Book of Common Prayer
For the director of music. A psalm of David to be played on flutes.
5 Lord, listen to my words.
Pay attention when I mourn.
2 My King and my God,
hear me when I cry for help.
I pray to you.
3 Lord, in the morning you hear my voice.
In the morning I pray to you.
I wait for you in hope.
4 For you, God, aren’t happy with anything that is evil.
Those who do what is wrong can’t live where you are.
5 Those who are proud can’t stand in front of you.
You hate everyone who does what is evil.
6 You destroy those who tell lies.
Lord, you hate murderers and those who cheat others.
7 Because of your great love
I can come into your house.
With deep respect I bow down
toward your holy temple.
8 Lord, I have many enemies.
Lead me in your right path.
Make your way smooth and straight for me.
9 Not a word from their mouths can be trusted.
Their hearts are filled with a desire to hurt others.
Their throats are like open graves.
With their tongues they tell lies.
10 God, show that they are guilty.
Let their evil plans bring them down.
Send them away because of their many sins.
They have refused to obey you.
11 But let all those who go to you for safety be glad.
Let them always sing for joy.
Spread your cover over them and keep them safe.
Then those who love you will be glad because of you.
12 Surely, Lord, you bless those who do what is right.
Like a shield, your loving care keeps them safe.
For the director of music. According to sheminith. A psalm of David to be played on stringed instruments.
6 Lord, don’t correct me when you are angry.
Don’t punish me when you are very angry.
2 Lord, have mercy on me. I’m so weak.
Lord, heal me. My body is full of pain.
3 My soul is very troubled.
Lord, how long will it be until you save me?
4 Lord, turn to me and help me.
Save me. Your love never fails.
5 Dead people can’t call out your name.
How can they praise you when they are in the grave?
6 My groaning has worn me out.
All night long my tears flood my bed.
My bed is wet because of my crying.
7 I’m so sad I can’t see very well.
My eyesight gets worse because of all my enemies.
8 Get away from me, all you who do evil.
The Lord has heard my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my cry for his mercy.
The Lord accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be covered with shame and trouble.
They will turn back in shame. It will happen suddenly.
10 Lord, why are you so far away?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 An evil person is proud and hunts down those who are weak.
He catches weak people by making clever plans.
3 He brags about what his heart desires.
He speaks well of those who always want more.
He attacks the Lord with his words.
4 Because he is proud, that evil person doesn’t turn to the Lord.
There is no room for God in any of his thoughts.
5 Everything always goes well for him.
So he is proud.
He doesn’t want to have anything to do with God’s laws.
He makes fun of all his enemies.
6 He says to himself, “I will always be secure.”
He promises himself, “No one will ever harm me.”
7 His mouth is full of lies and warnings.
With his tongue he speaks evil and makes trouble.
8 Sinful people hide and wait near the villages.
From their hiding places they murder people who aren’t guilty.
They watch in secret for those they want to attack.
9 They hide and wait like a lion in the bushes.
From their hiding places they wait to catch those who are helpless.
They catch them and drag them off in their nets.
10 Those they have attacked are beaten up. They fall to the ground.
They fall because their attackers are too strong for them.
11 Sinful people say to themselves, “God will never notice.
He covers his face. He never sees us.”
12 Lord, rise up! God, show your power!
Don’t forget those who are helpless.
13 Why do sinful people attack you with their words?
Why do they say to themselves,
“He won’t hold us accountable”?
14 God, you see the problems of people in trouble.
You take note of their pain. You do something about it.
So those who are attacked place themselves in your care.
You help children whose fathers have died.
15 Take away the power of sinful people.
Hold them accountable for the evil things they do.
Uncover all the evil they have done.
16 The Lord is King for ever and ever.
The nations will disappear from his land.
17 Lord, you hear the desires of those who are hurting.
You cheer them up and give them hope.
You listen to their cries.
18 You stand up for those whose fathers have died
and for those who have been treated badly.
You do it so that mere human beings made of dust
may not terrify others anymore.
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
11 I run to the Lord for safety.
So how can you say to me,
“Fly away like a bird to your mountain.
2 Look! Evil people are bending their bows.
They are placing their arrows against the strings.
They are planning to shoot from the shadows
at those who have honest hearts.
3 When law and order are being destroyed,
what can godly people do?”
4 The Lord is in his holy temple.
The Lord is on his throne in heaven.
He watches everyone on earth.
His eyes study them.
5 The Lord watches over those who do what is right.
But he really hates sinful people and those who love to hurt others.
6 He will pour out flaming coals and burning sulfur
on those who do what is wrong.
A hot and dry wind will destroy them.
7 The Lord always does what is right.
So he loves it when people do what is fair.
Those who are honest will enjoy his blessing.
The Levites Receive Their Towns
35 On the plains of Moab, the Lord spoke to Moses. It was by the Jordan River across from Jericho. The Lord said, 2 “Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in. The towns must come from the shares of land the people will have as their own. Also give the Levites the grasslands around the towns. 3 Then the Levites will have towns to live in. They will also have grasslands for their cattle and all their other livestock.
9 Then the Lord said to Moses, 10 “Speak to the Israelites. Tell them, ‘You will soon go across the Jordan River. You will enter Canaan. 11 When you do, choose the cities to go to for safety. People who have killed someone by accident can run to one of those cities. 12 They will be places of safety for them. People will be safe there from those who want to kill them. Then anyone charged with murder will not die before their case has been brought to the community court. 13 Six towns will be the cities you can go to for safety. 14 Three will be east of the Jordan River. The other three will be in Canaan. 15 Those six towns will be places where the Israelites can go for safety. Outsiders living in Israel can also go to them for safety. So anyone who has killed another person by accident can run there.
30 “ ‘Suppose a person kills someone. Then that person must be put to death as a murderer. But do it only when there are witnesses who can tell what happened. Do not put anyone to death if only one witness tells what happened.
31 “ ‘Do not accept payment for a murderer’s life. A murderer deserves to die. They must certainly be put to death.
32 “ ‘Do not accept payment for anyone who has run to a city for safety. Do not let them buy their freedom to return home. They must not go back and live on their own land before the high priest dies.
33 “ ‘Do not pollute the land where you are. Murder pollutes the land. Only one thing can pay to remove the pollution in the land where murder has been committed. The blood of the one who spilled another’s blood must be spilled. 34 So do not make the land where you live “unclean,” because I live there too. I, the Lord, live among the Israelites.’ ”
We Are More Than Winners
31 What should we say then? Since God is on our side, who can be against us? 32 God did not spare his own Son. He gave him up for us all. Then won’t he also freely give us everything else? 33 Who can bring any charge against God’s chosen ones? God makes us right with himself. 34 Then who can sentence us to death? No one. Christ Jesus is at the right hand of God and is also praying for us. He died. More than that, he was raised to life. 35 Who can separate us from Christ’s love? Can trouble or hard times or harm or hunger? Can nakedness or danger or war? 36 It is written,
“Because of you, we face death all day long.
We are considered as sheep to be killed.” (Psalm 44:22)
37 No! In all these things we are more than winners! We owe it all to Christ, who has loved us. 38 I am absolutely sure that not even death or life can separate us from God’s love. Not even angels or demons, the present or the future, or any powers can separate us. 39 Not even the highest places or the lowest, or anything else in all creation can separate us. Nothing at all can ever separate us from God’s love. That’s because of what Christ Jesus our Lord has done.
How Terrible for the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees
13-14 “How terrible it will be for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter. And you will not let those enter who are trying to.
15 “How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You travel everywhere to win one person to your faith. Then you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.
16 “How terrible for you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone makes a promise in the name of the temple, it means nothing. But anyone who makes a promise in the name of the gold of the temple must keep that promise.’ 17 You are blind and foolish! Which is more important? Is it the gold? Or is it the temple that makes the gold holy? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone makes a promise in the name of the altar, it means nothing. But anyone who makes a promise in the name of the gift on the altar must keep that promise.’ 19 You are blind! Which is more important? Is it the gift? Or is it the altar that makes the gift holy? 20 So anyone making a promise in the name of the altar makes a promise in the name of it and everything on it. 21 And anyone making a promise in the name of the temple makes a promise in the name of it and the one who lives in it. 22 And anyone making a promise in the name of heaven makes a promise in the name of God’s throne and the one who sits on it.
23 “How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You give God a tenth of your spices, like mint, dill and cumin. But you have not practiced the more important things of the law, which are fairness, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the last things without failing to do the first. 24 You blind guides! You remove the smallest insect from your food. But you swallow a whole camel!
25 “How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You clean the outside of a cup and dish. But on the inside you are full of greed. You only want to satisfy yourselves. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish. Then the outside will also be clean.
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