Book of Common Prayer
(A psalm by David for the music leader.)
A Prayer for Victory
1 I pray that the Lord
will listen when you
are in trouble,
and that the God of Jacob
will keep you safe.
2 May the Lord send help
from his temple
and come to your rescue
from Mount Zion.
3 May he remember your gifts
and be pleased
with what you bring.
4 May God do what you want most
and let all go well for you.
5 Then you will win victories,
and we will celebrate,
while raising our banners
in the name of our God.
May the Lord answer
all your prayers!
6 I am certain, Lord,
that you will help
your chosen king.
You will answer my prayers
from your holy place
in heaven,
and you will save me
with your mighty arm.
7 Some people trust the power
of chariots or horses,
but we trust you, Lord God.
8 Others will stumble and fall,
but we will be strong
and stand firm.
9 Give the king victory, Lord,
and answer our prayers.[a]
(A psalm by David for the music leader.)
Thanking the Lord for Victory
1 Our Lord, your mighty power
makes the king glad,
and he celebrates victories
that you have given him.
2 You did what he wanted most
and never told him “No.”
3 You truly blessed the king,
and you placed on him
a crown of finest gold.
4 He asked to live a long time,
and you promised him life
that never ends.
5 The king is highly honored.
You have let him win victories
that have made him famous.
6 You have given him blessings
that will last forever,
and you have made him glad
by being so near to him.
7 Lord Most High,
the king trusts you,
and your kindness
keeps him from defeat.
8 With your mighty arm, Lord,
you will strike down all
of your hateful enemies.
9 They will be destroyed by fire
once you are here,
and because of your anger,
flames will swallow them.
10 You will wipe their families
from the earth,
and they will disappear.
11 All their plans to harm you
will come to nothing.
12 You will make them run away
by shooting your arrows
at their faces.
13 Show your strength, Lord,
so that we may sing
and praise your power.
(A psalm by David.)
The Lord Gives Victory
1 (A) The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right side,[a]
until I make your enemies
into a footstool for you.”
2 The Lord will let your power
reach out from Zion,
and you will rule
over your enemies.
3 Your glorious power
will be seen on the day
you begin to rule.
You will wear the sacred robes
and shine like the morning sun
in all of your strength.[b]
4 (B) The Lord has made a promise
that will never be broken:
“You will be a priest forever,
just like Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is at your right side,
and when he gets angry
he will crush
the other kings.
6 He will judge the nations
and crack their skulls,
leaving piles of dead bodies
all over the earth.
7 He will drink from any stream
that he chooses, while winning
victory after victory.[c]
When the Lord Saves You from Death
1 I love you, Lord!
You answered my prayers.
2 You paid attention to me,
and so I will pray to you
as long as I live.
3 Death attacked from all sides,
and I was captured
by its painful chains.
But when I was really hurting,
4 I prayed and said, “Lord,
please don't let me die!”
5 You are kind, Lord,
so good and merciful.
6 You protect ordinary people,
and when I was helpless,
you saved me
7 and treated me so kindly
that I don't need
to worry anymore.
8 You, Lord, have saved
my life from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling.
9 Now I will walk at your side
in this land of the living.
10 (A) I was faithful to you
when I was suffering,
11 though in my confusion I said,
“I can't trust anyone!”
12 What must I give you, Lord,
for being so good to me?
13 I will pour out an offering
of wine to you,
and I will pray in your name
because you
have saved me.
14 I will keep my promise to you
when your people meet.
15 You are deeply concerned
when one of your loyal people
faces death.
16 I worship you, Lord,
just as my mother did,
and you have rescued me
from the chains of death.
17 I will offer you a sacrifice
to show how grateful I am,
and I will pray.
18 I will keep my promise to you
when your people
19 gather at your temple
in Jerusalem.
Shout praises to the Lord!
Come Praise the Lord
1 (B) All of you nations,
come praise the Lord!
Let everyone praise him.
2 God's love for us is wonderful;
his faithfulness never ends.
Shout praises to the Lord!
22 (A) When we were gathered at the mountain, the Lord spoke to us in a loud voice from the dark fiery cloud. The Lord gave us these commands, and only these. Then he wrote them on two flat stones and gave them to me.
The People Were Afraid
(Exodus 20.18-21)
Moses said to Israel:
23 When fire blazed from the mountain, and you heard the voice coming from the darkness, your tribal leaders came to me 24 and said:
Today the Lord our God has shown us how powerful and glorious he is. He spoke to us from the fire, and we learned that people can live, even though God speaks to them. 25 But we don't want to take a chance on being killed by that terrible fire, and if we keep on hearing the Lord's voice, we will die. 26 Has anyone else ever heard the only true God speaking from fire, as we have? And even if they have, would they live to tell about it? 27 Moses, go up close and listen to the Lord. Then come back and tell us, and we will do everything he says.
28 The Lord heard you and said:
Moses, I heard what the people said to you, and I approve. 29 I wish they would always worship me with fear and trembling and be this willing to obey me! Then they and their children would always enjoy a successful life.
30 Now, tell them to return to their tents, 31 but you come back here to me. After I tell you my laws and teachings, you will repeat them to the people, so they can obey these laws in the land I am giving them.
Moses said:
32 Israel, you must carefully obey the Lord's commands. 33 Follow them, because they make a path that will lead to a long successful life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
Final Warnings and Greetings
13 (A) I am on my way to visit you for the third time. And as the Scriptures say, “Any charges must be proved true by at least two or three witnesses.” 2 During my second visit I warned you that I would punish you and anyone else who doesn't stop sinning. I am far away from you now, but I give you the same warning. 3 This should prove to you that I am speaking for Christ. When he corrects you, he won't be weak. He will be powerful! 4 Although he was weak when he was nailed to the cross, he now lives by the power of God. We are weak, just as Christ was. But you will see that we will live by the power of God, just as Christ does.
5 Test yourselves and find out if you really are true to your faith. If you pass the test, you will discover that Christ is living in you. But if Christ isn't living in you, you have failed. 6 I hope you will discover we have not failed. 7 We pray you will stop doing evil things. We don't pray like this to make ourselves look good, but to get you to do right, even if we are failures.
8 All we can do is to follow the truth and not fight against it. 9 Even though we are weak, we are glad that you are strong, and we pray you will do even better. 10 I am writing these things to you before I arrive. This way I won't have to be hard on you when I use the authority the Lord has given me. I was given this authority, so I could help you and not destroy you.
11 Goodbye, my friends. Do better and pay attention to what I have said. Try to get along and live peacefully with each other.
Now I pray that God, who gives love and peace, will be with you. 12 Give each other a warm greeting. All God's people send their greetings.
13 I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will bless you and be kind to you! May God bless you with his love, and may the Holy Spirit join all your hearts together.
22 On the day of judgment many will call me their Lord. They will say, “We preached in your name, and in your name we forced out demons and worked many miracles.” 23 (A) But I will tell them, “I will have nothing to do with you! Get out of my sight, you evil people!”
Two Builders
(Luke 6.47-49)
24 Anyone who hears and obeys these teachings of mine is like a wise person who built a house on solid rock. 25 Rain poured down, rivers flooded, and winds beat against that house. But it was built on solid rock, and so it did not fall.
26 Anyone who hears my teachings and doesn't obey them is like a foolish person who built a house on sand. 27 Rain poured down, rivers flooded, and the winds blew and beat against that house. Finally, it fell with a crash.
28 (B) When Jesus finished speaking, the crowds were surprised at his teaching. 29 He taught them like someone with authority, and not like their teachers of the Law of Moses.
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