Book of Common Prayer
The Prayer of a Good Person[a]
26 Declare me innocent, O Lord,
because I do what is right
and trust you completely.
2 Examine me and test me, Lord;
judge my desires and thoughts.
3 Your constant love is my guide;
your faithfulness always leads me.[b]
4 I do not keep company with worthless people;
I have nothing to do with hypocrites.
5 I hate the company of the evil
and avoid the wicked.
6 Lord, I wash my hands to show that I am innocent
and march in worship around your altar.
7 I sing a hymn of thanksgiving
and tell of all your wonderful deeds.
8 I love the house where you live, O Lord,
the place where your glory dwells.
9 Do not destroy me with the sinners;
spare me from the fate of murderers—
10 those who do evil all the time
and are always ready to take bribes.
11 As for me, I do what is right;
be merciful to me and save me!
12 I am safe from all dangers;
in the assembly of his people I praise the Lord.
A Prayer for Help[a]
28 O Lord, my defender, I call to you.
Listen to my cry!
If you do not answer me,
I will be among those who go down to the world of the dead.
2 Hear me when I cry to you for help,
when I lift my hands toward your holy Temple.
3 Do not condemn me with the wicked,
with those who do evil—
those whose words are friendly,
but who have hatred in their hearts.
4 (A)Punish them for what they have done,
for the evil they have committed.
Punish them for all their deeds;
give them what they deserve!
5 They take no notice of what the Lord has done
or of what he has made;
so he will punish them
and destroy them forever.
6 Give praise to the Lord;
he has heard my cry for help.
7 The Lord protects and defends me;
I trust in him.
He gives me help and makes me glad;
I praise him with joyful songs.
8 The Lord protects his people;
he defends and saves his chosen king.
9 Save your people, Lord,
and bless those who are yours.
Be their shepherd,
and take care of them forever.
Human Wickedness[a]
36 (A)Sin speaks to the wicked deep in their hearts;
they reject God and do not have reverence for him.
2 Because they think so highly of themselves,
they think that God will not discover their sin and condemn it.
3 Their speech is wicked and full of lies;
they no longer do what is wise and good.
4 They make evil plans as they lie in bed;
nothing they do is good,
and they never reject anything evil.
The Goodness of God
5 Lord, your constant love reaches the heavens;
your faithfulness extends to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is towering like the mountains;
your justice is like the depths of the sea.
People and animals are in your care.
7 How precious, O God, is your constant love!
We find[b] protection under the shadow of your wings.
8 We feast on the abundant food you provide;
you let us drink from the river of your goodness.
9 You are the source of all life,
and because of your light we see the light.
10 Continue to love those who know you
and to do good to those who are righteous.
11 Do not let proud people attack me
or the wicked make me run away.
12 See where evil people have fallen.
There they lie, unable to rise.
The Confession of a Sufferer[a]
39 I said, “I will be careful about what I do
and will not let my tongue make me sin;
I will not say anything
while evil people are near.”
2 I kept quiet, not saying a word,
not even about anything good!
But my suffering only grew worse,
3 and I was overcome with anxiety.
The more I thought, the more troubled I became;
I could not keep from asking:
4 “Lord, how long will I live?
When will I die?
Tell me how soon my life will end.”
5 How short you have made my life!
In your sight my lifetime seems nothing.
Indeed every living being is no more than a puff of wind,
6 no more than a shadow.
All we do is for nothing;
we gather wealth, but don't know who will get it.
7 What, then, can I hope for, Lord?
I put my hope in you.
8 Save me from all my sins,
and don't let fools make fun of me.
9 I will keep quiet, I will not say a word,
for you are the one who made me suffer like this.
10 Don't punish me any more!
I am about to die from your blows.
11 You punish our sins by your rebukes,
and like a moth you destroy what we love.
Indeed we are no more than a puff of wind!
12 Hear my prayer, Lord,
and listen to my cry;
come to my aid when I weep.
Like all my ancestors
I am only your guest for a little while.
13 Leave me alone so that I may have some happiness
before I go away and am no more.
Warning against Idolatry
15 “When the Lord spoke to you from the fire on Mount Sinai, you did not see any form. For your own good, then, make certain 16 (A)that you do not sin by making for yourselves an idol in any form at all—whether man or woman, 17 (B)animal or bird, 18 reptile or fish. 19 Do not be tempted to worship and serve what you see in the sky—the sun, the moon, and the stars. The Lord your God has given these to all other peoples for them to worship. 20 (C)But you are the people he rescued from Egypt, that blazing furnace. He brought you out to make you his own people, as you are today. 21 (D)Because of you the Lord your God was angry with me and solemnly declared that I would not cross the Jordan River to enter the fertile land which he is giving you. 22 I will die in this land and never cross the river, but you are about to go across and occupy that fertile land. 23 Be certain that you do not forget the covenant that the Lord your God made with you. Obey his command not to make yourselves any kind of idol, 24 (E)because the Lord your God is like a flaming fire; he tolerates no rivals.
The Change in Paul's Plans
12 We are proud that our conscience assures us that our lives in this world, and especially our relations with you, have been ruled by God-given frankness[a] and sincerity, by the power of God's grace and not by human wisdom. 13-14 We write to you only what you can read and understand. But even though you now understand us only in part, I hope that you will come to understand us completely, so that in the Day of our Lord Jesus you can be as proud of us as we shall be of you.
15 I was so sure of all this that I made plans at first to visit you, in order that you might be blessed twice. 16 (A)For I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia and again on my way back, in order to get help from you for my trip to Judea. 17 In planning this, did I appear fickle? When I make my plans, do I make them from selfish motives, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? 18 As surely as God speaks the truth, my promise to you was not a “Yes” and a “No.” 19 (B)For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was preached among you by Silas, Timothy, and myself, is not one who is “Yes” and “No.” On the contrary, he is God's “Yes”; 20 for it is he who is the “Yes” to all of God's promises. This is why through Jesus Christ our “Amen” is said to the glory of God. 21 It is God himself who makes us, together with you, sure of our life in union with Christ; it is God himself who has set us apart, 22 who has placed his mark of ownership upon us, and who has given us the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the guarantee of all that he has in store for us.
The Lost Sheep(A)
15 (B)One day when many tax collectors and other outcasts came to listen to Jesus, 2 the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law started grumbling, “This man welcomes outcasts and even eats with them!” 3 So Jesus told them this parable:
4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them—what do you do? You leave the other ninety-nine sheep in the pasture and go looking for the one that got lost until you find it. 5 When you find it, you are so happy that you put it on your shoulders 6 and carry it back home. Then you call your friends and neighbors together and say to them, ‘I am so happy I found my lost sheep. Let us celebrate!’ 7 In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine respectable people who do not need to repent.
The Lost Coin
8 “Or suppose a woman who has ten silver coins loses one of them—what does she do? She lights a lamp, sweeps her house, and looks carefully everywhere until she finds it. 9 When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, and says to them, ‘I am so happy I found the coin I lost. Let us celebrate!’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, the angels of God rejoice over one sinner who repents.”
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.