Book of Common Prayer
1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow evil men’s advice, who do not hang around with sinners, scoffing at the things of God. 2 But they delight in doing everything God wants them to, and day and night are always meditating on his laws and thinking about ways to follow him more closely.
3 They are like trees along a riverbank bearing luscious fruit each season without fail. Their leaves shall never wither, and all they do shall prosper.
4 But for sinners, what a different story! They blow away like chaff before the wind. 5 They are not safe on Judgment Day; they shall not stand among the godly.
6 For the Lord watches over all the plans and paths of godly men, but the paths of the godless lead to doom.
2 What fools the nations are to rage[a] against the Lord! How strange that men should try to outwit God! 2 For a summit conference of the nations has been called to plot against the Lord and his Messiah, Christ the King.[b] 3 “Come, let us break his chains,” they say, “and free ourselves from all this slavery to God.”
4 But God in heaven merely laughs! He is amused by all their puny plans. 5 And then in fierce fury he rebukes them and fills them with fear.
6 For the Lord declares,[c] “This is the King of my choice, and I have enthroned him in Jerusalem, my holy city.”
7 His chosen one replies,[d] “I will reveal the everlasting purposes of God, for the Lord has said to me, ‘You are my Son. This is your Coronation Day. Today I am giving you your glory.’” 8 “Only ask and I will give you all the nations of the world. 9 Rule them with an iron rod; smash them like clay pots!”
10 O kings and rulers of the earth, listen while there is time. 11 Serve the Lord with reverent fear; rejoice with trembling. 12 Fall down before his Son and kiss his feet[e] before his anger is roused and you perish. I am warning you—his wrath will soon begin. But oh, the joys of those who put their trust in him!
3 A psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom
O Lord, so many are against me. So many seek to harm me. I have so many enemies. 2 So many say that God will never help me. 3 But Lord, you are my shield, my glory, and my only hope. You alone can lift my head, now bowed in shame.[f]
4 I cried out to the Lord, and he heard me from his Temple in Jerusalem.[g] 5 Then I lay down and slept in peace and woke up safely, for the Lord was watching over me. 6 And now, although ten thousand enemies surround me on every side, I am not afraid. 7 I will cry to him, “Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God!” And he will slap them in the face, insulting them and breaking off their teeth.[h]
8 For salvation comes from God. What joys he gives to all his people.
4 O God, you have declared me perfect in your eyes;[i] you have always cared for me in my distress; now hear me as I call again. Have mercy on me. Hear my prayer.
2 The Lord God asks, “Sons of men, will you forever turn my glory into shame by worshiping these silly idols, when every claim that’s made for them is false?”
3 Mark this well: The Lord has set apart the redeemed for himself. Therefore he will listen to me and answer when I call to him. 4 Stand before the Lord in awe,[j] and do not sin against him. Lie quietly upon your bed in silent meditation. 5 Put your trust in the Lord, and offer him pleasing sacrifices.
6 Many say that God will never help us. Prove them wrong,[k] O Lord, by letting the light of your face shine down upon us. 7 Yes, the gladness you have given me is far greater than their joys at harvest time as they gaze at their bountiful crops. 8 I will lie down in peace and sleep, for though I am alone, O Lord, you will keep me safe.
7 I am depending on you, O Lord my God, to save me from my persecutors. 2 Don’t let them pounce upon me as a lion would and maul me and drag me away with no one to rescue me. 3 It would be different, Lord, if I were doing evil things— 4 if I were paying back evil for good or unjustly attacking those I dislike. 5 Then it would be right for you to let my enemies destroy me, crush me to the ground, and trample my life in the dust.
6 But Lord! Arise in anger against the anger of my enemies. Awake! Demand justice for me, Lord! 7-8 Gather all peoples before you; sit high above them, judging their sins. But justify me publicly; establish my honor and truth before them all. 9 End all wickedness, O Lord, and bless all who truly worship God;[a] for you, the righteous God, look deep within the hearts of men and examine all their motives and their thoughts.
10 God is my shield; he will defend me. He saves those whose hearts and lives are true and right.[b]
11 God is a judge who is perfectly fair, and he is angry with the wicked every day. 12 Unless they repent, he will sharpen his sword and slay them.
He has bent and strung his bow 13 and fitted it with deadly arrows made from shafts of fire.
14 The wicked man conceives an evil plot, labors with its dark details, and brings to birth his treachery and lies; 15 let him fall into his own trap. 16 May the violence he plans for others boomerang upon himself; let him die.
17 Oh, how grateful and thankful I am to the Lord because he is so good. I will sing praise to the name of the Lord who is above all lords.
4 A reply to Job from Eliphaz the Temanite:
5 “They cry for help but no one listens; they turn to their gods, but none gives them aid. 2 They die in helpless frustration, overcome by their own anger. 3 Those who turn from God may be successful for the moment, but then comes sudden disaster. 4 Their children are cheated, with no one to defend them. 5 Their harvests are stolen, and their wealth slakes the thirst of many others, not themselves! 6 Misery comes upon them to punish them for sowing seeds of sin. 7 Mankind heads for sin and misery as predictably as flames shoot upwards from a fire.
8 “My advice to you is this: Go to God and confess your sins to him.[a] 9 For he does wonderful miracles, marvels without number. 10 He sends the rain upon the earth to water the fields, 11 and gives prosperity to the poor and humble, and takes sufferers to safety.
17 “How enviable the man whom God corrects! Oh, do not despise the chastening of the Lord when you sin. 18 For though he wounds, he binds and heals again. 19 He will deliver you again and again so that no evil can touch you.
20 “He will keep you from death in famine and from the power of the sword in time of war.
21 “You will be safe from slander; no need to fear the future.
26 You shall live a long, good life; like standing grain, you’ll not be harvested until it’s time! 27 I have found from experience that all of this is true. For your own good, listen to my counsel.”
19 Then he ate and was strengthened.
He stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days 20 and went at once to the synagogue to tell everyone there the Good News about Jesus—that he is indeed the Son of God!
21 All who heard him were amazed. “Isn’t this the same man who persecuted Jesus’ followers so bitterly in Jerusalem?” they asked. “And we understand that he came here to arrest them all and take them in chains to the chief priests.”
22 Paul became more and more fervent in his preaching, and the Damascus Jews couldn’t withstand his proofs that Jesus was indeed the Christ.
23 After a while the Jewish leaders determined to kill him. 24 But Paul was told about their plans, that they were watching the gates of the city day and night prepared to murder him. 25 So during the night some of his converts let him down in a basket through an opening in the city wall!
26 Upon arrival in Jerusalem he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They thought he was faking! 27 Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Paul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus, what the Lord had said to him, and all about his powerful preaching in the name of Jesus. 28 Then they accepted him, and after that he was constantly with the believers 29 and preached boldly in the name of the Lord. But then some Greek-speaking Jews with whom he had argued plotted to murder him. 30 However, when the other believers heard about his danger, they took him to Caesarea and then sent him to his home in Tarsus.
31 Meanwhile, the church had peace throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria, and grew in strength and numbers. The believers learned how to walk in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
52 Then the Jews began arguing with each other about what he meant. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.
53 So Jesus said it again, “With all the earnestness I possess I tell you this: Unless you eat the flesh of the Messiah[a] and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. 54 But anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him at the Last Day. 55 For my flesh is the true food, and my blood is the true drink. 56 Everyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood is in me, and I in him. 57 I live by the power of the living Father who sent me, and in the same way those who partake of me shall live because of me! 58 I am the true Bread from heaven; and anyone who eats this Bread shall live forever, and not die as your fathers did—though they ate bread from heaven.” 59 (He preached this sermon in the synagogue in Capernaum.)
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.