Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 20[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
20 May the Lord answer[b] you[c] when you are in trouble;[d]
may the God of Jacob[e] make you secure.
2 May he send you help from his temple;[f]
from Zion may he give you support.
3 May he take notice of[g] all your offerings;
may he accept[h] your burnt sacrifice. (Selah)
4 May he grant your heart’s desire;[i]
may he bring all your plans to pass.[j]
5 Then we will shout for joy over your[k] victory;
we will rejoice[l] in the name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your requests.
6 Now I am sure[m] that the Lord will deliver[n] his chosen king;[o]
he will intervene for him[p] from his holy, heavenly temple,[q]
and display his mighty ability to deliver.[r]
7 Some trust in chariots and others in horses,[s]
but we[t] depend on[u] the Lord our God.
8 They will fall down,[v]
but we[w] will stand firm.[x]
9 The Lord will deliver the king;[y]
he will answer us[z] when we call to him for help![aa]
Psalm 21[ab]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
21 O Lord, the king rejoices in the strength you give;[ac]
he takes great delight in the deliverance you provide.[ad]
2 You grant[ae] him his heart’s desire;
you do not refuse his request.[af] (Selah)
3 For you bring him[ag] rich[ah] blessings;[ai]
you place a golden crown on his head.
4 He asked you to sustain his life,[aj]
and you have granted him long life and an enduring dynasty.[ak]
5 Your deliverance brings him great honor;[al]
you give him majestic splendor.[am]
6 For you grant him lasting blessings;
you give him great joy by allowing him into your presence.[an]
7 For the king trusts[ao] in the Lord,
and because of the Most High’s[ap] faithfulness he is not shaken.[aq]
8 You[ar] prevail over[as] all your enemies;
your power is too great for those who hate you.[at]
9 You burn them up like a fiery furnace[au] when you appear.[av]
The Lord angrily devours them;[aw]
the fire consumes them.
10 You destroy their offspring[ax] from the earth,
their descendants[ay] from among the human race.[az]
11 Yes,[ba] they intend to do you harm;[bb]
they dream up a scheme,[bc] but they do not succeed.[bd]
12 For you make them retreat[be]
when you aim your arrows at them.[bf]
13 Rise up, O Lord, in strength![bg]
We will sing and praise[bh] your power.
Psalm 110[a]
A psalm of David.
110 Here is the Lord’s proclamation[b] to my lord:[c]
“Sit down at my right hand[d] until I make your enemies your footstool.”[e]
2 The Lord[f] extends[g] your dominion[h] from Zion.
Rule in the midst of your enemies.
3 Your people willingly follow you[i] when you go into battle.[j]
On the holy hills[k] at sunrise[l] the dew of your youth[m] belongs to you.[n]
4 The Lord makes this promise on oath[o] and will not revoke it:[p]
“You are an eternal priest[q] after the pattern of[r] Melchizedek.”[s]
5 O Lord,[t] at your right hand
he strikes down[u] kings in the day he unleashes his anger.[v]
6 He executes judgment[w] against[x] the nations.
He fills the valleys with corpses;[y]
he shatters their heads over the vast battlefield.[z]
7 From the stream along the road he drinks;
then he lifts up his head.[aa]
Psalm 116[a]
116 I love the Lord
because he heard my plea for mercy,[b]
2 and listened to me.[c]
As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help.[d]
3 The ropes of death tightened around me,[e]
the snares[f] of Sheol confronted me.
I was confronted[g] with trouble and sorrow.
4 I called on the name of the Lord,
“Please, Lord, rescue my life!”
5 The Lord is merciful and fair;
our God is compassionate.
6 The Lord protects[h] the untrained;[i]
I was in serious trouble[j] and he delivered me.
7 Rest once more, my soul,[k]
for the Lord has vindicated you.[l]
8 Yes,[m] Lord,[n] you rescued my life from death,
kept my eyes from tears
and my feet from stumbling.
9 I will serve[o] the Lord
in the land[p] of the living.
10 I had faith when I said,
“I am severely oppressed.”
11 I rashly declared,[q]
“All men are liars.”
12 How can I repay the Lord
for all his acts of kindness to me?
13 I will celebrate my deliverance,[r]
and call on the name of the Lord.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people.
15 The Lord values
the lives of his faithful followers.[s]
16 Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your female servant.[t]
You saved me from death.[u]
17 I will present a thank offering to you,
and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people,
19 in the courts of the Lord’s temple,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 117[v]
Paul Addresses the Jewish Community in Rome
17 After three days[a] Paul[b] called the local Jewish leaders[c] together. When they had assembled, he said to them, “Brothers,[d] although I had done[e] nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors,[f] from Jerusalem I was handed over as a prisoner to the Romans.[g] 18 When[h] they had heard my case,[i] they wanted to release me,[j] because there was no basis for a death sentence[k] against me. 19 But when the Jews objected,[l] I was forced to appeal to Caesar[m]—not that I had some charge to bring[n] against my own people.[o] 20 So for this reason I have asked to see you and speak with you, for I am bound with this chain because of the hope of Israel.”[p] 21 They replied,[q] “We have received no letters from Judea about you, nor have any of the brothers come from there[r] and reported or said anything bad about you. 22 But we would like to hear from you what you think, for regarding this sect we know[s] that people[t] everywhere speak against[u] it.”
23 They set[v] a day to meet with him,[w] and they came to him where he was staying[x] in even greater numbers.[y] From morning until evening he explained things[z] to them,[aa] testifying[ab] about the kingdom of God[ac] and trying to convince[ad] them about Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets. 24 Some were convinced[ae] by what he said,[af] but others refused[ag] to believe. 25 So they began to leave,[ah] unable to agree among themselves, after Paul made one last statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly to your ancestors[ai] through the prophet Isaiah 26 when he said,
‘Go to this people and say,
“You will keep on hearing,[aj] but will never understand,
and you will keep on looking,[ak] but will never perceive.
27 For the heart of this people has become dull,[al]
and their ears are hard of hearing,[am]
and they have closed their eyes,
so that they would not see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and turn,[an] and I would heal them.”’[ao]
28 “Therefore be advised[ap] that this salvation from God[aq] has been sent to the Gentiles;[ar] they[as] will listen!”[at]
30 Paul[au] lived[av] there two whole years in his own rented quarters[aw] and welcomed[ax] all who came to him, 31 proclaiming the kingdom of God[ay] and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ[az] with complete boldness[ba] and without restriction.[bb]
Healing a Boy with an Unclean Spirit
37 Now on[a] the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. 38 Then[b] a man from the crowd cried out,[c] “Teacher, I beg you to look at[d] my son—he is my only child! 39 A[e] spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams;[f] it throws him into convulsions[g] and causes him to foam at the mouth. It hardly ever leaves him alone, torturing[h] him severely. 40 I[i] begged[j] your disciples to cast it out, but[k] they could not do so.”[l] 41 Jesus answered,[m] “You[n] unbelieving[o] and perverse generation! How much longer[p] must I be with you and endure[q] you?[r] Bring your son here.” 42 As[s] the boy[t] was approaching, the demon threw him to the ground[u] and shook him with convulsions.[v] But Jesus rebuked[w] the unclean[x] spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43 Then[y] they were all astonished at the mighty power[z] of God.
Another Prediction of Jesus’ Suffering
But while the entire crowd[aa] was amazed at everything Jesus[ab] was doing, he said to his disciples, 44 “Take these words to heart,[ac] for the Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.”[ad] 45 But they did not understand this statement; its meaning[ae] had been concealed[af] from them, so that they could not grasp it. Yet[ag] they were afraid to ask him about this statement.
Concerning the Greatest
46 Now an argument started among the disciples[ah] as to which of them might be[ai] the greatest. 47 But when Jesus discerned their innermost thoughts,[aj] he took a child, had him stand by[ak] his side, 48 and said to them, “Whoever welcomes[al] this child[am] in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me, for the one who is least among you all is the one who is great.”[an]
On the Right Side
49 John answered,[ao] “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop[ap] him because he is not a disciple[aq] along with us.” 50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for whoever is not against you is for you.”
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