Book of Common Prayer
The Prayer of an Innocent Believer
Of David.
26 Lord, defend me because I have lived an innocent life.
I have trusted the Lord and never doubted.
2 Lord, try me and test me;
look closely into my heart and mind.
3 I see your love,
and I live by your truth.
4 I do not spend time with liars,
nor do I make friends with those who hide their sin.
5 I hate the company of evil people,
and I won’t sit with the wicked.
6 I wash my hands to show I am innocent,
and I come to your altar, Lord.
7 I raise my voice in praise
and tell of all the miracles you have done.
8 Lord, I love the Temple where you live,
where your glory is.
9 Do not kill me with those sinners
or take my life with those murderers.
10 Evil is in their hands,
and they do wrong for money.
11 But I have lived an innocent life,
so save me and have mercy on me.
12 I stand in a safe place.
Lord, I praise you in the great meeting.
A Prayer in Troubled Times
Of David.
28 Lord, my Rock, I call out to you for help.
Do not be deaf to me.
If you are silent,
I will be like those in the grave.
2 Hear the sound of my prayer,
when I cry out to you for help.
I raise my hands
toward your Most Holy Place.
3 Don’t drag me away with the wicked,
with those who do evil.
They say “Peace” to their neighbors,
but evil is in their hearts.
4 Pay them back for what they have done,
for their evil deeds.
Pay them back for what they have done;
give them their reward.
5 They don’t understand what the Lord has done
or what he has made.
So he will knock them down
and not lift them up.
6 Praise the Lord,
because he heard my prayer for help.
7 The Lord is my strength and shield.
I trust him, and he helps me.
I am very happy,
and I praise him with my song.
8 The Lord is powerful;
he gives victory to his chosen one.
9 Save your people
and bless those who are your own.
Be their shepherd and carry them forever.
Wicked People and a Good God
For the director of music. Of David, the servant of the Lord.
36 Sin speaks to the wicked in their hearts.
They have no fear of God.
2 They think too much of themselves
so they don’t see their sin and hate it.
3 Their words are wicked lies;
they are no longer wise or good.
4 At night they make evil plans;
what they do leads to nothing good.
They don’t refuse things that are evil.
5 Lord, your love reaches to the heavens,
your loyalty to the skies.
6 Your goodness is as high as the mountains.
Your justice is as deep as the great ocean.
Lord, you protect both people and animals.
7 God, your love is so precious!
You protect people in the shadow of your wings.
8 They eat the rich food in your house,
and you let them drink from your river of pleasure.
9 You are the giver of life.
Your light lets us enjoy life.
10 Continue to love those who know you
and to do good to those who are good.
11 Don’t let proud people attack me
and the wicked force me away.
12 Those who do evil have been defeated.
They are overwhelmed;
they cannot do evil any longer.
Life Is Short
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
39 I said, “I will be careful how I act
and will not sin by what I say.
I will be careful what I say
around wicked people.”
2 So I kept very quiet.
I didn’t even say anything good,
but I became even more upset.
3 I became very angry inside,
and as I thought about it, my anger burned.
So I spoke:
4 “Lord, tell me when the end will come
and how long I will live.
Let me know how long I have.
5 You have given me only a short life;
my lifetime is like nothing to you.
Everyone’s life is only a breath. Selah
6 People are like shadows moving about.
All their work is for nothing;
they collect things but don’t know who will get them.
7 “So, Lord, what hope do I have?
You are my hope.
8 Save me from all my sins.
Don’t let wicked fools make fun of me.
9 I am quiet; I do not open my mouth,
because you are the one who has done this.
10 Quit punishing me;
your beating is about to kill me.
11 You correct and punish people for their sins;
like a moth, you destroy what they love.
Everyone’s life is only a breath. Selah
12 “Lord, hear my prayer,
and listen to my cry.
Do not ignore my tears.
I am like a visitor with you.
Like my ancestors, I’m only here a short time.
13 Leave me alone so I can be happy
before I leave and am no more.”
Amaziah Speaks Against Amos
10 Amaziah, a priest at Bethel, sent this message to Jeroboam king of Israel: “Amos is making evil plans against you with the people of Israel. He has been speaking so much that this land can’t hold all his words. 11 This is what Amos has said:
‘Jeroboam will die by the sword,
and the people of Israel will be taken as captives
out of their own country.’”
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Seer, go back right now to Judah. Do your prophesying and earn your living there, 13 but don’t prophesy anymore here at Bethel. This is the king’s holy place, and it is the nation’s temple.”
14 Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I do not make my living as a prophet, nor am I a member of a group of prophets. I make my living as a shepherd, and I take care of sycamore trees. 15 But the Lord took me away from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16 So listen to the Lord’s word. You tell me,
‘Don’t prophesy against Israel,
and stop prophesying against the descendants of Isaac.’
17 “Because you have said this, the Lord says:
‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city,
and your sons and daughters will be killed with swords.
Other people will measure your land and divide it among themselves,
and you will die in a foreign country.
The people of Israel will definitely be taken
from their own land as captives.’”
9 I, John, am your brother. All of us share with Christ in suffering, in the kingdom, and in patience to continue. I was on the island of Patmos,[a] because I had preached the word of God and the message about Jesus. 10 On the Lord’s day I was in the Spirit, and I heard a loud voice behind me that sounded like a trumpet. 11 The voice said, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
12 I turned to see who was talking to me. When I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands 13 and someone among the lampstands who was “like a Son of Man.”[b] He was dressed in a long robe and had a gold band around his chest. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like flames of fire. 15 His feet were like bronze that glows hot in a furnace, and his voice was like the noise of flooding water. 16 He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp double-edged sword came out of his mouth. He looked like the sun shining at its brightest time.
The Most Important Command
34 When the Pharisees learned that the Sadducees could not argue with Jesus’ answers to them, the Pharisees met together. 35 One Pharisee, who was an expert on the law of Moses, asked Jesus this question to test him: 36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the most important?”
37 Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and most important command. 39 And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’[b] 40 All the law and the writings of the prophets depend on these two commands.”
Jesus Questions the Pharisees
41 While the Pharisees were together, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?”
They answered, “The Christ is the Son of David.”
43 Then Jesus said to them, “Then why did David call him ‘Lord’? David, speaking by the power of the Holy Spirit, said,
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit by me at my right side,
until I put your enemies under your control.”’ Psalm 110:1
45 David calls the Christ ‘Lord,’ so how can the Christ be his son?”
46 None of the Pharisees could answer Jesus’ question, and after that day no one was brave enough to ask him any more questions.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.