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.
Elihu Rebukes Job in Anger
32 Then these three men stopped answering Job, because he was (A)righteous in his own eyes. 2 But the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the (B)Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned against Job; his anger burned (C)because he justified himself [a](D)before God. 3 And his anger burned against his three friends because they had found no answer, yet they had condemned Job. 4 Now Elihu had waited [b]to speak to Job because they were years older than he. 5 But when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, his anger burned.
6 So Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite [c]spoke out and said,
“I am young in years and you are (E)old;
Therefore I was shy and afraid to tell you [d]what I think.
7 I [e]thought [f](F)age should speak,
And [g]increased years should teach wisdom.
8 But it is a spirit that is in mankind,
And the (G)breath of the Almighty gives them (H)understanding.
9 The [h]abundant in years may not be wise,
Nor may (I)elders understand justice.
10 So I [i]say, ‘Listen to me,
I too will tell [j]what I think.’
19 Behold, my belly is like unvented wine;
Like new wineskins, it is about to burst.
20 Let me speak so that I may get relief;
Let me open my lips and answer.
21 Let me (A)be partial to no one,
Nor flatter any man.
22 For I do not know how to flatter,
Otherwise my Maker would quickly take me away.
Elihu Claims to Speak for God
33 “However, please (B)hear my speech, Job,
And listen to all my words.
19 “A person is also rebuked by (A)pain in his bed,
And with constant complaint in his bones,
20 So that his life (B)loathes bread,
And his soul, food [a]that he should crave.
21 His (C)flesh wastes away from sight,
And his (D)bones, which were not seen, stick out.
22 Then (E)his soul comes near to the pit,
And his life to those who bring death.
23 “If there is an (F)interceding angel for him,
One out of a thousand,
To remind a person of what is [b]right for him,
24 And he is gracious to him, and says,
‘Free him from (G)going down to the pit,
I have found a (H)ransom’;
25 Let his flesh become fresher than in youth,
Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor;
26 Then he will (I)pray to God, and He will accept him,
So that (J)he may see His face with joy,
And He will restore His righteousness to that person.
27 He will sing to people and say,
‘I (K)have sinned and perverted what is right,
And it is not (L)proper for me.
28 He has redeemed my soul from going to the pit,
And my life will (M)see the light.’
Paul Turns to the Gentiles
44 The next (A)Sabbath nearly all the city assembled to hear the word of [a]the Lord. 45 But when (B)the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were [b]blaspheming. 46 Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you (C)first. Since you repudiate it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, (D)we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us,
‘(E)I have appointed You as a (F)light [c]to the Gentiles,
That You may [d]bring salvation to the end of the earth.’”
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying (G)the word of [e]the Lord; and all who (H)had been appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And (I)the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region. 50 But (J)the Jews incited the [f](K)devout women (L)of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their [g]region. 51 But (M)they shook off the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to (N)Iconium. 52 And the disciples were continually (O)filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
19 (A)Dissension occurred again among the Jews because of these words. 20 Many of them were saying, “He (B)has a demon and (C)is insane. Why do you listen to Him?” 21 Others were saying, “These are not the words of one who is (D)demon-possessed. (E)A demon cannot open the eyes of those who are blind, can it?”
Jesus Asserts His Deity
22 At that time the [a]Feast of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem; 23 it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple area, in the portico of (F)Solomon. 24 (G)The Jews then surrounded Him and began saying to Him, “How long [b]will You keep us in suspense? If You are the [c]Christ, tell us (H)plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “(I)I told you, and you do not believe; (J)the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because (K)you are not of My sheep. 27 My sheep (L)listen to My voice, and (M)I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give them (N)eternal life, and they will never perish; and (O)no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 [d]My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 (P)I and the Father are [e]one.”
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