Book of Common Prayer
For the director of music. A miktam of David after the Philistines had captured him in Gath. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oak Trees.”
56 Help me, God. Men are chasing me.
All day long they keep attacking me.
2 My enemies chase me all day long.
Many proud people are attacking me.
3 When I’m afraid,
I put my trust in you.
4 I trust in God. I praise his word.
I trust in God. I am not afraid.
What can mere people do to me?
5 All day long they twist my words.
They are always making plans to destroy me.
6 They get together and hide.
They watch my steps.
They hope to kill me.
7 Because they are so evil, make sure you don’t let them escape.
God, bring down the nations in your anger.
8 Make a record of my sadness.
List my tears in your book.
Aren’t you making a record of them?
9 My enemies will turn back
when I call out to you for help.
Then I will know that God is on my side.
10 I trust in God. I praise his word.
I trust in the Lord. I praise his word.
11 I trust in God. I am not afraid.
What can mere people do to me?
12 God, I have made promises to you.
I will bring my thank offerings to you.
13 You have saved me from the darkness of death.
You have kept me from tripping and falling.
Now I can live with you
in the light of life.
For the director of music. A miktam of David when he had run away from Saul into the cave. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.”
57 Have mercy on me, God. Have mercy on me.
I go to you for safety.
I will find safety in the shadow of your wings.
There I will stay until the danger is gone.
2 I cry out to God Most High.
I cry out to God, and he shows that I am right.
3 He answers from heaven and saves me.
He puts to shame those who chase me.
He shows his love and that he is faithful.
4 Men who are like lions are all around me.
I am forced to lie down among people who are like hungry animals.
Their teeth are like spears and arrows.
Their tongues are like sharp swords.
5 God, may you be honored above the heavens.
Let your glory be over the whole earth.
6 My enemies spread a net to catch me by the feet.
I felt helpless.
They dug a pit in my path.
But they fell into it themselves.
7 God, my heart feels secure.
My heart feels secure.
I will sing and make music to you.
8 My spirit, wake up!
Harp and lyre, wake up!
I want to sing and make music before the sun rises.
9 Lord, I will praise you among the nations.
I will sing about you among the people of the earth.
10 Great is your love. It reaches to the heavens.
Your truth reaches to the skies.
11 God, may you be honored above the heavens.
Let your glory be over the whole earth.
For the director of music. A miktam of David to the tune of “Do Not Destroy.”
58 Are you rulers really fair when you speak?
Do you judge people honestly?
2 No, in your hearts you plan to be unfair.
With your hands you do terrible things on the earth.
3 Even from birth those who are evil go down the wrong path.
From the day they are born they go the wrong way and spread lies.
4 Their words are like the poison of a snake.
They are like the poison of a cobra that has covered up its ears.
5 It won’t listen to a snake charmer’s tune,
even if the charmer plays very well.
6 God, break the teeth in the mouths of those sinners!
Lord, tear out the sharp teeth of those lions!
7 Let those people disappear like water that flows away.
When they draw their bows, let their arrows fall short of the target.
8 Let them be like a slug that melts away as it moves along.
Let them be like a baby that is born dead and never sees the sun.
9 Evil people will be swept away before burning thorns can heat a pot.
And it doesn’t matter if the thorns are green or dry.
10 Godly people will be glad when those who have hurt them are paid back.
They will dip their feet in the blood of those who do evil.
11 Then people will say,
“The godly will get their reward.
There really is a God who judges the earth.”
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
64 God, hear me as I tell you my problem.
Don’t let my enemies kill me.
2 Hide me from evil people who talk about how to harm me.
Hide me from those people who are planning to do evil.
3 They make their tongues like sharp swords.
They aim their mean words like deadly arrows.
4 They shoot from their hiding places at people who aren’t guilty.
They shoot quickly and aren’t afraid of being caught.
5 They help one another make evil plans.
They talk about hiding their traps.
They say, “Who can see what we are doing?”
6 They make plans to do what is evil.
They say, “We have thought up a perfect plan!”
The hearts and minds of people are so clever!
7 But God will shoot my enemies with his arrows.
He will suddenly strike them down.
8 He will turn their own words against them.
He will destroy them.
All those who see them will shake their heads
and look down on them.
9 All people will respect God.
They will tell about his works.
They will think about what he has done.
10 Godly people will be full of joy because of what the Lord has done.
They will go to him for safety.
All those whose hearts are honest will be proud of what he has done.
For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.
65 Our God, we look forward to praising you in Zion.
We will keep our promises to you.
2 All people will come to you,
because you hear and answer prayer.
3 When our sins became too much for us,
you forgave our lawless acts.
4 Blessed are those you choose
and bring near to worship you.
You bring us into the courtyards of your holy temple.
There in your house we are filled with all kinds of good things.
5 God our Savior, you answer us with right and wonderful deeds.
People all over the world and beyond the farthest oceans
put their hope in you.
6 You formed the mountains by your power.
You showed how strong you are.
7 You calmed the oceans and their roaring waves.
You calmed the angry words and actions of the nations.
8 Everyone on earth is amazed at the wonderful things you have done.
What you do makes people from one end of the earth to the other sing for joy.
9 You take care of the land and water it.
You make it able to grow many crops.
You fill your streams with water.
You do that to provide the people with grain.
That’s what you have decided to do for the land.
10 You water its rows.
You smooth out its bumps.
You soften it with showers.
And you bless its crops.
11 You bring the year to a close with huge crops.
You provide more than enough food.
12 The grass grows thick even in the desert.
The hills are dressed with gladness.
13 The meadows are covered with flocks and herds.
The valleys are dressed with grain.
They sing and shout for joy.
The Lord Destroys Sodom and Gomorrah
19 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening. Lot was sitting near the gate of the city. When Lot saw the angels, he got up to greet them. He bowed down with his face to the ground. 2 “My lords,” he said, “please come to my house. You can wash your feet and spend the night there. Then you can go on your way early in the morning.”
“No,” they answered. “We’ll spend the night in the town square.”
3 But Lot wouldn’t give up. So they went with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them. He baked bread without using yeast. And they ate. 4 Before Lot and his guests had gone to bed, all the men came from every part of the city of Sodom. Young and old men alike surrounded the house. 5 They called out to Lot. They said, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us. We want to have sex with them.”
6 Lot went outside to meet them. He shut the door behind him. 7 He said, “No, my friends. Don’t do such an evil thing. 8 Look, I have two daughters that no man has ever slept with. I’ll bring them out to you now. Then do to them what you want to. But don’t do anything to these men. I’ve brought them inside so they can be safe.”
9 “Get out of our way!” the men of Sodom replied to Lot. “You came here as an outsider. Now you want to act like a judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept trying to force Lot to open the door. Then they moved forward to break it down.
10 But the angels inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. 11 Then they made the men who were at the door of the house blind. They blinded both young and old men so that they couldn’t find the door.
12 The two angels said to Lot, “Do you have any other family members here? Do you have sons-in-law, sons, daughters or any other relatives in the city? Get them out of here! 13 We are going to destroy this place. Many have cried out to the Lord against the people of this city. So he has sent us to destroy it.”
14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law. They had promised to marry his daughters. He said, “Hurry up! Get out of this place! The Lord is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
15 The sun was coming up. So the angels tried to get Lot to leave. They said, “Hurry up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out! If you don’t, you will be swept away when the city is destroyed.”
16 Lot didn’t move right away. So the men grabbed him by the hand. They also took hold of the hands of his wife and two daughters. They led all of them safely out of the city. The Lord had mercy on them. 17 As soon as the angels had brought them out, one of them spoke. He said, “Run for your lives! Don’t look back! Don’t stop anywhere in the valley! Run to the mountains! If you don’t, you will be swept away!”
18 But Lot said to them, “No, my lords! Please! 19 You have done me a big favor. You have been very kind to me by sparing my life. But I can’t run to the mountains. I won’t be able to escape this horrible thing that’s going to happen. And then I’ll die. 20 Look, here’s a town near enough to run to. It’s small. Let me run to it. It’s very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”
21 The Lord said to Lot, “All right. I will also give you what you are asking for. I will not destroy the town you are talking about. 22 But run there quickly. I can’t do anything until you reach it.” The town was named Zoar. Zoar means Small.
23 By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then the Lord sent down burning sulfur. It came down like rain on Sodom and Gomorrah. It came from the Lord. It came out of the sky. 25 The Lord destroyed these cities and the whole valley. All the people who were living in the cities were wiped out. So were the plants in the land. 26 But Lot’s wife looked back. When she did, she became a pillar made out of salt.
27 Early the next morning Abraham got up. He returned to the place where he had stood in front of the Lord. 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and the whole valley. He saw thick smoke rising from the land. It looked like smoke from a furnace.
29 So when God destroyed the cities of the valley, he showed concern for Abraham. He brought Lot out safely when he destroyed the cities where Lot had lived.
Faith That Produces Action
11 Faith is being sure of what we hope for. It is being sure of what we do not see. 2 That is what the people of long ago were praised for.
3 We have faith. So we understand that everything was made when God commanded it. That’s why we believe that what we see was not made out of what could be seen.
4 Abel had faith. So he brought to God a better offering than Cain did. Because of his faith Abel was praised as a godly man. God said good things about his offerings. Because of his faith Abel still speaks. He speaks even though he is dead.
5 Enoch had faith. So he was taken from this life. He didn’t die. “He couldn’t be found, because God had taken him away.” (Genesis 5:24) Before God took him, Enoch was praised as one who pleased God. 6 Without faith it is impossible to please God. Those who come to God must believe that he exists. And they must believe that he rewards those who look to him.
7 Noah had faith. So he built an ark to save his family. He built it because of his great respect for God. God had warned him about things that could not yet be seen. Because of his faith Noah showed the world that it was guilty. Because of his faith he was considered right with God.
8 Abraham had faith. So he obeyed God. God called him to go to a place he would later receive as his own. So he went. He did it even though he didn’t know where he was going. 9 Because of his faith he made his home in the land God had promised him. Abraham was like an outsider in a strange country. He lived there in tents. So did Isaac and Jacob. They received the same promise he did. 10 Abraham was looking forward to the city that has foundations. He was waiting for the city that God planned and built. 11 And Sarah had faith. So God made it possible for her to become a mother. She became a mother even though she was too old to have children. But Sarah believed that the God who made the promise was faithful. 12 Abraham was past the time when he could have children. But many children came from that one man. They were as many as the stars in the sky. They were as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. No one could count them.
27 Do not work for food that spoils. Work for food that lasts forever. That is the food the Son of Man will give you. For God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.”
28 Then they asked him, “What does God want from us? What works does he want us to do?”
29 Jesus answered, “God’s work is to believe in the one he has sent.”
30 So they asked him, “What sign will you give us? What will you do so we can see it and believe you? 31 Long ago our people ate the manna in the desert. It is written in Scripture, ‘The Lord gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” (Exodus 16:4; Nehemiah 9:15; Psalm 78:24,25)
32 Jesus said to them, “What I’m about to tell you is true. It is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven. It is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 The bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven. He gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”
35 Then Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry. And whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But it is just as I told you. You have seen me, and you still do not believe. 37 Everyone the Father gives me will come to me. I will never send away anyone who comes to me. 38 I have not come down from heaven to do what I want to do. I have come to do what the one who sent me wants me to do. 39 The one who sent me doesn’t want me to lose anyone he has given me. He wants me to raise them up on the last day. 40 My Father wants all who look to the Son and believe in him to have eternal life. I will raise them up on the last day.”
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