Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 41[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
41 How blessed[b] is the one who treats the poor properly.[c]
When trouble comes,[d] may[e] the Lord deliver him.[f]
2 May the Lord protect him and save his life.[g]
May he be blessed[h] in the land.
Do not turn him over[i] to his enemies.[j]
3 The Lord supports[k] him on his sickbed;
you have healed him from his illness.[l]
4 As for me, I said:[m]
“O Lord, have mercy on me!
Heal me, for I have sinned against you.
5 My enemies ask this cruel question about me,[n]
‘When will he finally die and be forgotten?’[o]
6 When someone comes to visit,[p] he pretends to be friendly;[q]
he thinks of ways to defame me,[r]
and when he leaves he slanders me.[s]
7 All who hate me whisper insults about me to one another;[t]
they plan ways to harm me.
8 They say,[u]
‘An awful disease[v] overwhelms him,[w]
and now that he is bedridden he will never recover.’[x]
9 Even my close friend[y] whom I trusted,
he who shared meals with me, has turned against me.[z]
10 As for you, O Lord, have mercy on me and raise me up,
so I can pay them back!”[aa]
11 By this[ab] I know that you are pleased with me,
for my enemy does[ac] not triumph[ad] over me.
12 As for me, you uphold[ae] me because of my integrity;[af]
you allow[ag] me permanent access to your presence.[ah]
13 The Lord God of Israel deserves praise[ai]
in the future and forevermore.[aj]
We agree! We agree![ak]
Psalm 52[a]
For the music director, a well-written song[b] by David. It was written when Doeg the Edomite went and informed Saul: “David has arrived at the home of Ahimelech.”[c]
52 Why do you boast about your evil plans,[d] O powerful man?
God’s loyal love protects me all day long.[e]
2 Your tongue carries out your destructive plans;[f]
it is as effective as a sharp razor, O deceiver.[g]
3 You love evil more than good,
lies more than speaking the truth.[h] (Selah)
4 You love to use all the words that destroy,[i]
and the tongue that deceives.
5 Yet[j] God will make you a permanent heap of ruins.[k]
He will scoop you up[l] and remove you from your home;[m]
he will uproot you from the land of the living. (Selah)
6 When the godly see this, they will be filled with awe,
and will mock the evildoer, saying:[n]
7 “Look, here is the man who would not make[o] God his protector.
He trusted in his great wealth
and was confident about his plans to destroy others.”[p]
8 But I[q] am like a flourishing[r] olive tree in the house of God;
I continually[s] trust in God’s loyal love.
9 I will continually[t] thank you when[u] you execute judgment;[v]
I will rely on[w] you,[x] for your loyal followers know you are good.[y]
Psalm 44[a]
For the music director, by the Korahites; a well-written song.[b]
44 O God, we have clearly heard;[c]
our ancestors[d] have told us
what you did[e] in their days,
in ancient times.[f]
2 You, by your power,[g] defeated nations and settled our fathers on their land;[h]
you crushed[i] the people living there[j] and enabled our ancestors to occupy it.[k]
3 For they did not conquer[l] the land by their swords,
and they did not prevail by their strength,[m]
but rather by your power,[n] strength,[o] and good favor,[p]
for you were partial to[q] them.
4 You are my[r] king, O God.
Decree[s] Jacob’s[t] deliverance.
5 By your power[u] we will drive back[v] our enemies;
by your strength[w] we will trample down[x] our foes.[y]
6 For I do not trust in my bow,
and I do not prevail by my sword.
7 For you deliver[z] us from our enemies;
you humiliate[aa] those who hate us.
8 In God we boast all day long,
and we will continually give thanks to your name. (Selah)
9 But[ab] you rejected and embarrassed us.
You did not go into battle with our armies.[ac]
10 You made us retreat[ad] from the enemy.
Those who hate us take whatever they want from us.[ae]
11 You handed us[af] over like sheep to be eaten;
you scattered us among the nations.
12 You sold[ag] your people for a pittance;[ah]
you did not ask a high price for them.[ai]
13 You made us[aj] an object of disdain to our neighbors;
those who live on our borders taunt and insult us.[ak]
14 You made us[al] an object of ridicule[am] among the nations;
foreigners treat us with contempt.[an]
15 All day long I feel humiliated[ao]
and am overwhelmed with shame,[ap]
16 before the vindictive enemy
who ridicules and insults me.[aq]
17 All this has happened to us, even though we have not rejected you[ar]
or violated your covenant with us.[as]
18 We have not been unfaithful,[at]
nor have we disobeyed your commands.[au]
19 Yet you have battered us, leaving us a heap of ruins overrun by wild dogs;[av]
you have covered us with darkness.[aw]
20 If we had rejected our God,[ax]
and spread out our hands in prayer to another god,[ay]
21 would not God discover it,
for he knows[az] a person’s secret thoughts?[ba]
22 Yet because of you[bb] we are killed all day long;
we are treated like[bc] sheep at the slaughtering block.[bd]
23 Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?
Wake up![be] Do not reject us forever.
24 Why do you look the other way,[bf]
and ignore[bg] the way we are oppressed and mistreated?[bh]
25 For we lie in the dirt,
with our bellies pressed to the ground.[bi]
26 Rise up and help us.
Rescue us[bj] because of your loyal love.
The Sin of the Golden Calf
32 [a] When the people saw that Moses delayed[b] in coming down[c] from the mountain, they[d] gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Get up,[e] make us gods[f] that will go before us. As for this fellow Moses,[g] the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what[h] has become of him!”
2 So Aaron said to them, “Break off the gold earrings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”[i] 3 So all[j] the people broke off the gold earrings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 He accepted the gold[k] from them,[l] fashioned[m] it with an engraving tool, and made a molten calf.[n] Then they said, “These are your gods,[o] O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
5 When[p] Aaron saw this,[q] he built an altar before it,[r] and Aaron made a proclamation[s] and said, “Tomorrow will be a feast[t] to the Lord.” 6 So they got up early on the next day and offered up burnt offerings and brought peace offerings, and the people sat down to eat and drink,[u] and they rose up to play.[v]
7 The Lord spoke to Moses, “Go quickly, descend,[w] because your[x] people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have acted corruptly. 8 They have quickly turned aside[y] from the way that I commanded them—they have made for themselves a molten calf and have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt.’”
9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people.[z] Look[aa] what a stiff-necked people they are![ab] 10 So now, leave me alone[ac] so that my anger can burn against them and I can destroy them, and I will make from you a great nation.”
11 But Moses sought the favor[ad] of the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your anger burn against your people, whom you have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why[ae] should the Egyptians say,[af] ‘For evil[ag] he led them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy[ah] them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger, and relent[ai] of this evil against your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel your servants, to whom you swore by yourself and told them, ‘I will multiply your descendants[aj] like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken about[ak] I will give to your descendants,[al] and they will inherit it forever.’” 14 Then the Lord relented over the evil that he had said he would do to his people.
15 Moses turned and went down from the mountain with[am] the two tablets of the testimony in his hands. The tablets were written on both sides—they were written on the front and on the back. 16 Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. 17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted,[an] he said to Moses, “It is the sound of war in the camp!” 18 Moses[ao] said, “It is not the sound of those who shout for victory,[ap] nor is it the sound of those who cry because they are overcome,[aq] but the sound of singing[ar] I hear.”[as]
19 When he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became extremely angry.[at] He threw the tablets from his hands and broke them to pieces at the bottom of the mountain.[au] 20 He took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire, ground it[av] to powder, poured it out on the water, and made the Israelites drink it.[aw]
Exhortation to Households
18 Wives, submit to your[a] husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing in the Lord. 21 Fathers,[b] do not provoke[c] your children, so they will not become disheartened. 22 Slaves,[d] obey your earthly[e] masters in every respect, not only when they are watching—like those who are strictly people-pleasers—but with a sincere heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you are doing,[f] work at it with enthusiasm,[g] as to the Lord and not for people,[h] 24 because you know that you will receive your[i] inheritance[j] from the Lord as the reward. Serve[k] the Lord Christ. 25 For the one who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong,[l] and there are no exceptions.[m] 4 1 Masters, treat your slaves with justice and fairness, because you know that you also have a master in heaven.
Exhortation to Pray for the Success of Paul’s Mission
2 Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time pray[n] for us too, that[o] God may open a door for the message[p] so that we may proclaim[q] the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.[r] 4 Pray that I may make it known as I should.[s] 5 Conduct yourselves[t] with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunities. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone.
Personal Greetings and Instructions
7 Tychicus, a dear brother, faithful minister, and fellow slave[u] in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me.[v] 8 I sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are doing[w] and that he may encourage your hearts. 9 I sent him[x] with Onesimus, the faithful and dear brother, who is one of you.[y] They will tell[z] you about everything here.
10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him). 11 And Jesus who is called Justus also sends greetings. In terms of Jewish converts,[aa] these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave[ab] of Christ,[ac] greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured[ad] in all the will of God. 13 For I can testify that he has worked hard[ae] for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14 Our dear friend Luke the physician and Demas[af] greet you. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters[ag] who are in Laodicea and to Nympha and the church that meets in her[ah] house.[ai] 16 And after[aj] you have read this letter, have it read[ak] to the church of Laodicea. In turn, read the letter from Laodicea[al] as well. 17 And tell Archippus, “See to it that you complete the ministry you received in the Lord.”
18 I, Paul, write this greeting by my own hand.[am] Remember my chains.[an] Grace be with you.[ao]
The Beatitudes
5 When[a] he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain.[b] After he sat down his disciples came to him. 2 Then[c] he began to teach[d] them by saying:
3 “Blessed[e] are the poor in spirit,[f] for the kingdom of heaven belongs[g] to them.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.[h]
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger[i] and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children[j] of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
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