Book of Common Prayer
A miktam of David.
16 My God, keep me safe.
I go to you for safety.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord.
Without you, I don’t have anything that is good.”
3 I say about God’s people who live in our land, “They are the noble ones.
I take great delight in them.”
4 Those who run after other gods
will suffer more and more.
I will not pour out offerings of blood to those gods.
My lips will not speak their names.
5 Lord, you alone are everything I need.
You make my life secure.
6 I am very pleased with what you have given me.
I am very happy with what I’ve received from you.
7 I will praise the Lord. He gives me good advice.
Even at night my heart teaches me.
8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
He is at my right hand.
So I will always be secure.
9 So my heart is glad. Joy is on my tongue.
My body also will be secure.
10 You will not leave me in the place of the dead.
You will not let your faithful one rot away.
11 You always show me the path of life.
You will fill me with joy when I am with you.
You will make me happy forever at your right hand.
A prayer of David.
17 Lord, hear me, because I ask for what is right.
Listen to my cry for help.
Hear my prayer.
It doesn’t come from lips that tell lies.
2 When you hand down your sentence, may it be in my favor.
May your eyes see what is right.
3 Look deep down into my heart.
Study me carefully at night and test me.
You won’t find anything wrong.
I have planned nothing evil.
My mouth has not said sinful things.
4 Though evil people tried to pay me to do wrong,
I have not done what they wanted.
Instead I have done what you commanded.
5 My steps have stayed on your paths.
My feet have not slipped.
6 My God, I call out to you because you will answer me.
Listen to me. Hear my prayer.
7 Show me the wonders of your great love.
By using your great power,
you save those who go to you for safety from their enemies.
8 Take good care of me, just as you would take care of your own eyes.
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.
9 Save me from the sinful people who want to destroy me.
Save me from my deadly enemies who are all around me.
10 They make their hearts hard and stubborn.
Their mouths speak with pride.
11 They have tracked me down. They are all around me.
Their eyes watch for a chance to throw me to the ground.
12 They are like a hungry lion, waiting to attack.
They are like a powerful lion, hiding in the bushes.
13 Lord, rise up. Oppose them and bring them down.
With your sword, save me from those evil people.
14 Lord, by your power save me from people like that.
They belong to this world. They get their reward in this life.
May what you have stored up for evil people fill their bellies.
May their children’s stomachs be filled with it.
And may there even be leftovers for their little ones.
15 You will show that I am right; I will enjoy your blessing.
When I wake up, I will be satisfied because I will see you.
For the director of music. A psalm of David to the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.”
22 My God, my God, why have you deserted me?
Why do you seem so far away when I need you to save me?
Why do you seem so far away that you can’t hear my groans?
2 My God, I cry out in the daytime. But you don’t answer.
I cry out at night. But you don’t let me sleep.
3 But you rule from your throne as the Holy One.
You are the God Israel praises.
4 Our people of long ago put their trust in you.
They trusted in you, and you saved them.
5 They cried out to you and were saved.
They trusted in you, and you didn’t let them down.
6 Everyone treats me like a worm and not a man.
They hate me and look down on me.
7 All those who see me laugh at me.
They shout at me and make fun of me.
They shake their heads at me.
8 They say, “He trusts in the Lord.
Let the Lord help him.
If the Lord is pleased with him,
let him save him.”
9 But you brought me out of my mother’s body.
You made me trust in you
even when I was at my mother’s breast.
10 From the time I was born, you took good care of me.
Ever since I came out of my mother’s body, you have been my God.
11 Don’t be far away from me.
Trouble is near,
and there is no one to help me.
12 Many enemies are all around me.
They are like strong bulls from the land of Bashan.
13 They are like roaring lions that tear to pieces what they kill.
They open their mouths wide to attack me.
14 My strength is like water that is poured out on the ground.
I feel as if my bones aren’t connected.
My heart has turned to wax.
It has melted away inside me.
15 My mouth is dried up like a piece of broken pottery.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You bring me down to the edge of the grave.
16 A group of sinful people has closed in on me.
They are all around me like a pack of dogs.
They have pierced my hands and my feet.
17 Everyone can see all my bones right through my skin.
People stare at me. They laugh when I suffer.
18 They divide up my clothes among them.
They cast lots for what I am wearing.
19 Lord, don’t be so far away from me.
You give me strength. Come quickly to help me.
20 Save me from being killed by the sword.
Save the only life I have. Save me from the power of those dogs.
21 Save me from the mouths of those lions.
Save me from the horns of those wild oxen.
22 I will announce your name to my people.
I will praise you among those who are gathered to worship you.
23 You who have respect for the Lord, praise him!
All you people of Jacob, honor him!
All you people of Israel, worship him!
24 He has not forgotten the one who is hurting.
He has not turned away from his suffering.
He has not turned his face away from him.
He has listened to his cry for help.
25 Because of what you have done,
I will praise you in the whole community of those who worship you.
In front of those who respect you,
I will keep my promises.
26 Those who are poor will eat and be satisfied.
Those who seek the Lord will praise him.
May their hearts be filled with new hope!
27 People from one end of the earth to the other
will remember and turn to the Lord.
The people of all the nations
will bow down in front of him.
28 The Lord is King.
He rules over the nations.
29 All rich people of the earth will feast and worship God.
All who go down to the grave will kneel in front of him.
Those who cannot keep themselves alive will kneel.
30 Those who are not yet born will serve him.
Those who are born later will be told about the Lord.
31 And they will tell people who have not yet been born,
“The Lord has done what is right!”
7 Then Moses sent for Joshua. Moses spoke to him in front of all the Israelites. He said, “Be strong and brave. You must go with these people. They are going into the land the Lord promised to give to their people of long ago. You must divide it up among them. They will each receive their share. 8 The Lord himself will go ahead of you. He will be with you. He will never leave you. He’ll never desert you. So don’t be afraid. Don’t lose hope.”
The Law Must Be Read to the People
9 Moses wrote down this law. He gave it to the priests, who are sons of Levi. They carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord. He also gave the law to all the elders of Israel. 10 Then Moses commanded them, “You must read this law at the end of every seven years. Do it in the year when you forgive people what they owe. Read it during the Feast of Booths. 11 That’s when all the Israelites come to appear in front of the Lord your God at the holy tent. It will be at the place he will choose. You must read this law to them. 12 Gather the people together. Gather the men, women and children. Also bring together the outsiders living in your towns. Then they can listen and learn to have respect for the Lord your God. And they’ll be careful to obey all the words of this law. 13 Their children must hear it read too. They don’t know this law yet. They too must learn to have respect for the Lord your God. They must honor him as long as you live in the land. You are about to go across the Jordan River and take that land as your very own.”
24 Moses finished writing the words of this law in a book. He wrote them down from beginning to end. 25 Then he gave a command to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord. Moses said, 26 “Take this Book of the Law. Place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. It will remain there as a witness against you. 27 I know how you refuse to obey the Lord. I know how stubborn you are. You have refused to obey him while I’ve been living among you. So you will certainly refuse to obey him after I’m dead! 28 Gather together all the elders of your tribes and all your officials. Bring them to me. Then I can speak these words to them. I can call for the heavens and the earth to be witnesses against them. 29 I know that after I’m dead you will certainly become very sinful. You will turn away from the path I’ve commanded you to take. In days to come, trouble will fall on you. That’s because you will do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. You will make him very angry because of the statues of gods your hands have made.”
The Song of Moses
30 Moses spoke the words of this song from beginning to end. The whole community of Israel heard them. Here is what he said.
32 Heavens, listen to me. Then I will speak.
Earth, hear the words of my mouth.
2 Let my teaching fall like rain.
Let my words come down like dew.
Let them be like raindrops on new grass.
Let them be like rain on tender plants.
3 I will make known the name of the Lord.
Praise God! How great he is!
4 He is the Rock. His works are perfect.
All his ways are right.
He is faithful. He doesn’t do anything wrong.
He is honest and fair.
10 Brothers and sisters, with all my heart I long for the people of Israel to be saved. I pray to God for them. 2 I can tell you for certain that they really want to serve God. But how they are trying to do it is not based on knowledge. 3 They didn’t know that God’s power makes people right with himself. They tried to get right with God in their own way. They didn’t do it in God’s way. 4 Christ has fulfilled everything the law was meant to do. So now everyone who believes can be right with God.
5 Moses writes about how the law could help a person do what God requires. He writes, “The person who does these things will live by them.” (Leviticus 18:5) 6 But the way to do what God requires must begin by having faith in him. Scripture says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will go up into heaven?’ ” (Deuteronomy 30:12) That means to go up into heaven and bring Christ down. 7 “And do not say, ‘Who will go down into the grave?’ ” (Deuteronomy 30:13) That means to bring Christ up from the dead. 8 But what does it say? “The message is near you. It’s in your mouth and in your heart.” (Deuteronomy 30:14) This means the message about faith that we are preaching. 9 Say with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord.” Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Then you will be saved. 10 With your heart you believe and are made right with God. With your mouth you say what you believe. And so you are saved. 11 Scripture says, “The one who believes in him will never be put to shame.” (Isaiah 28:16) 12 There is no difference between those who are Jews and those who are not. The same Lord is Lord of all. He richly blesses everyone who calls on him. 13 Scripture says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Joel 2:32)
15 “The prophet Daniel spoke about ‘the hated thing that destroys.’ (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11) Someday you will see it standing in the holy place. The reader should understand this. 16 Then those who are in Judea should escape to the mountains. 17 No one on the housetop should go down into the house to take anything out. 18 No one in the field should go back to get their coat. 19 How awful it will be in those days for pregnant women! How awful for nursing mothers! 20 Pray that you will not have to escape in winter or on the Sabbath day. 21 There will be terrible suffering in those days. It will be worse than any other from the beginning of the world until now. And there will never be anything like it again.
22 “If the time had not been cut short, no one would live. But because of God’s chosen people, it will be shortened. 23 At that time someone may say to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ Or, ‘There he is!’ Do not believe it. 24 False messiahs and false prophets will appear. They will do great signs and miracles. They will try to fool God’s chosen people if possible. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.
26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘He is a long way out in the desert,’ do not go out there. Or if anyone says, ‘He is deep inside the house,’ do not believe it. 27 Lightning that comes from the east can be seen in the west. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. 28 The vultures will gather wherever there is a dead body.
29 “Right after the terrible suffering of those days,
“ ‘The sun will be darkened.
The moon will not shine.
The stars will fall from the sky.
The heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ (Isaiah 13:10; 34:4)
30 “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven. At that time, all the peoples of the earth will mourn. They will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven. He will come with power and great glory. 31 He will send his angels with a loud trumpet call. They will gather his chosen people from all four directions. They will bring them from one end of the heavens to the other.
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