the head of Aram is Damascus,
and the head of Damascus is Rezin.
Now within sixty-five years
Ephraim shall be broken so that it is not a people.
9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.
If you will not believe,
surely you shall not be established.
The Man of Lawlessness
2 Now, brothers, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and concerning our gathering together unto Him, we ask you 2 not to let your mind be quickly shaken or be troubled, neither in spirit nor by word, nor by letter coming as though from us, as if the day of Christ is already here. 3 Do not let anyone deceive you in any way. For that Day will not come unless a falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself as God.
5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things? 6 Now you know what restrains him that he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already working. Only He who is now restraining him will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth, and destroy with the brightness of His presence, 9 even him, whose coming is in accordance with the working of Satan with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all deception of unrighteousness among those who perish, because they did not receive the love for the truth that they might be saved. 11 Therefore God will send them a strong delusion, that they should believe the lie: 12 that they all might be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
The Plot to Kill Jesus(A)
22 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, drew near. 2 And the chief priests and scribes were seeking how to kill Jesus, for they feared the people. 3 Then Satan entered into Judas, called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve. 4 He went and discussed with the chief priests and captains how he might betray Him to them. 5 They were glad and agreed to give him money. 6 He fully consented and searched for an opportunity to betray Him to them apart from the crowds.
The Preparation of the Passover(B)
7 Then the Day of Unleavened Bread came, when the Passover lamb must be killed. 8 He sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us to eat it.”
9 They said to Him, “Where will You have us prepare it?”
10 He said to them, “Now, as you enter the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you there. Follow him into the house which he enters, 11 and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’ 12 He will show you a large furnished upper room. Prepare there.”
13 They went and found it as He had told them. So they prepared the Passover.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.