Book of Common Prayer
A psalm of David. A song for setting apart the completed temple to God.
30 Lord, I will give you honor.
You brought me out of deep trouble.
You didn’t give my enemies the joy of seeing me die.
2 Lord my God, I called out to you for help.
And you healed me.
3 Lord, you brought me up from the place of the dead.
You kept me from going down into the pit.
4 Sing the praises of the Lord, you who are faithful to him.
Praise him, because his name is holy.
5 His anger lasts for only a moment.
But his favor lasts for a person’s whole life.
Weeping can stay for the night.
But joy comes in the morning.
6 When I felt safe, I said,
“I will always be secure.”
7 Lord, when you gave me your help,
you made Mount Zion stand firm.
But when you took away your help,
I was terrified.
8 Lord, I called out to you.
I cried to you for mercy.
9 I said, “What good will come if I become silent in death?
What good will come if I go down into the grave?
Can the dust of my dead body praise you?
Can it tell how faithful you are?
10 Lord, hear me. Have mercy on me.
Lord, help me.”
11 You turned my loud crying into dancing.
You removed my clothes of sadness and dressed me with joy.
12 So my heart will sing your praises. I can’t keep silent.
Lord, my God, I will praise you forever.
A maskil of David.
32 Blessed is the person whose lawless acts are forgiven.
Their sins have been taken away.
2 Blessed is the person whose sin the Lord never counts against them.
That person doesn’t want to cheat anyone.
3 When I kept silent about my sin,
my body became weak
because I groaned all day long.
4 Day and night
you punished me.
I became weaker and weaker
as I do in the heat of summer.
5 Then I admitted my sin to you.
I didn’t cover up the wrong I had done.
I said, “I will admit my lawless acts to the Lord.”
And you forgave the guilt of my sin.
6 Let everyone who is faithful pray to you
while they can still look to you.
When troubles come like a flood,
they certainly won’t reach those who are faithful.
7 You are my hiding place.
You will keep me safe from trouble.
You will surround me with songs sung by those who praise you
because you save your people.
8 I will guide you and teach you the way you should go.
I will give you good advice and watch over you with love.
9 Don’t be like a horse or a mule.
They can’t understand anything.
They have to be controlled by bits and bridles.
If they aren’t, they won’t come to you.
10 Sinful people have all kinds of trouble.
But the Lord’s faithful love
is all around those who trust in him.
11 Be glad because of what the Lord has done for you.
Be joyful, you who do what is right!
Sing, all you whose hearts are honest!
Book II
Psalms 42–72
For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of Korah.
42 A deer longs for streams of water.
God, I long for you in the same way.
2 I am thirsty for God. I am thirsty for the living God.
When can I go and meet with him?
3 My tears have been my food
day and night.
All day long people say to me,
“Where is your God?”
4 When I remember what has happened,
I tell God all my troubles.
I remember how I used to walk to the house of God.
The Mighty One guarded my steps.
We shouted with joy and praised God
as we went along with the joyful crowd.
5 My spirit, why are you so sad?
Why are you so upset deep down inside me?
Put your hope in God.
Once again I will have reason to praise him.
He is my Savior and my God.
6 My spirit is very sad deep down inside me.
So I will remember you here where the Jordan River begins.
I will remember you here on the Hermon mountains
and on Mount Mizar.
7 You have sent wave upon wave of trouble over me.
It roars down on me like a waterfall.
All your waves and breakers have rolled over me.
8 During the day the Lord sends his love to me.
During the night I sing about him.
I say a prayer to the God who gives me life.
9 I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go around in sorrow?
Why am I treated so badly by my enemies?”
10 My body suffers deadly pain
as my enemies make fun of me.
All day long they say to me,
“Where is your God?”
11 My spirit, why are you so sad?
Why are you so upset deep down inside me?
Put your hope in God.
Once again I will have reason to praise him.
He is my Savior and my God.
43 My God, when you hand down your decision, let it be in my favor.
Stand up for me against an unfaithful nation.
Save me from those lying and sinful people.
2 You are God, my place of safety.
Why have you turned your back on me?
Why must I go around in sorrow?
Why am I beaten down by my enemies?
3 Send me your light and your faithful care.
Let them lead me.
Let them bring me back to your holy mountain,
to the place where you live.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God.
I will go to God. He is my joy and my delight.
God, you are my God.
I will praise you by playing the lyre.
5 My spirit, why are you so sad?
Why are you so upset deep down inside me?
Put your hope in God.
Once again I will have reason to praise him.
He is my Savior and my God.
6 The gates of Jericho were shut tight and guarded closely because of the Israelites. No one went out. No one came in.
2 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “I have handed Jericho over to you. I have also handed over to you its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all your fighting men. In fact, do it for six days. 4 Have seven priests get trumpets made out of rams’ horns. They must carry them in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times. Tell the priests to blow the trumpets as you march. 5 You will hear them blow a long blast on the trumpets. When you do, tell the whole army to give a loud shout. The wall of the city will fall down. Then the whole army will march up to the city. Everyone will go straight in.”
6 So Joshua, the son of Nun, called for the priests. He said to them, “Go and get the ark of the covenant of the Lord. I want seven of you to carry trumpets in front of it.” 7 He gave an order to the army. He said, “Move out! March around the city. Some of the fighting men must march in front of the ark of the Lord.”
8 When Joshua had spoken to the men, the seven priests went forward. They were carrying the seven trumpets as they marched in front of the ark of the Lord. They were blowing the trumpets. The ark of the Lord’s covenant was carried behind the priests. 9 Some of the fighting men marched ahead of the priests who were blowing the trumpets. The others followed behind the ark and guarded all the priests. That whole time the priests were blowing the trumpets. 10 But Joshua had given an order to the army. He had said, “Don’t give a war cry. Don’t raise your voices. Don’t say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!” 11 So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city once. Then the army returned to camp. They spent the night there.
12 Joshua got up early the next morning. The priests went and got the ark of the Lord. 13 The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets started out. They marched in front of the ark of the Lord. They blew the trumpets. Some of the fighting men marched ahead of them. The others followed behind the ark and guarded all of them. The priests kept blowing the trumpets. 14 On the second day they marched around the city once. Then the army returned to camp. They did all those things for six days.
Obey Those in Authority
13 All of you must obey those who rule over you. There are no authorities except the ones God has chosen. Those who now rule have been chosen by God. 2 So whoever opposes the authorities opposes leaders whom God has appointed. Those who do that will be judged. 3 If you do what is right, you won’t need to be afraid of your rulers. But watch out if you do what is wrong! You don’t want to be afraid of those in authority, do you? Then do what is right, and you will be praised. 4 The one in authority serves God for your good. But if you do wrong, watch out! Rulers don’t carry a sword for no reason at all. They serve God. And God is carrying out his anger through them. The ruler punishes anyone who does wrong. 5 You must obey the authorities. Then you will not be punished. You must also obey them because you know it is right.
6 That’s also why you pay taxes. The authorities serve God. Ruling takes up all their time. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them. Do you owe taxes? Then pay them. Do you owe anything else to the government? Then pay it. Do you owe respect? Then give it. Do you owe honor? Then show it.
26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread. He gave thanks and broke it. He handed it to his disciples and said, “Take this and eat it. This is my body.”
27 Then he took a cup. He gave thanks and handed it to them. He said, “All of you drink from it. 28 This is my blood of the covenant. It is poured out to forgive the sins of many people. 29 Here is what I tell you. From now on, I won’t drink wine with you again until the day I drink it with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
30 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus Says That the Disciples Will Turn Away
31 Jesus told them, “This very night you will all turn away because of me. It is written that the Lord said,
“ ‘I will strike the shepherd down.
Then the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ (Zechariah 13:7)
32 But after I rise from the dead, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
33 Peter replied, “All the others may turn away because of you. But I never will.”
34 “What I’m about to tell you is true,” Jesus answered. “It will happen tonight. Before the rooster crows, you will say three times that you don’t know me.”
35 But Peter said, “I may have to die with you. But I will never say I don’t know you.” And all the other disciples said the same thing.
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