Book of Common Prayer
מ Mem
97 Lord, I really love your law!
All day long I spend time thinking about it.
98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,
because your commands are always in my heart.
99 I know more than all my teachers do,
because I spend time thinking about your covenant laws.
100 I understand more than the elders do,
because I obey your rules.
101 I’ve kept my feet from every path that sinners take
so that I might obey your word.
102 I haven’t turned away from your laws,
because you yourself have taught me.
103 Your words are very sweet to my taste!
They are sweeter than honey to me.
104 I gain understanding from your rules.
So I hate every path that sinners take.
נ Nun
105 Your word is like a lamp that shows me the way.
It is like a light that guides me.
106 I have made a promise
to follow your laws, because they are right.
107 I have suffered very much.
Lord, keep me alive as you have promised.
108 Lord, accept the praise I freely give you.
Teach me your laws.
109 I keep putting my life in danger.
But I won’t forget to obey your law.
110 Evil people have set a trap for me.
But I haven’t wandered away from your rules.
111 Your covenant laws are your gift to me forever.
They fill my heart with joy.
112 I have decided to obey your orders
to the very end.
ס Samekh
113 I hate people who can’t make up their minds.
But I love your law.
114 You are my place of safety.
You are like a shield that keeps me safe.
I have put my hope in your word.
115 Get away from me, you who do evil!
Then I can do what my God commands me to do.
116 My God, keep me going as you have promised. Then I will live.
Don’t let me lose all hope.
117 Take good care of me, and I will be saved.
I will always honor your orders.
118 You turn your back on all those who wander away from your orders.
Their wrong thoughts will be proved to be wrong.
119 You throw away all the sinners on earth as if they were trash.
So I love your covenant laws.
120 My body trembles because I have respect for you.
I have great respect for your laws.
For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of Asaph.
81 Sing joyfully to God! He gives us strength.
Give a loud shout to the God of Jacob!
2 Let the music begin. Play the tambourines.
Play sweet music on harps and lyres.
3 Blow the ram’s horn on the day of the New Moon feast.
Blow it again when the moon is full and the Feast of Booths begins.
4 This is an order given to Israel.
It is a law of the God of Jacob.
5 He gave it as a covenant law for the people of Joseph.
It was given when God went out to punish Egypt.
There I heard a voice I didn’t recognize.
6 The voice said, “I removed the load from your shoulders.
I set your hands free from carrying heavy baskets.
7 You called out when you were in trouble, and I saved you.
I answered you out of a thundercloud.
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
8 “My people, listen and I will warn you.
Israel, I wish you would listen to me!
9 Don’t have anything to do with the gods of other nations.
Don’t bow down and worship any god other than me.
10 I am the Lord your God.
I brought you up out of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.
11 “But my people wouldn’t listen to me.
Israel wouldn’t obey me.
12 So I let them go their own stubborn way.
I let them follow their own sinful plans.
13 “I wish my people would listen to me!
I wish Israel would live as I want them to live!
14 Then I would quickly bring their enemies under control.
I would use my power against their attackers.
15 Those who hate me would bow down to me in fear.
They would be punished forever.
16 But you would be fed with the finest wheat.
I would satisfy you with the sweetest honey.”
A psalm of Asaph.
82 God takes his place at the head of a large gathering of leaders.
He announces his decisions among them.
2 He says, “How long will you stand up for those who aren’t fair to others?
How long will you show mercy to sinful people?
3 Stand up for the weak and for children whose fathers have died.
Protect the rights of people who are poor or treated badly.
4 Save those who are weak and needy.
Save them from the power of sinful people.
5 “You leaders don’t know anything.
You don’t understand anything.
You are in the dark about what is right.
Law and order have been destroyed all over the world.
6 “I said, ‘You leaders are like gods.
You are all children of the Most High God.’
7 But you will die, like mere human beings.
You will die like every other leader.”
8 God, rise up. Judge the earth.
All the nations belong to you.
24 So Moses went out. He told the people what the Lord had said. He gathered 70 of their elders together. He had them stand around the tent of meeting. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud. He spoke with Moses. He took some of the power of the Spirit that was on Moses. And he put it on the 70 elders. When the Spirit came on them, they prophesied. But they didn’t do it again.
26 Two men had remained in the camp. Their names were Eldad and Medad. They were listed among the elders. But they didn’t go out to the tent of meeting. In spite of that, the Spirit came on them too. So they prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran up to Moses. He said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28 Joshua spoke up. He was the son of Nun. Joshua had been Moses’ helper from the time he was young. He said, “Moses! Please stop them!”
29 But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for me? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets. And I wish that the Lord would put his Spirit on them.” 30 Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
31 The Lord sent out a wind. It drove quail in from the Red Sea. It scattered them all around the camp. They were about three feet above the ground. They could be seen in every direction as far as a person could walk in a day. 32 The people went out all day and gathered quail. They gathered them all night and all the next day. No one gathered less than 60 bushels. Then they spread the quail out all around the camp. 33 But while the meat was still in their mouths, the Lord acted. Before the people could swallow it, he became very angry with them. He struck them with a terrible plague. 34 So the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah. That’s where the bodies of the people who had wished for other food were buried.
35 From Kibroth Hattaavah the people traveled to Hazeroth. And they stayed there.
28 They didn’t think it was important to know God. So God let them continue to have evil thoughts. They did things they shouldn’t do. 29 They are full of every kind of sin, evil and ungodliness. They want more than they need. They commit murder. They want what belongs to other people. They fight and cheat. They hate others. They say mean things about other people. 30 They tell lies about them. They hate God. They are rude and proud. They brag. They think of new ways to do evil. They don’t obey their parents. 31 They do not understand. They can’t be trusted. They are not loving and kind. 32 They know that God’s commands are right. They know that those who do evil things should die. But they continue to do those very things. They also approve of others who do them.
God Judges Fairly
2 If you judge someone else, you have no excuse for it. When you judge another person, you are judging yourself. You do the same things you blame others for doing. 2 We know that when God judges those who do evil things, he judges fairly. 3 Though you are only a human being, you judge others. But you yourself do the same things. So how do you think you will escape when God judges you? 4 Do you disrespect God’s great kindness and favor? Do you disrespect God when he is patient with you? Don’t you realize that God’s kindness is meant to turn you away from your sins?
5 But you are stubborn. In your heart you are not sorry for your sins. You are storing up anger against yourself. The day of God’s anger is coming. Then his way of judging fairly will be shown. 6 God “will pay back each person in keeping with what they have done.” (Psalm 62:12; Proverbs 24:12) 7 God will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good. They want glory, honor, and life that never ends. 8 But there are others who only look out for themselves. They don’t accept the truth. They go astray. God will pour out his great anger on them. 9 There will be trouble and suffering for everyone who does evil. That is meant first for the Jews. It is also meant for the Gentiles. 10 But there will be glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good. That is meant first for the Jews. It is also meant for the Gentiles. 11 God treats everyone the same.
Who Is the Most Important Person in the Kingdom?
18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus. They asked him, “Then who is the most important person in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 Jesus called a little child over to him. He had the child stand among them. 3 Jesus said, “What I’m about to tell you is true. You need to change and become like little children. If you don’t, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Anyone who takes the humble position of this child is the most important in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Anyone who welcomes a little child like this one in my name welcomes me.
Do Not Cause People to Sin
6 “What if someone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin? If they do, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and be drowned at the bottom of the sea. 7 How terrible it will be for the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Things like that must come. But how terrible for the person who causes them! 8 If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It would be better to enter the kingdom of heaven with only one hand than go into hell with two hands. It would be better to enter the kingdom of heaven with only one foot than go into hell with two feet. In hell the fire burns forever. 9 If your eye causes you to sin, poke it out and throw it away. It would be better to enter the kingdom of heaven with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
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