Book of Common Prayer
To the director: To the tune “The Dove in the Distant Oak.” A miktam of David written when the Philistines captured him in Gath.
56 God, people have attacked me, so be merciful to me.
They have been chasing me all day, closing in to attack me.
2 My enemies come at me constantly.
There are too many fighters to count.[a]
3 When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
4 I trust God, so I am not afraid of what people can do to me!
I praise God for his promise to me.
5 My enemies are always twisting my words.
They are always making plans against me.
6 They hide together and watch every move I make,
hoping for some way to kill me.
7 God, send them away because of the bad things they did.
Show your anger and defeat those people.
8 You know I am very upset.
You know how much I have cried.
Surely you have kept an account of all my tears.
9 I know that when l call for help, my enemies will turn and run.
I know that because God is with me!
10 I praise God for his promise.
I praise the Lord for his promise to me.
11 I trust God, so I am not afraid
of what people can do to me!
12 God, I will keep the special promises I made to you.
I will give you my thank offering.
13 You saved me from death.
You kept me from being defeated.
So I will serve you in the light
that only the living can see.
To the director: To the tune “Don’t Destroy.” A miktam of David written when he escaped from Saul and went into the cave.
57 God, be merciful to me.
Be kind because my soul trusts in you.
I have come to you for protection,
while the trouble passes.
2 I pray to God Most High for help,
and he takes care of me completely!
3 From heaven he helps me and saves me.
He will punish the one who attacks me. Selah
God will remain loyal to me
and send his love to protect me.
4 My life is in danger.
My enemies are all around me.
They are like man-eating lions,
with teeth like spears or arrows
and tongues like sharp swords.
5 God, rise above the heavens!
Let all the world see your glory.
6 My enemies set a trap for my feet
to bring me down.
They dug a deep pit to catch me,
but they fell into it. Selah
7 God, I am ready, heart and soul,
to sing songs of praise.
8 Wake up, my soul!
Harps and lyres, wake up,
and let’s wake the dawn!
9 My Lord, I will praise you before all people.
I will sing praises about you to every nation.
10 Your faithful love is higher
than the highest clouds in the sky!
11 Rise above the heavens, God.
Let all the world see your glory.
To the director: To the tune “Don’t Destroy.” A miktam of David.
58 You judges are not being fair in your decisions.
You are not judging people fairly.
2 No, you only think of evil things to do.
You do violent crimes in this country.
3 Those wicked people started doing wrong as soon as they were born.
They have been liars from birth.
4 Their anger is as deadly as the poison of a snake.[b]
They shut their ears like a deaf cobra
5 that does not listen to the music of the snake charmers,
no matter how well they play.
6 God, they are like lions.
So, Lord, break their teeth.
7 May they disappear like water down a drain.
May they be crushed like weeds on a path.[c]
8 May they be like snails melting away as they move.
May they be like a baby born dead, who never saw the light of day.
9 May they be destroyed suddenly,
like the thorns that are burned to quickly heat a pot.
To the director: A song of David.
64 God, listen to my complaint.
Save me from the terrible threats of my enemies!
2 Protect me from the secret plans of the wicked.
Hide me from that gang of evil people.
3 They sharpen their tongues to use like swords.
They aim their poisonous words like arrows.
4 Suddenly, from their hiding places, they let their arrows fly.
They shoot to kill innocent people.
5 They encourage each other to do wrong.
They talk about setting traps and say, “No one will see them here!
6 No one will discover our crime.
We have the perfect plan!”
Yes, people can be very tricky and hard to understand.
7 But suddenly, God will shoot his arrows,
and those wicked people will be hit.
8 He will use their own words against them,
and they will be destroyed.
Then everyone who sees them
will shake their heads in amazement.
9 People will see what God has done.
They will tell other people about him.
Then everyone will learn more about God.
They will learn to fear and respect him.
10 Good people are happy to serve the Lord.
They depend on him to protect them.
All those who want to do right will praise him!
To the director: A praise song of David.
65 God in Zion, we praise you
and give you what we promised.
2 Anyone can come to you,
and you will listen to their prayers.
3 When our sins become too heavy for us,
you wipe them away.
4 Oh, how wonderful it is to be the people you chose
to come and stay in your Temple.
And we are so happy to have the wonderful things
that are in your Temple, your holy palace.
5 God, you answer our prayers and do what is right.
You do amazing things to save us.
People all over the world know they can trust in you,
even those who live across the sea.
6 You made the mountains.
We see your power all around us.
7 You can calm the roughest seas
or the nations raging around us.
8 People all around the world are amazed at the wonderful things you do.
You make all people, east and west, sing with joy.
9 You take care of the land.
You water it and make it fertile.
Your streams are always filled with water.
That’s how you make the crops grow.
10 You pour rain on the plowed fields;
you soak the fields with water.
You make the ground soft with rain,
and you make the young plants grow.
11 You start the new year with a good harvest.
You end the year with many crops.[a]
12 The desert and hills are covered with grass.
13 The pastures are covered with sheep.
The valleys are filled with grain.
Everything is singing and shouting for joy.
The Day of Atonement
16 Two of Aaron’s sons died while offering incense to the Lord.[a] After that time, the Lord spoke to Moses. 2 The Lord said, “Talk to your brother Aaron. Tell him that he cannot go behind the curtain into the Most Holy Place anytime he wants to. The mercy-cover is in the room behind that curtain on top of the Holy Box, and I appear in a cloud over that mercy-cover. If Aaron goes into that room, he will die!
3 “Before Aaron enters the Most Holy Place, he will offer a bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 Aaron will wash his whole body with water and put on the special clothes. He will put on the linen underwear next to his body, the linen robe, the linen belt, and then he will put the linen turban on his head.
5 “From the whole community of Israel, Aaron will accept two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering. 6 Then he will offer the bull for the sin offering. This sin offering is for himself. He will do this to purify[b] himself and his family.
7 “Then Aaron will take the two goats and bring them before the Lord at the doorway of the Meeting Tent. 8 Aaron will throw lots for the two goats. One lot will be for the Lord. The other lot will be for Azazel.[c]
9 “Then Aaron will offer the goat chosen by the lot for the Lord. Aaron will make this goat a sin offering. 10 But the goat chosen by the lot for Azazel will be brought alive before the Lord. Then this goat will be sent out to Azazel in the desert. This is to make the people pure.
11 “Then Aaron will offer the bull as a sin offering for himself. He will purify himself and his family. He will kill the bull for the sin offering for himself. 12 Then he will take a firepan full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord. Aaron will take two handfuls of sweet incense that has been ground into powder and take it into the room behind the curtain. 13 He will put the incense on the fire before the Lord. Then the cloud of incense will hide the mercy-cover that is over the Box that holds the Agreement.[d] This way Aaron will not die. 14 Aaron will dip his finger into the bull’s blood and sprinkle it on the front of the Holy Box. Then he will sprinkle the blood seven times onto the front of the mercy-cover.
15 “Then Aaron will kill the goat of the sin offering for the people. He will bring this goat’s blood into the room behind the curtain. He will do with the goat’s blood as he did with the bull’s blood. He will sprinkle the goat’s blood on the mercy-cover and in front of it. 16 In this way Aaron will purify the Most Holy Place from all the uncleanness and sins of the Israelites. He will also purify the Meeting Tent, because it stands in the middle of people whose sins have made them unclean.
17 “No one must be in the Meeting Tent when Aaron goes in to purify the Most Holy Place. No one is to go in there until Aaron comes out after purifying himself, his family, and all the Israelites. 18 Then Aaron will go out to the altar that is before the Lord. Aaron will make the altar pure. He will take some of the blood from the bull and from the goat and put it on the corners of the altar on all four sides. 19 Then he will dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it on the altar seven times. In this way Aaron will make the altar holy and clean from all the sins of the Israelites.
The Lord’s Coming
13 Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about those who have died. We don’t want you to be sad like other people—those who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died, but we also believe that he rose again. So we believe that God will raise to life through Jesus any who have died and bring them together with him when he comes.
15 What we tell you now is the Lord’s own message. Those of us who are still living when the Lord comes again will join him, but not before those who have already died. 16 The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. And the people who have died and were in Christ will rise first. 17 After that we who are still alive at that time will be gathered up with those who have died. We will be taken up in the clouds and meet the Lord in the air. And we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words.
Jesus Teaches About Giving
6 “Be careful! When you do something good, don’t do it in front of others so that they will see you. If you do that, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “When you give to those who are poor, don’t announce that you are giving. Don’t be like the hypocrites. When they are in the synagogues and on the streets, they blow trumpets before they give so that people will see them. They want everyone to praise them. The truth is, that’s all the reward they will get. 3 So when you give to the poor, don’t let anyone know what you are doing.[a] 4 Your giving should be done in private. Your Father can see what is done in private, and he will reward you.
Jesus Teaches About Prayer(A)
5 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites. They love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners and pray loudly. They want people to see them. The truth is, that’s all the reward they will get. 6 But when you pray, you should go into your room and close the door. Then pray to your Father. He is there in that private place. He can see what is done in private, and he will reward you.
Jesus Teaches About Fasting
16 “When you fast, don’t make yourselves look sad like the hypocrites. They put a look of suffering on their faces so that people will see they are fasting. The truth is, that’s all the reward they will get. 17 So when you fast, wash your face and make yourself look nice. 18 Then no one will know you are fasting, except your Father, who is with you even in private. He can see what is done in private, and he will reward you.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International