Book of Common Prayer
33 He changes rivers into a desert,
springs into thirsty ground,
34 and fertile ground into a layer of salt
because of the wickedness of the people living there.
35 He changes deserts into lakes
and dry ground into springs.
36 There he settles those who are hungry,
and they build cities to live in.
37 They plant in fields and vineyards
that produce crops.
38 He blesses them, and their numbers multiply,
and he does not allow a shortage of cattle.
39 They became few in number and were humiliated
because of oppression, disaster, and sorrow.
40 He poured contempt on their influential people
and made them stumble around in a pathless desert.
41 But now he lifts needy people high above suffering
and makes their families like flocks.
42 Decent people will see this and rejoice,
but all the wicked people will shut their mouths.
43 Let those who ⌞think⌟ they are wise
pay attention to these things
so that they may understand the Lord’s blessings.
A song; a psalm by David.
108 My heart is confident, O God.
I want to sing and make music even with my soul.[a]
2 Wake up, harp and lyre!
I want to wake up at dawn.
3 I want to give thanks to you among the people, O Lord.
I want to make music to praise you among the nations
4 because your mercy is higher than the heavens.
Your truth reaches the skies.
5 May you be honored above the heavens, O God.
Let your glory extend over the whole earth.
6 Save ⌞us⌟ with your powerful hand, and answer us
so that those who are dear to you may be rescued.
7 God has promised the following through his holiness:
“I will triumph!
I will divide Shechem.
I will measure the valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine.
Manasseh is mine.
Ephraim is the helmet on my head.
Judah is my scepter.
9 Moab is my washtub.
I will throw my shoe over Edom.
I will shout in triumph over Philistia.”
10 Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Isn’t it you, O God, who rejected us?
Isn’t it you, O God, who refused to accompany our armies?
12 Give us help against the enemy
because human assistance is worthless.
13 With God we will display great strength.
He will trample our enemies.
33 Joyfully sing to the Lord, you righteous people.
Praising ⌞the Lord⌟ is proper for decent people.
2 Give thanks with a lyre to the Lord.
Make music for him on a ten-stringed harp.
3 Sing a new song to him.
Play beautifully and joyfully on stringed instruments.
4 The Lord’s word is correct,
and everything he does is trustworthy.
5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice.
His mercy fills the earth.
6 The heavens were made by the Lord’s word
and all the stars by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers the water in the sea like a dam
and puts the oceans in his storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord.
Let all who live in the world stand in awe of him.
9 He spoke, and it came into being.
He gave the order, and there it stood.
10 The Lord blocks the plans of the nations.
He frustrates the schemes of the people of the world.
11 The Lord’s plan stands firm forever.
His thoughts stand firm in every generation.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.
Blessed are the people he has chosen as his own.
13 The Lord looks down from heaven.
He sees all of Adam’s descendants.
14 From the place where he sits enthroned,
he looks down upon all who live on earth.
15 The one who formed their hearts
understands everything they do.
16 No king achieves a victory with a large army.
No warrior rescues himself by his own great strength.
17 Horses are not a guarantee for victory.
Their great strength cannot help someone escape.
18 The Lord’s eyes are on those who fear him,
on those who wait with hope for his mercy
19 to rescue their souls from death
and keep them alive during a famine.
20 We wait for the Lord.
He is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts find joy.
In his holy name we trust.
22 Let your mercy rest on us, O Lord,
since we wait with hope for you.
The Israelites Pray to God during Their Suffering
23 After a long time passed, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites still groaned because they were slaves. So they cried out, and their cries for help went up to God. 24 God heard their groaning, and he remembered his promise [a] to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 God saw the Israelites ⌞being oppressed⌟ and was concerned about them.
Moses at the Burning Bush
3 Moses was taking care of the sheep of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. As he led the sheep to the far side of the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
2 The Messenger of the Lord appeared to him there as flames of fire coming out of a bush. Moses looked, and although the bush was on fire, it was not burning up. 3 So he thought, “Why isn’t this bush burning up? I must go over there and see this strange sight.”
4 When the Lord saw that Moses had come over to see it, God called to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!”
Moses answered, “Here I am!”
5 God said, “Don’t come any closer! Take off your sandals because this place where you are standing is holy ground. 6 I am the God of your ancestors,[b] the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.
7 The Lord said, “I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt, and I have heard them crying out because of the slave drivers. I know how much they’re suffering. 8 I have come to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good land with plenty of room ⌞for everyone⌟. It is a land flowing with milk and honey where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites live. 9 I have heard the cry of the people of Israel. I have seen how the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 Now, go! I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you can bring my people Israel out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the people of Israel out of Egypt?”
12 God answered, “I will be with you. And this will be the proof that I sent you: When you bring the people out of Egypt, all of you will worship God on this mountain.”
13 Then Moses replied to God, “Suppose I go to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ What should I tell them?”
14 God answered Moses, “I Am Who I Am. This is what you must say to the people of Israel: ‘I Am has sent me to you.’ ”
15 Again God said to Moses, “This is what you must say to the people of Israel: The Lord God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever. This is my title throughout every generation.
Love
13 I may speak in the languages of humans and of angels. But if I don’t have love, I am a loud gong or a clashing cymbal. 2 I may have the gift to speak what God has revealed, and I may understand all mysteries and have all knowledge. I may even have enough faith to move mountains. But if I don’t have love, I am nothing. 3 I may even give away all that I have and give up my body to be burned.[a] But if I don’t have love, none of these things will help me.
4 Love is patient. Love is kind. Love isn’t jealous. It doesn’t sing its own praises. It isn’t arrogant. 5 It isn’t rude. It doesn’t think about itself. It isn’t irritable. It doesn’t keep track of wrongs. 6 It isn’t happy when injustice is done, but it is happy with the truth. 7 Love never stops being patient, never stops believing, never stops hoping, never gives up.
8 Love never comes to an end. There is the gift of speaking what God has revealed, but it will no longer be used. There is the gift of speaking in other languages, but it will stop by itself. There is the gift of knowledge, but it will no longer be used. 9 Our knowledge is incomplete and our ability to speak what God has revealed is incomplete. 10 But when what is complete comes, then what is incomplete will no longer be used. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, and reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I no longer used childish ways. 12 Now we see a blurred image in a mirror. Then we will see very clearly. Now my knowledge is incomplete. Then I will have complete knowledge as God has complete knowledge of me.
13 So these three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the best one of these is love.
Jesus Cures a Demon-Possessed Boy(A)
14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them. Some experts in Moses’ Teachings were arguing with them. 15 All the people were very surprised to see Jesus and ran to welcome him.
16 Jesus asked the experts in Moses’ Teachings, “What are you arguing about with them?”
17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son. He is possessed by a spirit that won’t let him talk. 18 Whenever the spirit brings on a seizure, it throws him to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes exhausted. I asked your disciples to force the spirit out, but they didn’t have the power to do it.”
19 Jesus said to them, “You unbelieving generation! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to me!”
20 They brought the boy to him. As soon as the spirit saw Jesus, it threw the boy into convulsions. He fell on the ground, rolled around, and foamed at the mouth.
21 Jesus asked his father, “How long has he been like this?”
The father replied, “He has been this way since he was a child. 22 The demon has often thrown him into fire or into water to destroy him. If it’s possible for you, put yourself in our place, and help us!”
23 Jesus said to him, “As far as possibilities go, everything is possible for the person who believes.”
24 The child’s father cried out at once, “I believe! Help my lack of faith.”
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he gave an order to the evil spirit. He said, “You spirit that won’t let him talk, I command you to come out of him and never enter him again.”
26 The evil spirit screamed, shook the child violently, and came out. The boy looked as if he were dead, and everyone said, “He’s dead!”
27 Jesus took his hand and helped him to stand up.
28 When Jesus went into a house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we force the spirit out of the boy?”
29 He told them, “This kind of spirit can be forced out only by prayer.” [a]
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.