Book of Common Prayer
To the director: With flutes.[a] A song of David.
5 Lord, listen to me
and understand what I am trying to say.
2 My God and King,
listen to my prayer.
3 Every morning, Lord, I lay my gifts before you
and look to you for help.
And every morning you hear my prayers.
4 God, you don’t want evil people near you.
They cannot stay in your presence.[b]
5 Fools[c] cannot come near you.
You hate those who do evil.
6 You destroy those who tell lies.
Lord, you hate those who make secret plans to hurt others.
7 But by your great mercy, I can enter your house.
I can worship in your holy Temple with fear and respect for you.
8 Lord, show me your right way of living,
and make it easy for me to follow.
People are looking for my weaknesses,
so show me how you want me to live.
9 My enemies never tell the truth.
They only want to destroy people.
Their words come from mouths that are like open graves.
They use their lying tongues to deceive others.[d]
10 Punish them, God!
Let them be caught in their own traps.
They have turned against you,
so punish them for their many crimes.
11 But let those who trust in you be happy forever.
Protect and strengthen those who love your name.
12 Lord, when you bless good people,
you surround them with your love, like a large shield that protects them.
To the director: With stringed instruments, on the sheminith. A song of David.
6 Lord, don’t punish me.
Don’t correct me when you are so angry.
2 Lord, be kind to me.
I am sick and weak.
Heal me, Lord!
My bones are shaking.
3 I am trembling all over.
Lord, how long until you heal me?[e]
4 Lord, come back and make me strong again.
Save me because you are so loyal and kind.
5 If I am dead, I cannot sing about you.
Those in the grave don’t praise you.
6 Lord, I am so weak.
I cried to you all night.
My pillow is soaked;
my bed is dripping wet from my tears.
7 My enemies have caused me such sorrow
that my eyes are worn out from crying.
8 Go away, you wicked people,
because the Lord has heard my cries.
9 The Lord has heard my request for mercy.
The Lord has accepted my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be filled with fear and shame.
They will be sorry when disgrace suddenly comes upon them.
10 Lord, why do you stay so far away?
Why do you hide from people in times of trouble?
2 The wicked are proud and make evil plans to hurt the poor,
who are caught in their traps and made to suffer.
3 Those greedy people brag about the things they want to get.
They curse the Lord and show that they hate him.
4 The wicked are too proud to ask God for help.
He does not fit into their plans.
5 They succeed in everything they do.
They don’t understand how you can judge them.
They make fun of all their enemies.
6 They say to themselves, “Nothing bad will ever happen to us.
We will have our fun and never be punished.”
7 They are always cursing, lying,
and planning evil things to do.
8 They hide just outside the villages,
waiting to kill innocent people,
always looking for any helpless person they can hurt.
9 They are like lions hiding in the bushes
to catch weak and helpless animals.
They lay their traps for the poor,
who are caught in their nets.
10 Again and again they hurt people
who are already weak and suffering.
11 They say to themselves, “God has forgotten about us.
He is not watching.
He will never see what we are doing.”
12 Lord, get up and do something.
Punish those who are wicked, God.
Don’t forget those who are poor and helpless.
13 The wicked turn against God
because they think he will not punish them.
14 But, Lord, you do see the pain and suffering they cause.
You see it, so punish them.
Those who were left helpless put their trust in you.
After all, you are the one who cares for orphans.
15 Break the arms of those who are wicked and evil.
Punish them for the evil they have done,
and stop them from doing any more.
16 Lord, you are King forever and ever,
so I know you will remove the wicked nations from your land.
17 Lord, you have heard what the poor want.
Listen to their prayers, and do what they ask.
18 Protect the orphans and those who have been hurt.
Don’t let powerful people drive us from our land!
To the director: A song of David.
11 I trust in the Lord, so why did you tell me to run and hide?
Why did you say, “Fly like a bird to your mountain?”
2 Like hunters, the wicked hide in the dark.
They get their bows ready and aim their arrows.
They shoot at good, honest people.
3 What would good people do
if the wicked destroyed all that is good?[a]
4 The Lord is in his holy temple.
The Lord sits on his throne in heaven.
He sees everything that happens.
He watches people closely.
5 The Lord examines those who are good and those who are wicked;
he hates those who enjoy hurting others.
6 He will make hot coals and burning sulfur fall like rain on the wicked.
They will get nothing but a hot, burning wind.
7 The Lord always does what is right, and he loves seeing people do right.
Those who live good lives will be with him.[b]
15 “On the day the Lord spoke to you from the fire at Mount Horeb, you did not see him—there was no shape for God. 16 So be careful! Don’t sin and destroy yourselves by making false gods or statues in the shape of any living thing. Don’t make an idol that looks like a man or a woman, 17 or like an animal on the earth, or like a bird that flies in the sky. 18 And don’t make an idol that looks like anything that crawls on the ground or like a fish in the sea. 19 And be careful when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon, and the stars—all the many things in the sky. Be careful that you are not tempted to worship and serve them. The Lord your God lets the other people in the world do this. 20 But the Lord brought you out of Egypt to make you his own special people. He saved you from Egypt. It was as if he pulled you from a hot furnace.[a] And now you are his people.
21 “The Lord was angry with me because of you. He swore that I could not go across the Jordan River into the good land that the Lord your God is giving you. 22 So I must die here in this land. I cannot go across the Jordan River, but you will soon go across it and take that good land and live there. 23 You must be careful not to forget the agreement that the Lord your God made with you. You must obey the Lord’s command. Don’t make any idols in any form, 24 because the Lord your God hates for his people to worship other gods. And he can be like a fire that destroys!
Paul and the False Apostles
11 I wish you would be patient with me even when I am a little foolish. But you are already patient with me. 2 I am jealous for you with a jealousy that comes from God. I promised to give you to Christ. He must be your only husband. I want to give you to Christ to be his pure bride.[a] 3 But I am afraid that your minds will be led away from your true and pure following of Christ. This could happen just as Eve was tricked by that snake with his clever lies. 4 You seem to be quite patient with anyone who comes to you and tells you about a Jesus that is different from the Jesus we told you about. You seem very willing to accept a spirit or a message that is different from the Spirit and message that you received from us.
5 I don’t think that those “super apostles” are any better than I am. 6 It is true that I am not a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have shown this to you clearly in every way.
7 I did the work of telling God’s Good News to you without pay. I humbled myself to make you important. Do you think that was wrong? 8 I accepted pay from other churches. I took their money so that I could serve you. 9 If I needed something when I was with you, I did not trouble any of you. The brothers who came from Macedonia gave me all that I needed. I did not allow myself to be a burden to you in any way. And I will never be a burden to you. 10 No one there in Achaia will stop me from boasting about that. I say this with the truth of Christ in me. 11 And why do I not burden you? Do you think it is because I don’t love you? God knows that I love you.
12 And I will continue doing what I am doing now, because I want to stop those people from having a reason to boast. They would like to say that the work they boast about is the same as ours. 13 They are false apostles, lying workers. They only pretend to be apostles of Christ. 14 That does not surprise us, because even Satan changes himself to look like an angel of light.[b] 15 So it does not surprise us if Satan’s servants make themselves look like servants who work for what is right. But in the end those people will get the punishment they deserve.
Paul Tells About His Sufferings
16 I tell you again: No one should think that I am a fool. But if you think I am a fool, then accept me as you would accept a fool. Then I can boast a little too. 17 But I am not talking the way the Lord would talk. I am boasting like a fool. 18 Others are boasting about their lives in the world. So I will boast too. 19 You are wise, so you will gladly be patient with fools! 20 I say this because you are even patient with someone who forces you to do things and uses you. You are patient with those who trick you, or think they are better than you, or hit you in the face! 21 I am ashamed to say it, but we were too “weak” to do such things to you.
But if anyone dares to boast, I will too. (I am talking like a fool.)
Jesus Teaches About Fasting
16 “When you fast, don’t make yourselves look sad like the hypocrites. They put a look of suffering on their faces so that people will see they are fasting. The truth is, that’s all the reward they will get. 17 So when you fast, wash your face and make yourself look nice. 18 Then no one will know you are fasting, except your Father, who is with you even in private. He can see what is done in private, and he will reward you.
You Cannot Serve Two Masters(A)
19 “Don’t save treasures for yourselves here on earth. Moths and rust will destroy them. And thieves can break into your house and steal them. 20 Instead, save your treasures in heaven, where they cannot be destroyed by moths or rust and where thieves cannot break in and steal them. 21 Your heart will be where your treasure is.
22 “The only source of light for the body is the eye. If you look at people and want to help them, you will be full of light. 23 But if you look at people in a selfish way, you will be full of darkness. And if the only light you have is really darkness, you have the worst kind of darkness.[a]
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International