Book of Common Prayer
Aleph[a]
119 Great blessings belong to those who live pure lives!
They follow the Lord’s teachings.
2 Great blessings belong to those who follow his rules!
They seek him with all their heart.
3 They don’t do wrong.
They follow his ways.
4 Lord, you gave us your instructions
and told us to always obey them.
5 How I wish I could be more faithful
in obeying your laws!
6 Then I would never feel ashamed
when I look closely at your commands.
7 The more I understand how fair your laws are,
the more sincerely I will praise you.
8 I will obey your laws,
so please don’t leave me!
Beth
9 How can a young person live a pure life?
By obeying your word.
10 I try with all my heart to serve you.
Help me obey your commands.
11 I study your teachings very carefully
so that I will not sin against you.
12 Lord, you are worthy of praise!
Teach me your laws.
13 I will repeat the laws we have heard from you.
14 I enjoy following your rules
as much as others enjoy great riches.
15 I will study your instructions.
I will give thought to your way of life.
16 I enjoy your laws.
I will not forget your word.
Gimel
17 Be good to me, your servant,
so that I may live to obey your word.
18 Open my eyes so that I can see
all the wonderful things in your teachings.
19 I feel like a stranger visiting here on earth.
I need to know your commands.
Don’t keep them hidden from me.
20 I constantly feel a hunger
to understand your laws.
21 You tell the proud how angry you are with them.
All those who refuse to obey your word are cursed.
22 Don’t let me be ashamed and embarrassed.
I have obeyed your rules.
23 Even if rulers say bad things about me,
I am your servant,
and I continue to study your laws.
24 Your rules make me happy.
They give me good advice.
To the director: With the sheminith. A song of David.
12 Save me, Lord!
We can no longer trust anyone!
All the good, loyal people are gone.
2 People lie to their neighbors.
They say whatever they think people want to hear.
3 The Lord should cut off their lying lips
and cut out their bragging tongues.
4 Those people think they can win any argument.
They say, “We are so good with words,
no one will be our master.”
5 They took advantage of the poor
and stole what little they had.
But the Lord knows what they did, and he says,
“I will rescue those who are poor and helpless,
and I will punish those who hurt them.”[a]
6 The Lord’s words are true and pure,
like silver purified by fire,
like silver melted seven times to make it perfectly pure.
7 Lord, take care of the helpless.
Protect them forever from the wicked people in this world.
8 The wicked are all around us,
and everyone thinks evil is something to be praised!
To the director: A song of David.
13 How long will you forget me, Lord?
Will you forget me forever?
How long will you refuse to accept me?[b]
2 How long must I wonder if you have forgotten me?
How long must I feel this sadness in my heart?
How long will my enemy win against me?
3 Lord my God, look at me and give me an answer.
Make me feel strong again, or I will die.
4 If that happens, my enemy will say, “I beat him!”
He will be so happy that he won.
5 But I trust in your faithful love, Lord.
I will be happy when you save me.
6 Then I will sing to the Lord
because he was so good to me.
To the director: A song of David.
14 Only fools think there is no God.
People like that are evil and do terrible things.
They never do what is right.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven
to see if there is anyone who is wise,
anyone who looks to him for help.
3 But everyone has gone the wrong way.
Everyone has turned bad.
No one does anything good.
No, not one person!
4 Those who are evil treat my people like bread to be eaten.
And they never ask for the Lord’s help.
Don’t they know what they are doing?
5 They will have plenty to fear,
because God is with those who do what is right.
6 You wicked people want to spoil the hopes of the poor,
but the Lord will protect them.
7 I wish the one who lives on Mount Zion
would bring victory to Israel!
When the Lord makes his people successful again,
the people of Jacob will be happy;
the people of Israel will be glad.
Israel Goes Into the Desert
22 Moses led the Israelites away from the Red Sea and into the desert of Shur. They traveled for three days in the desert. They could not find any water. 23 Then they came to Marah.[a] There was water at Marah, but it was too bitter to drink. (That is why the place was named Marah.)
24 The people began complaining to Moses. They said, “Now what will we drink?”
25 So Moses called to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a large piece of wood. When Moses put the wood in the water, the water became good to drink.
There the Lord put in place a law and a command for him and tested him to see if he would obey.[b] 26 He said to him, “I am the Lord your God. If you listen to me and do what I say is right, and if you obey all my commands and laws, then I will not give you any of the sicknesses that I gave the Egyptians. I am the Lord who heals you.”
27 Then the people traveled to Elim. At Elim there were twelve springs of water and 70 palm trees. So the people made their camp there near that water.
Israel Complains, So God Sends Food
16 Then all the Israelites left Elim. They reached the western Sinai desert,[c] between Elim and Mount Sinai, on the 15th day of the second month[d] after leaving Egypt. 2 Then the whole community of Israelites began complaining again. They complained to Moses and Aaron in the desert. 3 They said, “It would have been better if the Lord had just killed us in the land of Egypt. At least there we had plenty to eat. We had all the food we needed. But now you have brought us out here into this desert to make us all die from hunger.”
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will cause food to fall from the sky. This food will be for you to eat. Every day the people should go out and gather the food they need that day. I will do this to see if they will do what I tell them. 5 Every day the people will gather only enough food for one day. But on Friday, when the people prepare their food, they will see that they have enough food for two days.”[e]
6 So Moses and Aaron said to the Israelites, “Tonight you will see the power of the Lord. You will know that he is the one who brought you out of Egypt. 7 You have been complaining about the Lord, and he heard you. So tomorrow morning you will see the Glory of the Lord. You have been complaining and complaining about us. Maybe now we can have a little rest.”[f]
8 Then Moses said, “In the evening the Lord will give you meat to eat, and in the morning you will have all the bread you want. The Lord will do this because he has heard your complaining, which was against him, not us. What can we do? We do only what he tells us to do, so your complaints are really against the Lord.”
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community of Israelites to come together before the Lord, because he has heard their complaints.”
10 So Aaron spoke to all the Israelites. While he was talking, the people turned and looked into the desert. And they saw the Glory of the Lord appear in a cloud.
The Living Stone and the Holy Nation
2 So then, stop doing anything to hurt others. Don’t lie anymore, and stop trying to fool people. Don’t be jealous or say bad things about others. 2 Like newborn babies hungry for milk, you should want the pure teaching that feeds your spirit. With it you can grow up and be saved. 3 You have already tasted the goodness of the Lord.
4 The Lord Jesus is the living stone.[a] The people of the world decided that they did not want this stone. But he is the one God chose as one of great value. So come to him. 5 You also are like living stones, and God is using you to build a spiritual house.[b] You are to serve God in this house as holy priests, offering him spiritual sacrifices that he will accept because of Jesus Christ. 6 The Scriptures say,
“Look, I have chosen a cornerstone of great value,
and I put that stone in Zion.
Anyone who trusts in him will never be disappointed.” (A)
7 So, that stone brings honor for you who believe. But for those who don’t believe he is
“the stone that the builders refused to accept,
which became the most important stone.” (B)
8 For them he is also
“a stone that makes people stumble,
a rock that makes people fall.” (C)
People stumble because they don’t obey what God says. This is what God planned to happen to those people.
9 But you are his chosen people, the King’s priests. You are a holy nation, people who belong to God. He chose you to tell about the wonderful things he has done. He brought you out of the darkness of sin into his wonderful light.
10 In the past you were not a special people,
but now you are God’s people.
Once you had not received mercy,
but now God has given you his mercy.[c]
Jesus Is Like a Vine
15 Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch[a] of mine that does not produce fruit.[b] He also trims every branch that produces fruit to prepare it to produce even more. 3 You have already been prepared to produce more fruit by the teaching I have given you. 4 Stay joined to me and I will stay joined to you. No branch can produce fruit alone. It must stay connected to the vine. It is the same with you. You cannot produce fruit alone. You must stay joined to me.
5 “I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I to you, you will produce plenty of fruit. But separated from me you won’t be able to do anything. 6 If you don’t stay joined to me, you will be like a branch that has been thrown out and has dried up. All the dead branches like that are gathered up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 Stay joined together with me, and follow my teachings. If you do this, you can ask for anything you want, and it will be given to you. 8 Show that you are my followers by producing much fruit. This will bring honor[c] to my Father.
9 “I have loved you as the Father has loved me. Now continue in my love. 10 I have obeyed my Father’s commands, and he continues to love me. In the same way, if you obey my commands, I will continue to love you. 11 I have told you these things so that you can have the true happiness that I have. I want you to be completely happy.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International