Book of Common Prayer

Prayer of Thanks

30 I will lift You up, O Lord, for You have lifted me up. You have not let those who hate me stand over me in joy. ² O Lord my God, I cried to You for help and You healed me. ³ O Lord, You have brought me up from the grave. You have kept me alive, so that I will not go down into the deep. ⁴ Sing praise to the Lord, all you who belong to Him. Give thanks to His holy name. ⁵ For His anger lasts only a short time. But His favor is for life. Crying may last for a night, but joy comes with the new day.

⁶ As for me, when all was going well, I said, “I will never be moved.” ⁷ O Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong. But when You hid Your face, I was troubled. ⁸ I cried to You, O Lord. I begged the Lord for loving-kindness. ⁹ What good will come from my blood, if I go down to the grave? Will the dust thank You? Will it tell how You are faithful?

¹⁰ Hear, O Lord. And show me loving-kindness. O Lord, be my Helper. ¹¹ You have turned my crying into dancing.You have taken off my clothes made from hair, and dressed me with joy. ¹² So my soul may sing praise to You, and not be quiet. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Joy of Being Forgiven

32 How happy he is whose wrong-doing is forgiven, and whose sin is covered! ² How happy is the man whose sin the Lord does not hold against him, and in whose spirit there is nothing false.

³ When I kept quiet about my sin, my bones wasted away from crying all day long. ⁴ For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me. My strength was dried up as in the hot summer. ⁵ I told my sin to You. I did not hide my wrong-doing. I said, “I will tell my sins to the Lord.” And You forgave the guilt of my sin. ⁶ So let all who are God-like pray to You while You may be found, because in the floods of much water, they will not touch him. ⁷ You are my hiding place. You keep me safe from trouble. All around me are your songs of being made free.

⁸ I will show you and teach you in the way you should go. I will tell you what to do with My eye upon you. ⁹ Do not be like the horse or the donkey which have no understanding. They must be made to work by using bits and leather ropes or they will not come to you. ¹⁰ Many are the sorrows of the sinful. But loving-kindness will be all around the man who trusts in the Lord. ¹¹ Be glad in the Lord and be full of joy, you who are right with God! Sing for joy all you who are pure in heart!

42 As the deer desires rivers of water, so my soul desires You, O God. ² My soul is thirsty for God, for the living God. When will I come and meet with God? ³ My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” ⁴ These things I remember, and I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with many people and lead them to the house of God, with the voice of thankful joy, among the many happy people.

⁵ Why are you sad, O my soul? Why have you become troubled within me? Hope in God, for I will praise Him again for His help of being near me. ⁶ O my God, my soul is troubled within me. So I remember You from the land of the Jordan and the tops of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. ⁷ Sea calls to sea at the sound of Your waterfalls. All Your waves have rolled over me. ⁸ The Lord will send His loving-kindness in the day. And His song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life.

⁹ I will say to God my Rock, “Why have You forgotten me? Why do I have sorrow because those who hate me come against me with power?” ¹⁰ As a breaking of my bones, those who hate me speak sharp words to me. All day long they say to me, “Where is your God?” ¹¹ Why are you sad, O my soul? Why have you become troubled within me? Hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my help and my God.

Prayer to Be Kept Safe

43 Stand by me, O God, and speak in my favor against a sinful nation. Save me from the lying and sinful man. ² For You are the God of my strength. Why have You turned away from me? Why do I have sorrow because those who hate me come against me with power?

³ Send out Your light and Your truth. Let them lead me. Let them bring me to Your holy hill and to the places where You live. ⁴ Then I will go to the altar of God, the God of my joy. And I will praise You with the harp, O God, my God.

⁵ Why are you sad, O my soul? Why have you become troubled within me? Hope in God, for I will praise Him again, my help and my God.

The Great New House of God

2 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the Word of the Lord came by Haggai the man of God, saying, ² “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, ruler of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the head religious leader, and to the rest of the people. Say to them, ³ ‘Who is left among you who saw this house of God as it was before in its greatness? And how does it look to you now? Is it anything like it was? ⁴ But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jehozadak, head religious leader. And be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the Lord. ‘Do the work, for I am with you,’ says the Lord of All. ⁵ ‘As I promised you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is with you. Do not be afraid.’ ⁶ For the Lord of All says, ‘Once again, in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. ⁷ I will shake all the nations so that the riches of all nations will come in. And I will fill this house with greatness,’ says the Lord of All. ⁸ ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of All. ⁹ ‘This house will be even greater than it was before,’ says the Lord of All. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of All.”

Words to the Church in Sardis

3 “Write this to the angel of the church in the city of Sardis: ‘The One Who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: I know what you are doing. I know people think you are alive, but you are dead. ² Wake up! Make stronger what you have before it dies. I have not found your work complete in God’s sight. ³ So remember what you have received and heard. Keep it. Be sorry for your sins and turn from them. If you will not wake up, I will come as a robber. You will not know at what time I will come. ⁴ But there are a few people in the church in the city of Sardis whose clothes are not dirty with sins. They will walk with Me wearing white clothes. They have done what they should. ⁵ Everyone who has power and wins will wear white clothes. I will not take his name from the book of life. I will speak of his name before My Father and His angels. ⁶ You have ears! Then listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Jesus Tells of the House of God ^(A)

24 Jesus went out of the house of God. On the way His followers came to Him to show Him the buildings of the house of God. ² Jesus said to them, “Do you see all these things? For sure, I tell you, all these stones will be thrown down. Not one will be left standing on another.”

Jesus Teaches on the Mount of Olives

³ Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. The followers came to Him when He was alone and said, “Tell us, when will this happen? What can we look for to show us of Your coming and of the end of the world?”

⁴ Jesus said to them, “Be careful that no one leads you the wrong way. ⁵ Many people will come using My name. They will say, ‘I am Christ.’ They will fool many people and will turn them to the wrong way. ⁶ You will hear of wars and lots of talk about wars, but do not be afraid. These things must happen, but it is not the end yet. ⁷ Nations will have wars with other nations. Countries will fight against countries. There will be no food for people. The earth will shake and break apart in different places. ⁸ These things are the beginning of sorrows and pains.

⁹ “Then they will hand you over to be hurt. They will kill you. You will be hated by all the world because of My name. ¹⁰ Many people will give up and turn away at this time. People will hand over each other. They will hate each other. ¹¹ Many false religious teachers will come. They will fool many people and will turn them to the wrong way. ¹² Because of people breaking the laws and sin being everywhere, the love in the hearts of many people will become cold. ¹³ But the one who stays true to the end will be saved.

¹⁴ “This Good News about the holy nation of God must be preached over all the earth. It must be told to all nations and then the end will come.