Book of Common Prayer
A Song of Praise[a]
40 I waited patiently for the Lord's help;
then he listened to me and heard my cry.
2 He pulled me out of a dangerous pit,
out of the deadly quicksand.
He set me safely on a rock
and made me secure.
3 He taught me to sing a new song,
a song of praise to our God.
Many who see this will take warning
and will put their trust in the Lord.
4 Happy are those who trust the Lord,
who do not turn to idols
or join those who worship false gods.
5 You have done many things for us, O Lord our God;
there is no one like you!
You have made many wonderful plans for us.
I could never speak of them all—
their number is so great!
6 (A)You do not want sacrifices and offerings;
you do not ask for animals burned whole on the altar
or for sacrifices to take away sins.
Instead, you have given me ears to hear you,
7 and so I answered, “Here I am;
your instructions for me are in the book of the Law.[b]
8 How I love to do your will, my God!
I keep your teaching in my heart.”
9 In the assembly of all your people, Lord,
I told the good news that you save us.
You know that I will never stop telling it.
10 I have not kept the news of salvation to myself;
I have always spoken of your faithfulness and help.
In the assembly of all your people I have not been silent
about your loyalty and constant love.
11 Lord, I know you will never stop being merciful to me.
Your love and loyalty will always keep me safe.
A Prayer for Help(B)
12 I am surrounded by many troubles—
too many to count!
My sins have caught up with me,
and I can no longer see;
they are more than the hairs of my head,
and I have lost my courage.
13 Save me, Lord! Help me now!
14 May those who try to kill me
be completely defeated and confused.
May those who are happy because of my troubles
be turned back and disgraced.
15 May those who make fun of me
be dismayed by their defeat.
16 May all who come to you
be glad and joyful.
May all who are thankful for your salvation
always say, “How great is the Lord!”
17 I am weak and poor, O Lord,
but you have not forgotten me.
You are my savior and my God—
hurry to my aid!
(A)A Prayer for Protection from Enemies[a]
54 Save me by your power, O God;
set me free by your might!
2 Hear my prayer, O God;
listen to my words!
3 Proud people are coming to attack me;
cruel people are trying to kill me—
those who do not care about God.
4 But God is my helper.
The Lord is my defender.
5 May God use their own evil to punish my enemies.
He will destroy them because he is faithful.
6 I will gladly offer you a sacrifice, O Lord;
I will give you thanks
because you are good.
7 You have rescued me from all my troubles,
and I have seen my enemies defeated.
(A)A Prayer for Forgiveness[a]
51 Be merciful to me, O God,
because of your constant love.
Because of your great mercy
wipe away my sins!
2 Wash away all my evil
and make me clean from my sin!
3 I recognize my faults;
I am always conscious of my sins.
4 (B)I have sinned against you—only against you—
and done what you consider evil.
So you are right in judging me;
you are justified in condemning me.
5 I have been evil from the day I was born;
from the time I was conceived, I have been sinful.
6 Sincerity and truth are what you require;
fill my mind with your wisdom.
7 Remove my sin, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear the sounds of joy and gladness;
and though you have crushed me and broken me,
I will be happy once again.
9 Close your eyes to my sins
and wipe out all my evil.
10 Create a pure heart in me, O God,
and put a new and loyal spirit in me.
11 Do not banish me from your presence;
do not take your holy spirit away from me.
12 Give me again the joy that comes from your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you.
13 Then I will teach sinners your commands,
and they will turn back to you.
14 Spare my life, O God, and save me,[b]
and I will gladly proclaim your righteousness.
15 Help me to speak, Lord,
and I will praise you.
16 You do not want sacrifices,
or I would offer them;
you are not pleased with burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice is a humble spirit, O God;
you will not reject a humble and repentant heart.
18 O God, be kind to Zion and help her;
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will be pleased with proper sacrifices
and with our burnt offerings;
and bulls will be sacrificed on your altar.
The Value of Wisdom
12 Wisdom shines bright and never grows dim; those who love her and look for her can easily find her. 13 She is quick to make herself known to anyone who desires her. 14 Get up early in the morning to find her, and you will have no problem; you will find her sitting at your door. 15 To fasten your attention on Wisdom is to gain perfect understanding. If you look for her, you will soon find peace of mind, 16 because she will be looking for those who are worthy of her, and she will find you wherever you are. She is kind and will be with you in your every thought.
17 Wisdom begins when you sincerely want to learn. To desire Wisdom is to love her; 18 to love her is to keep her laws; to keep her laws is to be certain of immortality; 19 immortality will bring you close to God. 20 This desire for Wisdom can prepare you to rule a kingdom. 21 So then, you that rule the nations, if you value your thrones and symbols of authority, honor Wisdom so that you may rule forever.
Solomon Wishes to Share His Wisdom
22 I will tell you what Wisdom is, and how she came to be. I will not keep anything secret. I will trace her history from the beginning and make knowledge of her open to all. I will not ignore any part of the truth. 23 No jealous desire to guard my own knowledge will make me hold back anything. Wisdom has nothing in common with such an attitude.
3 (A)You have been raised to life with Christ, so set your hearts on the things that are in heaven, where Christ sits on his throne at the right side of God. 2 Keep your minds fixed on things there, not on things here on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 Your real life is Christ and when he appears, then you too will appear with him and share his glory!
The Old Life and the New
5 You must put to death, then, the earthly desires at work in you, such as sexual immorality, indecency, lust, evil passions, and greed (for greed is a form of idolatry). 6 Because of such things God's anger will come upon those who do not obey him.[a] 7 At one time you yourselves used to live according to such desires, when your life was dominated by them.
8 But now you must get rid of all these things: anger, passion, and hateful feelings. No insults or obscene talk must ever come from your lips. 9 (B)Do not lie to one another, for you have put off the old self with its habits 10 (C)and have put on the new self. This is the new being which God, its Creator, is constantly renewing in his own image, in order to bring you to a full knowledge of himself. 11 As a result, there is no longer any distinction between Gentiles and Jews, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarians, savages, slaves, and free, but Christ is all, Christ is in all.
Jesus Heals a Roman Officer's Servant(A)
7 When Jesus had finished saying all these things to the people, he went to Capernaum. 2 A Roman officer there had a servant who was very dear to him; the man was sick and about to die. 3 When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his servant. 4 They came to Jesus and begged him earnestly, “This man really deserves your help. 5 He loves our people and he himself built a synagogue for us.”
6 So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the officer sent friends to tell him, “Sir, don't trouble yourself. I do not deserve to have you come into my house, 7 neither do I consider myself worthy to come to you in person. Just give the order, and my servant will get well. 8 I, too, am a man placed under the authority of superior officers, and I have soldiers under me. I order this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; I order that one, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and I order my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
9 Jesus was surprised when he heard this; he turned around and said to the crowd following him, “I tell you, I have never found faith like this, not even in Israel!”
10 The messengers went back to the officer's house and found his servant well.
Jesus Raises a Widow's Son
11 Soon afterward[a] Jesus went to a town named Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a large crowd. 12 Just as he arrived at the gate of the town, a funeral procession was coming out. The dead man was the only son of a woman who was a widow, and a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart was filled with pity for her, and he said to her, “Don't cry.” 14 Then he walked over and touched the coffin, and the men carrying it stopped. Jesus said, “Young man! Get up, I tell you!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16 They all were filled with fear and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us!” they said; “God has come to save his people!”
17 This news about Jesus went out through all the country and the surrounding territory.
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.