Book of Common Prayer
MEM
97 I love your Law very much.
I think about it all the time.
98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies.
They are always in my thoughts.
99 I understand more than all my teachers,
because I think about your rules.
100 I understand more than people who are old,
because I respect your teaching.
101 I do not follow evil ways,
so that I can obey your word.
102 I do not turn away from your rules,
because you are my teacher.
103 Your words are very good.
They taste sweeter than honey in my mouth!
104 Your teaching helps me to understand things,
so I hate anything that is false.
NUN
105 Your word is like a lamp that shines as my guide.
It shows me the right way to live.
106 I have made a strong promise
that I will always obey your righteous rules.
107 I have a lot of trouble and pain.
Lord, please keep me safe,
as you have promised to do.
108 Lord, please accept the praise
that I choose to offer to you.
Teach me your rules.
109 My life is always in danger,
but I never forget your Law.
110 Wicked people try to catch me in a trap,
but I do not turn away from your teaching.
111 Your laws will always be with me.
They make me happy deep inside.
112 I have decided to obey your commands always,
until the end of my life.
SAMEKH
113 I hate hypocrites,
but I love your Law.
114 You are the safe place where I can hide.
You keep me safe like a soldier's shield.
I know that I can trust your word.
115 Go away from me, you evil people!
I will obey my God's commands.
116 Help me to be strong, Lord,
as your word promises.
Do not let me be ashamed because of my hope.
117 Please help me so that I will be safe.
Then I will always obey your commands.
118 You refuse people who turn away from your laws.
You do not accept them,
because they speak lies to deceive people.
119 The wicked people in the world are like rubbish to you.
So I choose to obey your rules.
120 I respect your great strength,
so that my body shakes with fear.
I am afraid of the laws by which you judge people.
Asaph wrote this song for the music leader. Use special music.
God gives us strength[a]
81 Sing with joy to praise God!
He is the one who makes us strong!
Shout aloud to the God of Jacob.[b]
2 Start the music! Beat your tambourines!
Make beautiful music on your harps and lyres.
3 Start the New Moon Festival
with the sound of the trumpet.
Also do it on the day of the Full Moon.[c]
4 This is a rule for Israel's people.
The God of Jacob commanded us to do it.
5 When God punished the land of Egypt,
he gave this rule to Joseph's family.
I heard a voice that I did not know.
6 It said: ‘I took the heavy load off your back.
You no longer had to carry those heavy baskets.
7 When you had trouble, you called to me for help
and I made you safe.
I answered your prayers
from the middle of the dark storm.
I tested you at Meribah,
when you had no water in the wilderness.
Selah.
8 I said, “My people, listen to me!
I warn you now.
Listen carefully to me, Israel's people!
9 There must not be any strange god among you.
You must never worship a foreign god.
10 I am the Lord, your God.
I brought you out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide,
and I will fill it with many good things.”[d]
11 But my people refused to listen to me.
My people, Israel, did not obey me.
12 So I let them follow their own proud ideas.
They could do whatever they wanted to do.
13 But my people should listen to me!
Yes, Israel should obey my commands!
14 Then I would quickly win against their enemies.
I would attack them all.’
15 (Then people who hate the Lord
would fall down with fear in front of him.
They would be ashamed for ever.)
16 ‘But I would feed you, my people, with the best wheat.
I would give you plenty of honey from the rock,
for you to eat and be full.’
This is a psalm that Asaph wrote.
God and the gods[e]
82 God calls the powerful rulers to meet in heaven.
He sits on his throne to judge them.
2 He asks them, ‘How long will you continue to judge people
in a way that is not fair?
How long will you say that wicked people are right?
Selah.
3 You must help poor people and those with no family
to receive justice.
Help those who have pain and trouble
to receive the help that they need.
4 Rescue weak and helpless people,
so that evil people cannot hurt them.
5 The powerful leaders know nothing
and they understand nothing.
They walk about in a dark place.
At the same time the foundation of the earth shakes![f]
6 I said, “You are gods.
You are all sons of the Most High God.
7 But you will die, as all people die.
You will come to an end, like all other rulers.” ’[g]
8 God, now do something!
Judge all the nations of the earth.
For they all belong to you.
David helps Mephibosheth
9 David asked, ‘Is there anyone from Saul's family who is still alive? I want to be kind to them because Jonathan was my friend.’
2 Saul's family had a servant called Ziba. So they asked him to come to see David. The king said to him, ‘Are you Ziba?’
Ziba replied, ‘Yes, I am your servant.’
3 The king asked him, ‘Is there anyone from Saul's family who is still alive? I want to be kind to them because of God's faithful love for his people.’[a]
Ziba replied, ‘One of Jonathan's sons still lives. But both his feet are weak so that he cannot walk properly.’
4 The king asked Ziba, ‘Where is he?’
Ziba answered, ‘He lives in the house of Ammiel's son, Makir, in Lo-Debar.’
5 So David sent his men to bring him from the house of Ammiel's son, Makir, in Lo-Debar.
6 Then Jonathan's son Mephibosheth, grandson of Saul, came to David. He bent his body down to the ground to respect David.
David said, ‘Mephibosheth!’
Mephibosheth replied, ‘Yes, I am your servant.’
7 David said to him, ‘Do not be afraid. I will be kind to you because your father Jonathan was my friend. I will give back to you all the land which belonged to your grandfather, Saul. You will always be able to eat here with me.’
8 Mephibosheth bent his body low. He said, ‘I am your servant, no better than a dead dog. I do not deserve that you should be so kind to me.’
9 Then David sent his men to fetch Saul's servant, Ziba. David said to him, ‘I have given everything that belonged to Saul or his family to your master's grandson, Mephibosheth. 10 You, your sons and your servants must work on the land for him. You must grow crops that will be food for your master's grandson to eat. But Mephibosheth will always be able to eat with me.’ Ziba himself had 15 sons and 20 servants.
11 Ziba said to the king, ‘I am your servant. I will do everything that my lord the king has told me to do.’ So after that, Mephibosheth ate meals at the king's table. He was like one of the king's own sons.
12 Mephibosheth had a young son called Mica. Ziba and all his family and servants became servants to Mephibosheth. 13 That is how Mephibosheth came to live in Jerusalem. He could always eat his meals at the king's table. He had two weak feet, so he could not walk properly.
Paul speaks in Ephesus about Jesus
19 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul travelled through the region of Asia. He arrived in Ephesus and he found some believers there. 2 Paul asked them, ‘When you believed the message about Jesus, did you receive God's Holy Spirit?’
The believers answered, ‘We did not even know that there is a Holy Spirit.’
3 So Paul asked them, ‘When someone baptized you, what kind of baptism was that?’
‘We received the baptism that John spoke about,’ they answered.
4 Then Paul said, ‘John baptized people who knew that they had done wrong things. They wanted to stop doing these things. But John also said to the people, “You must believe in the man who will come soon.” This person is Jesus.’ 5 When the believers in Ephesus understood this, Paul baptized them. This showed that they now believed in the Lord Jesus. 6 Then Paul put his hands on each believer's head. When he did this, the Holy Spirit came down on them. They spoke in different languages and they spoke messages from God. 7 There were about 12 men there.
8 For three months, Paul went to the Jewish meeting place in Ephesus on their day of rest. He was not afraid to speak to the people there. He talked strongly with them about the kingdom of God. 9 But some of them did not accept what Paul said. They refused to believe the message about Jesus. Some of them said bad things against the Way of the Lord Jesus and many people in the group heard this. So Paul stopped speaking to people in that meeting place. He left there and he took with him the other believers. Every day he talked with people in another place. It was a large room, where a man called Tyrannus usually taught people. 10 Paul taught the people there for two years. During that time, all the people who lived in Asia region heard the message about the Lord Jesus. This included Jews and Gentiles.
34 Then Jesus asked the crowd and his disciples to come to him. He said to them, ‘A person who wants to come with me must not think about himself. He must decide that his own life is not important. He must be like someone who carries his own cross to go and die. Then he may come with me as my disciple. 35 Whoever wants to keep his own life safe will lose it. But whoever gives his life to serve me and God's good news will have true life. 36 A person may get everything in the whole world for himself. But if he loses his life, it will not be any good for him. 37 There is nothing that a person can give to get back his life.
38 People who are living today do not obey God. They are very bad. But you must not be ashamed of me or of my words. If you are, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you. One day he will return and God's holy angels will be with him. He will have the bright glory of his Father. He will be ashamed of you on that day if you are ashamed of him now.’
Three disciples see how great Jesus is
9 Jesus then said to them, ‘I tell you this: Some people who are standing here will see God begin to rule in his kingdom with great power. They will see that before they die.’
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