Book of Common Prayer
118 Praise the Lord because he is good!
His faithful love will last forever!
2 Israel, say it:
“His faithful love will last forever!”
3 Aaron’s family,[a] say it:
“His faithful love will last forever!”
4 You people worshiping the Lord, say it:
“His faithful love will last forever!”
5 I was in trouble, so I called to the Lord for help.
The Lord answered and made me free.
6 The Lord is with me, so I will not be afraid.
No one on earth can do anything to harm me.
7 The Lord is my helper.
I will see my enemies defeated.
8 It is better to trust in the Lord
than to trust in people.
9 It is better to trust in the Lord
than to trust in great leaders.
10 Many enemies surrounded me,
but with the Lord’s power I defeated them.
11 They surrounded me again and again,
but I defeated them with the Lord’s power.
12 They surrounded me like a swarm of bees,
but they were quickly destroyed like a fast-burning bush.
I defeated them with the Lord’s power.
13 My enemy attacked me and almost destroyed me,
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord is my strength and my reason for singing.[b]
He saved me!
15 You can hear the victory celebration in the homes of those who live right.
The Lord has shown his great power again!
16 The Lord’s arm is raised in victory.
The Lord has shown his great power again.
17 I will live and not die,
and I will tell what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord punished me,
but he did not let me die.
19 Gates of goodness, open for me,
and I will come in and worship the Lord.
20 Those are the Lord’s gates,
and only good people can go through them.
21 Lord, I thank you for answering my prayer.
I thank you for saving me.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
became the cornerstone.
23 The Lord made this happen,
and we think it is wonderful!
24 This is the day the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be happy today!
25 The people say, “Praise the Lord!
The Lord saved us![c]
26 Welcome to the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”
The priests answer, “We welcome you to the Lord’s house!
27 The Lord is God, and he accepts us.
Tie up the lamb for the sacrifice and carry it to the horns of the altar.”
28 Lord, you are my God, and I thank you.
My God, I praise you!
29 Praise the Lord because he is good.
His faithful love will last forever.
A song of David.
145 I will tell of your greatness, my God and King.
I will praise your name forever and ever.
2 I will praise you every day.
I will praise your name forever and ever.
3 The Lord is great and deserves all our praise!
No one can fully understand his greatness!
4 Each generation will praise you
and tell the next generation about the great things you do.
5 Your majesty and glory are wonderful.
I will tell about your miracles.
6 People will tell about the amazing things you do,
and I will tell everyone how great you are.
7 They will talk about your goodness
and sing about your justice.
8 The Lord is kind and merciful,
patient and full of love.
9 The Lord is good to everyone.
He shows his mercy to everything he made.
10 Lord, all you have made will give thanks to you.
Your loyal followers will praise you.
11 They will tell how great your kingdom is.
They will tell how great you are.
12 So others will learn about the mighty things you do,
about the glory of your kingdom—how marvelous it is!
13 Your kingdom will never end,
and you will rule forever.
The Lord can be trusted in all that he says.
He is loyal in all that he does.[a]
14 The Lord lifts up people who have fallen.
He helps those who are in trouble.
15 All living things look to you for their food,
and you give them their food at the right time.
16 You open your hands
and give every living thing all that it needs.
17 Everything the Lord does is good.
Everything he does shows how loyal he is.
18 The Lord is near to everyone
who sincerely calls to him for help.
19 He listens to his followers and does what they want.
He answers their prayers and saves them.
20 The Lord protects everyone who loves him,
but he destroys all who do evil.
21 I will praise the Lord!
Let everyone praise his holy name forever and ever!
16 “Now go and call together the elders of the people. Tell them that Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—appeared to you. Give them this message from me: ‘I have been watching over you and have seen what people in Egypt have done to you. 17 And I have decided that I will take you away from the troubles you are suffering in Egypt. I will lead you to the land that now belongs to others—the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. I will lead you to a land filled with many good things.’
18 “The elders will listen to you. And then you and the elders will go to the Pharaoh. You will tell him, ‘Yahweh[a] is the God of the Hebrews.[b] He came to us and told us to travel three days into the desert. There we must offer sacrifices to Yahweh our God.’
19 “But I know that the Pharaoh will not let you go. Only a great power will force him to let you go, 20 so I will use my great power against Egypt. I will cause amazing things to happen in that land. After I do this, he will let you go. 21 And I will cause the Egyptians to be kind to the Israelites. They will give many gifts to your people when they leave Egypt.
22 “All the Hebrew women will ask their Egyptian neighbors and the Egyptian women living in their houses for gifts. And those Egyptian women will give them gifts of silver, gold, and fine clothing. Then you will put those gifts on your children. In this way you will take away the wealth of the Egyptians.”
Proof for Moses
4 Then Moses said to God, “But the Israelites will not believe me when I tell them that you sent me. They will say, ‘The Lord[c] did not appear to you.’”
2 But the Lord said to Moses, “What is that you have in your hand?”
Moses answered, “It is my walking stick.”
3 Then God said, “Throw your walking stick on the ground.”
So Moses threw his walking stick on the ground, and it became a snake. Moses ran from it, 4 but the Lord said to him, “Reach out and grab the snake by its tail.”
When Moses reached out and caught the snake’s tail, the snake became a walking stick again. 5 Then God said, “Use your stick in this way, and the people will believe that you saw the Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will give you another proof. Put your hand under your robe.”
So Moses opened his robe and put his hand inside. Then he brought his hand out of the robe and it was changed. His hand was covered with spots that were white like snow.
7 Then God said, “Now put your hand into your robe again.” So Moses put his hand into his robe again. Then he brought his hand out, and his hand was changed. Now his hand was good again, as it was before.
8 Then God said, “If the people don’t believe you when you use your walking stick, then they will believe you when you show them this sign. 9 If they still refuse to believe after you show them both of these signs, then take some water from the Nile River. Pour the water on the ground, and as soon as it touches the ground, it will become blood.”
10 Then Moses said to the Lord, “But, Lord, I am telling you, I am not a good speaker. I have never been able to speak well. And that hasn’t changed since you started talking to me. I am still not a good speaker. You know that I speak slowly and don’t use the best words.”[d]
11 Then the Lord said to him, “Who made a person’s mouth? And who can make someone deaf or not able to speak? Who can make a person blind? Who can make a person able to see? I am the one. I am the Lord. 12 So go. I will be with you when you speak. I will give you the words to say.”
Give Your Lives to God
12 So I beg you, brothers and sisters, because of the great mercy God has shown us, offer your lives[a] as a living sacrifice to him—an offering that is only for God and pleasing to him. Considering what he has done, it is only right that you should worship him in this way. 2 Don’t change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.
3 God has given me a special gift, and that is why I have something to say to each one of you. Don’t think that you are better than you really are. You must see yourself just as you are. Decide what you are by the faith God has given each of us. 4 Each one of us has one body, and that body has many parts. These parts don’t all do the same thing. 5 In the same way, we are many people, but in Christ we are all one body. We are the parts of that body, and each part belongs to all the others.
6 We all have different gifts. Each gift came because of the grace God gave us. Whoever has the gift of prophecy should use that gift in a way that fits the kind of faith they have. 7 Whoever has the gift of serving should serve. Whoever has the gift of teaching should teach. 8 Whoever has the gift of comforting others should do that. Whoever has the gift of giving to help others should give generously. Whoever has the gift of leading should work hard at it. Whoever has the gift of showing kindness to others should do it gladly.
9 Your love must be real. Hate what is evil. Do only what is good. 10 Love each other in a way that makes you feel close like brothers and sisters. And give each other more honor than you give yourself. 11 As you serve the Lord, work hard and don’t be lazy. Be excited about serving him! 12 Be happy because of the hope you have. Be patient when you have troubles. Pray all the time. 13 Share with God’s people who need help. Look for people who need help and welcome them into your homes.
14 Wish only good for those who treat you badly. Ask God to bless them, not curse them. 15 When others are happy, you should be happy with them. And when others are sad, you should be sad too. 16 Live together in peace with each other. Don’t be proud, but be willing to be friends with people who are not important to others. Don’t think of yourself as smarter than everyone else.
17 If someone does you wrong, don’t try to pay them back by hurting them. Try to do what everyone thinks is right. 18 Do the best you can to live in peace with everyone. 19 My friends, don’t try to punish anyone who does wrong to you. Wait for God to punish them with his anger. In the Scriptures the Lord says,
“I am the one who punishes;
I will pay people back.”(A)
20 But you should do this:
“If you have enemies who are hungry,
give them something to eat.
If you have enemies who are thirsty,
give them something to drink.
In doing this you will make them feel ashamed.[b]” (B)
21 Don’t let evil defeat you, but defeat evil by doing good.
46 Can any of you prove that I am guilty of sin? If I tell the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God accepts what he says. But you don’t accept what God says, because you don’t belong to God.”
Jesus Talks About Himself and Abraham
48 The Jews there answered, “We say you are a Samaritan. We say a demon is making you crazy! Are we not right when we say this?”
49 Jesus answered, “I have no demon in me. I give honor to my Father, but you give no honor to me. 50 I am not trying to get honor for myself. There is one who wants this honor for me. He is the judge. 51 I promise you, whoever continues to obey my teaching will never die.”
52 The Jews said to Jesus, “Now we know that you have a demon in you! Even Abraham and the prophets died. But you say, ‘Whoever obeys my teaching will never die.’ 53 Do you think you are greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”
54 Jesus answered, “If I give honor to myself, that honor is worth nothing. The one who gives me honor is my Father. And you say that he is your God. 55 But you don’t really know him. I know him. If I said I did not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I obey what he says. 56 Your father Abraham was very happy that he would see the day when I came. He saw that day and was happy.”
57 The Jews said to Jesus, “What? How can you say you have seen Abraham? You are not even 50 years old!”
58 Jesus answered, “The fact is, before Abraham was born, I Am.” 59 When he said this, they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus hid, and then he left the Temple area.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International