Book of Common Prayer
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
31 Lord, I have come to you for safety.
Don’t let me ever be put to shame.
Save me, because you do what is right.
2 Pay attention to me.
Come quickly to help me.
Be the rock I go to for safety.
Be the strong fort that saves me.
3 You are my rock and my fort.
Lead me and guide me for the honor of your name.
4 Keep me free from the trap that is set for me.
You are my place of safety.
5 Into your hands I commit my very life.
Lord, set me free. You are my faithful God.
6 I hate those who worship worthless statues of gods.
But I trust in the Lord.
7 I will be glad and full of joy because you love me.
You saw that I was hurting.
You took note of my great pain.
8 You have not handed me over to the enemy.
You have put me in a wide and safe place.
9 Lord, have mercy on me. I’m in deep trouble.
I’m so sad I can hardly see.
My whole body grows weak with sadness.
10 Pain has taken over my life.
My years are spent in groaning.
I have no strength because I’m hurting so much.
My body is getting weaker and weaker.
11 My neighbors make fun of me
because I have so many enemies.
My closest friends are afraid of me.
People who see me on the street run away from me.
12 No one remembers me. I might as well be dead.
I have become like broken pottery.
13 I hear many people whispering,
“There is terror all around him!”
Many have joined together against me.
They plan to kill me.
14 But I trust in you, Lord.
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My whole life is in your hands.
Save me from the hands of my enemies.
Save me from those who are chasing me.
16 May you look on me with favor.
Save me because your love is faithful.
17 Lord, I have cried out to you.
Don’t let me be put to shame.
But let sinners be put to shame.
Let them lie silent in the place of the dead.
18 Their lips tell lies. Let them be silenced.
They speak with pride against those who do right.
They make fun of them.
19 You have stored up so many good things.
You have stored them up for those who have respect for you.
You give those things while everyone watches.
You give them to people who run to you for safety.
20 They are safe because you are with them.
You hide them from the evil plans of their enemies.
In your house you keep them safe
from those who bring charges against them.
21 Give praise to the Lord.
He showed me his wonderful love
when my enemies attacked the city I was in.
22 I was afraid and said,
“I’ve been cut off from you!”
But you heard my cry for your favor.
You heard me when I called out to you for help.
23 Love the Lord, all you who are faithful to him!
The Lord keeps safe those who are faithful to him.
But he completely pays back those who are proud.
24 Be strong, all you who put your hope in the Lord.
Never give up.
A psalm of David.
35 Lord, stand up against those who stand up against me.
Fight against those who fight against me.
2 Pick up your shield and your armor.
Rise up and help me.
3 Get your spear and javelin ready to fight
against those who are chasing me.
Say to me, “I will save you.”
4 Let those who are trying to kill me
be brought down in dishonor.
Let those who plan to destroy me
be turned back in terror.
5 Let them be like straw blowing in the wind,
while the angel of the Lord drives them away.
6 Let their path be dark and slippery,
while the angel of the Lord chases them.
7 They set a trap for me without any reason.
Without any reason they dug a pit to catch me.
8 So let them be destroyed without warning.
Let the trap they set for me catch them.
Let them fall into the pit and be destroyed.
9 Then I will be full of joy because of what the Lord has done.
I will be glad because he has saved me.
10 My whole being will cry out,
“Who is like you, Lord?
You save poor people from those who are too strong for them.
You save poor and needy people from those who rob them.”
11 Mean people come forward to speak against me.
They ask me things I don’t know anything about.
12 They pay me back with evil, even though I was good to them.
They leave me like someone who has lost a family member.
13 But when they were sick, I put on the clothing of sadness.
I made myself humble by going without food.
My prayers for them weren’t always answered.
14 So I went around crying
as if I were mourning over my friend or relative.
I bowed my head in sadness
as if I were weeping over my mother.
15 But when I tripped and fell, they were all very happy.
Attackers gathered against me when I didn’t even know it.
They kept on telling lies about me.
16 Like ungodly people, they were mean and made fun of me.
They ground their teeth at me in hate.
17 Lord, how much longer will you just look on?
Save me from their deadly attacks.
Save the only life I have.
Save me from these lions.
18 I will give you thanks in the whole community.
Among all your people I will praise you.
19 Don’t let those who are my enemies without any reason
laugh at me and make fun of me.
Don’t let those who hate me without any reason
wink at me with an evil purpose.
20 They don’t speak words of peace.
They make up false charges
against those who live quietly in the land.
21 They make fun of me.
They say, “With our own eyes we have seen what you did.”
22 Lord, you have seen this. Don’t be silent.
Lord, don’t be far away from me.
23 Wake up! Rise up to help me!
My God and Lord, stand up for me.
24 Lord my God, when you hand down your sentence, let it be in my favor.
You always do what is right.
Don’t let my enemies have the joy of seeing me fall.
25 Don’t let them think, “That’s exactly what we wanted!”
Don’t let them say, “We have swallowed him up.”
26 Let all those who laugh at me because I’m in trouble
be ashamed and bewildered.
Let all who think they are better than I am
put on shame and dishonor as if they were clothes.
27 Let those who are happy when my name is cleared
shout with joy and gladness.
Let them always say, “May the Lord be honored.
He is pleased when everything goes well with the one who serves him.”
28 You always do what is right. My tongue will speak about it
and praise you all day long.
19 On the tenth day of the first month the people went up out of the Jordan River. They camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. 20 Joshua set up the 12 stones at Gilgal. They were the ones the people had taken out of the Jordan. 21 Then he spoke to the Israelites. He said, “In days to come, your children after you will ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 Their parents must tell them, ‘Israel went across the Jordan River on dry ground.’ 23 The Lord your God dried up the Jordan for you until you had gone across it. He did to the Jordan River the same thing he had done to the Red Sea. He dried up the Red Sea ahead of us until we had gone across it. 24 He did it so that all the nations on earth would know that he is powerful. He did it so that you would always have respect for the Lord your God.”
5 All the Amorite and Canaanite kings heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan River. They heard how he had dried it up for the Israelites until they had gone across it. The Amorite kings lived west of the Jordan. The kings of Canaan lived along the Mediterranean Sea. When all those kings heard what the Lord had done, they were terrified. They weren’t brave enough to face the Israelites anymore.
10 The Israelites celebrated the Passover Feast. They observed it on the evening of the 14th day of the month. They did it while they were camped at Gilgal on the plains around Jericho. 11 The day after the Passover, they ate some of the food grown in the land. On that same day they ate grain that had been cooked. They also ate bread made without yeast. 12 The manna stopped coming down the day after they ate the food grown in the land. The Israelites didn’t have manna anymore. Instead, that year they ate food grown in Canaan.
Israel Captures Jericho
13 When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him. The man was holding a sword. He was ready for battle. Joshua went up to him. He asked, “Are you on our side? Or are you on the side of our enemies?”
14 “I am not on either side,” he replied. “I have come as the commander of the Lord’s army.” Then Joshua fell with his face to the ground. He asked the man, “What message does my Lord have for me?”
15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals. The place you are standing on is holy ground.” So Joshua took them off.
Love in Action
9 Love must be honest and true. Hate what is evil. Hold on to what is good. 10 Love one another deeply. Honor others more than yourselves. 11 Stay excited about your faith as you serve the Lord. 12 When you hope, be joyful. When you suffer, be patient. When you pray, be faithful. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Welcome others into your homes.
14 Bless those who hurt you. Bless them, and do not curse them. 15 Be joyful with those who are joyful. Be sad with those who are sad. 16 Agree with one another. Don’t be proud. Be willing to be a friend of people who aren’t considered important. Don’t think that you are better than others.
17 Don’t pay back evil with evil. Be careful to do what everyone thinks is right. 18 If possible, live in peace with everyone. Do that as much as you can. 19 My dear friends, don’t try to get even. Leave room for God to show his anger. It is written, “I am the God who judges people. I will pay them back,” (Deuteronomy 32:35) says the Lord. 20 Do just the opposite. Scripture says,
“If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat.
If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
By doing those things, you will pile up burning coals on their heads.” (Proverbs 25:21,22)
21 Don’t let evil overcome you. Overcome evil by doing good.
The Lord’s Supper
17 It was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The disciples came to Jesus. They asked, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover meal?”
18 He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man. Tell him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover at your house with my disciples.” ’ ” 19 So the disciples did what Jesus had told them to do. They prepared the Passover meal.
20 When evening came, Jesus was at the table with his 12 disciples. 21 While they were eating, he said, “What I’m about to tell you is true. One of you will hand me over to my enemies.”
22 The disciples became very sad. One after the other, they began to say to him, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord, do you?”
23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will hand me over. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But how terrible it will be for the one who hands over the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
25 Judas was the one who was going to hand him over. He said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Teacher, do you?”
Jesus answered, “You have said so.”
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