Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for Protection
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Of David.
61 God, hear my cry;
·listen [pay attention] to my prayer.
2 I call to you from the ends of the earth [C far from the Temple]
when ·I am afraid [L my heart grows faint].
·Carry [Lead] me away to ·a high mountain [L the rock that is higher than I am; C a place of refuge, perhaps referring to God as the rock; 18:2, 46; 19:14; 62:2].
3 You have been my ·protection [refuge],
like a strong tower against my enemies.
4 Let me ·live [sojourn] in your ·Holy Tent [L tent; C the sanctuary] forever.
Let me find ·safety [refuge] in the shelter of your wings [C an image of compassion, or perhaps referring to the cherubim whose wings cover the Ark of the Covenant; Ex. 25:20]. ·
5 God, you have heard my ·promises [vows].
You have given me what belongs to those who fear ·you [L your name].
6 ·Give the king a long life [L Add days to the days of the king];
let ·him live many years [L his years be forever and ever].
7 Let him ·rule [reign] in the presence of God forever.
Protect him with your ·love [loyalty] and ·truth [faithfulness].
8 Then I will ·praise [sing a psalm to] your name forever,
and every day I will ·keep my promises [fulfill my vows].
Trust Only in God
For the director of music. For Jeduthun [C a Levitical musician; 1 Chr. 16:41–42; 25:1, 6; 2 Chr. 5:12]. A psalm of David.
62 I ·find rest [wait quietly] in God;
only he can ·save me [give me victory].
2 He is my rock [61:2] and my ·salvation [victory].
He is my ·defender [fortress];
I will not be ·defeated [shaken].
3 How long will you ·attack [assault] someone?
Will all of you ·kill [murder] that person?
Who is like a leaning wall, like a fence ·ready to fall [that totters; C the wicked take advantage of the weak]?
4 They are planning to make that person ·fall [totter].
They enjoy telling lies.
With their mouths they bless,
but in their ·hearts [L innards] they curse. ·
5 I ·find rest [wait quietly] in God;
·only he gives me hope [L for my hope is in him].
6 He is my rock [61:2] and my ·salvation [victory].
He is my ·defender [fortress];
I will not be ·defeated [shaken].
7 My ·honor [glory] and ·salvation [victory] come from God.
He is my ·mighty [strong] rock and my ·protection [refuge].
8 People, ·trust [have confidence in] God all the time.
·Tell him all your problems [L Pour out your heart before him],
because God is our ·protection [refuge]. ·
9 The least of people are only a ·breath [vapor; bubble; vanity],
and even the greatest are just a ·lie [delusion].
On the scales, they ·weigh nothing [L go up];
together they are only a ·breath [vapor; bubble; vanity].
10 Do not ·trust [have confidence] in ·force [oppression; extortion].
Stealing is ·of no use [meaningless].
Even if you gain more riches,
don’t ·put your trust in [L set your heart on] them.
11 God has said this once,
and I have heard it ·over and over [L twice]:
God is strong.
12 The Lord is ·loving [loyal].
You ·reward [repay] people for what they have done [1 Pet. 1:17; Rev. 20:12–13; 22:12].
Honest People Are Blessed
112 Praise the Lord!
·Happy [Blessed] are those who ·respect [fear] the Lord [Prov. 1:7; 31:30],
who ·want [take great delight in] ·what he [L his] commands.
2 Their ·descendants [L seed] will be ·powerful [strong] in the land;
the ·children [generation] of ·honest [virtuous] people will be blessed.
3 Their houses will be full of wealth and riches,
and their ·goodness [righteousness] will ·continue [endure; L stand] forever.
4 A light shines in the dark for ·honest [virtuous] people,
for those who are ·merciful [gracious] and ·kind [compassionate] and ·good [merciful].
5 It is good to be ·merciful [gracious] and ·generous [to lend].
Those who ·are fair in their business [conduct their affairs justly]
6 will never be ·defeated [moved].
·Good [Righteous] people will always be remembered.
7 They ·won’t be afraid of [do not fear] ·bad news [to hear evil; Prov. 30:25];
their hearts are ·steady [steadfast; established; prepared] because they ·trust [have confidence in] the Lord.
8 They ·are confident [endure; are unshakeable; 111:8] and will not ·be afraid [fear];
they will look down on their ·enemies [foes].
9 They ·give freely [L distribute/scatter, they give] to the ·poor [needy].
·The things they do are right and [Their righteousness] will ·continue [endure] forever [2 Cor. 9:9].
·They will be given great honor [L Their horn is exalted in glory; C an animal’s horn symbolizes strength].
10 The wicked will see this and become angry;
they will ·grind [gnash] their teeth [C in anger] and then ·disappear [melt away].
The ·wishes [cravings; desires] of the wicked will ·come to nothing [perish].
The One True God
115 ·It does not belong [L Not to us, not] to us, Lord.
The glory belongs to ·you [L your name]
because of your ·love [loyalty] and ·loyalty [faithfulness].
2 Why do the nations ask,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven.
He does what he pleases.
4 Their idols are made of silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but they cannot speak.
They have eyes, but they cannot see.
6 They have ears, but they cannot hear.
They have noses, but they cannot smell.
7 They have hands, but they cannot feel.
They have feet, but they cannot walk.
No sounds come from their throats.
8 People who make ·idols [L them] ·will be [or are] like them,
and so will those who ·trust [have confidence in] them [135:15–18; Is. 44:9–20; 46:6–7; Jer. 10:1–9; Hab. 2:18–19].
9 ·Family of [L O] Israel, ·trust [have confidence in] the Lord;
he is your helper and your ·protection [L shield].
10 ·Family [L House] of Aaron [C the priests], ·trust [have confidence in] the Lord;
he is your helper and your ·protection [L shield].
11 You who ·respect [fear] the Lord [Prov. 1:7] should ·trust [have confidence in] him;
he is your helper and your ·protection [L shield].
12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us.
He will bless the ·family [L house] of Israel;
he will bless the ·family [L house] of Aaron [C the priests].
13 The Lord will bless those who ·respect [fear] him [Prov. 1:7],
from the ·smallest [or least] to the greatest.
14 May the Lord ·give you success [make you increase],
and may he give you and your children ·success [increase].
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
who made heaven and earth [Gen. 1].
16 Heaven belongs to the Lord,
but he gave the earth to people.
17 Dead people do not praise the Lord;
those ·in the grave are silent [L who go down in silence].
18 But we will praise the Lord
now and forever.
Praise the Lord!
A Happy Song
14 ·Sing [or Shout joyfully], Jerusalem.
Israel, shout ·for joy [out]!
·Jerusalem [L Daughter Jerusalem], be happy
and rejoice with all your heart.
15 The Lord has ·stopped punishing you [taken away your judgments];
he has ·sent [swept; cleared; turned] your enemies away.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is with you;
you will never again be afraid of ·being harmed [disaster; evil].
16 On that day Jerusalem will be told,
“Don’t be afraid, ·city of Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple].
Don’t ·give up [L let your hands grow weak/hang limp].
17 The Lord your God is ·with you [in your midst];
the mighty One will save you.
He will ·rejoice over you [take delight in you].
·You will rest [or He will quiet you; or He won’t rebuke you] in his love;
he will sing and be joyful about you.”
18 “I will take away the sadness ·planned for you [or over the loss of your appointed festivals],
which would have made you very ashamed.
19 At that time I will ·punish [L deal with]
all those who ·harmed [oppressed] you.
I will ·save my people who cannot walk [rescue the lame]
and gather ·my people who have been thrown out [the scattered; C perhaps shepherd imagery].
I will give them praise and ·honor [fame; renown]
in every place where they were shamed.
20 At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will ·bring you back home [gather you].
I will give you ·honor [fame; renown] and praise
·from people everywhere [L among all the peoples/nations of the earth]
when I ·make things go well again for you [restore your fortunes; or return your exiles],
·as you will see with your own [L before your] eyes,” says the Lord.
1 From Paul, a ·servant [slave; bondservant] of God and an ·apostle [messenger] of Jesus Christ. I was sent ·to help [or in the service of; or to bring about] the faith of God’s ·chosen people [elect] and to help them know the truth that ·shows people how to serve God [or leads to godliness/piety]. 2 That faith and that knowledge ·come from [or lead to] the ·hope for [confidence/certainty of] ·life forever [eternal life], which God, who never lies, promised to us before ·time began [L eternal times]. 3 At ·the right [the appointed; his own] time God ·let the world know about that life [L revealed/manifested his word/message] through preaching. He ·trusted [entrusted] me with that work by the command of God our Savior.
4 To Titus [2 Cor. 2:13; 7:6; 8:16; Gal. 2:1–3], my ·true [genuine] child in the faith we share:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Titus’ Work in Crete
5 I left you in Crete [C an island in the Mediterranean southeast of Greece] so you could ·finish doing [organize; straighten out] the things that still needed to be done and so you could appoint elders in every ·town [city], as I directed you. 6 An elder [1 Tim. 3:1–7] must ·not be guilty of doing wrong [be blameless], must ·have only one wife [or be faithful to his wife], and must have ·believing [or faithful] children. They must not be ·known as children who are [accused of being] ·wild [reckless] and ·do not cooperate [unruly; undisciplined; rebellious]. 7 As God’s ·managers [stewards], overseers [C probably the same church office as elder; 1 Tim. 3:1, 6, 7; 5:17] must be ·innocent of wrongdoing [blameless], ·unselfish [not arrogant/self-willed], not ·quick-tempered [easily angered]. They must not ·drink too much wine [be a drunkard], ·like to fight [be violent/a brawler], or ·try to get rich by cheating others [be greedy for gain/dishonest in business]. 8 Overseers must be ·ready to welcome guests [hospitable], love what is good, be ·wise [self-controlled; sensible], ·live right [upright; just], and be ·holy [devout] and ·self-controlled [disciplined]. 9 By holding ·on [firmly] to the ·trustworthy [faithful] ·word [message] just as it was taught to them, overseers can ·encourage [exhort] people with ·true [sound; healthy] teaching, and they can ·correct [reprove; refute] those who are against it.
10 There are many ·people who refuse to cooperate [unruly/rebellious people], who talk about ·worthless [empty; useless] things and ·lead others into the wrong way [deceive others]—·mainly [especially] those ·who insist on circumcision to be saved [or among the Jewish Christians; L of the circumcision]. 11 These people must be ·stopped [L silenced], because they are ·upsetting [misleading; ruining; overthrowing] whole families by teaching things they should not teach, which they do ·to get rich by cheating people [for dishonest gain]. 12 Even one of their own prophets said, “Cretans are always liars, evil ·animals [beasts], and lazy ·people who do nothing but eat [gluttons; C a quote from Epimenides, a poet from Crete (sixth century bc)].” 13 ·The words that prophet said are [L This testimony is] true. So ·firmly [severely; sharply] ·tell those people they are wrong [rebuke/admonish them] so they may become ·strong [sound; healthy] in the faith, 14 not ·accepting [paying attention to; wasting time with] Jewish ·false stories [myths; 1 Tim. 1:4; 4:7; 2 Tim. 4:4] and the commands of people who ·reject [turn their backs on] the truth. 15 To those who are pure, all things are pure, but to those who are ·full of sin [defiled; polluted (with sin)] and ·do not believe [unfaithful], nothing is pure. Both their minds and their consciences have been ·ruined [defiled; polluted]. 16 They ·say [claim; confess] they know God, but their actions show they ·do not accept [deny] him. They are ·hateful people [detestable; abominable], they refuse to obey, and they are ·useless [unfit; disqualified] for doing anything good.
Luke Writes About Jesus’ Life
1 Many have ·tried to report on [set out to compile an account/narrative of] the things that ·happened [have been fulfilled/accomplished] among us [John 20:31; Acts 1:1–3; 2 Pet. 1:16–19]. 2 They have written the same things that ·we learned from [L were handed down by] others—the ·people who saw those things [L eyewitnesses] from the beginning and ·served God by telling people his message [L were servants of the word; Acts 10:39–41; 1 John 1:1–3]. 3 Since I myself have ·studied [investigated; followed closely] everything carefully from the beginning, most excellent [C a designation for someone with high social or political status] Theophilus, it seemed ·good [fitting] for me to write it out for you. I arranged it ·in order [or in an orderly manner], 4 to help you know that what you have been taught is ·true [certain; reliable; John 20:31].
Zechariah and Elizabeth
5 During the time ·Herod ruled Judea [L of Herod, king of Judea], there was a priest named Zechariah who belonged to ·Abijah’s group [the priestly division/order of Abijah; C priests were divided into twenty-four divisions; 2 Chr. 31:2]. Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, came from the ·family [L daughters; C female descendants] of Aaron [C brother of Moses and first high priest of Israel; for a priest like Zechariah to marry a woman of priestly ancestry was a special blessing]. 6 [L Both] Zechariah and Elizabeth ·truly did what God said was good [L were righteous before God]. They ·did [followed; walked in] everything the Lord commanded and were ·without fault [blameless] in keeping his ·law [regulations; requirements]. 7 But they had no children, because Elizabeth ·could not have a baby [could not conceive; T was barren], and both of them were very old [Gen. 17:17; 18:11].
8 One day Zechariah was serving as a priest before God, because his ·group [order; division] was on duty. 9 According to the custom of the ·priests [L priesthood], he was chosen by lot [C similar to dice; used to determine God’s will] to go into the Temple of the Lord and burn incense [1 Chr. 6:49; Heb. 9:6]. 10 ·There were a great many people [L The whole multitude of the people were] outside praying at the ·time [L hour] the incense was offered. 11 Then an angel ·of [sent by] the Lord appeared to Zechariah, standing on the right side of the incense ·table [altar]. 12 When he saw the angel, Zechariah was ·startled [shaken] and frightened. 13 But the angel said to him, “Zechariah, don’t be afraid. God has heard your ·prayer [petition]. Your wife, Elizabeth, will ·give birth to [bear for you] a son, and you will name him John. 14 He will bring you joy and ·gladness [delight], and many people will ·be happy [rejoice] because of his birth. 15 [L For; Because] John will be a great man ·for [in the eyes of; L before] the Lord. He will never drink wine or beer [C indicating he will be set apart to God for special service; Num. 6:3], and even ·from birth [or in his mother’s womb; 1:41, 44], he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. 16 He will help many ·people [L of the children] of Israel return to the Lord their God [1 Kin. 18:37]. 17 He will go before ·the Lord [L him] in [the] spirit and power ·like [of] Elijah. He will ·make peace between parents and [L turn the hearts of parents/fathers back to] their children and will bring those who are not obeying God back to the ·right way of thinking [or wisdom of the righteous], ·to make a people ready [L to prepare a people who are fit/ready] for the ·coming of the Lord [L Lord; Mal. 4:5–6].”
18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I know ·that what you say is true [L this]? [L For] I am an old man, and my wife is old, too [Gen. 17:17].”
19 The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel [C one of two named angels in Scripture (the other is Michael); Dan. 8:16; 9:21; 10:10–14]. I stand before God, who sent me to talk to you and to tell you this good news. 20 Now, ·listen [L look; T behold]! You will [L be silent and] not be able to speak until the day these things happen, because you did not believe ·what I told you [L my words]. ·But they will really happen [L …which will be fulfilled at their appointed time].”
21 Outside, the people were still waiting for Zechariah and were ·surprised that [wondering why] he was ·staying so long [delayed] in the Temple. 22 When Zechariah came outside, he could not speak to them, and they knew he had seen a vision in the Temple. He could only ·make signs [motion; gesture] to them and remained unable to speak. 23 When his ·time [period; L days] of service at the Temple was finished, he went home.
24 ·Later [L After these days], Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and ·did not go out of her house [went into seclusion; L hid herself; C the reason is unknown, perhaps for quiet worship or to avoid gawking neighbors] for five months. Elizabeth said, 25 “·Look what [This is what; L Thus] the Lord has done for me! He has [L watched over me and] taken away my disgrace among the people [C the Jewish people thought it was a disgrace for a woman not to have children; Gen. 30:23].”
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