Book of Common Prayer
The Prayer of a Sufferer[a]
38 O Lord, don't punish me in your anger!
2 You have wounded me with your arrows;
you have struck me down.
3 Because of your anger, I am in great pain;
my whole body is diseased because of my sins.
4 I am drowning in the flood of my sins;
they are a burden too heavy to bear.
5 Because I have been foolish,
my sores stink and rot.
6 I am bent over, I am crushed;
I mourn all day long.
7 I am burning with fever
and I am near death.
8 I am worn out and utterly crushed;
my heart is troubled, and I groan with pain.
9 O Lord, you know what I long for;
you hear all my groans.
10 My heart is pounding, my strength is gone,
and my eyes have lost their brightness.
11 My friends and neighbors will not come near me,
because of my sores;
even my family keeps away from me.
12 Those who want to kill me lay traps for me,
and those who want to hurt me threaten to ruin me;
they never stop plotting against me.
13 I am like the deaf and cannot hear,
like the dumb and cannot speak.
14 I am like those who do not answer,
because they cannot hear.
15 But I trust in you, O Lord;
and you, O Lord my God, will answer me.
16 Don't let my enemies gloat over my distress;
don't let them boast about my downfall!
17 I am about to fall
and am in constant pain.
18 I confess my sins;
they fill me with anxiety.
19 My enemies are healthy and strong;
there are many who hate me for no reason.
20 Those who pay back evil for good
are against me because I try to do right.
21 Do not abandon me, O Lord;
do not stay away, my God!
22 Help me now, O Lord my savior!
Determination to Obey the Law of the Lord
25 I lie defeated in the dust;
revive me, as you have promised.
26 I confessed all I have done, and you answered me;
teach me your ways.
27 Help me to understand your laws,
and I will meditate on your wonderful teachings.[a]
28 I am overcome by sorrow;
strengthen me, as you have promised.
29 Keep me from going the wrong way,
and in your goodness teach me your law.
30 I have chosen to be obedient;
I have paid attention to your judgments.
31 I have followed your instructions, Lord;
don't let me be put to shame.
32 I will eagerly obey your commands,
because you will give me more understanding.
A Prayer for Understanding
33 Teach me, Lord, the meaning of your laws,
and I will obey them at all times.
34 Explain your law to me, and I will obey it;
I will keep it with all my heart.
35 Keep me obedient to your commandments,
because in them I find happiness.
36 Give me the desire to obey your laws
rather than to get rich.
37 Keep me from paying attention to what is worthless;
be good to me, as you have promised.
38 Keep your promise to me, your servant—
the promise you make to those who obey you.
39 Save me from the insults I fear;
how wonderful are your judgments!
40 I want to obey your commands;
give me new life, for you are righteous.
Trusting the Law of the Lord
41 Show me how much you love me, Lord,
and save me according to your promise.
42 Then I can answer those who insult me
because I trust in your word.
43 Enable me to speak the truth at all times,
because my hope is in your judgments.
44 I will always obey your law,
forever and ever.
45 I will live in perfect freedom,
because I try to obey your teachings.
46 I will announce your commands to kings
and I will not be ashamed.
47 I find pleasure in obeying your commands,
because I love them.
48 I respect and love your commandments;
I will meditate on your instructions.
24 “I am the Lord, your savior;
I am the one who created you.
I am the Lord, the Creator of all things.
I alone stretched out the heavens;
when I made the earth, no one helped me.
25 (A)I make fools of fortunetellers
and frustrate the predictions of astrologers.
The words of the wise I refute
and show that their wisdom is foolishness.
26 But when my servant makes a prediction,
when I send a messenger to reveal my plans,
I make those plans and predictions come true.
I tell Jerusalem that people will live there again,
and the cities of Judah that they will be rebuilt.
Those cities will rise from the ruins.
27 With a word of command I dry up the ocean.
28 (B)I say to Cyrus, ‘You are the one who will rule for me;
you will do what I want you to do:
you will order that Jerusalem be rebuilt
and that the foundations of the Temple be laid.’”
The Lord Appoints Cyrus
45 The Lord has chosen Cyrus to be king.
He has appointed him to conquer nations;
he sends him to strip kings of their power;
the Lord will open the gates of cities for him.
To Cyrus the Lord says,
2 “I myself will prepare your way,
leveling mountains and hills.
I will break down bronze gates
and smash their iron bars.
3 I will give you treasures from dark, secret places;
then you will know that I am the Lord
and that the God of Israel has called you by name.
4 I appoint you to help my servant Israel,
the people that I have chosen.
I have given you great honor,
although you do not know me.
5 “I am the Lord; there is no other god.
I will give you the strength you need,
although you do not know me.
6 I do this so that everyone
from one end of the world to the other
may know that I am the Lord
and that there is no other god.
7 I create both light and darkness;
I bring both blessing and disaster.
I, the Lord, do all these things.
Living in the Light
5 Since you are God's dear children, you must try to be like him. 2 (A)Your life must be controlled by love, just as Christ loved us and gave his life for us as a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice that pleases God.
3 Since you are God's people, it is not right that any matters of sexual immorality or indecency or greed should even be mentioned among you. 4 Nor is it fitting for you to use language which is obscene, profane, or vulgar. Rather you should give thanks to God. 5 You may be sure that no one who is immoral, indecent, or greedy (for greed is a form of idolatry) will ever receive a share in the Kingdom of Christ and of God.
6 Do not let anyone deceive you with foolish words; it is because of these very things that God's anger will come upon those who do not obey him. 7 So have nothing at all to do with such people. 8 You yourselves used to be in the darkness, but since you have become the Lord's people, you are in the light. So you must live like people who belong to the light, 9 for it is the light[a] that brings a rich harvest of every kind of goodness, righteousness, and truth. 10 Try to learn what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the worthless things that people do, things that belong to the darkness. Instead, bring them out to the light. (12 It is really too shameful even to talk about the things they do in secret.) 13 And when all things are brought out to the light, then their true nature is clearly revealed; 14 for anything that is clearly revealed becomes light.[b] That is why it is said,
“Wake up, sleeper,
and rise from death,
and Christ will shine on you.”
The Parable of the Sower(A)
4 (B)Again Jesus began to teach beside Lake Galilee. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it. The boat was out in the water, and the crowd stood on the shore at the water's edge. 2 He used parables to teach them many things, saying to them:
3 “Listen! Once there was a man who went out to sow grain. 4 As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some of it fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The seeds soon sprouted, because the soil wasn't deep. 6 Then, when the sun came up, it burned the young plants; and because the roots had not grown deep enough, the plants soon dried up. 7 Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up and choked the plants, and they didn't bear grain. 8 But some seeds fell in good soil, and the plants sprouted, grew, and bore grain: some had thirty grains, others sixty, and others one hundred.”
9 And Jesus concluded, “Listen, then, if you have ears!”
The Purpose of the Parables(C)
10 When Jesus was alone, some of those who had heard him came to him with the twelve disciples and asked him to explain the parables. 11 “You have been given the secret of the Kingdom of God,” Jesus answered. “But the others, who are on the outside, hear all things by means of parables, 12 (D)so that,
‘They may look and look,
yet not see;
they may listen and listen,
yet not understand.
For if they did, they would turn to God,
and he would forgive them.’”
Jesus Explains the Parable of the Sower(E)
13 Then Jesus asked them, “Don't you understand this parable? How, then, will you ever understand any parable? 14 The sower sows God's message. 15 Some people are like the seeds that fall along the path; as soon as they hear the message, Satan comes and takes it away. 16 Other people are like the seeds that fall on rocky ground. As soon as they hear the message, they receive it gladly. 17 But it does not sink deep into them, and they don't last long. So when trouble or persecution comes because of the message, they give up at once. 18 Other people are like the seeds sown among the thorn bushes. These are the ones who hear the message, 19 but the worries about this life, the love for riches, and all other kinds of desires crowd in and choke the message, and they don't bear fruit. 20 But other people are like seeds sown in good soil. They hear the message, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirty, some sixty, and some one hundred.”
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.