Book of Common Prayer
A Promise to Rule Well
A psalm of David.
101 I will sing of your love and fairness;
Lord, I will sing praises to you.
2 I will be careful to live an innocent life.
When will you come to me?
I will live an innocent life in my house.
3 I will not look at anything wicked.
I hate those who turn against you;
they will not be found near me.
4 Let those who want to do wrong stay away from me;
I will have nothing to do with evil.
5 If anyone secretly says things against his neighbor,
I will stop him.
I will not allow people
to be proud and look down on others.
6 I will look for trustworthy people
so I can live with them in the land.
Only those who live innocent lives
will be my servants.
7 No one who is dishonest will live in my house;
no liars will stay around me.
8 Every morning I will destroy the wicked in the land.
I will rid the Lord’s city of people who do evil.
A Prayer Against an Enemy
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
109 God, I praise you.
Do not be silent.
2 Wicked people and liars have spoken against me;
they have told lies about me.
3 They have said hateful things about me
and attack me for no reason.
4 They attacked me, even though I loved them
and prayed for them.
5 I was good to them, but they repay me with evil.
I loved them, but they hate me in return.
6 They say about me, “Have an evil person work against him,
and let an accuser stand against him.
7 When he is judged, let him be found guilty,
and let even his prayers show his guilt.
8 Let his life be cut short,
and let another man replace him as leader.
9 Let his children become orphans
and his wife a widow.
10 Make his children wander around, begging for food.
Let them be forced out of the ruins in which they live.
11 Let the people to whom he owes money take everything he owns,
and let strangers steal everything he has worked for.
12 Let no one show him love
or have mercy on his orphaned children.
13 Let all his descendants die
and be forgotten by those who live after him.
14 Lord, remember how wicked his ancestors were,
and don’t let the sins of his mother be wiped out.
15 Lord, always remember their sins.
Then make people forget about them completely.
16 “He did not remember to be loving.
He hurt the poor, the needy, and those who were sad
until they were nearly dead.
17 He loved to put curses on others,
so let those same curses fall on him.
He did not like to bless others,
so do not let good things happen to him.
18 He cursed others as often as he wore clothes.
Cursing others filled his body and his life,
like drinking water and using olive oil.
19 So let curses cover him like clothes
and wrap around him like a belt.”
20 May the Lord do these things to those who accuse me,
to those who speak evil against me.
21 But you, Lord God,
be kind to me so others will know you are good.
Because your love is good, save me.
22 I am poor and helpless
and very sad.
23 I am dying like an evening shadow;
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak from fasting,
and I have grown thin.
25 My enemies insult me;
they look at me and shake their heads.
26 Lord my God, help me;
because you are loving, save me.
27 Then they will know that your power has done this;
they will know that you have done it, Lord.
28 They may curse me, but you bless me.
They may attack me, but they will be disgraced.
Then I, your servant, will be glad.
29 Let those who accuse me be disgraced
and covered with shame like a coat.
30 I will thank the Lord very much;
I will praise him in front of many people.
121 I have done what is fair and right.
Don’t leave me to those who wrong me.
122 Promise that you will help me, your servant.
Don’t let proud people wrong me.
123 My eyes are tired from looking for your salvation
and for your good promise.
124 Show your love to me, your servant,
and teach me your demands.
125 I am your servant. Give me wisdom
so I can understand your rules.
126 Lord, it is time for you to do something,
because people have disobeyed your teachings.
127 I love your commands
more than the purest gold.
128 I respect all your orders,
so I hate lying ways.
129 Your rules are wonderful.
That is why I keep them.
130 Learning your words gives wisdom
and understanding for the foolish.
131 I am nearly out of breath.
I really want to learn your commands.
132 Look at me and have mercy on me
as you do for those who love you.
133 Guide my steps as you promised;
don’t let any sin control me.
134 Save me from harmful people
so I can obey your orders.
135 Show your kindness to me, your servant.
Teach me your demands.
136 Tears stream from my eyes,
because people do not obey your teachings.
137 Lord, you do what is right,
and your laws are fair.
138 The rules you commanded are right
and completely trustworthy.
139 I am so upset I am worn out,
because my enemies have forgotten your words.
140 Your promises are proven,
so I, your servant, love them.
141 I am unimportant and hated,
but I have not forgotten your orders.
142 Your goodness continues forever,
and your teachings are true.
143 I have had troubles and misery,
but I love your commands.
144 Your rules are always good.
Help me understand so I can live.
The Branch of the Lord
2 At that time the Lord’s branch will be very beautiful and great. The people still living in Israel will be proud of what the land grows. 3 Those who are still living in Jerusalem will be called holy; their names are recorded among the living in Jerusalem. 4 The Lord will wash away the filth from the women of Jerusalem. He will wash the bloodstains out of Jerusalem and clean the city with the spirit of fairness and the spirit of fire. 5 Then the Lord will cover Mount Zion and the people who meet there with a cloud of smoke during the day and with a bright, flaming fire at night. There will be a covering over every person. 6 This covering will protect the people from the heat of the sun and will provide a safe place to hide from the storm and rain.
The Unity of the Body
4 I am in prison because I belong to the Lord. Therefore I urge you who have been chosen by God to live up to the life to which God called you. 2 Always be humble, gentle, and patient, accepting each other in love. 3 You are joined together with peace through the Spirit, so make every effort to continue together in this way. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, and God called you to have one hope. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. 6 There is one God and Father of everything. He rules everything and is everywhere and is in everything.
7 Christ gave each one of us the special gift of grace, showing how generous he is. 8 That is why it says in the Scriptures,
“When he went up to the heights,
he led a parade of captives,
and he gave gifts to people.” Psalm 68:18
9 When it says, “He went up,” what does it mean? It means that he first came down to the earth. 10 So Jesus came down, and he is the same One who went up above all the heaven. Christ did that to fill everything with his presence. 11 And Christ gave gifts to people—he made some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to go and tell the Good News, and some to have the work of caring for and teaching God’s people. 12 Christ gave those gifts to prepare God’s holy people for the work of serving, to make the body of Christ stronger. 13 This work must continue until we are all joined together in the same faith and in the same knowledge of the Son of God. We must become like a mature person, growing until we become like Christ and have his perfection.
14 Then we will no longer be babies. We will not be tossed about like a ship that the waves carry one way and then another. We will not be influenced by every new teaching we hear from people who are trying to fool us. They make plans and try any kind of trick to fool people into following the wrong path. 15 No! Speaking the truth with love, we will grow up in every way into Christ, who is the head. 16 The whole body depends on Christ, and all the parts of the body are joined and held together. Each part does its own work to make the whole body grow and be strong with love.
Jesus Heals Two Men with Demons
28 When Jesus arrived at the other side of the lake in the area of the Gadarene[a] people, two men who had demons in them met him. These men lived in the burial caves and were so dangerous that people could not use the road by those caves. 29 They shouted, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Did you come here to torture us before the right time?”
30 Near that place there was a large herd of pigs feeding. 31 The demons begged Jesus, “If you make us leave these men, please send us into that herd of pigs.”
32 Jesus said to them, “Go!” So the demons left the men and went into the pigs. Then the whole herd rushed down the hill into the lake and were drowned. 33 The herdsmen ran away and went into town, where they told about all of this and what had happened to the men who had demons. 34 Then the whole town went out to see Jesus. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their area.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.