Book of Common Prayer
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
41 Blessed are those who care about weak people.
When they are in trouble, the Lord saves them.
2 The Lord guards them and keeps them alive.
They are counted among those who are blessed in the land.
The Lord won’t hand them over to the wishes of their enemies.
3 The Lord will take care of them when they are lying sick in bed.
He will make them well again.
4 I said, “Lord, have mercy on me.
Heal me, because I have sinned against you.”
5 My enemies are saying bad things about me.
They say, “When will he die and his name be forgotten?”
6 When one of them comes to see me,
he says things that aren’t true.
At the same time, he thinks up lies to tell against me.
Then he goes out and spreads those lies around.
7 All my enemies whisper to each other about me.
They want something terrible to happen to me.
8 They say, “He is sick and will die very soon.
He will never get up from his bed again.”
9 Even my close friend, someone I trusted, has failed me.
I even shared my bread with him.
10 But Lord, may you have mercy on me.
Make me well, so I can pay them back.
11 Then I will know that you are pleased with me,
because my enemies haven’t won the battle over me.
12 You will take good care of me because I’ve been honest.
You will let me be with you forever.
13 Give praise to the Lord, the God of Israel,
for ever and ever.
Amen and Amen.
For the director of music. A maskil of David when Doeg, who was from Edom, had gone to Saul. Doeg had told Saul, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”
52 You think you are such a big, strong man!
Why do you brag about the evil things you’ve done?
You are a dishonor to God all the time.
2 You plan ways to destroy others.
Your tongue is like a blade that has a sharp edge.
You are always telling lies.
3 You love evil instead of good.
You would rather lie than tell the truth.
4 You love to harm others with your words, you liar!
5 So God will destroy you forever.
He will grab you and pluck you from your tent.
He will remove you from this life.
6 Those who do what is right will see it and learn a lesson from it.
They will laugh at you and say,
7 “Just look at this fellow!
He didn’t depend on God for his safety.
He put his trust in all his wealth.
He grew strong by destroying others!”
8 But I am like a healthy olive tree.
My roots are deep in the house of God.
I trust in your faithful love
for ever and ever.
9 I will praise you forever for what you have done.
I will praise you when I’m with your faithful people.
I will put my hope in you because you are good.
For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of Korah.
44 God, we have heard what you did.
Those who came before us have told us
what you did in their days,
in days long ago.
2 By your power you drove out the nations.
You gave our people homes in the land.
You crushed the people who were there.
And you made our people do well.
3 They didn’t win the land with their swords.
They didn’t gain success by their own power.
Your powerful right hand and your mighty arm gave them victory.
You gave them success because you loved them.
4 You are my King and my God.
You give victories to the people of Jacob.
5 With your help we push back our enemies.
By your power we walk all over them.
6 I put no trust in my bow.
My sword doesn’t bring me victory.
7 But you give us victory over our enemies.
You put them to shame.
8 All day long we talk about how great God is.
We will praise your name forever.
9 But now you have turned your back on us and made us humble.
You don’t march out with our armies anymore.
10 You made us turn and run from our enemies.
They have taken what belongs to us.
11 You handed us over to be eaten up like sheep.
You have scattered us among the nations.
12 You sold your people for very little.
You didn’t gain anything when you sold them.
13 You have made us something that our neighbors laugh at.
Those who live around us make fun of us and tease us.
14 The nations make jokes about us.
They shake their heads at us.
15 All day long I have to live with my shame.
My face is covered with it.
16 That’s because they laugh at me and attack me with their words.
They want to get even with me.
17 All of this happened to us,
even though we had not forgotten you.
We had not broken the covenant you made with us.
18 Our hearts had not turned away from you.
Our feet had not wandered from your path.
19 But you crushed us and left us to the wild dogs.
You covered us over with deep darkness.
20 We didn’t forget our God.
We didn’t spread out our hands in prayer to a false god.
21 If we had, God would have discovered it.
He knows the secrets of our hearts.
22 But because of you, we face death all day long.
We are considered as sheep to be killed.
23 Lord, wake up! Why are you sleeping?
Get up! Don’t say no to us forever.
24 Why do you turn your face away from us?
Why do you forget our pain and troubles?
25 We are brought down to the dust.
Our bodies lie flat on the ground.
26 Rise up and help us.
Save us because of your faithful love.
A Vision of a Horseman Among Some Myrtle Trees
7 A message from the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet. Zechariah was the son of Berekiah. Berekiah was the son of Iddo. The message came during the second year that Darius was king. It was the 24th day of the 11th month. That’s the month of Shebat.
8 I had a vision at night. I saw a man sitting on a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in a valley. Behind him were red, brown and white horses.
9 An angel was talking with me. I asked him, “Sir, what are these?”
He answered, “I will show you what they are.”
10 Then the man standing among the myrtle trees spoke. He said, “They are the messengers the Lord has sent out. He told them to go all through the earth.”
11 They brought a report to the angel of the Lord. He was standing among the myrtle trees. They said to him, “We have gone all through the earth. We’ve found the whole world enjoying peace and rest.”
12 Then the angel of the Lord spoke up. He said, “Lord, you rule over all. How long will you keep from showing your tender love to Jerusalem? How long will you keep it from the towns of Judah? You have been angry with them for 70 years.” 13 So the Lord replied with kind and comforting words. He spoke them to the angel who talked with me.
14 Then the angel said, “Announce this message. Say, ‘The Lord who rules over all says, “I am very jealous for my people in Jerusalem and Zion. 15 And I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry with my people. But the nations went too far and tried to wipe them out.”
16 “ ‘So the Lord says, “I will return to Jerusalem. I will show its people my tender love. My temple will be rebuilt there. Workers will use a measuring line when they rebuild Jerusalem,” announces the Lord.
17 “ ‘He says, “My towns will be filled with good things once more. I will comfort Zion. And I will choose Jerusalem again.” ’ ”
Greetings and Praise to God
4 I, John, am writing this letter.
I am sending it to the seven churches in Asia Minor.
May grace and peace come to you from God. He is the one who is, and who was, and who will come. May grace and peace come to you from the seven spirits. These spirits are in front of God’s throne. 5 May grace and peace come to you from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness, so what he has shown can be trusted. He was the first to rise from the dead. He rules over the kings of the earth.
Glory and power belong to Jesus Christ who loves us! He has set us free from our sins by pouring out his blood for us. 6 He has made us members of his royal family. He has made us priests who serve his God and Father. Glory and power belong to Jesus Christ for ever and ever! Amen.
7 “Look! He is coming with the clouds!” (Daniel 7:13)
“Every eye will see him.
Even those who pierced him will see him.”
All the nations of the earth “will mourn because of him.” (Zechariah 12:10)
This will really happen! Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord God. “I am the God who is, and who was, and who will come. I am the Mighty One.”
John’s Vision of Christ
9 I, John, am a believer like you. I am a friend who suffers like you. As members of Jesus’ royal family, we can put up with anything that happens to us. I was on the island of Patmos because I taught God’s word and what Jesus said. 10 The Holy Spirit gave me a vision on the Lord’s Day. I heard a loud voice behind me that sounded like a trumpet. 11 The voice said, “Write on a scroll what you see. Send it to the seven churches in Asia Minor. They are Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”
12 I turned around to see who was speaking to me. When I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. 13 In the middle of them was someone who looked “like a son of man.” (Daniel 7:13) He was dressed in a long robe with a gold strip of cloth around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze metal glowing in a furnace. His voice sounded like rushing waters. 16 He held seven stars in his right hand. Coming out of his mouth was a sharp sword with two edges. His face was like the sun shining in all its brightness.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. Then he put his right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One. I was dead. But now look! I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys to Death and Hell.
19 “So write down what you have seen. Write about what is happening now and what will happen later. 20 Here is the meaning of the mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand. They are the angels of the seven churches. And the seven golden lampstands you saw stand for the seven churches.
43 “What happens when an evil spirit comes out of a person? It goes through dry areas looking for a place to rest. But it doesn’t find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives there, it finds the house empty. The house has been swept clean and put in order. 45 Then the evil spirit goes and takes with it seven other spirits more evil than itself. They go in and live there. That person is worse off than before. That is how it will be with the evil people of today.”
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers
46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside. They wanted to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside. They want to speak to you.”
48 Jesus replied to him, “Who is my mother? And who are my brothers?” 49 Jesus pointed to his disciples. He said, “Here is my mother! Here are my brothers! 50 Anyone who does what my Father in heaven wants is my brother or sister or mother.”
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