Book of Common Prayer
Zayin: Comfort in Suffering
49 Remember your word to your servant,
because you have given me hope.
50 This is my comfort in my suffering:
that your saying gives me life.
51 The arrogant mock me constantly,
but I do not fall away from your law.
52 I remember your judgments from of old, Lord,
and I comfort myself with them.
53 Indignation grips me because of the wicked, who forsake your laws.
54 Your statutes are songs for me in the house where I am staying.
55 I remember your name during the night, O Lord,
and I will keep your laws.
56 This I have done: I guard your precepts.
Ḥet: I Will Not Forget
57 You are my portion, O Lord.
I said I would keep your words.
58 I have sought your favor with all my heart.
Be gracious to me according to your sayings.
59 I have considered my ways,[a]
and I have turned my feet to your testimonies.
60 I will hurry. I will not delay.
I will keep your commandments.
61 The ropes of the wicked bind me,
but I do not forget your law.
62 At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous judgments.
63 I am a companion to all who fear you,
that is, to all who keep your precepts.
64 Your mercy, Lord, fills the earth.
Teach me your statutes.
Tet: It Is Good to Be Afflicted
65 You have done good for your servant, O Lord,
according to your words.
66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
for I believe in your commandments.
67 Before I was afflicted I strayed,
but now I keep your saying.
68 You are good, and you do good.
Teach me your statutes.
69 The arrogant have smeared me with lies.
I guard your precepts with all my heart.
70 Their calloused hearts[b] feel nothing,
but I delight in your law.
71 It was good for me that I was afflicted,
so that I might learn your statutes.
72 Better for me is the law from your mouth
than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.
Psalm 49
The Fool Trusts in Riches
Heading
For the choir director. By the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
Introduction
1 Hear this, all you peoples.
Pay attention, all you inhabitants of this world,
2 all you children of Adam, all mankind,
rich and poor alike.
3 My mouth will speak wisdom.
The meditation of my heart will give understanding.
4 I will listen carefully to wise teaching.
With a lyre I will explain deep truths.
The Limitations of Riches
5 Why should I fear days of trouble,
days when the wickedness of my pursuers surrounds me?[a]
6 They trust in their wealth.
They place their confidence in the abundance of their riches.
7 But no one can by any means redeem himself.[b]
He cannot give God a ransom for himself—
8 (Yes, the ransom for their souls is costly.
Any payment would fall short.)[c]
9 —so that he could live on forever and not see the pit.
10 Yes, we can see that wise men die.
The fool and the senseless alike perish,
and they leave their wealth to others.
11 They think their houses will remain forever,
their dwellings for generation after generation[d]
because they named lands after themselves.
12 But man, though he has riches, does not even spend a night here.
He is like the animals that perish.
13 This way of theirs is foolishness,
but their followers approve of what they say. Interlude
14 They are like a flock destined for the grave.
Death will be their shepherd.
The upright will rule over them in the morning.
Their bodies will be consumed by the grave,
far from their mansions.[e]
The Limitless Power of God
15 But surely God will redeem my life from the power of the grave.
Yes, he will take me to himself. Interlude
Review and Conclusion
16 Do not be afraid when a man grows rich,
when the glory of his house increases,
17 because when he dies, he cannot take anything along.
His glory will not go down with him.
18 Throughout his life he congratulates himself:
“People praise you because you have done so well for yourself.”
19 He will go to the gathering place of his fathers.
They will never see the light!
20 A man who has riches but does not understand
is like the animals that perish.
Psalm 53
The Fool
(Psalm 14)
Heading
For the choir director. According to mahalath.[a] A maskil by David.
A Description of the Fool
1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt. They commit horrible evil.
There is no one who does good.
2 God looks down from heaven on all the children of Adam
to see if there is anyone who understands,
anyone who seeks God.
3 Every single one has turned back.
Altogether they have become rotten.
There is no one who does good.
There is not even one.
The Final Fate of the Fool
4 Don’t they know, all those evildoers,
who devour my people as if they were eating bread?
They do not call on God.
5 There they are, terrified, where there was nothing to fear.
For God scattered the bones of those who camped against you.
You put them to shame, because God despised them.
Closing Prayer
6 Who will provide salvation for Israel from Zion?[b]
When God restores his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
25 They sat down to eat bread, and they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead with their camels loaded with spices, balm, and myrrh, which they were going to deliver to Egypt. 26 Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there in killing our brother and concealing his blood? 27 Come on, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him, since he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers listened to him. 28 As the Midianites, who were merchants, were passing by, the brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces[a] of silver. They brought Joseph to Egypt.
29 When Reuben returned to the cistern, he saw that Joseph was not in the cistern, so he tore his clothing. 30 He returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is no longer here, and as for me, where will I go now?”
31 Then they took Joseph’s robe, killed a male goat, and dipped the robe in the goat’s blood. 32 They took the special robe, and they brought it to their father and said, “We have found this. Examine it now, and see whether it is your son’s robe or not.”
33 He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe. A wild animal has devoured him. Without a doubt Joseph has been torn to pieces.” 34 Jacob tore his clothing, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son for many days. 35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, “No, I will mourn for my son until I go down to the grave.” So his father wept for him.
36 In Egypt the Midianites sold him to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, who was the captain of the guard.
2 As for me, brothers, when I came to you, I did not come with superior speech or wisdom in order to proclaim to you the testimony[a] of God. 2 For I had no intention of knowing anything among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 I came to you[b] in weakness, in fear, and with much trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not marked by persuasive words of human[c] wisdom, but by a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
In-Depth Wisdom Is for Spiritual People
6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature, but it is not a wisdom of this world or of the rulers of this world, who are being reduced to nothing. 7 Instead we speak God’s wisdom that has been hidden in mystery—before the ages, God foreordained that this wisdom would result in our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this world knew it. (If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.) 9 But as it is written:
What no eye has seen and no ear has heard
and no human mind has conceived—
that is what God has prepared for those who love him.[d]
10 But God revealed it to us through his[e] Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 11 Indeed, who among men knows a man’s thoughts except the man’s spirit within him? So also, no one else knows God’s thoughts except God’s Spirit.
12 What we received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we might know the blessings freely given to us by God. 13 We also speak about these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual truths with spiritual words.[f]
Jesus Heals Many
29 They left the synagogue and went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was lying in bed, sick with a fever. Without delay they told Jesus about her. 31 He went to her, took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her, and she began to serve them. 32 That evening, when the sun had set, the people kept bringing to him all who were sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door. 34 He healed many people who were sick with various diseases and drove out many demons. But he did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who he was.[a]
Jesus Preaches in Galilee
35 Jesus got up early in the morning, while it was still dark, and went out. He withdrew to a solitary place and was praying there. 36 Simon and his companions searched for him, 37 and, when they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is looking for you!”
38 He told them, “Let’s go somewhere else, to the neighboring villages, so that I can preach there too. In fact, that is why I have come.” 39 Then he went throughout the whole region of Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
Jesus Heals a Leper
40 A leper came to Jesus. He knelt down and begged him, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
41 Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. “I am willing,” he told him. “Be clean.” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was healed. 43 Then Jesus gave him a stern warning and immediately sent him away. 44 He told him, “See that you do not say anything to anyone. Instead go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the sacrifices for your cleansing that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
45 But after the man left, he began to proclaim it widely. He spread the word so much that Jesus was no longer able to enter a town openly but stayed outside in deserted places. Yet people kept coming to him from all directions.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.