Book of Common Prayer

Asaph wrote this song for the music leader. He should use special music.

God judges people fairly

This psalm is a song that Asaph wrote for the music leader. Sing it with the music of stringed instruments.

God has great power

This is a song that David wrote.

God takes care of his people^[a]

This is a song that David wrote.

I trust God to keep me safe

²⁸ Rebekah quickly ran back home. She told her mother and her family about what had happened.

²⁹ Rebekah had a brother. His name was Laban. ³⁰ Laban saw the nose ring and the arm rings that Rebekah was wearing. Rebekah told him what the man had said to her. So Laban went out quickly to the well to meet the servant. He found him standing near the well, together with his camels. ³¹ Laban said to him, ‘The Lord has blessed you! You should not continue to stand out here. Come with me. I have prepared a room for you in my house. There is also a place for your camels.’

³² So Abraham's servant went with Laban to the house. They took the luggage off the camels. Someone brought grass and food for the camels. They also brought water so that Abraham's servant and his men could wash their feet. ³³ They prepared food for the servant but he said, ‘I will not eat yet. First I must tell you why I have come here.’ Laban said, ‘Please tell us.’

³⁴ So the servant said, ‘I am Abraham's servant. ³⁵ The Lord has blessed my master very much, so that he has become very rich. The Lord has given him sheep and cows, and silver and gold. He has also given him male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys. ³⁶ Sarah is my master's wife. She has given birth to a son for him, even when she was very old. My master has given his son everything that belongs to him. ³⁷ My master told me to make a serious promise to him. He said, “I live as a stranger among the Canaanite people. But you must not get a Canaanite woman to be a wife for my son. ³⁸ Instead, go to the land where my father lived and find a wife for my son from among my family there.”

⁴⁹ So tell me what you will say. If you will show true love to my master, then please say, “Yes.” But if not, then tell me. Then I will know what to do.’

⁵⁰ Laban and Bethuel replied, ‘We know that the Lord has caused all this to happen. So what we ourselves say is not important. ⁵¹ Here is Rebekah. Take her with you to become the wife of your master's son. That is what the Lord has shown to be right.’

¹² So be strong as servants of God! If your hands feel weak, lift them up! If your knees are not strong, stand up straight! ¹³ Walk straight in front of you, step by step! Your example will help other Christians to serve God well. People who cannot walk well will not become worse and fall down. Instead, their legs will become strong again.^[a]

We must not refuse to do what God says

¹⁴ Do everything that you can to live in peace with other people. Make yourself separate from bad things. Nobody will see the Lord unless their life is good and clean. ¹⁵ Remember that God is very kind. Nobody should refuse to let God help them. Make sure that nobody among you causes trouble so that people turn against God. A person who is angry against God is like poison. He spoils many other people's lives so that God does not accept them.

¹⁶ Make sure that nobody among you has sex in a wrong way. Be careful that nobody is careless about God's rules, like Esau was long ago.^[b] He gave away everything that he would have received as his father's first son. He gave it all away so that he could get only one meal. ¹⁷ As you know, after that, he still wanted to receive those good things from his father. He wanted his father to ask God to bless him. But his father refused to do that. Esau cried very much when he asked his father to give him those good things. But there was no way that Esau could change what he had done.

A picture of two mountains

¹⁸ You have come near to God. But you have not come to a place that you can touch, like Sinai mountain.^[c] That mountain burned with fire. But where the people stood, it was completely dark. They could not see at all. There was also a very strong wind and a storm. ¹⁹ There was the loud sound of a trumpet. There was a powerful voice that spoke to them. When the people heard that voice, they were very afraid. So they asked that the voice would not speak to them any more. ²⁰ They were very afraid of what God had told them. God had said, ‘If even an animal touches the mountain, you must kill it with stones.’ ²¹ Even Moses was very afraid when he saw God's great power. He said, ‘I am full of fear!’

²² But as believers in Christ, you have not come to God in that way. You have come to Mount Zion.^[d] You have come to the city of the true God who lives. You have come to the city of Jerusalem that is in heaven. There are many thousands of happy angels all together in that place. ²³ All God's people meet together there. They are like his most important sons. They belong in heaven because God has written down their names. You have come to God himself, who will judge all people. You have come to the place where the spirits of God's people are. Those people have become right with God. God has now finished his work in them. ²⁴ You have come to Jesus, who brought the new agreement from God to his people. In that agreement, the blood of Jesus' death makes us clean from our sins. It tells us that God has forgiven us. When Cain killed his brother Abel, Abel's blood brought God's punishment. So we see that Jesus' blood brought us something much better than that.^[e]

²⁵ So be careful! Always be ready to listen when God speaks. God used Moses as his servant on the earth to speak to Israel's people. When they refused to obey, God punished them. They could not get away. As for us, God speaks to us from heaven. So we will certainly not get away from God's punishment if we turn away from him. ²⁶ At Sinai mountain many years ago, God's voice caused the earth to shake. But now God has promised this: ‘Once again I will cause the earth to shake. But this time I will also cause heaven to shake.’ ²⁷ These words, ‘once again,’ show us that God will take away the things that he has made. All things on the earth that he causes to shake will finish. After that, everything that nobody can shake will continue to be there.^[f]

²⁸ But we are receiving a place where we will rule with God. We belong to God's kingdom, and nobody can ever shake that! So we should thank God. We should worship him in a way that makes him happy. He is great, and we should serve him well and respect him. ²⁹ Remember that our God is like a fire. He destroys everything that is not good.

¹⁴ In the middle of the time of the festival, Jesus went to the temple. He started to teach in the yard there. ¹⁵ The Jewish leaders were very surprised. They asked, ‘How does this man know so much? He has not learned in our schools.’ ¹⁶ Jesus answered, ‘What I teach does not come from me. No, it comes from the one who sent me. ¹⁷ Anyone who chooses to do what God wants will know about my teaching. They will know whether it comes from God, or whether it comes from my own thoughts. ¹⁸ A person who teaches his own ideas wants people to think that he himself is great. But I want to show that the one who sent me is great. A person like that is honest and there is nothing false in him. ¹⁹ Moses gave God's Law to you. But not one of you obeys that Law. Why are you trying to kill me?’

²⁰ The crowd answered, ‘You have a demon in you! Nobody is trying to kill you!’

²¹ Jesus replied, ‘I did one miracle on the day of rest, and all of you were surprised. ²² Moses gave you a law that you must circumcise your sons. Your ancestors taught that, even before Moses was born. So you will agree to circumcise a boy, even on the day of rest.^{[a] 23} You will do that so that you obey Moses' law. So you should not be angry with me because I made a man completely well on the day of rest. ²⁴ Do not quickly decide whether something is right or wrong just because of what you see. Instead, think about it carefully. Then you will judge in a right way.’

The people talk about whether Jesus is the Messiah

²⁵ Some of the people in Jerusalem began to say, ‘This is the man that our leaders want to kill. ²⁶ But look! He is speaking to the crowds, and the leaders are not saying anything against him! Perhaps they really think that he is the Messiah! ²⁷ But we know where this man came from. When the Messiah comes, nobody will know that. Nobody will know where he has come from.’

²⁸ Jesus was still teaching in the yard of the temple. He shouted, ‘Yes, you say that you know me. And you know where I came from. But I have not come because I myself decided to come. He who sent me is true. You do not know him. ²⁹ But I know him because I have come from him. He is the one who sent me.’ ³⁰ When they heard this, they tried to take hold of him. But nobody could put their hands on him, because it was not yet the right time. ³¹ But many people in the crowd believed in Jesus. They said, ‘This man has done so many miracles. Surely he is the Messiah! Nobody could do more miracles than he has done.’

³² The Pharisees heard what these people were saying quietly about Jesus. Then the leaders of the priests and the Pharisees sent some of their officers to take him away.

³³ Jesus said, ‘I will be with you for only a short time. Then I will return to the one who sent me. ³⁴ You will look for me, but you will not find me. You cannot go to the place where I will be.’ ³⁵ The Jewish leaders asked each other, ‘What is he trying to tell us? Where can he go so that we cannot find him? Perhaps he will go to our people who have gone away to live among the Greek people.^[b] Perhaps he will go to teach the Greek people. ³⁶ He said, “You will look for me, but you will not find me.” And he also said, “You cannot go to the place where I will be.” What does he mean?’