Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 41
Victory in spite of Betrayal
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 Happy is one who is considerate of the poor;
the Lord will save him in a day of adversity.(A)
2 The Lord will keep him and preserve him;
he will be blessed in the land.(B)
You will not give him over to the desire of his enemies.(C)
3 The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed;
you will heal him on the bed where he lies.(D)
4 I said, “Lord, be gracious to me;
heal me, for I have sinned against you.”(E)
5 My enemies speak maliciously about me:
“When will he die and be forgotten?” (F)
6 When one of them comes to visit, he speaks deceitfully;
he stores up evil in his heart;
he goes out and talks.(G)
7 All who hate me whisper together about me;
they plan to harm me.(H)
8 “Something awful has overwhelmed him,[a]
and he won’t rise again from where he lies!” (I)
9 Even my friend[b] in whom I trusted,
one who ate my bread,
has raised his heel against me.(J)
10 But you, Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up;
then I will repay them.(K)
11 By this I know that you delight in me:(L)
my enemy does not shout in triumph over me.(M)
12 You supported me because of my integrity(N)
and set me in your presence forever.(O)
13 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and amen.(P)
Psalm 52
God Judges the Proud
For the choir director. A Maskil of David. When Doeg the Edomite went and reported to Saul, telling him, “David went to Ahimelech’s house.”(A)
1 Why boast about evil, you hero!(B)
God’s faithful love is constant.(C)
2 Like a sharpened razor,
your tongue devises destruction,
working treachery.(D)
3 You love evil instead of good,
lying instead of speaking truthfully.(E)Selah
4 You love any words that destroy,
you treacherous tongue!(F)
5 This is why God will bring you down forever.
He will take you, ripping you out of your tent;
he will uproot you from the land of the living.(G)Selah
6 The righteous will see and fear,
and they will derisively say about that hero,[a](H)
7 “Here is the man
who would not make God his refuge,
but trusted in the abundance of his riches,
taking refuge in his destructive behavior.”(I)
Psalm 44
Israel’s Complaint
For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.
1 God, we have heard with our ears—
our ancestors have told us—
the work you accomplished in their days,
in days long ago:(A)
2 In order to plant them,
you displaced the nations by your hand;
in order to settle them,
you brought disaster on the peoples.(B)
3 For they did not take the land by their sword—
their arm did not bring them victory—
but by your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your face,(C)
because you were favorable toward them.(D)
4 You are my King, my God,
who ordains[a] victories for Jacob.(E)
5 Through you we drive back our foes;
through your name we trample our enemies.(F)
6 For I do not trust in my bow,
and my sword does not bring me victory.(G)
7 But you give us victory over our foes
and let those who hate us be disgraced.(H)
8 We boast in God all day long;(I)
we will praise your name forever.(J)Selah
9 But you have rejected and humiliated us;
you do not march out with our armies.(K)
10 You make us retreat from the foe,
and those who hate us
have taken plunder for themselves.(L)
11 You hand us over to be eaten like sheep
and scatter us among the nations.(M)
12 You sell your people for nothing;
you make no profit from selling them.(N)
13 You make us an object of reproach to our neighbors,
a source of mockery and ridicule to those around us.(O)
14 You make us a joke among the nations,
a laughingstock[b] among the peoples.(P)
15 My disgrace is before me all day long,
and shame has covered my face,(Q)
16 because of the taunts[c] of the scorner and reviler,
because of the enemy and avenger.(R)
17 All this has happened to us,
but we have not forgotten you
or betrayed your covenant.(S)
18 Our hearts have not turned back;
our steps have not strayed from your path.(T)
19 But you have crushed us in a haunt of jackals
and have covered us with deepest darkness.(U)
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
and spread out our hands to a foreign god,(V)
21 wouldn’t God have found this out,
since he knows the secrets of the heart?(W)
22 Because of you we are being put to death all day long;
we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.(X)
Joseph’s Dreams
37 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.(A) 2 These are the family records of Jacob.
At seventeen years of age, Joseph tended sheep with his brothers. The young man was working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives,(B) and he brought a bad report about them to their father.(C)
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons because Joseph was a son born to him in his old age,(D) and he made a long-sleeved robe[a] for him. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not bring themselves to speak peaceably to him.
5 Then Joseph had a dream. When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 There we were, binding sheaves of grain in the field. Suddenly my sheaf stood up, and your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.”(E)
8 “Are you really going to reign over us?” his brothers asked him. “Are you really going to rule us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream and what he had said.
9 Then he had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun, moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
10 He told his father and brothers, and his father rebuked him. “What kind of dream is this that you have had?” he said. “Am I and your mother and your brothers really going to come and bow down to the ground before you?” 11 His brothers were jealous of him,(F) but his father kept the matter in mind.(G)
Greeting
1 Paul,(A) called as an apostle(B) of Christ Jesus by God’s will,(C) and Sosthenes our brother:(D)
2 To the church of God at Corinth,(E) to those sanctified(F) in Christ Jesus, called(G) as saints, with all those in every place who call on the name(H) of Jesus Christ our Lord—both their Lord and ours.
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father(I) and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving
4 I always thank(J) my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus, 5 that you were enriched in him(K) in every way, in all speech and all knowledge.(L) 6 In this way, the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you,(M) 7 so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait(N) for the revelation(O) of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will also strengthen you to the end,(P) so that you will be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.(Q) 9 God is faithful;(R) you were called by him(S) into fellowship with his Son,(T) Jesus Christ our Lord.
Divisions at Corinth
10 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction. 11 For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters, by members of Chloe’s people, that there is rivalry(U) among you. 12 What I am saying is this: One of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,”(V) or “I belong to Cephas,”(W) or “I belong to Christ.”(X) 13 Is Christ divided?(Y) Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in Paul’s name? 14 I thank God[a][b] that I baptized none of you except Crispus(Z) and Gaius,(AA) 15 so that no one can say you were baptized in my name. 16 I did, in fact, baptize the household(AB) of Stephanas;(AC) beyond that, I don’t recall if I baptized anyone else. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross(AD) of Christ will not be emptied of its effect.
Christ the Power and Wisdom of God
18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved.(AE) 19 For it is written,
The Messiah’s Herald
1 The beginning(A) of the gospel(B) of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.[a](C) 2 As it is written in Isaiah(D) the prophet:[b](E)
See, I am sending my messenger(F) ahead of you;
he will prepare your way.[c][d] (G)
3 A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:(H)
Prepare the way for the Lord;(I)
make his paths straight
4 John came baptizing[f](K) in the wilderness(L) and proclaiming a baptism of repentance(M) for the forgiveness(N) of sins.(O) 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem(P) were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan(Q) River, confessing(R) their sins.(S) 6 John wore a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts(T) and wild honey.(U)
7 He proclaimed, “One who is more powerful(V) than I am is coming after me.(W) I am not worthy(X) to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals.(Y) 8 I baptize you with[g] water,(Z) but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”(AA)
The Baptism of Jesus
9 In(AB) those days Jesus came from Nazareth(AC) in Galilee(AD) and was baptized in the Jordan by John. 10 As soon as he came up out of the water, he saw the heavens(AE) being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice(AF) came from heaven:(AG) “You are my beloved(AH) Son;(AI) with you I am well-pleased.”(AJ)
The Temptation of Jesus
12 Immediately(AK) the Spirit(AL) drove(AM) him into the wilderness.(AN) 13 He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted(AO) by Satan.(AP) He was with the wild animals,(AQ) and the angels(AR) were serving him.
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