Book of Common Prayer
David wrote this special song for the music leader. Use stringed instruments when you sing it.
A prayer when a friend turns against you[a]
55 God, listen to my prayer.
Do not turn away
when I ask you to help me.
2 Listen carefully and answer me.
I am very upset because of all my troubles.
They are too many for me.
3 I am afraid because of what my enemies say.
Those wicked people give me much pain.
They are so angry that they hate me
and they give me nothing but trouble.
4 My heart beats fast inside me.
Death seems very near,
and I am very afraid.
5 I am shaking with fear!
My troubles are too much for me.
6 So I say, ‘If I had wings to fly like a dove,
I would fly away to a safe place.
7 Yes! I would go far away,
and I would live in the wilderness.
Selah.
8 I would go quickly to a safe place.
The strong winds and storms of my enemies
would not reach me there!’
9 My Lord, make my enemies confused!
Stop them from doing what they want to do.
Everywhere that I look in the city,
I see that they do cruel things to attack people.[b]
10 They walk on the city's walls
in the day and at night.
Inside the city they do evil things
that bring trouble everywhere.
11 They destroy everything!
In all the city's streets, they move freely.
They hurt people and they cheat them.
12 But it is not my enemies that have insulted me.
That would not have hurt me.
If my enemy laughs at me,
I can always hide from him!
13 But it is you, my best friend!
We did things as men together,
and I trusted you!
14 We enjoyed our time together.
We often went to God's temple,
and we joined with the crowd of people there.
15 Please let death suddenly destroy my enemies!
May they go down into their graves alive!
They are at home with evil,
and that is all that they think about.
16 But I will call to God for help.
The Lord will make me safe.
17 I will weep and cry to him,
morning, noon and night.
He will listen to what I say.
18 I have very many enemies
who attack me all the time.
But God will rescue me and keep me safe.
19 God has always ruled everything as king.
He will listen to me,
and he will punish my enemies.
Selah.
They refuse to change their thoughts,
and they do not respect God.
20 But my friend has turned against his own friends.
He has not been a true friend,
as he promised to be.
21 He speaks a message of peace,
but he is really thinking about war.
His words are easy to listen to,
but they hurt like sharp knives.
22 Take your problems to the Lord.
He will take care of you.
He will never let his own people fall.[c]
23 And as for wicked people,
you, God, will send them to their graves.
They will go down into the deep hole of death
while they are still young.
That is what will happen to those cruel people,
who kill and cheat others.
But I will trust in you, God.
David wrote this song.
Thank God for who he is
138 I will thank you, Lord, with my whole being.
I will sing and praise you in front of the gods.[a]
2 I look towards your holy temple,
and I bend down to worship you.
I thank you for who you are.
You love your people and they can always trust you.
You are more famous than anyone,
because you always do what you promise.
3 When I prayed to you, you answered me.
You made me brave and strong.
4 All the kings in the world will thank you, Lord,
when they hear the promises that you have made.
5 They will sing about the things that you have done,
because they see that you are great, Lord.
6 Yes, the Lord is high above the earth.
But he takes care of humble people.
He also knows what proud people are doing,
even if they try to hide.[b]
7 When there is danger all round me,
you help me to be strong.
When my enemy is angry, you fight against him.
You save me with your strong right hand.[c]
8 The Lord stands with me to do what he has promised.
Yes, Lord, your faithful love will always continue.
You have made us who we are,
so do not leave us now!
This is a song that David wrote.
It is for the music leader.
God understands me[d]
139 Lord, you look deep inside me,
and you know all about me.
2 You know when I sit down,
and you know when I get up.
Even when you are far away,
you understand what I am thinking about.
3 You see me when I go out,
and you see me when I stay at home.
You know everything that I do!
4 Yes Lord, before I open my mouth to speak,
you know what I will say.
5 You are all around me, in front of me and behind me.
You put your hand on me to help me.
6 You know so much about me, it is wonderful.
I cannot understand it.
My thoughts cannot reach as high as that!
7 Is there anywhere that I can go
to run away from your Spirit?
Anywhere that I go, you are already there!
8 If I go up to heaven,
you would be there.
If I dig deep down into the ground to reach Sheol,
you would be there too.
9 If I fly away to where the sun rises in the east,
or to the other side of the sea in the west,
you would be there.
10 You would use your hand to lead me.
Your strong right hand would keep me safe.
11 I might say, ‘I will hide myself in the dark,
and the light round me will change into night.’
12 But it is never too dark for you to see.
For you, the night has as much light as the day.
Darkness and light are the same to you!
13 You made every part of me.
You made me grow inside my mother before I was born.
14 I thank you for the wonderful way that you have made me.
Everything that you do is wonderful!
I know it is true.
15 While you caused me to grow in a secret place,
none of my body was hidden from you.
You made me deep in the earth.[e]
16 Your eyes watched me before I was born.
Before I had seen the light of day,
you decided how many days I would live!
You wrote it down in your book.
17 You have so many thoughts about me, God,
that I cannot understand them all.
18 They are too many for me to count,
more than the sand on the shore of the sea.
Even if I finished counting them,
you would still be there!
19 God, you should surely destroy the wicked people!
Yes, you murderers, leave me alone!
20 Those people say bad things against you, God.
Your enemies always tell lies.
21 Lord, I hate those people who hate you.
I have no time for those who turn against you.
22 Yes, I really hate them.
Your enemies are my enemies too.
23 Please God, look deep inside me.
See what is there in my thoughts.
9 The Lord Almighty says, ‘Be strong, you people who now hear these words from the mouths of the prophets. The prophets spoke the same words when you prepared the ground for the temple of the Lord Almighty. Now be strong and continue to build. 10 Before that time, there was not enough money to pay for work that men or animals did. No man was safe from the enemy because I made all men angry with each other.’
11 ‘But now it is different. I will not be angry with the few people that have returned,’ says the Lord Almighty.
12 ‘The seeds and the plants will grow well. The trees will give fruit. There will be water from the skies. I will bless the few people that will return. 13 In past years, people from other countries have said bad things against you, Judah and Israel. But now I will help you. You will bless many people. Do not be afraid. Be strong.’
14 The Lord Almighty says this: ‘When your parents and their parents made me angry, I decided to punish them.’ ‘I have also punished you,’ says the Lord Almighty. 15 ‘Do not be afraid. I have now decided to do good things to Jerusalem and to the people in Judah again. 16 These are the things that you should do. Speak true words to each other. Leaders, be fair to all people. 17 Do not think to do bad things against other people. Do not use my name to promise things and then not do those things. All these things make me very angry.’
The Lamb opens the seals
6 Then I watched while the Lamb opened one of the seven seals on the book. I heard one of the four beings say, ‘Come!’ It spoke very loudly with a voice like thunder. 2 I looked, and I saw a white horse. The person who was riding the horse held a bow. Someone gave him a crown. He had fought against many people and he had won. Now he rode out on his horse to win against many more people.
3 Then the Lamb opened the second seal. I heard another of the beings say, ‘Come!’ 4 Then another horse came out. This horse was bright red, like fire. The person who was riding the horse had authority. He could take peace away from the earth, so that people killed each other. Someone gave him a large sword.
5 Then the Lamb opened the third seal. I heard the next being say, ‘Come!’ I looked, and I saw a black horse. The person who was riding the horse held something in his hand. He used it to weigh things. 6 Then I heard a sound like somebody speaking among the four beings. The voice said, ‘A litre of wheat is worth one day's work. And three litres of barley is also worth one day's work. But do not destroy the olive oil and the wine.’[a]
7 Then the Lamb opened the fourth seal. I heard the last being say, ‘Come!’ 8 I looked, and I saw a grey horse.[b] The name of the person who was riding the horse was Death. The place for dead people, called Hades, was following near to him. They had authority to kill people in a quarter of the earth. They could kill people in different ways. They could kill them in wars. They could cause people to die because there was no food. They could cause people to become very ill so that they died. They could also cause wild animals to kill people.
9 Then the Lamb opened the fifth seal. I saw an altar where people offered gifts to God. I saw the souls of some of God's people under the altar. These people had died because they had believed God's message. They had continued to speak the true message about Jesus Christ. That is why people had killed them. 10 These believers called out loudly, ‘Lord, you have all authority. You are completely good. You always do what is right. When will you decide to judge the people who live on the earth? Do not wait! You should quickly punish the people who killed us!’
11 Then each believer received white clothes. God told them to wait for a short time more. They must wait until other believers on earth also died. These believers are also servants of God. God will wait until people kill those believers too. Then the number of them will be complete.
12 I watched again. I saw the Lamb open the sixth seal. Then the ground shook with a great earthquake. The sun became black like thick black cloth. The whole moon became red like blood. 13 The stars in the sky fell to the earth. They fell like fruits fall from a tree when a strong wind blows. 14 The sky divided into two parts. It rolled up like a piece of paper. Every mountain and every island moved away from its place.
15 Then everyone on the earth hid themselves. They went to the mountains and they hid among the rocks and in holes in the rocks. Everyone tried to hide, even the kings and the rulers. The soldiers' leaders, the rich people and other powerful people all went to hide. Everyone hid, whether they were slaves or free people. 16 They shouted to the mountains and to the rocks, ‘Fall on us and cover us. Hide us, so that the one who sits on the throne cannot see us. Also hide us from the Lamb who is very angry with us. 17 Their great day has come. They will punish us because they are so angry. Nobody will be able to escape.’
God judges everybody
31 Jesus said, ‘I, the Son of Man, will return one day. Then people will see that I am great and powerful. All God's angels will come with me. I will sit on my great seat as king. 32 People from all the countries in the world will come together in front of me. I will put them into two groups. I will do it in the same way that a shepherd puts his sheep and goats into two groups. 33 He puts the sheep on his right side and the goats on his left side.[a]
34 The king will say to those people who are on his right side, “Come here. My Father has been good to you. He has prepared a place for you in his kingdom. That kingdom has been ready for you since the time that God made the world. 35 I was hungry and you gave me some food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me some water to drink. I was visiting your town and you asked me to stay in your home. 36 I did not have enough clothes and you gave me some clothes to wear. I was ill and you took care of me. I was in prison and you came to visit me there.”
37 Then the people on the right side will say to the king, “Master, when did we see that you were hungry and give you some food? When did we see that you were thirsty and we gave you some water to drink? 38 When did we ask you to stay in our home because you were alone? When did we give you some clothes to wear? 39 When did we take care of you because you were ill? When did we come to visit you in prison?”
40 The king will answer them, “I tell you this: You did all these things to help other people. They were not important people, but they were my friends. When you helped them, then you also helped me.”
41 Then the king will say to those people who are at his left side, “Go away from me. God has decided to punish you. He has prepared a fire that will burn for ever. He has prepared it for Satan and his servants. You will also go into that fire. 42 I was hungry but you did not give me any food to eat. I was thirsty but you did not give me anything to drink. 43 I visited your town but you did not ask me to stay in your home. I did not have enough clothes but you did not give me anything to wear. I was ill but you did not take care of me. I was in prison but you did not come to visit me.”
44 Then these other people will say, “Master, when did we see you and you were hungry, or you were thirsty? When did we see you alone or without clothes? When did we see you and you were ill, or in prison? When did you need our help and we did not help you?”
45 Then the king will reply, “I tell you this: You did not help people who are my friends. They were not important people. But when you did not help them, you also did not help me.”
46 Then those people on the king's left side will go away to the place where God will punish them for ever. But the good people on the king's right side will live for ever with God.’
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