Book of Common Prayer
For the director of music. A psalm of David to be played on stringed instruments.
61 God, hear my cry for help.
Listen to my prayer.
2 From a place far away I call out to you.
I call out as my heart gets weaker.
Lead me to the safety of a rock that is high above me.
3 You have always kept me safe from my enemies.
You are like a strong tower to me.
4 I long to live in your holy tent forever.
There I find safety in the shadow of your wings.
5 God, you have heard my promises.
You have given me what belongs to those who worship you.
6 Add many days to the king’s life.
Let him live on and on for many years.
7 May he always enjoy your blessing as he rules.
Let your love and truth keep him safe.
8 Then I will always sing praise to you.
I will keep my promises day after day.
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
62 It is surely true that I find my rest in God.
He is the God who saves me.
2 It is surely true that he is my rock. He is the God who saves me.
He is like a fort to me. I will always be secure.
3 How long will you enemies attack me?
Will all of you throw me down?
I’m like a leaning wall.
I’m like a fence about to fall.
4 Surely my enemies only want to pull me down
from my place of honor.
They take delight in telling lies.
They bless me with what they say.
But in their hearts they ask for bad things to happen to me.
5 Yes, I must find my rest in God.
He is the God who gives me hope.
6 It is surely true that he is my rock and the God who saves me.
He is like a fort to me, so I will always be secure.
7 I depend on God to save me and to honor me.
He is my mighty rock and my place of safety.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people.
Tell him all your troubles.
God is our place of safety.
9 Surely ordinary people are only a breath.
Important people are not what they seem to be.
If they were weighed on a scale, they wouldn’t amount to anything.
Together they are only a breath.
10 Don’t trust in money you have taken from others.
Don’t put false hope in things you have stolen.
Even if your riches grow,
don’t put your trust in them.
11 God, I have heard you say two things.
One is that power belongs to you, God.
12 The other is that your love, Lord, never ends.
You will reward everyone
in keeping with what they have done.
For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.
68 May God rise up and scatter his enemies.
May they turn and run away from him.
2 May you, God, blow them away like smoke.
As fire melts wax,
so may God destroy sinful people.
3 But may those who do what is right be glad
and filled with joy when they are with him.
May they be happy and joyful.
4 Sing to God, sing praise to his name.
Lift up a song to the God who rides on the clouds.
Be glad when you are with him.
His name is the Lord.
5 God is in his holy temple.
He is a father to children whose fathers have died.
He takes care of women whose husbands have died.
6 God gives lonely people a family.
He sets prisoners free, and they go out singing.
But those who refuse to obey him
live in a land that is baked by the sun.
7 God, you led your people out.
You marched through the desert.
8 The ground shook
when you, the God of Sinai, appeared.
The heavens poured down rain
when you, the God of Israel, appeared.
9 God, you gave us plenty of rain.
You renewed your worn-out land.
10 God, your people made their homes in it.
From all your riches, you provided for those who were poor.
11 The Lord gives the message.
The women who make it known are a huge group.
12 They said, “Kings and armies are running away.
The women at home are dividing up
the things the army took from their enemies.
13 Even while the soldiers sleep near the sheep pens,
God wins the battle for them.
He gives the enemy’s silver and gold
to Israel, his dove.”
14 The Mighty One has scattered the kings around the land.
It was like snow falling on Mount Zalmon.
15 Mount Bashan is a majestic mountain.
Mount Bashan is a very rocky mountain.
16 Why are you jealous of Mount Zion, you rocky mountain?
That’s where God chooses to rule.
That’s where the Lord himself will live forever.
17 God has come with tens of thousands of his chariots.
He has come with thousands and thousands of them.
The Lord has come from Mount Sinai.
He has entered his holy place.
18 When he went up to his place on high,
he took many prisoners.
He received gifts from people,
even from those who refused to obey him.
The Lord God went up to live on Mount Zion.
19 Give praise to the Lord. Give praise to God our Savior.
He carries our heavy loads day after day.
20 Our God is a God who saves.
He is the King and the Lord. He saves us from death.
21 God will certainly smash the heads of his enemies.
He will break the hairy heads of those who keep on sinning.
22 The Lord says, “I will bring your enemies from Bashan.
I will bring them up from the bottom of the sea.
23 Then your feet can wade in their blood.
The tongues of your dogs can lick up all the blood they want.”
24 God, those who worship you come marching into view.
My God and King, those who follow you have entered the sacred tent.
25 The singers are walking in front.
Next come the musicians.
Young women playing tambourines are with them.
26 The leaders sing, “Praise God among all those who worship him.
Praise the Lord in the community of Israel.”
27 The little tribe of Benjamin leads the worshipers.
Next comes the great crowd of Judah’s princes.
Then come the princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali.
28 God, show us your power.
Show us your strength.
God, do as you have done before.
29 Do it from your temple at Jerusalem,
where kings will bring you gifts.
30 Give a strong warning to Egypt, that beast among the tall grass.
It is like a herd of bulls among the calves.
May that beast bow down before you with gifts of silver.
Scatter the nations who like to make war.
31 Messengers will come from Egypt.
The people of Cush will be quick to bring gifts to you.
32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth.
Sing praise to the Lord.
33 He rides across the highest places in heaven.
He rides across the ancient skies above.
He thunders with his mighty voice.
34 Tell how powerful God is.
He rules as king over Israel.
The skies show how powerful he is.
35 How wonderful is God in his holy place!
The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Give praise to God!
17 Then a message from the Lord came to Elijah, who was from Tishbe. The Lord said, 18 “Go down to see Ahab, the king of Israel. He rules in Samaria. You will find him in Naboth’s vineyard. Ahab has gone there to take it over. 19 Tell him, ‘The Lord says, “Haven’t you murdered a man? Haven’t you taken over his property?” ’ Then tell Ahab, ‘The Lord says, “Dogs licked up Naboth’s blood. In that same place dogs will lick up your blood. Yes, I said your blood!” ’ ”
20 Ahab said to Elijah, “My enemy! You have found me!”
“I have found you,” he answered. “That’s because you gave yourself over to do evil things. You did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 21 So the Lord says, ‘I am going to bring horrible trouble on you. I will destroy your children after you. I will destroy every male in Israel who is related to you. It does not matter whether they are slaves or free. 22 I will make your royal house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. I will make it like the house of Baasha, the son of Ahijah. You have made me very angry. You have caused Israel to sin.’
23 “The Lord also says, ‘Dogs will eat up Jezebel near the wall of Jezreel.’
24 “Some of the people who belong to Ahab will die in the city. Dogs will eat them up. Others will die in the country. The birds will eat them.”
25 There was never anyone like Ahab. He gave himself over to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord. His wife Jezebel talked him into it. 26 He acted in the most evil way. He worshiped statues of gods. He was like the Amorites. The Lord drove them out to make room for Israel.
27 When Ahab heard what Elijah had said, he tore his clothes. He put on the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad. He went without eating. He even slept in his clothes. He went around looking sad.
28 Then a message from the Lord came to Elijah, who was from Tishbe. The Lord said, 29 “Have you seen how Ahab has made himself humble in my sight? Because he has done that, I will not bring trouble on him while he lives. But I will bring it on his royal house when his son is king.”
20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where are the great thinkers of our time? Hasn’t God made the wisdom of the world foolish? 21 God wisely planned that the world would not know him through its own wisdom. It pleased God to use the foolish things we preach to save those who believe. 22 Jews require signs. Greeks look for wisdom. 23 But we preach about Christ and his death on the cross. That is very hard for Jews to accept. And everyone else thinks it’s foolish. 24 But there are those God has chosen, both Jews and Greeks. To them Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom. 25 The foolish things of God are wiser than human wisdom. The weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when God chose you. Not many of you were considered wise by human standards. Not many of you were powerful. Not many of you belonged to important families. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the things of this world that are common and looked down on. God chose things considered unimportant to do away with things considered important. 29 So no one can boast to God. 30 Because of what God has done, you belong to Christ Jesus. He has become God’s wisdom for us. He makes us right with God. He makes us holy and sets us free. 31 It is written, “The one who boasts should boast about what the Lord has done.” (Jeremiah 9:24)
Jesus Begins to Preach
12 John had been put in prison. When Jesus heard about this, he returned to Galilee. 13 Jesus left Nazareth and went to live in the city of Capernaum. It was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 In that way, what the prophet Isaiah had said came true. He had said,
15 “Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali!
Galilee, where Gentiles live!
Land along the Mediterranean Sea! Territory east of the Jordan River!
16 The people who are now living in darkness
have seen a great light.
They are now living in a very dark land.
But a light has shined on them.” (Isaiah 9:1,2)
17 From that time on Jesus began to preach. “Turn away from your sins!” he said. “The kingdom of heaven has come near.”
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