Book of Common Prayer
ז Zayin
49 Remember Your word to Your servant;
You have given me hope through it.
50 This is my comfort in my affliction:(A)
Your promise has given me life.
51 The arrogant constantly ridicule me,
but I do not turn away from Your instruction.(B)
52 Lord, I remember Your judgments from long ago
and find comfort.
53 Rage seizes me(C) because of the wicked
who reject Your instruction.(D)
54 Your statutes are the theme of my song
during my earthly life.[a]
55 Yahweh, I remember Your name(E) in the night,(F)
and I obey Your instruction.
56 This is my practice:
I obey Your precepts.(G)
ח Khet
57 The Lord is my portion;[b](H)
I have promised to keep Your words.
58 I have sought Your favor(I) with all my heart;
be gracious to me(J) according to Your promise.
59 I thought about my ways(K)
and turned my steps back to Your decrees.
60 I hurried, not hesitating
to keep Your commands.
61 Though the ropes of the wicked(L)
were wrapped around me,
I did not forget Your instruction.(M)
62 I rise at midnight to thank You(N)
for Your righteous judgments.(O)
63 I am a friend to all who fear You,(P)
to those who keep Your precepts.
64 Lord, the earth is filled with Your faithful love;(Q)
teach me Your statutes.(R)
ט Tet
65 Lord, You have treated Your servant well,
just as You promised.
66 Teach me good judgment and discernment,(S)
for I rely on Your commands.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,(T)
but now I keep Your word.
68 You are good,(U) and You do what is good;(V)
teach me Your statutes.
69 The arrogant have smeared me with lies,(W)
but I obey Your precepts with all my heart.(X)
70 Their hearts are hard and insensitive,(Y)
but I delight in Your instruction.(Z)
71 It was good for me to be afflicted(AA)
so that I could learn Your statutes.
72 Instruction from Your lips(AB) is better for me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
Psalm 49
Misplaced Trust in Wealth
For the choir director. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
1 Hear this, all you peoples;
listen, all who inhabit the world,(A)
2 both low and high,[a]
rich and poor together.(B)
3 My mouth speaks wisdom;
my heart’s meditation brings understanding.(C)
4 I turn my ear to a proverb;
I explain my riddle with a lyre.(D)
5 Why should I fear in times of trouble?
The iniquity of my foes surrounds me.(E)
6 They trust in their wealth
and boast of their abundant riches.(F)
7 Yet these cannot redeem a person[b]
or pay his ransom to God(G)—
8 since the price of redeeming him is too costly,
one should forever stop trying[c](H)—
9 so that he may live forever
and not see the Pit.(I)
10 For one can see that wise men die;
foolish and stupid men also pass away.(J)
Then they leave their wealth to others.(K)
11 Their graves are their eternal homes,[d]
their homes from generation to generation,
though they have named estates after themselves.(L)
12 But despite his assets,[e] man will not last;
he is like the animals that perish.(M)
13 This is the way of those who are arrogant,
and of their followers,
who approve of their words.[f](N)
14 Like sheep they are headed for Sheol;
Death will shepherd them.
The upright will rule over them in the morning,(O)
and their form will waste away in Sheol,[g]
far from their lofty abode.(P)
15 But God will redeem my life
from the power of Sheol,
for He will take me.(Q)
16 Do not be afraid when a man gets rich,
when the wealth[h] of his house increases.(R)
17 For when he dies, he will take nothing at all;
his wealth[i] will not follow him down.(S)
18 Though he praises himself during his lifetime—
and people praise you when you do well for yourself(T)—
19 he will go to the generation of his fathers;
they will never see the light.(U)
20 A man with valuable possessions[j]
but without understanding
is like the animals that perish.(V)
Psalm 53
A Portrait of Sinners
For the choir director: on Mahalath.[a](A) A Davidic Maskil.
1 The fool says in his heart, “God does not exist.”
They are corrupt, and they do vile deeds.
There is no one who does good.(B)
2 God looks down from heaven on the human race
to see if there is one who is wise,
one who seeks God.(C)
3 All have turned away;
all alike have become corrupt.
There is no one who does good,
not even one.(D)
Job’s Final Claim of Innocence
29 Job continued his discourse, saying:
30 But now they mock(A) me,
men younger than I am,
whose fathers I would have refused to put
with my sheep dogs.
2 What use to me was the strength of their hands?
Their vigor had left them.
16 Now my life is poured out before my eyes,
and days of suffering(A) have seized me.
17 Night pierces my bones,
but my gnawing pains never rest.(B)
18 My clothing is distorted with great force;
He chokes me by the neck of my garment.[a]
19 He throws me into the mud,
and I have become like dust and ashes.(C)
20 I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;(D)
when I stand up, You merely look at me.
21 You have turned against me with cruelty;
You harass(E) me with Your strong hand.
22 You lift me up on the wind and make me ride it;
You scatter me in the storm.(F)
23 Yes, I know that You will lead me to death—
the place(G) appointed for all who live.
24 Yet no one would stretch out his hand
against a ruined man[b]
when he cries out to him for help
because of his distress.(H)
25 Have I not wept for those who have fallen on hard times?
Has my soul not grieved for the needy?(I)
26 But when I hoped for good, evil came;
when I looked for light, darkness(J) came.
27 I am churning within[c] and cannot rest;
days of suffering confront me.
28 I walk about blackened, but not by the sun.[d]
I stood in the assembly and cried out for help.
29 I have become a brother to jackals
and a companion of ostriches.
30 My skin blackens and flakes off,[e]
and my bones burn with fever.(K)
31 My lyre is used for mourning
and my flute for the sound of weeping.(L)
19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and when they had won over the crowds and stoned Paul, they dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead.(A) 20 After the disciples surrounded him, he got up and went into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.(B)
Church Planting
21 After they had evangelized that town and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch,(C) 22 strengthening the[a] disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith(D) and by telling them, “It is necessary to pass through many troubles(E) on our way into the kingdom of God.”
23 When they had appointed elders(F) in every church and prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. 24 Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. 25 After they spoke the message in Perga, they went down to Attalia. 26 From there they sailed back to Antioch where they had been entrusted to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.(G) 27 After they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported everything God had done with them(H) and that He had opened the door(I) of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they spent a considerable time[b] with the disciples.
Lazarus Dies at Bethany
11 Now a man was sick, Lazarus, from Bethany,(A) the village of Mary and her sister Martha.(B) 2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair,(C) and it was her brother Lazarus who was sick. 3 So the sisters sent a message to Him: “Lord, the one You love is sick.”
4 When Jesus heard it, He said, “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God,(D) so that the Son of God(E) may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. 6 So when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. 7 Then after that, He said to the disciples, “Let’s go to Judea(F) again.”
8 “Rabbi,”(G) the disciples told Him, “just now the Jews tried to stone You,(H) and You’re going there again?”
9 “Aren’t there 12 hours in a day?” Jesus answered. “If anyone walks during the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world.(I) 10 If anyone walks during the night,(J) he does stumble, because the light is not in him.” 11 He said this, and then He told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep,(K) but I’m on My way to wake him up.”
12 Then the disciples said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well.”
13 Jesus, however, was speaking about his death, but they thought He was speaking about natural sleep. 14 So Jesus then told them plainly, “Lazarus has died. 15 I’m glad for you that I wasn’t there so that you may believe. But let’s go to him.”
16 Then Thomas(L) (called “Twin”) said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go so that we may die with Him.”
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