Book of Common Prayer
The Word of God
ALEPH[a]
119 God has blessed people who always do what is right.
They obey the Lord's Law.
2 They agree to live by his rules.[b]
They love to pray to him.
God has blessed people like that.
3 Also, they do nothing that is wrong.
They live in a way that please the Lord.
4 You, Lord, have told us to obey your teaching carefully.
5 I want to be able to obey your laws all the time.
6 When I remember all your commands,
I will not be ashamed.
7 When I learn your good rules,
I will do what is right and I will thank you.
8 Yes, I will obey your laws.
Please do not turn away from me!
BETH
9 How can a young man live a clean life?
He must be careful to obey your message.
10 I bring all my thoughts to you.
Do not let me forget to obey your commands.
11 I always keep your message in my mind,
so that I do not do anything bad against you.
12 Lord, everyone should praise you!
Please teach me your laws.
13 You have taught us your rules.
I want to speak them aloud for others to hear.
14 Your rules give me a happy life.
When I obey them, it is better than being rich!
15 I want to think carefully about your teaching.
You have shown me the best way to live.
16 Your laws make me very happy.
I will not forget what you have taught me.
GIMEL
17 Please be kind to me, your servant.
Then I will live and I will obey your message.
18 Open my eyes wide!
Then I will see great things in your Law.
19 I live like a stranger here on the earth.
Please do not hide your commands from me.
20 I really want to obey your rules all the time.
I want that more than anything else.
21 You warn people who are proud.
If they turn away from your commands,
you will surely punish them.
22 I obey your rules.
So do not let people insult me,
so that I become ashamed.
23 Rulers may think of ways to hurt me.
But I will think carefully about your rules.
24 Yes, your laws make me really happy.
They show me the right way to live.
This is a song that David wrote for the music leader.
A prayer for help
12 Lord, please help me!
All the good people have gone away!
No kind or faithful people remain.
2 Everybody tells lies to one another.
When they say nice things,
they do it to deceive their friends.
3 Lord, please shut their mouths!
When they deceive people or they boast,
stop them doing that!
4 They say:
‘Nobody can tell us what to do!
We will say what we like to get what we want!’
5 But the Lord says:
‘Now I will do something!
I know the cruel things that wicked people do to poor people.
When weak people cry with pain, I hear them.
So I will make them safe,
as they want me to do for them.’
6 The Lord's promises are true.
We can trust them,
because they are pure.
They are as pure as silver
that people have put in a hot fire seven times.[a]
7 Yes Lord, you will take care of the poor people.
You will always keep each one of them safe
from all those evil people.
8 But if people praise evil things,
then wicked people will boast more and more.
This is a song that David wrote for the music leader.
A prayer for help[b]
13 Lord, will you forget about me for ever?
When will you remember to come and help me?
2 My thoughts make me worry all the time.
How long must I continue to be sad?
How long will my enemies continue to win against me?
3 Lord, please listen to me!
I feel that I am nearly dead.
Please give me the strength to live!
4 If I die, my enemies will say,
‘We have won against him!’
My enemies will be very happy if I fall.
5 But I will trust you because of your faithful love.
Please make me safe,
so that I can be happy and thank you.
6 Yes, I will sing to praise the Lord,
because he will surely help me.
This is a song that David wrote for the music leader.
God rules the world
14 Only fools say to themselves, ‘There is no God.’
People like that do bad and evil things.
None of them do things that are good and right.
2 The Lord is looking down from heaven.
He looks at the people of the world,
to see if there are any wise people among them.
He looks to see if anyone wants to know God.
3 But everyone has turned away from God.
They have all become evil.
Not even one person does things that are right!
4 Will those evil people never learn?
They destroy my people,
as if they are eating a meal.
They never pray to the Lord.
5 Look at them! Now they are very afraid!
They see that God is with the people who obey him.
6 You wicked people tried to bring shame to poor people.
But the Lord keeps poor people safe.
7 The Lord is the one who can save Israel's people.
Please Lord, come now from your home in Zion!
When the Lord makes his people strong again,
Jacob's descendants will be happy!
Yes, Israel's people will shout with joy![c]
14 When it was time to eat a meal, Boaz said to Ruth, ‘Come here and eat with us. Take some bread and mix it with the wine.’ So Ruth sat down to eat with the workers. Boaz gave her some grain that someone had cooked. She ate all that she wanted, and she still had some with her.
15 After the meal, Ruth returned to work in the field. Boaz said to his workers, ‘Let her pick up grains anywhere, even near the heaps of barley that you have cut down. Do not chase her away. 16 You should also pull out some barley and drop it for her to pick up. Do not be angry with her.’
17 Ruth picked up grains in Boaz's field until evening. Then she hit the grains with a stick so that the seeds came out. The grains of barley that she took home filled a large basket.[a]
18 She carried the barley back to Naomi's home in the town. Naomi saw how much Ruth had picked up. Ruth also took the grains that she did not eat at the meal and she gave them to Naomi.
19 Naomi asked Ruth, ‘Where did you work today, to pick up all this barley? I want God to bless the man who was so kind to you.’ So Ruth told Naomi about the man whose field she had worked in. She said, ‘The man that I worked with today is called Boaz.’
20 Naomi said to Ruth, ‘He has been kind to us! He has thought about our husbands who have died and he has helped us who are still alive. I pray that the Lord will bless him in return. That man is our relative. He is one of our family-redeemers.’[b]
21 Then Ruth said, ‘Boaz even said to me, “Stay with my workers until they have finished the work in my fields.” ’
22 Naomi said to Ruth, ‘Yes, my daughter, it will be good for you to work beside the young women in his fields. You will be safe there, but the workers in another field might hurt you.’
23 So Ruth worked beside Boaz's women workers until they finished the harvest of barley and wheat. She continued to live with Naomi.
Leaders of the church
3 These words are true: ‘If you want to become a leader of God's people, it is an important work that you want to do.’ 2 For that reason, a leader of the church must live a life that everyone knows is good. He must be the husband of one wife. He must think seriously about how he lives and he must control himself well. He must be someone that people respect. He must be happy to have visitors in his home. He must be a good teacher. 3 He should not drink too much wine. He must not get angry quickly or quarrel with people. Instead he should be kind to people. He must not want lots of money. 4 He must take care of his own family. His children must obey him and respect him. 5 A man must know how to take care of his own family. If he cannot do that, he will not be able to take care of God's people in the church.
6 A leader of the church must not be someone who has believed in Christ for only a short time. Someone like that might boast that he is great and important. Then he would receive punishment, as the Devil did. 7 Also, people outside the church should agree that the leader is a good person. Then nobody can say anything bad against him. And so, he will not come under the Devil's power.[a]
Helpers in the church
8 In the same way, deacons must live good lives, so that people respect them. They must not be hypocrites. They must not drink too much wine. They must not want to get a lot of money for themselves. 9 They must completely believe the true message that God has shown us about Christ. They must be sure in their minds about it. 10 Before anyone becomes a deacon, you must first test their character. If they are good enough, then let them serve God as deacons.
11 Deacons' wives must live good lives, so that people respect them.[b] They must not say bad things against people. They must think carefully about how they live. People should know that they are honest in everything they do.
12 A deacon must be the husband of one wife. He must take care of his children and everyone who lives in his house. 13 If a deacon serves God's people well, then people will respect him as a good person. He will become strong to tell people about his faith in Christ Jesus.
14 I hope to come to visit you soon. But anyway, I want to write these things to you now. 15 Then, even if I cannot come to you soon, you will know how people in God's family should live. That family is the church of God, who lives for ever. God's family, the church, teaches God's true message and keeps it safe.
16 Yes, the message that God has shown us about Jesus Christ is very great. We all agree to this:
God showed him to us as a man.
God's Spirit showed that he always did what was right.
Angels saw him.
People taught his message in many countries of the world.
People in the world believed in him.
God took him up to be with himself in heaven.[c]
Jesus tells stories about seeds and yeast
18 Then Jesus said to them, ‘I will tell you a story about the kingdom of God and what it is like. 19 It is like a very small seed of the plant called mustard. A man took this seed and he planted it in his garden. The seed grew and it became a tree. It was so big that birds came and made their nests among its branches.’
20 Jesus then said, ‘Here is another example of what the kingdom of God is like. 21 It is like how yeast works. A woman took some of it and she mixed it into three large bowls of flour. Then the yeast went through all the flour so that it grew big.’
A story about a narrow door
22 Jesus was continuing his journey towards Jerusalem. On the way, he went through towns and villages. In each one, he taught the people. 23 One day, somebody asked him, ‘Sir, will God only save a small number of people?’
24 Jesus said to the people there, ‘Do your best to go in through the narrow door. I tell you that many people will want to get in there. But they will not be able to go through it. 25 Soon the master of the house will get up and he will shut the door. And then you may still be standing outside the door. You will knock and you will say, “Master, please open the door for us to come in.”
But the master will reply, “I do not know you. I do not know where you come from.” 26 Then you will begin to say, “But Master, we had meals with you. You taught us in the streets of our villages.”
27 But he will tell you, “No! I really do not know you. I do not know where you come from. You have done very bad things, so go away from me, all of you!”
28 Then you will weep very much because you are standing outside. You will bite your teeth together.[a] You will see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the place where God rules. You will also see all God's prophets there. But God will shut you outside. 29 At that time, people will come from everywhere in the world, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. They will all come to take their place in the kingdom of God. There they will sit down together to eat a great meal. 30 Listen! At that time, some people that are not important now will become the most important. And some people that are now the most important will not be important then.’
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