Book of Common Prayer
A Davidic Psalm
Remembering God’s Love
101 I will sing about gracious love and justice;
Lord, I will sing praise to you.
2 I will pay attention to living a life of integrity—
when will I attain it?
I will live with integrity of heart in my house.
3 I will not even think about doing anything lawless;
I hate to do evil deeds;
I will have none of it.
4 I will not allow anyone with a perverted mind in my presence;
I will not be involved with[a] anything evil.
5 I will destroy the one who secretly slanders a friend.
I will not allow the proud and haughty to prevail.
6 My eyes are looking at the faithful of the land,
so they may live with me;
The one who lives a life of integrity will serve me.
7 A deceitful person will not sit in my house;
A liar will not remain in my presence.
8 Every morning I will destroy all the wicked of the land,
eliminating everyone who practices iniquity from the Lord’s city.
To the Director. A Davidic psalm.
A Prayer against the Evil One
109 God, whom I praise,
do not be silent,
2 for the mouths of wicked and deceitful people
are opened against me;
they speak against me with lying tongues.
3 They surround me with hate-filled words,
attacking me for no reason.
4 Instead of receiving[a] my love, they accuse me,
though I continue in prayer.
5 They devise evil against me instead of good,
and hatred in place of my love.
6 Appoint an evil person over him;
may an accuser stand at his right side.[b]
7 When he is judged, may he be found guilty;
may his prayer be regarded as sin.
8 May his days be few;
may another take over his position.[c]
9 May his children become fatherless,
and his wife a widow.
10 May his children roam around begging,
seeking food[d] while driven far[e] from their ruined homes.
11 May creditors seize all his possessions,
and may foreigners loot the property he has acquired.[f]
12 May no one extend gracious love to him,
or show favor to his fatherless children.
13 May his descendants[g] be eliminated,
and their memory[h] be erased from the next generation.
14 May his ancestors’ guilt be remembered in the Lord’s presence,
and may his mother’s guilt not be erased.
15 May what[i] they have done[j] be continually in the Lord’s presence;
and may their memory be excised from the earth.
16 For he didn’t think to extend gracious love;
he harassed to death the poor, the needy, and the broken hearted.[k]
17 He loved to curse—may his curses[l] return upon him!
He took no delight in blessing others[m]—
so may blessings[n] be far from him.
18 He wore curses like a garment—
may they[o] enter his inner being like water
and his bones like oil.
19 May those curses[p] wrap around him like a garment,
or like a belt that one always wears.
20 May this be the way the Lord repays my accuser,
those who speak evil against me.
21 Now you, Lord my God, defend[q] me for your name’s sake;
because your gracious love is good, deliver me!
22 Indeed, I am poor and needy,
and my heart is wounded within me.
23 I am fading[r] away like a shadow late in the day;
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees give way[s] from fasting,
and my skin is lean, deprived of oil.
25 I have become an object of derision to them—
they shake their heads whenever they see me.
26 Help me, Lord my God!
Deliver me in accord with your gracious love!
27 Then they will realize that your hand is in this—
that you, Lord, have accomplished it.
28 They will curse,
but you will bless.
When they attack,[t] they will[u] be humiliated,
while your servant rejoices.
29 May my accusers be clothed with shame
and wrapped in their humiliation as with a robe.
30 I will give many thanks to the Lord with my mouth,
praising him publicly,
Ayin
Praying for God’s Deliverance
121 I have acted with justice and righteousness;
do not abandon me to my oppressors.
122 Back up your servant in a positive way;
do not let the arrogant oppress me.
123 My eyes fail as I look[a] for your salvation
and for your righteous promise.
124 Act toward your servant consistent with your gracious love,
and teach me your statutes.
125 Since I am your servant, give me understanding,
so I will know your decrees.
126 It is time for the Lord to act,
since they have violated your instruction.[b]
127 I truly love your commands more than gold,
including fine gold.
128 I truly consider all of your precepts—all of them—to be just,
while I despise every false way.
Peyh
Living in God’s Word
129 Your decrees are wonderful—
that’s why I observe them.
130 The disclosure of your words illuminates,
providing understanding to the simple.
131 I open my mouth and pant
as I long for your commands.
132 Turn in my direction and show mercy to me,
as you have decreed regarding those who love your name.
133 Direct my footsteps by your promise,
and do not let any kind of iniquity rule over me.
134 Deliver me from human oppression
and I will keep your precepts.
135 Show favor to[c] your servant,
and teach me your statutes.
136 My eyes shed rivers of tears,
when others do not obey your instruction.[d]
Tsade
God’s Righteous Decrees
137 Lord, you are righteous,
and your judgments are right.
138 You have ordered your decrees to us rightly,
and they are very faithful.
139 My zeal consumes me
because my enemies forget your words.
140 Your word is very pure,
and your servant loves it.
141 Though I may be small and despised,
I do not neglect your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is an eternal righteousness,
and your instruction[e] is true.
143 Though trouble and anguish overwhelm me,
your commands remain my delight.
144 Your righteous decrees are eternal;
give me understanding, and I will live.
The Future Glory of Jerusalem
2 “At that time,[a] the Lord’s branch will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors of Israel and Judah.[b] 3 Whoever[c] survives in Zion and whoever remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who has been appointed to survive in Jerusalem— 4 when the Lord will have washed away the filth of the women[d] of Zion, cleaning up Jerusalem’s guilt[e] by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of tempest.[f] 5 Then the Lord will create over the entire site of Mount Zion—including over those who assemble there—a cloud by day[g] 6 and also to serve as a refuge and shelter from storms and rain.”
The Messiah’s Gifts to the Church
4 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to live in a way that is worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 demonstrating all expressions of humility, gentleness, and patience, accepting one another in love. 3 Do your best to maintain the unity of the Spirit by means of the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit. Likewise, you were called to the one hope of your calling.
5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 one God and Father of all,
who is above all, through all, and in all.
7 Now to each one of us grace has been given proportionate to the measure of the Messiah’s[a] gift. 8 That is why God[b] says,
“When he went up to the highest place,
he led captives into captivity
and gave gifts to people.”[c]
9 Now what does this “he went up” mean except that he also had gone[d] down into the lower parts of the earth?[e] 10 The one who went down is the same one who went up above all the heavens so that all things would be fulfilled. 11 And it is he who gifted some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, and still others to be pastors and teachers, 12 to equip[f] the saints, to do the work of ministry, and to build up the body of the Messiah[g] 13 until all of us are united in the faith and in the full knowledge of God’s Son, and until we attain mature adulthood and the full standard of development in the Messiah.[h] 14 Then we will no longer be little children, tossed like waves and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, or by clever strategies that would lead us astray. 15 Instead, by speaking the truth in love, we will grow up completely and become one with the head, that is, one with the Messiah,[i] 16 in whom the whole body is united and held together by every ligament with which it is supplied. As each individual part does its job, the body builds itself up in love.
Jesus Heals Two Demon-Possessed Men(A)
28 When Jesus[a] arrived on the other side in the region of the Gerasenes,[b] two demon-possessed men met him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so violent that no one could travel on that road. 29 Suddenly, they screamed, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Did you come here to torture us before the proper time?”
30 Now a large herd of pigs was grazing some distance away from them. 31 So the demons began to plead with Jesus,[c] saying, “If you drive us out, send us into that herd of pigs.”
32 He told them, “Go,” and they came out and went into the pigs. Suddenly, the whole herd rushed down a steep slope into the sea and drowned in the water.
33 Now when those who had been taking care of the pigs ran away, they came into the city and reported everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 Then the whole city went out to meet Jesus, and as soon as they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.
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