Book of Common Prayer
Mem: Sweeter Than Honey
97 How I love your laws!
I meditate on them all day long.
98 Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
because it is always with me.
99 I have more wisdom than all my teachers,
because your testimonies are my meditation.
100 I have more understanding than the elders,
because I guard your precepts.
101 I have kept my feet off every evil path
in order to keep your words.
102 I have not turned from your judgments,
because you yourself have instructed me.
103 How sweet are your sayings to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 From your precepts I gain understanding.
Therefore, I hate every false road.
Nun: A Lamp for My Feet
105 Your words are a lamp for my feet
and a light for my path.
106 I have sworn and affirmed
that I will keep your righteous judgments.
107 I have suffered much.
Lord, give me life according to your words.
108 Lord, please accept the willing praise from my mouth,
and teach me your judgments.
109 I take my life in my hands constantly,
but I will not forget your law.
110 The wicked have set a snare for me,
but I have not wandered from your precepts.
111 I have inherited your testimonies forever.
Yes, they are the joy of my heart.
112 I turn my heart to do your statutes,
forever, right to the end.
Samekh: Get Away From Me, You Evildoers
113 I hate the doubleminded, but I love your law.
114 You are my hiding place and my shield.
I wait confidently for your word.
115 Get away from me, you evildoers,
so that I may guard the commandments of my God!
116 Sustain me according to your sayings, and I will live.
Do not let me be ashamed of my hope.
117 Hold me up, and I will be saved.
Then I will always have regard for your statutes.
118 You reject all who stray from your statutes,
because their deceitfulness is built on a lie.[a]
119 You discard all the wicked of the earth like slag.
Therefore, I love your testimonies.
120 My flesh trembles because I am afraid of you,
because I fear your judgments.
Psalm 81
If Only
Heading
For the choir director. According to gittith.[a] By Asaph.
Invitation to Worship
1 Sing a loud song to God, our strength.
Shout to the God of Jacob!
2 Begin the music, and play the hand drum.
Play the sweet-sounding lyre along with the harp.
3 Sound the ram’s horn at the new moon
and at the full moon for our festival day.
4 Yes, this is an order for Israel,
a regulation from the God of Jacob.
5 God established it as a testimony for Joseph
when he went out against the land of Egypt.
There I heard a language I did not know.[b]
A Warning From the Lord
6 The Lord says:
I relieved Israel’s shoulders from the burden.
His hands were set free from carrying buckets.
7 In distress you called and I rescued you.
I answered you from the hiding place of thunder. Interlude
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
8 Listen, my people, and I will warn you.
If only you would listen to me, Israel!
9 There shall be no foreign god among you!
You shall not bow down to a strange god.
10 I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 But my people would not listen to my voice,
and Israel was not willing to obey me.
12 So I sent them off in the stubbornness of their hearts.
They walked according to their own plans.
13 If only my people would listen to me,
if only Israel would walk in my ways,
14 I would subdue their enemies quickly.
I would turn my hand against their foes.
15 Those who hate the Lord would cower before him,
and their time of punishment would last forever.
16 But he would feed Israel with the best wheat.
With honey from the rock I would satisfy you.
Psalm 82
Woe to Corrupt Rulers
Heading
A psalm by Asaph.
Judgment on Corrupt Rulers
1 God is standing in the assembly of God.
In the midst of the gods[c] he renders judgment.
God’s Verdict
2 How long will you judge unjustly Interlude
and show favoritism to the wicked?
3 Judge in favor of the weak and the fatherless.
Acquit the oppressed and the poor.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy.
Deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
5 They do not know. They do not understand.
They walk around in darkness.
All the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 I myself said, “You are ‘gods,’
and you are all ‘sons of the Most High.’
7 But you will die like men.
You will fall like any other ruler.”
Prayer
8 Rise up, O God. Judge the earth,
for you will take possession of all the nations.
An Ax Floats
6 The sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we are living with you is too cramped for us. 2 Let’s go to the Jordan, and every one of us will get a wooden beam from there so we can build a place there for us to live.”
He said, “Go ahead.”
3 Then one of them said, “Won’t you also please come along with your servants?”
He said, “I will come.” 4 So he went with them. When they came to the Jordan, they began to cut down trees. 5 But while one of them was cutting down a tree for a beam, the ax fell into the water.
He cried out, “Oh no, my lord! It was borrowed!”
6 But the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” Then he showed him the place. He cut off a piece of wood and threw it into the water, and the ax floated.
7 Then he said, “Pick it up.” So he reached out his hand and took it.
Elisha Guarded by Angels
8 Now when the king of Aram was waging war against Israel, he would make plans with his officials, saying, “My camp will be at such and such a place.”
9 But the man of God would send a message to the king of Israel, saying, “Be careful when you pass this place because the Arameans are going down there.” 10 So the king of Israel would send scouts to the place that the man of God had pointed out. So the man of God warned him, and he was kept safe—and not just once or twice.
11 The king of Aram was enraged because of this. He summoned his officials and said to them, “Won’t you tell me who of us is for the king of Israel?”
12 One of his officials said, “No, my lord the king. It is Elisha, the prophet in Israel, who tells the king of Israel the words which you speak in your bedroom.”
13 Then he said, “Go and see where he is. Then I’ll send men and capture him.”
He was told, “Dothan is where he is.”
14 So he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They came at night and surrounded the city. 15 When the man of God’s servant got up early and went out, there were soldiers, horses, and chariots surrounding the city. So his attendant said to Elisha, “Oh no, my lord! What will we do?”
16 He answered, “Don’t be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, open his eyes so that he can see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw that the hills were full of horses and chariots of fire, all around Elisha.
18 When the Arameans came down, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike these people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, just as Elisha had asked.
19 Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the road, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will take you to the man you are looking for.” So he brought them to Samaria. 20 When they came into Samaria, Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open their eyes so that they can see.” Then the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw that they were right in the middle of Samaria.
21 When the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “Shall I strike them down, my father? Shall I strike them down?”
22 He said, “Do not strike them down. Would you strike down a man you captured with your own sword and bow?[a] Set food and water before them so that they can eat and drink and then go back to their master.” 23 So he gave a great feast for them. They ate and drank. Then he sent them on their way, and they went to their master. The Aramean raiding parties did not come into the land of Israel anymore.
9 When I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with the sexually immoral, 10 I did not at all mean the sexually immoral people of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, for then you would have to leave the world. 11 But in this situation, I wrote to you not to associate with anyone who is called a brother if he is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or verbally abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person. 12 For what business is it of mine to judge people outside the church? Do you not judge those inside? 13 God will judge the people outside the church. “Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.”[a]
Lawsuits and Unrighteous Behavior
6 If any one of you has a case against another, does he dare to seek judgment before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? 2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you not competent to deal with insignificant lawsuits? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the matters of this life! 4 So if you have lawsuits involving matters of this life, do you appoint those people as your judges whom the church considers of no account? 5 I say this to make you feel ashamed. Is it really the case that there is not one wise man among you who would be able to decide a dispute between his brothers? 6 Instead, brother sues brother, and that in front of unbelievers! 7 The fact that you have lawsuits with one another is already a complete failure on your part. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 Instead, you yourselves do the wronging and defrauding, and you do it to your brothers!
Love Your Enemies
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’[a] 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evildoer. If someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you to take away your shirt, give him your coat too. 41 Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[b] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 Indeed if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even tax collectors do that, don’t they? 47 If you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even the unbelievers do that? 48 So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.