Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 31
Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit
Heading
For the choir director. A psalm by David.
A Declaration of Confidence
1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge.
Petition
Let me never be put to shame.
In your righteousness deliver me.
2 Turn your ear toward me.
Hurry! Rescue me!
Be a rock where I take refuge,
a fortified place that saves me.
The Basis for Confidence
3 Yes, you are my rocky cliff and my stronghold.
For the sake of your name you will lead me and guide me.
4 You will pull me out of the net that they hid for me,
because you are my refuge.
5 Into your hand I commit my spirit.
You have redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth.
6 I hate those who keep worthless idols,
but I trust in the Lord.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in your mercy,
because you saw my affliction.
You knew the distress of my soul.
8 You have not left me in the hand of the enemy.
You have made my feet stand in a wide-open space.
The Prayer for Delivery
9 Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress.
My eye grows weak with sorrow—
my soul and my body too.
10 Yes, my life is consumed by grief,
and my years by groaning.
My strength fails because of my guilt,
and my bones grow weak.
11 Because of all my foes,
I am a disgrace, especially to my neighbors.
I am dreaded by those who know me.
Those who see me on the street flee from me.
12 I have been forgotten like a dead man, gone from memory.[a]
I have become like a broken pot.
13 Yes, I hear the slander of many.
There is terror on every side.
When they conspire together against me,
they plot to take my life.
Confident Petition
14 But I—I trust in you, O Lord.
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in your hand.
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies
and from those who pursue me.
16 Let your face shine on your servant.
Save me in your mercy.
17 Do not allow me to be put to shame, O Lord,
because I have cried out to you.
But let the wicked be put to shame.
Let them be silent in the grave.[b]
18 Let lying lips be silenced,
those who speak against the righteous
impudently with pride and contempt.
Closing Praise
19 How great is your goodness,
which you store up for those who fear you,
which you deliver for those who take refuge in you
in the presence of the people.
20 You hide them in your presence from the schemes of man.
You conceal them in your shelter from accusing tongues.
21 Blessed be the Lord,
because he made his mercy wonderful for me
when I was in a besieged city.
22 In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from before your eyes!”
But you heard the sound of my cry for mercy
when I cried out to you.
23 Love the Lord, all his favored ones!
The Lord preserves the faithful,
but he pays back in full the one who acts proudly.
24 Be strong, and let your heart be firm,
all you who wait confidently for the Lord.
Psalm 35
David’s Defender
Heading
By David.
Opening Prayer
1 Lord, oppose those who oppose me.
Fight against those who fight against me.
2 Put on your armor and shield.[a]
Rise up to help me.
3 Wield a spear and block the way[b] of those who pursue me.
Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”
First Petition
4 May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame.
May those who plot to harm me be turned back and dismayed.
5 May they be like chaff driven by the wind.
May an angel of the Lord drive them away.
6 May their path be dark and slippery.
May an angel of the Lord pursue them.
7 Without cause they hid their net to catch me.
Without cause they dug a pit to trap me.
8 May devastation overtake him before he knows it.
May the net which he hid catch him.
May he fall into it to his own destruction.
First Vow
9 Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord.
It will delight in his salvation.
10 All my bones[c] will say, “Lord, who is like you?
You rescue the poor from the one too strong for him,
the poor and needy from the one who robs him.”
The Attacks of the Wicked
11 Malicious witnesses arise.
They ask me about things I do not know.
12 They repay me with evil instead of good.
They rob my soul of happiness.
13 But when they were sick, I dressed in sackcloth.
I afflicted myself with fasting.
My prayers returned unanswered.[d]
14 I walked around mourning,
as if mourning for a friend or for my brother.
I bowed down, dirty with ashes,[e]
as though mourning for my mother.
15 But when I stumbled, they were happy.
They gathered together.
Yes, attackers gathered together against me
though I did not expect it.
They ripped me and were never quiet.
16 Like profane mockers,[f] they gnashed their teeth at me.
Second Petition
17 Lord, how long will you look on?
Restore my life from their devastating attacks,
my precious life from these young lions.
Second Vow
18 I will give thanks to you in the great assembly.
In a large crowd I will praise you.
Third Petition
19 Do not let them rejoice over me—
those who are my enemies without cause.
Do not let those who hate me without reason mock me.[g]
20 For they do not speak for peace,
but they devise false accusations
against those who live quietly in the land.
21 They also open their mouths wide against me.
They say, “Ha! Ha! We see with our own eyes.”
22 Lord, you have seen all this.
Do not be silent.
Lord, do not be far from me.
23 Wake up and rise up to my defense!
My God and Lord, rise to my cause.
24 Judge me according to your righteousness,
O Lord, my God.
Do not let them rejoice over me.
25 Do not let them say in their hearts,
“Aha! Just what we wanted!”
Do not let them say,
“We have swallowed him.”
26 May those who rejoice over my trouble
be put to shame and disgrace.
May those who exalt themselves over me
be clothed with shame and contempt.
27 May those who are pleased by my acquittal
shout for joy and be glad.
May they always say, “The Lord is great.
He takes delight in the peace of his servant.”
Third Vow
28 My tongue will report your righteousness
and your praise all day long.
Beginning the Construction of the Second Temple
3 When the seventh month arrived and the Israelites were living in their own cities, the people gathered together in Jerusalem.
2 Then Jeshua son of Jozadak with his fellow priests along with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel with his colleagues[a] arose and built the altar of the God of Israel in order to offer burnt offerings upon it, as it is written in the Law of Moses, the man of God. 3 They set the altar on its foundations, although they were in terror of the peoples of the lands. They offered burnt offerings to the Lord upon it—burnt offerings in the evening and in the morning.
4 They observed the Festival of Shelters,[b] according to the written directions, and they offered the daily burnt offerings in the number specified for each day of the festival. 5 After this, they offered the regular burnt offerings, those for the new moons, those for all the appointed assemblies of the Lord, and the offerings for everyone who was bringing a voluntary contribution to offer to the Lord. 6 From the first day of the seventh month, they began to offer burnt offerings, although the foundation of the temple of the Lord had not yet been laid.
7 They gave money to the stonemasons and craftsmen, and they gave food, drink, and olive oil to the Sidonians and Tyrians to pay them for bringing cedar logs from Lebanon to the seaport at Joppa, according to the authorization that had been given to them by Cyrus king of Persia.
8 In the second year after their arrival at the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, along with the rest of their colleagues, the priests and the Levites, and everyone who returned from the captivity to Jerusalem began the work.
They appointed Levites who were twenty years old and older to supervise the work on the house for the Lord. 9 Jeshua together with his sons and brothers and Kadmiel with his sons (they were descendants of Judah[c]) assumed supervision over those working on the house for God. (The Levites who were descendants of Henadad, along with their sons and brothers, also supervised.)
10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests, dressed in their robes, stood by with trumpets, and the Levites, the descendants of Asaph, stood by with cymbals to praise the Lord as prescribed by David king of Israel. 11 They sang antiphonally to praise and thank the Lord:
Truly, he is good, because his mercy toward Israel endures forever.
All the people shouted loud praise to the Lord when the foundation of the House of the Lord was laid. 12 However, when many of the older priests, Levites, and heads of families, who had seen the first house, saw this house being founded, they wept loudly, although many also raised their voices in a shout of joy. 13 The people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful cry from the sound of the people weeping, because the people were shouting loudly, and the sound could be heard far away.
10 But if Timothy comes, make sure he has no reason to be afraid while he is with you, for he does the work of the Lord, as I do. 11 Therefore let no one despise him. But send him on his way in peace so that he may come to me, because I am expecting him, and so are the brothers with me.[a]
12 Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to go to you with the brothers. It was not at all his desire to go now, but he will when he has an opportunity.
Closing Messages
13 Keep alert. Stand firm in the faith. Demonstrate manly courage. Be strong. 14 Let everything you do be done in love.
15 Brothers, you know Stephanas and his household. You know that they are the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they volunteered for service to the saints. 16 I urge that you also submit to them and to everyone who joins in and works hard. 17 I am glad that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus came, because they supplied what was lacking on your part, 18 and they refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge such people.
19 The churches in the province of Asia[b] greet you. Aquila and Priscilla[c] greet you warmly in the Lord, together with the church that meets in their house. 20 All the brothers greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
21 This greeting is written by me, Paul, with my own hand. 22 If anyone does not love the Lord—let him be under a curse![d] Marana tha![e] 23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ[f] be with you. 24 My love be with all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.[g]
Jesus Has Power to Drive Out Demons
22 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to him. Jesus healed him so that he was able to speak and to see. 23 All the people were amazed and said, “Can this be the Son of David?”[a] 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”
25 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, and every town or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27 Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and take his goods, unless he first ties up the strong man? Only then can he plunder his house.
30 “Whoever is not with me is against me. And whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven—either in this age or in the one to come.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.