Book of Common Prayer
The Prayer of a Good Person[a]
26 Declare me innocent, O Lord,
because I do what is right
and trust you completely.
2 Examine me and test me, Lord;
judge my desires and thoughts.
3 Your constant love is my guide;
your faithfulness always leads me.[b]
4 I do not keep company with worthless people;
I have nothing to do with hypocrites.
5 I hate the company of the evil
and avoid the wicked.
6 Lord, I wash my hands to show that I am innocent
and march in worship around your altar.
7 I sing a hymn of thanksgiving
and tell of all your wonderful deeds.
8 I love the house where you live, O Lord,
the place where your glory dwells.
9 Do not destroy me with the sinners;
spare me from the fate of murderers—
10 those who do evil all the time
and are always ready to take bribes.
11 As for me, I do what is right;
be merciful to me and save me!
12 I am safe from all dangers;
in the assembly of his people I praise the Lord.
A Prayer for Help[a]
28 O Lord, my defender, I call to you.
Listen to my cry!
If you do not answer me,
I will be among those who go down to the world of the dead.
2 Hear me when I cry to you for help,
when I lift my hands toward your holy Temple.
3 Do not condemn me with the wicked,
with those who do evil—
those whose words are friendly,
but who have hatred in their hearts.
4 (A)Punish them for what they have done,
for the evil they have committed.
Punish them for all their deeds;
give them what they deserve!
5 They take no notice of what the Lord has done
or of what he has made;
so he will punish them
and destroy them forever.
6 Give praise to the Lord;
he has heard my cry for help.
7 The Lord protects and defends me;
I trust in him.
He gives me help and makes me glad;
I praise him with joyful songs.
8 The Lord protects his people;
he defends and saves his chosen king.
9 Save your people, Lord,
and bless those who are yours.
Be their shepherd,
and take care of them forever.
Human Wickedness[a]
36 (A)Sin speaks to the wicked deep in their hearts;
they reject God and do not have reverence for him.
2 Because they think so highly of themselves,
they think that God will not discover their sin and condemn it.
3 Their speech is wicked and full of lies;
they no longer do what is wise and good.
4 They make evil plans as they lie in bed;
nothing they do is good,
and they never reject anything evil.
The Goodness of God
5 Lord, your constant love reaches the heavens;
your faithfulness extends to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is towering like the mountains;
your justice is like the depths of the sea.
People and animals are in your care.
7 How precious, O God, is your constant love!
We find[b] protection under the shadow of your wings.
8 We feast on the abundant food you provide;
you let us drink from the river of your goodness.
9 You are the source of all life,
and because of your light we see the light.
10 Continue to love those who know you
and to do good to those who are righteous.
11 Do not let proud people attack me
or the wicked make me run away.
12 See where evil people have fallen.
There they lie, unable to rise.
The Confession of a Sufferer[a]
39 I said, “I will be careful about what I do
and will not let my tongue make me sin;
I will not say anything
while evil people are near.”
2 I kept quiet, not saying a word,
not even about anything good!
But my suffering only grew worse,
3 and I was overcome with anxiety.
The more I thought, the more troubled I became;
I could not keep from asking:
4 “Lord, how long will I live?
When will I die?
Tell me how soon my life will end.”
5 How short you have made my life!
In your sight my lifetime seems nothing.
Indeed every living being is no more than a puff of wind,
6 no more than a shadow.
All we do is for nothing;
we gather wealth, but don't know who will get it.
7 What, then, can I hope for, Lord?
I put my hope in you.
8 Save me from all my sins,
and don't let fools make fun of me.
9 I will keep quiet, I will not say a word,
for you are the one who made me suffer like this.
10 Don't punish me any more!
I am about to die from your blows.
11 You punish our sins by your rebukes,
and like a moth you destroy what we love.
Indeed we are no more than a puff of wind!
12 Hear my prayer, Lord,
and listen to my cry;
come to my aid when I weep.
Like all my ancestors
I am only your guest for a little while.
13 Leave me alone so that I may have some happiness
before I go away and am no more.
28 All this did happen to King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 Only twelve months later, while he was walking around on the roof of his royal palace in Babylon, 30 he said, “Look how great Babylon is! I built it as my capital city to display my power and might, my glory and majesty.”
31 Before the words were out of his mouth, a voice spoke from heaven, “King Nebuchadnezzar, listen to what I say! Your royal power is now taken away from you. 32 You will be driven away from human society, live with wild animals, and eat grass like an ox for seven years. Then you will acknowledge that the Supreme God has power over human kingdoms and that he can give them to anyone he chooses.”
33 The words came true immediately. Nebuchadnezzar was driven out of human society and ate grass like an ox. The dew fell on his body, and his hair grew as long as eagle feathers and his nails as long as bird claws.
Nebuchadnezzar Praises God
34 (A)“When the seven years had passed,” said the king, “I looked up at the sky, and my sanity returned. I praised the Supreme God and gave honor and glory to the one who lives forever.
“He will rule forever,
and his kingdom will last for all time.
35 He looks on the people of the earth as nothing;
angels in heaven and people on earth
are under his control.
No one can oppose his will
or question what he does.
36 “When my sanity returned, my honor, my majesty, and the glory of my kingdom were given back to me. My officials and my noblemen welcomed me, and I was given back my royal power with even greater honor than before.
37 “And now, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, honor, and glorify the King of Heaven. Everything he does is right and just, and he can humble anyone who acts proudly.”
God Is Love
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Whoever loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 And God showed his love for us by sending his only Son into the world, so that we might have life through him. 10 This is what love is: it is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven.
11 Dear friends, if this is how God loved us, then we should love one another. 12 (A)No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in union with us, and his love is made perfect in us.
13 We are sure that we live in union with God and that he lives in union with us, because he has given us his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and tell others that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If we declare that Jesus is the Son of God, we live in union with God and God lives in union with us. 16 And we ourselves know and believe the love which God has for us.
God is love, and those who live in love live in union with God and God lives in union with them. 17 Love is made perfect in us in order that we may have courage on the Judgment Day; and we will have it because our life in this world is the same as Christ's. 18 There is no fear in love; perfect love drives out all fear. So then, love has not been made perfect in anyone who is afraid, because fear has to do with punishment.
19 We love because God first loved us. 20 If we say we love God, but hate others, we are liars. For we cannot love God, whom we have not seen, if we do not love others, whom we have seen. 21 The command that Christ has given us is this: whoever loves God must love others also.
A Man with an Evil Spirit(A)
31 Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, where he taught the people on the Sabbath. 32 (B)They were all amazed at the way he taught, because he spoke with authority. 33 In the synagogue was a man who had the spirit of an evil demon in him; he screamed out in a loud voice, 34 “Ah! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Are you here to destroy us? I know who you are: you are God's holy messenger!”
35 Jesus ordered the spirit, “Be quiet and come out of the man!” The demon threw the man down in front of them and went out of him without doing him any harm.
36 The people were all amazed and said to one another, “What kind of words are these? With authority and power this man gives orders to the evil spirits, and they come out!” 37 And the report about Jesus spread everywhere in that region.
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.