Book of Common Prayer
A Cry for Help[a]
69 Save me, O God!
The water is up to my neck;
2 I am sinking in deep mud,
and there is no solid ground;
I am out in deep water,
and the waves are about to drown me.
3 I am worn out from calling for help,
and my throat is aching.
I have strained my eyes,
looking for your help.
4 (A)Those who hate me for no reason
are more numerous than the hairs of my head.
My enemies tell lies against me;
they are strong and want to kill me.
They made me give back things I did not steal.
5 My sins, O God, are not hidden from you;
you know how foolish I have been.
6 Don't let me bring shame on those who trust in you,
Sovereign Lord Almighty!
Don't let me bring disgrace to those who worship you,
O God of Israel!
7 It is for your sake that I have been insulted
and that I am covered with shame.
8 I am like a stranger to my relatives,
like a foreigner to my family.
9 (B)My devotion to your Temple burns in me like a fire;
the insults which are hurled at you fall on me.
10 I humble myself[b] by fasting,
and people insult me;
11 I dress myself in clothes of mourning,
and they laugh at me.
12 They talk about me in the streets,
and drunkards make up songs about me.
13 But as for me, I will pray to you, Lord;
answer me, God, at a time you choose.
Answer me because of your great love,
because you keep your promise to save.
14 Save me from sinking in the mud;
keep me safe from my enemies,
safe from the deep water.
15 Don't let the flood come over me;
don't let me drown in the depths
or sink into the grave.
16 Answer me, Lord, in the goodness of your constant love;
in your great compassion turn to me!
17 Don't hide yourself from your servant;
I am in great trouble—answer me now!
18 Come to me and save me;
rescue me from my enemies.
19 You know how I am insulted,
how I am disgraced and dishonored;
you see all my enemies.
20 Insults have broken my heart,
and I am in despair.
I had hoped for sympathy, but there was none;
for comfort, but I found none.
21 (C)When I was hungry, they gave me poison;
when I was thirsty, they offered me vinegar.
22 (D)May their banquets cause their ruin;
may their sacred feasts cause their downfall.
23 Strike them with blindness!
Make their backs always weak!
24 Pour out your anger on them;
let your indignation overtake them.
25 (E)May their camps be left deserted;
may no one be left alive in their tents.
26 They persecute those whom you have punished;
they talk about the sufferings of those you have wounded.
27 Keep a record of all their sins;
don't let them have any part in your salvation.
28 (F)May their names be erased from the book of the living;
may they not be included in the list of your people.
29 But I am in pain and despair;
lift me up, O God, and save me!
30 I will praise God with a song;
I will proclaim his greatness by giving him thanks.
31 This will please the Lord more than offering him cattle,
more than sacrificing a full-grown bull.
32 When the oppressed see this, they will be glad;
those who worship God will be encouraged.
33 The Lord listens to those in need
and does not forget his people in prison.
34 Praise God, O heaven and earth,
seas and all creatures in them.
35 He will save Jerusalem
and rebuild the towns of Judah.
His people will live there and possess the land;
36 the descendants of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love him will live there.
BOOK THREE(A)
The Justice of God[a]
73 God is indeed good to Israel,
to those who have pure hearts.
2 But I had nearly lost confidence;
my faith was almost gone
3 because I was jealous of the proud
when I saw that things go well for the wicked.
4 They do not suffer pain;
they are strong and healthy.
5 They do not suffer as other people do;
they do not have the troubles that others have.
6 And so they wear pride like a necklace
and violence like a robe;
7 their hearts pour out evil,[b]
and their minds are busy with wicked schemes.
8 They laugh at other people and speak of evil things;
they are proud and make plans to oppress others.
9 They speak evil of God in heaven
and give arrogant orders to everyone on earth,
10 so that even God's people turn to them
and eagerly believe whatever they say.[c]
11 They say, “God will not know;
the Most High will not find out.”
12 That is what the wicked are like.
They have plenty and are always getting more.
13 Is it for nothing, then, that I have kept myself pure
and have not committed sin?
14 O God, you have made me suffer all day long;
every morning you have punished me.
15 If I had said such things,
I would not be acting as one of your people.
16 I tried to think this problem through,
but it was too difficult for me
17 until I went into your Temple.
Then I understood what will happen to the wicked.
18 You will put them in slippery places
and make them fall to destruction!
19 They are instantly destroyed;
they go down to a horrible end.
20 They are like a dream that goes away in the morning;
when you rouse yourself, O Lord, they disappear.
21 When my thoughts were bitter
and my feelings were hurt,
22 I was as stupid as an animal;
I did not understand you.
23 Yet I always stay close to you,
and you hold me by the hand.
24 You guide me with your instruction
and at the end you will receive me with honor.
25 What else do I have in heaven but you?
Since I have you, what else could I want on earth?
26 My mind and my body may grow weak,
but God is my strength;
he is all I ever need.
27 Those who abandon you will certainly perish;
you will destroy those who are unfaithful to you.
28 But as for me, how wonderful to be near God,
to find protection with the Sovereign Lord
and to proclaim all that he has done!
God's People Will Include All Nations
56 The Lord says to his people, “Do what is just and right, for soon I will save you. 2 I will bless those who always observe the Sabbath and do not misuse it. I will bless those who do nothing evil.”
3 A foreigner who has joined the Lord's people should not say, “The Lord will not let me worship with his people.”
A man who has been castrated should never think that because he cannot have children, he can never be part of God's people. 4 (A)The Lord says to such a man, “If you honor me by observing the Sabbath and if you do what pleases me and faithfully keep my covenant, 5 then your name will be remembered in my Temple and among my people longer than if you had sons and daughters. You will never be forgotten.”
6 And the Lord says to those foreigners who become part of his people, who love him and serve him, who observe the Sabbath and faithfully keep his covenant: 7 (B)“I will bring you to Zion, my sacred hill,[a] give you joy in my house of prayer, and accept the sacrifices you offer on my altar. My Temple will be called a house of prayer for the people of all nations.”
8 The Sovereign Lord, who has brought his people Israel home from exile, has promised that he will bring still other people to join them.
The Spirit and Human Nature
16 What I say is this: let the Spirit direct your lives, and you will not satisfy the desires of the human nature. 17 (A)For what our human nature wants is opposed to what the Spirit wants, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to what our human nature wants. These two are enemies, and this means that you cannot do what you want to do. 18 If the Spirit leads you, then you are not subject to the Law.
19 What human nature does is quite plain. It shows itself in immoral, filthy, and indecent actions; 20 in worship of idols and witchcraft. People become enemies and they fight; they become jealous, angry, and ambitious. They separate into parties and groups; 21 they are envious, get drunk, have orgies, and do other things like these. I warn you now as I have before: those who do these things will not possess the Kingdom of God.
22 But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 humility, and self-control. There is no law against such things as these. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have put to death their human nature with all its passions and desires.
The Transfiguration(A)
2 (B)Six days later Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain, where they were alone. As they looked on, a change came over Jesus, 3 and his clothes became shining white—whiter than anyone in the world could wash them. 4 Then the three disciples saw Elijah and Moses talking with Jesus. 5 Peter spoke up and said to Jesus, “Teacher, how good it is that we are here! We will make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He and the others were so frightened that he did not know what to say.
7 (C)Then a cloud appeared and covered them with its shadow, and a voice came from the cloud, “This is my own dear Son—listen to him!” 8 They took a quick look around but did not see anyone else; only Jesus was with them.
9 As they came down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has risen from death.”
10 They obeyed his order, but among themselves they started discussing the matter, “What does this ‘rising from death’ mean?” 11 (D)And they asked Jesus, “Why do the teachers of the Law say that Elijah has to come first?”
12 (E)His answer was, “Elijah is indeed coming first in order to get everything ready. Yet why do the Scriptures say that the Son of Man will suffer much and be rejected? 13 I tell you, however, that Elijah has already come and that people treated him just as they pleased, as the Scriptures say about him.”
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.