Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 30
You Brought Me Up From the Grave
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A psalm. A song for the dedication of the Temple. By David.
Praise for Answered Prayer
1 I will exalt you, O Lord,
because you lifted me up.
You did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried out to you,
and you healed me.
3 Lord, you snatched my life from the grave.
You kept me alive so I did not go down into the pit.
Join Me in Prayer
4 Make music to the Lord, you his favored ones,
and give thanks when you remember[a] his holiness,
5 for we spend a moment under his anger,
but we enjoy a lifetime in his favor.
In the evening, weeping comes to stay through the night,
but in the morning, there is rejoicing!
Wrestling in Prayer
6 But I—I said in my security,
“I will never be knocked down.”
7 Lord, in your favor you made strength
stand like a mountain for me.
Then you hid your face. I was terrified.
8 To you, O Lord, I call.
To the Lord I cry for mercy:
9 “What gain is there in shedding my blood,
in sending me down to destruction?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your truth?
10 Lord, hear and be merciful to me.
Lord, be a helper for me.”
A Happy Outcome
11 You turned my mourning into dancing.
You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12 so that my whole being[b] may make music to you
and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I thank you forever.
Psalm 32
How Blessed Is the Person Whose Rebellion Is Forgiven
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By David. A maskil.[a]
The Joy of Forgiveness
1 How blessed is the person
whose rebellion is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 How blessed is the person
whose guilt the Lord does not charge against him,
in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Obtaining the Joy of Forgiveness
3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away as I groaned all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me. Interlude
My moisture was dried up by the droughts of summer.
5 I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover up my guilt.
I said, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord,” Interlude
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
6 Because of this, let everyone who receives favor pray to you
at a time when you may be found.
Surely when the mighty waters overflow,
they will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place.
You will protect me from distress. Interlude
You will surround me with shouts of deliverance.
Sharing the Joy of Forgiveness
8 I will make you wise.
I will instruct you in the way that you should go.
I will guide you, keeping my eye on you.
9 Do not be like a horse or a mule, which has no understanding.
Its mouth must be controlled by a bit and bridle,
or else it will not come to you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but mercy will surround those who trust in the Lord.
11 Rejoice in the Lord and celebrate, all you righteous,
and shout joyfully, all you upright in heart.
Book II
Psalms 42–72
Psalms 42 & 43
An Exile’s Prayer: Why Are You Cast Down?[a]
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For the choir director. A maskil[b] by the Sons of Korah.[c]
Longing for the Temple
1 As a doe pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and appear before God?[d]
3 My tears have been food for me day and night,
while people are saying to me all day,
“Where is your God?”
4 I am overcome by my emotions
whenever I remember these things:
how I used to arrive with the crowd,
as I led the procession to the house of God,
with loud shouts of thanksgiving,
with the crowd celebrating the festival.
Refrain
5 Why are you so depressed,[e] O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I will again praise him
for salvation from his presence.[f]
Remembrance of the Lord
6 My God, my soul is depressed within me.
Therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan,
from the heights of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your rapids.
All your breakers and your waves have swept over me.
8 By day the Lord commands his mercy,
and at night his song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go around mourning because of oppression by the enemy?”
10 It is like breaking my bones when my foes taunt me.
All day long they say to me, “Where is your God?”
Refrain
11 Why are you so depressed, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I will again praise him
for my salvation from the face of my God.[g]
Psalm 43
A Plea for Vindication
1 Judge me justly, O God,
and plead my case against an ungodly nation.
Rescue me from the deceitful, wicked man.
2 I know you are God, my stronghold.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go around mourning
because of oppression by the enemy?
3 Send out your light and your truth.
Let them guide me.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and gladness.
Then I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.
Refrain
5 Why are you so depressed, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I will again praise him
for my salvation from the face of my God.[h]
Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam
12 Rehoboam went to Shechem, because all Israel had gone there to make him king.
2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat was still in Egypt where he had fled from King Solomon, he heard about this, and he returned from Egypt.[a] 3 So the people sent for him.
Then Jeroboam and the entire assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, 4 “Your father made our yoke heavy. Now lighten your father’s harsh service and the heavy yoke he laid on us, and we will serve you.”
5 Rehoboam said to them, “Leave me for three days and then return to me.” So the people left.
6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon while he was alive. He asked, “What answer do you advise me to give to these people?”
7 They said to him, “If today you become a servant to this people—if you serve them and answer them with kind words—then they will be your servants for all time.”[b]
8 But he rejected the advice which the old men offered him. Instead, he consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. 9 He said to them, “What answer do you advise that we should give to these people who said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father laid on us’?”
10 The young men who had grown up with him said, “This is what you should say to this people who said to you, ‘Your father laid a heavy yoke on us. Now lighten our yoke.’ Tell them this: ‘My little finger[c] is thicker than my father’s waist.[d] 11 My father imposed a heavy yoke on you. I will make your yoke heavier. My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions.’”[e]
12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, because the king had said, “Come back to me on the third day.”
13 The king answered the people harshly, because he had rejected the advice which the old men had offered. 14 He spoke to them as the young men advised him: “My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke. My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions.”
15 The king did not listen to the people, because this turn of events was from the Lord, in order to fulfill his word, which the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah from Shiloh.
16 All Israel saw that the king had not listened to them. So the people answered the king:
What share do we have in David?
No portion in the son of Jesse!
To your tents, Israel!
Now look after your own house, David!
So Israel went to their tents.[f]
17 Rehoboam continued to rule over the people of Israel who were living in the cities of Judah.
18 King Rehoboam sent out Adoram,[g] who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam, however, was able to get in his chariot to flee to Jerusalem.
19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David until this day.
Jeroboam Becomes King of Israel
20 When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. No tribe was left which followed the house of David, except the tribe of Judah alone.
Be Patient
7 Therefore, brothers, be patient until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the valuable harvest from the ground, patiently waiting for it, until it receives the early and late rain. 8 You be patient too. Strengthen your hearts because the coming of the Lord is near.
9 Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look! The Judge is standing at the doors! 10 Brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of suffering with patient endurance. 11 See, we consider those who endured to be blessed. You have heard of the patient endurance of Job and have seen what the Lord did in the end, because the Lord is especially compassionate and merciful.
Do Not Swear
12 Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Just let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no,” so that you do not fall under judgment.
19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders away from the truth and someone turns him back, 20 let it be known that the one who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
Jesus’ Death
33 When it was the sixth hour,[a] darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.[b] 34 At the ninth hour Jesus shouted with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”[c]
35 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah!”
36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. They said, “Leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.”
37 Jesus cried out with a loud voice and breathed his last. 38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 When the centurion who stood facing him saw how he cried out and breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.