Book of Common Prayer
A song. A psalm of Asaph.
83 God, don’t remain silent.
Don’t refuse to listen.
Do something, God.
2 See how your enemies are growling like dogs.
See how they are rising up against you.
3 They make clever plans against your people.
They make evil plans against those you love.
4 “Come,” they say. “Let’s destroy that whole nation.
Then the name of Israel won’t be remembered anymore.”
5 All of them agree on the evil plans they have made.
They join forces against you.
6 Their forces include the people of Edom,
Ishmael, Moab and Hagar.
7 They also include the people of Byblos, Ammon, Amalek,
Philistia and Tyre.
8 Even Assyria has joined them
to give strength to the people of Moab and Ammon.
9 Do to them what you did to the people of Midian.
Do to them what you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.
10 Sisera and Jabin died near the town of Endor.
Their bodies were left on the ground like human waste.
11 Do to the nobles of your enemies what you did to Oreb and Zeeb.
Do to all their princes what you did to Zebah and Zalmunna.
12 They said, “Let’s take over
the grasslands that belong to God.”
13 My God, make them like straw that the wind blows away.
Make them like tumbleweed.
14 Destroy them as fire burns up a forest.
Destroy them as a flame sets mountains on fire.
15 Chase them with your mighty winds.
Terrify them with your storm.
16 Lord, put them to shame
so that they will seek you.
17 May they always be filled with terror and shame.
May they die in dishonor.
18 May you, the Lord, let your enemies know who you are.
You alone are the Most High God over the whole earth.
A psalm of praise. A psalm of David.
145 I will honor you, my God the King.
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you.
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
3 Lord, you are great. You are really worthy of praise.
No one can completely understand how great you are.
4 Parents praise your works to their children.
They tell about your mighty acts.
5 They speak about your glorious majesty.
I will spend time thinking about your wonderful deeds.
6 They speak about the powerful and wonderful things you do.
I will talk about the great things you have done.
7 They celebrate your great goodness.
They sing for joy about your holy acts.
8 The Lord is gracious, kind and tender.
He is slow to get angry and full of love.
9 The Lord is good to all.
He shows deep concern for everything he has made.
10 Lord, all your works praise you.
Your faithful people praise you.
11 They tell about your glorious kingdom.
They speak about your power.
12 Then all people will know about the mighty things you have done.
They will know about the glorious majesty of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is a kingdom that will last forever.
Your rule will continue for all time to come.
The Lord will keep all his promises.
He is faithful in everything he does.
14 The Lord takes good care of all those who fall.
He lifts up all those who feel helpless.
15 Every living thing looks to you for food.
You give it to them exactly when they need it.
16 You open your hand
and satisfy the needs of every living creature.
17 The Lord is right in everything he does.
He is faithful in everything he does.
18 The Lord is ready to help all those who call out to him.
He helps those who really mean it when they call out to him.
19 He satisfies the needs of those who have respect for him.
He hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord watches over all those who love him.
But he will destroy all sinful people.
21 I will praise the Lord with my mouth.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.
For the director of music. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.
85 Lord, you were good to your land.
You blessed the people of Jacob with great success again.
2 You forgave the evil things your people did.
You took away all their sins.
3 You stopped being angry with them.
You turned your great anger away from them.
4 God our Savior, make us new again.
Stop being unhappy with us.
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you be angry for all time to come?
6 Won’t you give us new life again?
Then we’ll be joyful because of what you have done.
7 Lord, show us your faithful love.
Save us.
8 I will listen to what God the Lord says.
He promises peace to his faithful people.
But they must not turn to foolish ways.
9 I know he’s ready to save those who have respect for him.
Then his glory can be seen in our land.
10 God’s truth and faithful love join together.
His peace and holiness kiss each other.
11 His truth springs up from the earth.
His holiness looks down from heaven.
12 The Lord will certainly give what is good.
Our land will produce its crops.
13 God’s holiness leads the way in front of him.
It prepares the way for his coming.
A prayer of David.
86 Lord, hear me and answer me.
I am poor and needy.
2 Keep my life safe, because I am faithful to you.
Save me, because I trust in you.
You are my God.
3 Lord, have mercy on me.
I call out to you all day long.
4 Bring joy to me.
Lord, I put my trust in you.
5 Lord, you are forgiving and good.
You are full of love for all who call out to you.
6 Lord, hear my prayer.
Listen to my cry for mercy.
7 When I’m in trouble, I will call out to you.
And you will answer me.
8 Lord, there’s no one like you among the gods.
No one can do what you do.
9 Lord, all the nations you have made
will come and worship you.
They will bring glory to you.
10 You are great. You do wonderful things.
You alone are God.
11 Lord, teach me how you want me to live.
Do this so that I will depend on you, my faithful God.
Give me a heart that doesn’t want anything
more than to worship you.
12 Lord my God, I will praise you with all my heart.
I will bring glory to you forever.
13 Great is your love for me.
You have kept me from going down into the place of the dead.
14 God, proud people are attacking me.
A gang of mean people is trying to kill me.
They don’t care about you.
15 But Lord, you are a God who is tender and kind.
You are gracious.
You are slow to get angry.
You are faithful and full of love.
16 Come to my aid and have mercy on me.
Show your strength by helping me.
Save me because I serve you just as my mother did.
17 Prove your goodness to me.
Then my enemies will see it and be put to shame.
Lord, you have helped me and given me comfort.
David and Bathsheba
11 It was spring. It was the time when kings go off to war. So David sent Joab out with the king’s special troops and the whole army of Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites. They marched to the city of Rabbah. They surrounded it and got ready to attack it. But David remained in Jerusalem.
2 One evening David got up from his bed. He walked around on the roof of his palace. From the roof he saw a woman taking a bath. She was very beautiful. 3 David sent a messenger to find out who she was. The messenger returned and said, “She is Bathsheba. She’s the daughter of Eliam. She’s the wife of Uriah. He’s a Hittite.” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him. And he slept with her. Then she went back home. All of that took place after she had already made herself “clean” from her monthly period. 5 Later, Bathsheba found out she was pregnant. She sent a message to David. She said, “I’m pregnant.”
6 So David sent a message to Joab. David said, “Send me Uriah, the Hittite.” Joab sent him to David. 7 Uriah came to David. David asked him how Joab and the soldiers were doing. He also asked him how the war was going. 8 David said to Uriah, “Go home and enjoy some time with your wife.” So Uriah left the palace. Then the king sent him a gift. 9 But Uriah didn’t go home. Instead, he slept at the entrance to the palace. He stayed there with all his master’s servants.
10 David was told, “Uriah didn’t go home.” So he sent for Uriah. David said to him, “You have been away for a long time. Why didn’t you go home?”
11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and the army of Israel and Judah are out there in tents. My commander Joab and your special troops are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink? How could I go there and sleep with my wife? I could never do a thing like that. And that’s just as sure as you are alive!”
12 Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day. Tomorrow I’ll send you back to the battle.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 David invited Uriah to eat and drink with him. David got him drunk. But Uriah still didn’t go home. In the evening he went out and slept on his mat. He stayed there among his master’s servants.
14 The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab. He sent it along with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front. That’s where the fighting is the heaviest. Then pull your men back from him. When you do, the Ammonites will strike him down and kill him.”
16 So Joab attacked the city. He put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest enemy fighters were. 17 The troops came out of the city. They fought against Joab. Some of the men in David’s army were killed. Uriah, the Hittite, also died.
18 Joab sent David a full report of the battle. 19 He told the messenger, “Tell the king everything that happened in the battle. When you are finished, 20 his anger might explode. He might ask you, ‘Why did you go so close to the city to fight against it? Didn’t you know that the enemy soldiers would shoot arrows down from the wall? 21 Don’t you remember how Abimelek, the son of Jerub-Besheth, was killed? A woman dropped a large millstone on him from the wall. That’s how he died in Thebez. So why did you go so close to the wall?’ If the king asks you that, tell him, ‘And your servant Uriah, the Hittite, is also dead.’ ”
22 The messenger started out for Jerusalem. When he arrived there, he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men in the city were more powerful than we were. They came out to fight against us in the open. But we drove them back to the entrance of the city gate. 24 Then those who were armed with bows shot arrows at us from the wall. Some of your special troops were killed. Your servant Uriah, the Hittite, is also dead.”
25 David told the messenger, “Tell Joab, ‘Don’t get upset over what happened. Swords kill one person as well as another. So keep on attacking the city. Destroy it.’ Tell that to Joab. It will cheer him up.”
26 Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead. She mourned over him. 27 When her time of sadness was over, David had her brought to his house. She became his wife. And she had a son by him. But the Lord wasn’t pleased with what David had done.
11 God did amazing miracles through Paul. 12 Even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to those who were sick. When this happened, their sicknesses were healed and evil spirits left them.
13 Some Jews went around driving out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus to set free those who were controlled by demons. They said, “In Jesus’ name I command you to come out. He is the Jesus that Paul is preaching about.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva were doing this. Sceva was a Jewish chief priest. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “I know Jesus. And I know about Paul. But who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on Sceva’s sons. He overpowered them all. He gave them a terrible beating. They ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
17 The Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus heard about this. They were all overcome with fear. They held the name of the Lord Jesus in high honor. 18 Many who believed now came and openly admitted what they had done. 19 A number of those who had practiced evil magic brought their scrolls together. They set them on fire out in the open. They added up the value of the scrolls. The scrolls were worth more than someone could earn in two lifetimes. 20 The word of the Lord spread everywhere. It became more and more powerful.
Jesus’ Appearance Is Changed
2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him. He led them up a high mountain. They were all alone. There in front of them his appearance was changed. 3 His clothes became so white they shone. They were whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 Elijah and Moses appeared in front of Jesus and his disciples. The two of them were talking with Jesus.
5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters. One will be for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 Peter didn’t really know what to say, because they were so afraid.
7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them. A voice came from the cloud. It said, “This is my Son, and I love him. Listen to him!”
8 They looked around. Suddenly they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.
9 They came down the mountain. On the way down, Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen. He told them to wait until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept the matter to themselves. But they asked each other what “rising from the dead” meant.
11 Then they asked Jesus, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah has to come first?”
12 Jesus replied, “That’s right. Elijah does come first. He makes all things new again. So why is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and not be accepted? 13 I tell you, Elijah has come. They have done to him everything they wanted to do. They did it just as it is written about him.”
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