Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 88
Darkness Is My Friend
The Headings
A song. A psalm. By the Sons of Korah.
For the choir director. According to mahalath leannoth.[a]
A maskil[b] of Heman the Ezrahite.
Opening Plea
1 O Lord, the God who saves me, by day I cry out.
At night I cry before you.
2 May my prayer come before you.
Turn your ear to my cry.
The Problem
3 Indeed, my soul has had its fill of troubles,
and my life has arrived at the grave.
4 I am treated like those who go down to the pit.
I am like someone without strength.
5 I am turned loose with the dead.
I am like the slain who lie in the grave,
like the ones you do not remember anymore,
like those who are cut off from your hand.
6 You have put me in the lowest pit,
in dark places, in the depths.
7 Your wrath presses against me. Interlude
You have battered me with all your breakers.
8 You have distanced my acquaintances from me.
You have made me repulsive to them.
I am shut in and I cannot get out.
9 My eyesight grows dim from affliction.
I call to you, O Lord, every day.
I spread out my hands to you.
The Darkness of Death
10 Is it for the dead that you do a miracle? Interlude
Do the spirits of the dead rise up and praise you?
11 Is your mercy declared in the tomb,
your faithfulness in decay?
12 Is your wonderful work known in the darkness?
Is your righteousness known in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But I cry to you, O Lord,
and in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 Why, O Lord, do you reject my soul?
Why do you hide your face from me?
15 I have been afflicted
and I have been close to death since my youth.
I have endured your terrors.
I am in despair.
16 Your rage has swept over me.
Your terrors have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like water.
They have battered me completely.
18 You have distanced my loved one and friend from me.
My only friend is darkness.
Psalm 91
The Shadow of Your Wings
The General Principle
1 One who lives in the shelter of the Most High
will stay in the shadow of the Almighty.
Application to Oneself
2 I will say to the Lord,
“My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.”
Application to Others
3 Surely he will rescue you from the fowler’s trap,
from the destructive plague.
4 With his feathers he will cover you,
and under his wings you will find refuge.
His truth will be your shield and armor.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the plague that prowls in the darkness,
nor the pestilence that destroys at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe it with your eyes.
You will see the punishment of the wicked.
Application to Oneself
9 Yes, you, Lord, are my refuge!
Application to Others
If you make the Most High your shelter,
10 evil will not overtake you.
Disaster will not come near your tent.
11 Yes, he will give a command to his angels concerning you,
to guard you in all your ways.
12 They will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra.
You will trample the young lion and the serpent.
God’s Promise of Delivery
14 The Lord says,[a]
Because he clings to me, I will rescue him.
I will protect him, because he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him.
I will be with him in distress.
I will deliver him and I will honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him,
and I will let him see my salvation.
Psalm 92
It Is Good to Praise the Lord
Heading
A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath.
A Call to Praise
1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to make music to your name, O Most High,
2 to proclaim your mercy in the morning
and your faithfulness every night,
3 with a ten-stringed instrument and with a harp,
with a melody on a lyre.
The Blessings of Praise
4 Yes, you make me glad by your work, O Lord.
I sing loudly at the works of your hands.
5 How great are your works, O Lord.
Your thoughts are very deep!
The Folly and Fall of the Wicked
6 The senseless man does not know,
and the fool does not understand this—
7 when the wicked spring up like weeds,
and all evildoers bloom like flowers,
they will be destroyed forever.
Central Affirmation
8 But you are exalted forever, O Lord.
The Fall of the Wicked
9 Without a doubt your enemies, O Lord,
without a doubt your enemies will perish.
All evildoers will be scattered.
The Blessing of the Righteous
10 But you have raised my horn like that of a wild ox.[b]
I am drenched with fresh oil.[c]
11 My eyes have looked in triumph over my adversaries.
When evildoers rise against me, my ears hear their defeat.
12 The righteous will shoot up like a palm tree.
They will grow tall like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Planted in the house of the Lord,
they will shoot up in the courtyards of our God.
14 They will still produce fruit in old age.
They will stay fresh and green.
Closing Praise
15 Yes, they can proclaim, “The Lord is upright.
He is my Rock, and he does no wrong.”
8 That day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. Mordecai came and appeared before the king, because Esther had told him what Mordecai’s relationship to her was.
2 The king took off his signet ring that he had taken from Haman and gave it to Mordecai. Esther put Mordecai in charge of the house of Haman.
3 In addition, Esther spoke to the king. She fell at his feet, wept, and requested that he put an end to the evil plan that Haman the Agagite had devised against the Jews.
4 The king held out the golden scepter to Esther. Esther rose and stood in the presence of the king.
5 She said, “If it is acceptable to the king, if I have found favor before him, if this idea seems right to the king, and if I am acceptable to him, a decree should be written to nullify the letters for the plot of Haman, son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews in all of the provinces of the king. 6 For how can I watch the disaster that is about to come on my people! How can I watch the destruction of my relatives!”
7 King Xerxes said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Look. I have given Haman’s house to Esther. They have hanged him on the gallows because he raised his hand against the Jews. 8 You can write concerning the Jews whatever seems good to you and seal it with the king’s signet ring, because a document written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s signet ring cannot be changed.”
15 Mordecai went out from the king’s presence, dressed in blue and white royal clothing, with a large gold crown and a purple linen cape. The city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. 16 It was a time of light, gladness, joy, and honor for the Jews.
17 In every province and in every city which the message of the king reached, his edict brought gladness and joy to the Jews. There was a feast and a holiday. Many of the peoples of the land declared themselves Jews because the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them.
21 After all this had happened, Paul resolved in his spirit[a] to go to Jerusalem by traveling through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must also see Rome.” 22 After sending two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, he stayed in the province of Asia for a while.
The Riot in Ephesus
23 During that time there was more than a minor disturbance about the Way. 24 A certain silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little income for the craftsmen. 25 He called them together, along with the workers in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity comes from this income. 26 You also see and hear that not merely in Ephesus but throughout almost the entire province of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a large number of people. He says that gods made by hands are not gods at all! 27 Not only is there danger that our trade may be discredited, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be considered worthless. Then she will suffer the loss of her magnificence, although she is worshipped by the whole province of Asia and the world.”
28 When they heard this, they were filled with rage and began to shout, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 The city was filled with confusion, and with one goal in mind they rushed to the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions. 30 Paul wanted to enter the public assembly, but the disciples would not let him. 31 Even some of the provincial officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.
32 Some were shouting one thing, others another, because the assembly was in confusion. Most of them did not even know why they had come together. 33 They made Alexander come out of the crowd.[b] It was the Jews who pushed him forward. Alexander motioned with his hand and wanted to make his defense to the assembly. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single cry rose from all of them. For about two hours, they kept shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
35 After the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image that fell from heaven? 36 Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you need to be quiet and not do anything rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our[c] goddess. 38 If Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them press charges against one another. 39 If you want to pursue something about other matters,[d] it should be settled in the legal assembly. 40 For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, because we will not be able to give any reason for this disorderly mob.” 41 After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
Jesus Drives Out a Demon
31 He went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath. 32 They were amazed by his teaching, because his message had authority. 33 In the synagogue there was a man who was possessed by the unclean spirit of a demon. He cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Leave us alone! What do you have to do with us, Jesus the Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God!”
35 Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” The demon threw him down in front of them and came out of him without harming him.
36 They were all filled with awe and began to say to one another, “What is this message? With authority and power he commands unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37 News about him spread to every place in the surrounding area.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.