Book of Common Prayer
95 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord.
Let us give a loud shout to the Rock who saves us.
2 Let us come to him and give him thanks.
Let us praise him with music and song.
3 The Lord is the great God.
He is the greatest King.
He rules over all the gods.
4 He owns the deepest parts of the earth.
The mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The ocean is his, because he made it.
He formed the dry land with his hands.
6 Come, let us bow down and worship him.
Let us fall on our knees in front of the Lord our Maker.
7 He is our God.
We are the sheep belonging to his flock.
We are the people he takes good care of.
If only you would listen to his voice today.
8 He says, “Don’t be stubborn as you were at Meribah.
Don’t be stubborn as you were that day at Massah in the desert.
9 There your people of long ago really tested me.
They did it even though they had seen what I had done for them.
10 For 40 years I was angry with them.
I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray.
They do not know how I want them to live.’
11 So when I was angry, I made a promise.
I said, ‘They will never enjoy the rest I planned for them.’ ”
A maskil of David.
32 Blessed is the person whose lawless acts are forgiven.
Their sins have been taken away.
2 Blessed is the person whose sin the Lord never counts against them.
That person doesn’t want to cheat anyone.
3 When I kept silent about my sin,
my body became weak
because I groaned all day long.
4 Day and night
you punished me.
I became weaker and weaker
as I do in the heat of summer.
5 Then I admitted my sin to you.
I didn’t cover up the wrong I had done.
I said, “I will admit my lawless acts to the Lord.”
And you forgave the guilt of my sin.
6 Let everyone who is faithful pray to you
while they can still look to you.
When troubles come like a flood,
they certainly won’t reach those who are faithful.
7 You are my hiding place.
You will keep me safe from trouble.
You will surround me with songs sung by those who praise you
because you save your people.
8 I will guide you and teach you the way you should go.
I will give you good advice and watch over you with love.
9 Don’t be like a horse or a mule.
They can’t understand anything.
They have to be controlled by bits and bridles.
If they aren’t, they won’t come to you.
10 Sinful people have all kinds of trouble.
But the Lord’s faithful love
is all around those who trust in him.
11 Be glad because of what the Lord has done for you.
Be joyful, you who do what is right!
Sing, all you whose hearts are honest!
A psalm of David.
143 Lord, hear my prayer.
Listen to my cry for mercy.
You are faithful and right.
Come and help me.
2 Don’t take me to court and judge me,
because in your eyes no living person does what is right.
3 My enemies chase me.
They crush me down to the ground.
They make me live in the darkness
like those who died long ago.
4 So I grow weak.
Deep down inside me, I’m afraid.
5 I remember what happened long ago.
I spend time thinking about all your acts.
I consider what your hands have done.
6 I spread out my hands to you in prayer.
I’m thirsty for you, just as dry ground is thirsty for rain.
7 Lord, answer me quickly.
I’m growing weak.
Don’t turn your face away from me,
or I will be like those who go down into the grave.
8 In the morning let me hear about your faithful love,
because I’ve put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should live,
because I trust you with my life.
9 Lord, save me from my enemies,
because I go to you for safety.
10 Teach me to do what you want,
because you are my God.
May your good Spirit
lead me on a level path.
11 Lord, bring yourself honor by keeping me alive.
Because you do what is right, get me out of trouble.
12 Because your love is faithful, put an end to my enemies.
Destroy all of them, because I serve you.
A prayer of a suffering person who has become weak. They pour out their problems to the Lord.
102 Lord, hear my prayer.
Listen to my cry for help.
2 Don’t turn your face away from me
when I’m in trouble.
Pay attention to me.
When I call out for help, answer me quickly.
3 My days are disappearing like smoke.
My body burns like glowing coals.
4 My strength has dried up like grass.
I even forget to eat my food.
5 I groan out loud because of my suffering.
I’m nothing but skin and bones.
6 I’m like a desert owl.
I’m like an owl among destroyed buildings.
7 I can’t sleep. I’ve become
like a bird alone on a roof.
8 All day long my enemies laugh at me.
Those who make fun of me use my name as a curse.
9 I eat ashes as my food.
My tears fall into what I’m drinking.
10 You were very angry with me.
So you picked me up and threw me away.
11 The days of my life are like an evening shadow.
I dry up like grass.
12 But Lord, you are seated on your throne forever.
Your fame will continue for all time to come.
13 You will rise up and show deep concern for Zion.
The time has come for you to help Zion.
14 The stones of your destroyed city are priceless to us.
Even its dust brings deep concern to us.
15 The nations will worship the Lord.
All the kings on earth will respect his glorious power.
16 The Lord will build Zion again.
He will appear in his glory.
17 He will answer the prayer of those who don’t have anything.
He won’t say no to their cry for help.
18 Let this be written down for those born after us.
Then people who are not yet born can praise the Lord.
19 Here is what should be written.
“The Lord looked down from his temple in heaven.
From heaven he viewed the earth.
20 He heard the groans of the prisoners.
He set free those who were sentenced to death.”
21 So people will talk about him in Zion.
They will praise him in Jerusalem.
22 Nations and kingdoms
will gather there to worship the Lord.
23 When I was still young, he took away my strength.
He wasn’t going to let me live much longer.
24 So I said, “My God, don’t let me die in the middle of my life.
You will live for all time to come.
25 In the beginning you made the earth secure.
You placed it on its foundations.
Your hands created the heavens.
26 They will pass away. But you will remain.
They will all wear out like a piece of clothing.
You will make them like clothes
that are taken off and thrown away.
27 But you remain the same.
Your years will never end.
28 Our children will live with you.
Their sons and daughters will be safe in your care.”
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
130 Lord, I cry out to you
because I’m suffering so deeply.
2 Lord, listen to me.
Pay attention to my cry for your mercy.
3 Lord, suppose you kept a close watch on sins.
Lord, who then wouldn’t be found guilty?
4 But you forgive.
So we can serve you with respect.
5 With all my heart I wait for the Lord to help me.
I put my hope in his word.
6 I wait for the Lord to help me.
I want his help more than night watchmen want the morning to come.
I’ll say it again.
I want his help more than night watchmen want the morning to come.
7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
because the Lord’s love never fails.
He sets his people completely free.
8 He himself will set Israel
free from all their sins.
6 Israel, look to the Lord and live.
If you don’t, he will sweep through
the tribes of Joseph like a fire.
It will burn everything up.
And Bethel won’t have anyone to put it out.
7 There are people among you who turn what is fair into something bitter.
They throw down to the ground what is right.
8 The Lord made the Pleiades and Orion.
He turns midnight into sunrise.
He makes the day fade into night.
He sends for the waters in the clouds.
Then he pours them out on the surface of the land.
His name is the Lord.
9 With a flash of light he destroys places of safety.
He tears down cities
that have high walls around them.
10 There are people among you who hate anyone who stands for justice in court.
They hate those who tell the truth.
11 You make poor people pay tax on their straw.
You also tax their grain.
So, even though you have built stone houses,
you won’t live in them.
You have planted fruitful vineyards.
But you won’t drink the wine they produce.
12 I know how many crimes you have committed.
You have sinned far too much.
Among you are people who crush those who have done no wrong.
They accept money from people who want special favors.
They take away the rights of poor people in the courts.
13 So those who are wise keep quiet in times like these.
That’s because the times are evil.
14 Look to what is good, not to what is evil.
Then you will live.
And the Lord God who rules over all
will be with you,
just as you say he is.
15 Hate evil and love good.
Do what is fair in the courts.
Perhaps the Lord God who rules over all
will have mercy on you.
After all, you are the only ones left
in the family line of Joseph.
12 A huge cloud of witnesses is all around us. So let us throw off everything that stands in our way. Let us throw off any sin that holds on to us so tightly. And let us keep on running the race marked out for us. 2 Let us keep looking to Jesus. He is the one who started this journey of faith. And he is the one who completes the journey of faith. He paid no attention to the shame of the cross. He suffered there because of the joy he was looking forward to. Then he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 He made it through these attacks by sinners. So think about him. Then you won’t get tired. You won’t lose hope.
God Trains His Children
4 You struggle against sin. But you have not yet fought to the point of spilling your blood. 5 Have you completely forgotten this word of hope? It speaks to you as a father to his children. It says,
“My son, think of the Lord’s training as important.
Do not lose hope when he corrects you.
6 The Lord trains the one he loves.
He corrects everyone he accepts as his son.” (Proverbs 3:11,12)
7 Put up with hard times. God uses them to train you. He is treating you as his children. What children are not trained by their parents? 8 God trains all his children. But what if he doesn’t train you? Then you are not really his children. You are not God’s true sons and daughters at all. 9 Besides, we have all had human fathers who trained us. We respected them for it. How much more should we be trained by the Father of spirits and live! 10 Our parents trained us for a little while. They did what they thought was best. But God trains us for our good. He does this so we may share in his holiness. 11 No training seems pleasant at the time. In fact, it seems painful. But later on it produces a harvest of godliness and peace. It does this for those who have been trained by it.
12 So put your hands to work. Strengthen your legs for the journey. 13 “Make level paths for your feet to walk on.” (Proverbs 4:26) Then those who have trouble walking won’t be disabled. Instead, they will be healed.
A Warning and an Appeal
14 Try your best to live in peace with everyone. Try hard to be holy. Without holiness no one will see the Lord.
The Story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 Jesus told a story to some people who were sure they were right with God. They looked down on everyone else. 10 He said to them, “Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee. The other was a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed. ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people,’ he said. ‘I am not like robbers or those who do other evil things. I am not like those who commit adultery. I am not even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week. And I give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood farther away than the Pharisee. He would not even look up to heaven. He brought his hand to his heart and prayed. He said, ‘God, have mercy on me. I am a sinner.’
14 “I tell you, the tax collector went home accepted by God. But not the Pharisee. All those who lift themselves up will be made humble. And those who make themselves humble will be lifted up.”
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