Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 37
Do Not Fret Because of Evildoers
Heading
By David.
Do Not Be Frustrated by the Wicked
1 Do not fret because of evildoers.
Do not be envious of those who do wrong,
2 for like grass they will wither quickly.
Like green plants they will wilt.
Trust in God’s Goodness
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good.
Dwell in the land and feed on faithfulness.[a]
4 Take pleasure in the Lord,
and he will grant your heart’s desires.
5 Commit your way to the Lord.
Trust in him, and he will act.
6 He will make your righteousness shine like light,
your justice like noon.
7 Be silent before the Lord. Wait patiently for him.
Do not fret when an evil man succeeds in his ways,
when he carries out his wicked schemes.
Consider the Final Destiny of the Wicked
8 Let go of anger and abandon rage.
Do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For evildoers will be cut off,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the earth.
10 After a little while the wicked will be no more.
When you search for them at their place, they are not there.
11 But the meek[b] will inherit the earth.
They will enjoy plenty of peace.
12 The wicked person plots against the righteous.
He gnashes his teeth at him,
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
because he sees that his day is coming.
14 The wicked draw their sword,
and they bend their bow
to make the poor and needy fall,
to slaughter those whose ways are upright.
15 Their swords will pierce their hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
Be Satisfied With God’s Blessings
16 Better the little that one righteous person has
than the wealth of many wicked people,
17 because the arms of the wicked will be broken,
but the Lord upholds the righteous.
18 The Lord knows the days of the blameless.
Their inheritance will last forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in time of disaster.
In days of famine they will be full.
20 Surely the wicked will perish.
The enemies of the Lord will be
like beautiful flowers in the pastures.
But they will vanish. Like smoke they will vanish.
Continue to Live a Godly Life
21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous are gracious and give.
22 So those God blesses will inherit the earth,
but those he curses will be cut off.
23 By the Lord the steps of a person are made secure.
Then he will delight in his way.
24 Though he falls, he will not stay down,
because the Lord holds him by his hand.
25 I was a young man. Now I am old.
But I have never seen a righteous person forsaken
or his children begging for bread.
26 Every day he is gracious and lends.
His children will be blessed.
27 Turn back from evil and do good.
Then you will remain forever.
28 For the Lord loves justice.
He will not forsake his favored ones.[c]
They will be protected forever,
but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will inherit the earth.
They will dwell on it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom.
His tongue speaks what is just.
31 The law of his God is in his heart.
His steps do not slip.
Review of the Theme
32 The wicked spy on the righteous one and seek to kill him.
33 The Lord will not leave him in their hand.
He will not let him be condemned when he is put on trial.
34 Wait for the Lord and keep to his way.
He will raise you up to take possession of the earth.
When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35 I saw a wicked, ruthless man.
He was rooted like a green plant in its native soil,
36 but he passed away. Just like that, he was gone!
I searched for him, but he could not be found.
37 Take note of the blameless. Look at the upright.
Yes, there is a future for the man of peace.
38 But rebels will be completely destroyed.
The future of the wicked will be cut off.
39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord.
He is their stronghold in times of stress.
40 The Lord helps them and delivers them.
He delivers them from the wicked.
He saves them, because they have taken refuge in him.
The Ten Commandments
20 Then God spoke all these words:
2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, where you were slaves.[a]
3 You shall have no other gods beside me.[b] 4 You shall not make any carved image for yourself or a likeness of anything in heaven above, or on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth. 5 Do not bow down to them or be subservient to them,[c] for I the Lord your God am a jealous God.[d] I follow up on[e] the guilt of the fathers with their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren, if they also hate me. 6 But I show mercy to thousands who love me and keep my commandments.
7 You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not permit anyone who misuses his name to escape unpunished.
8 Remember the Sabbath day[f] by setting it apart as holy. 9 Six days you are to serve and do all your regular work, 10 but the seventh day shall be a sabbath rest to the Lord your God. Do not do any regular work, neither you, nor your sons or daughters, nor your male or female servants, nor your cattle, nor the alien who is residing inside your gates, 11 for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. In this way the Lord blessed the seventh day and made it holy.
12 Honor your father and your mother so that you may spend many days on the land that the Lord your God is giving to you.
13 You shall not commit murder.
14 You shall not commit adultery.
15 You shall not steal.
16 You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.[g]
18 All the people saw and heard the thunder and the lightning and the sound of the ram’s horn and the mountain smoking. The people saw,[h] and they trembled and stood far away. 19 Then they said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen, but do not let God speak with us, or we will die.”
20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you may always fear him, so that you do not sin.”
21 The people stayed at a distance, but Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
Paul’s Service in Preaching the Gospel
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings on your behalf, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church. 25 I became a minister of the church for your benefit when God gave me the task of fully proclaiming the word of God, 26 namely, the mystery that was hidden for past ages and generations, but now has been revealed to his saints. 27 God wanted to make known to them what is the wealth of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles—this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28 We proclaim him as we admonish and teach everyone with all wisdom, so that we might present everyone perfect in Christ. 29 This is the goal I am laboring to reach, striving with his strength, which is powerfully at work in me.
2 Indeed, I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those in Laodicea, and for all those who have not seen me personally. 2 I am doing this so that their hearts may be encouraged as they are brought together in love, and into all the wealth of assurance that understanding brings, into the knowledge of the mystery of God, which is Christ.[a] 3 All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in him.
4 I say this so that no one deceives you with persuasive speech that sounds reasonable. 5 For though I am absent bodily, I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your orderliness and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
The Fullness That Is Ours in Christ
6 Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, 7 by being rooted and built up in him, and strengthened in the faith just as you were taught, while you overflow in faith[b] with thanksgiving.
The Devil Tempts Jesus
4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. 2 After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The Tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.”
4 But Jesus answered, “It is written:
Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.”[a]
5 Then the Devil took him into the holy city. He placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and he said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:
He will command his angels concerning you. And they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”[b]
7 Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written:
You shall not test the Lord your God.”[c]
8 Again the Devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written:
Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”[d]
11 Then the Devil left him, and just then angels came and served him.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.