Book of Common Prayer
David wrote this song to ask God not to forget him.
Lord, please remember me[a]
38 Lord, when you are angry,
please do not punish me.
2 You have shot your arrows deep into me.
Your hand has pushed me down to the ground.[b]
3 Your punishment has made my whole body ill.
My health has gone, because of my sin.
4 My sin is too much for me!
It is like a heavy weight,
that I cannot carry.
5 My wounds make a bad smell,
and they get worse.
This is because I have done stupid things.
6 My body is bent down to the ground.
Every day I weep because I am so sad.
7 My body is hot with fever.[c]
I am very ill.
8 The pain has made me tired and weak.
I am so upset that I cry aloud.
9 My Lord, you already know what I want most.
You hear me when I cry with pain.
10 My heart beats very fast,
and my strength is leaving me.
Even my eyes can no longer see properly.
11 My family and my friends stay away from me,
because of my illness.
They do not come near to me.
12 My enemies prepare traps,
because they want to kill me.
They talk about ways to destroy me.
They want to hurt me,
so they talk about that all through the day.
13 But I am like a deaf man who hears nothing.
I am like a dumb man who says nothing.
14 So I live like a man who cannot hear what people say.
I refuse to argue against them.
15 Yes, Lord, I wait for you to help me!
I believe that you will answer me, my Lord and my God.
16 I have prayed that my enemies will not laugh at me.
If I slip and fall down,
they will be very happy!
17 I will soon fall down to the ground.
I have nothing but pain all the time.
18 But I agree that I have done wrong things.
I am sorry about my sins.
19 I have many enemies and they are strong.
They have no reason to hate me.
20 When I do good things,
they do evil things to me in return!
I try to do what is right,
but they turn against me.
21 Lord, please do not leave me alone.
Do not stay far away from me, my God!
22 My Lord, you are the one who can save me,
so come quickly to help me!
DALETH
25 I have fallen to the ground. I am almost dead.
Give me life again, as you have promised to do.
26 I told you what my life is like,
and you answered me.
Please teach me your laws.
27 Help me to understand what your teaching means.
Then I will think carefully about the great things that you do.
28 I am so sad that I feel very weak.
Use your word to make me strong again.
29 Stop me from living in a wrong way.
Please be kind to me,
so that I know your Law.
30 I have chosen to live in the right way.
I will continue to obey your rules.
31 Yes, Lord, I will always respect your teaching.
Please do not let me become ashamed.
32 I want to obey your commands all the time.
Help me to understand them more and more.
HE
33 Lord, help me to understand your teaching,
then I will always obey it.
34 Explain your Law to me, then I will obey it.
I will always love to do what it says.
35 Help me to live in a way that respects your commands.
That is what makes me very happy.
36 Help me to love your rules.
That is better for me than riches.
37 Turn my eyes away from useless things.
Use your word to help me to live.
38 I am your servant.
Please do what you have promised to do.
You have promised to bless anyone who respects you.
39 I am afraid when people insult me.
Your rules are good,
so do not let me be ashamed.
40 I really want to obey your rules.
Because you are righteous,
please let me continue to live.
WAW
41 Lord, I want your faithful love to be with me.
Please keep me safe, as you have promised.
42 Then I will be able to answer the people who insult me.
I will show them that I trust in your word.
43 Do not stop me from speaking your true word!
I know that you will do what is right.
44 I will always obey your Law,
now and for ever.
45 I will not be in danger as I live,
because I try to obey your teaching.
46 I will speak to kings about your rules.
I will not be ashamed to do that.
47 I love your commands
and they make me very happy.
48 I respect your commands,
and I love them.
I am always thinking about your laws.
The people cross the Jordan
3 Early the next morning, Joshua and all the Israelites left Shittim. They put up their tents beside the Jordan River. They waited to cross the river.
2 Three days later, the Israelite leaders went to every tent. 3 They commanded the people, ‘The Levite priests will carry the Covenant Box of the Lord your God. When you see them, you must leave here and you must follow them. 4 They will show you the way to go because you have never been here before. But do not go too near to the Covenant Box. Stay about 1,000 metres behind it.’
5 Joshua said to the people, ‘Make yourselves ready to serve the Lord as his holy people. Tomorrow, the Lord will do great miracles among you.’
6 He said to the priests, ‘Pick up the Covenant Box, and carry it in front of the people.’ So they picked it up, and they went on in front of the people.
7 Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Today I will begin to make all the Israelite people respect you. They will know that I am with you, in the same way that I was with Moses. 8 The priests that are carrying the Covenant Box must go to the shore of the Jordan River. Tell them to go into the water and to stand there.’
9 Joshua said to the Israelites, ‘Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. 10 The God who lives for ever is with you. He will certainly chase the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites out from this land.[a] Then you will have their land. The Lord will show you that he will certainly do this. 11 Look now! The Covenant Box of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan River in front of you. 12 Now choose 12 men, one from each tribe of Israel's family. 13 Watch the priests who are carrying the Covenant Box. As soon as their feet touch the water of the river, you will see that the water stops running. It will rise up like a wall.’
God will save the Jews
25 My Christian friends, I want to help you to understand about Israel's people. It is a secret that God has shown to us. If you really understand it, you will not be proud that you are so clever. Many of Israel's people have refused to believe in Christ. They will continue to refuse him until the complete number of Gentiles have believed. 26 When that has happened, God will save all Israel's people. This is written in the Bible:
‘The one who rescues will come from Zion.
He will turn Jacob's people away from their sins.[a]
27 And I will make this agreement with them.
I will forgive them for their sins.’[b]
28 Israel's people have become God's enemies, because they have refused to believe the good news about Christ. This has happened to help you Gentiles. But God still loves Israel's people, because he has chosen them as his own people. That is what he promised to their ancestors. 29 God's thoughts about his people cannot change. He has blessed them with gifts and he has chosen them to belong to him.
30 In past times, you Gentiles did not obey God. But now God has been very kind to you, because Israel's people refused to obey him. 31 They do not obey God now. As a result God has been very kind to you. That has happened so that God may now be very kind to them too. 32 God says that everyone is guilty because they do not obey him. He says that so that he can be kind and he can forgive everyone.
33 Yes! God is very great! He has everything! He knows and he understands all things! Nobody can completely understand the things that he decides. Nobody can explain the ways in which he works. 34 The Bible says this:
‘Nobody knows the thoughts of the Lord God.
Nobody is able to tell him what he should do.’[c]
35 ‘Nobody has ever given anything to God,
so that God had a debt to pay back to them.’[d]
36 It is God who made all things. He also causes all things to continue. And all things are there to show how great he is.
We praise him! He is great for ever! Amen. This is true!
God judges everybody
31 Jesus said, ‘I, the Son of Man, will return one day. Then people will see that I am great and powerful. All God's angels will come with me. I will sit on my great seat as king. 32 People from all the countries in the world will come together in front of me. I will put them into two groups. I will do it in the same way that a shepherd puts his sheep and goats into two groups. 33 He puts the sheep on his right side and the goats on his left side.[a]
34 The king will say to those people who are on his right side, “Come here. My Father has been good to you. He has prepared a place for you in his kingdom. That kingdom has been ready for you since the time that God made the world. 35 I was hungry and you gave me some food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me some water to drink. I was visiting your town and you asked me to stay in your home. 36 I did not have enough clothes and you gave me some clothes to wear. I was ill and you took care of me. I was in prison and you came to visit me there.”
37 Then the people on the right side will say to the king, “Master, when did we see that you were hungry and give you some food? When did we see that you were thirsty and we gave you some water to drink? 38 When did we ask you to stay in our home because you were alone? When did we give you some clothes to wear? 39 When did we take care of you because you were ill? When did we come to visit you in prison?”
40 The king will answer them, “I tell you this: You did all these things to help other people. They were not important people, but they were my friends. When you helped them, then you also helped me.”
41 Then the king will say to those people who are at his left side, “Go away from me. God has decided to punish you. He has prepared a fire that will burn for ever. He has prepared it for Satan and his servants. You will also go into that fire. 42 I was hungry but you did not give me any food to eat. I was thirsty but you did not give me anything to drink. 43 I visited your town but you did not ask me to stay in your home. I did not have enough clothes but you did not give me anything to wear. I was ill but you did not take care of me. I was in prison but you did not come to visit me.”
44 Then these other people will say, “Master, when did we see you and you were hungry, or you were thirsty? When did we see you alone or without clothes? When did we see you and you were ill, or in prison? When did you need our help and we did not help you?”
45 Then the king will reply, “I tell you this: You did not help people who are my friends. They were not important people. But when you did not help them, you also did not help me.”
46 Then those people on the king's left side will go away to the place where God will punish them for ever. But the good people on the king's right side will live for ever with God.’
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