Book of Common Prayer
This is a song that David wrote.
A prayer for help in trouble[a]
25 Lord, I offer myself to you.
2 I trust in you, my God.
Please do not let me be ashamed.
Do not let my enemies laugh at me,
because they are stronger than me.
3 Surely nobody who trusts in you
will become ashamed.
But those who like to deceive others
will become ashamed.
4 Lord, help me to understand your ways.
Teach me your good paths.[b]
5 Please be my guide and teach me your truth.
I trust you every day,
because you are the God who keeps me safe.
6 Lord, please be kind to me
and show me your faithful love.
From long ago you have always been like that.
7 Do not punish me for the sins that I did long ago.
When I was young, I turned against you.
Please be kind to me, because of your faithful love!
8 The Lord is good and he does what is right.
Because of that, he teaches sinners the right way to live.
9 He is a guide for humble people,
so that they know what is right.
He teaches them to follow his way.
10 The Lord is kind to his people
in everything that he does.
He shows his faithful love
to those who obey the rules of his covenant.
11 Lord, my sins are very many.
Please forgive me,
and show that your name is great.
12 If people respect the Lord,
the Lord will show them the right way to live.
13 People like that will enjoy a good life.
The land will belong to their descendants.
14 The Lord is a guide for those who serve him.
He teaches them to obey his covenant.
15 I always look to the Lord for help.
He will keep me safe from my enemies,
so that their traps do not catch me.
16 Please turn towards me, Lord,
and be kind to me.
I feel very weak and lonely.
17 I worry a lot about my troubles.
Please rescue me from them!
18 Look at all my pain!
See how I am suffering!
Forgive me for all my sins.
19 Look at all my enemies!
There are very many of them!
They hate me so much
that they want to hurt me.
20 Keep my life safe and take care of me.
I have come to you to keep me safe,
so do not let me be ashamed.
21 I trust you to save me.
Please take care of me,
because I am honest and good.
22 God, save Israel's people from all their troubles!
This is a song that David wrote.
The leader must use the music ‘Death of the son.’
A song to thank God[a]
9 All that I am says ‘thank you’ to the Lord.
I will tell people about all the great things that you have done.
2 I will be very happy because of you.
I will sing to praise your name, Most High God.
3 Because my enemies have seen your power,
they turned back and they fell down.
You won against them.
4 You showed that I was right.
You sat on your throne
as a judge who truly decides what is right.
5 Clearly you spoke against the nations.
You destroyed the wicked people,
so that nobody will remember them ever again.
6 Down came the cities of our enemies!
You destroyed them for ever.
People will just forget them.
7 Every day the Lord will rule as king.
He sits on his throne as judge.
8 He is fair when he judges all the people in the world.
He brings justice to all the nations.
9 For people who suffer, the Lord gives them a safe place.
When trouble comes to them, he keeps them safe.
10 Everyone who knows you, Lord, trusts in you.
You will never turn away from anyone who comes to you for help.
11 Give a song to the Lord to praise him!
He rules as king in Zion.
Tell all the nations about the great things that he has done.
12 God punishes murderers,
and he takes care of people who receive pain from others.
When they call to him,
he does not refuse to help them.
13 How my enemies cause me to suffer!
Please be kind to me, Lord.
You are the one who can save me from death.
14 Then I will praise you for everyone to hear!
I will tell the people of Zion that you have saved me,
and I will be very happy!
15 Into the deep hole that they dug,
the nations themselves fell.
The net that they hid to catch me,
caught their own feet!
16 The Lord has shown us who he is.
We know that he brings justice.
Wicked people will catch themselves
in their own traps.
Higgaion.[b] Selah.
17 Justice sends the wicked people away,
into the deep hole of death.
This will happen to all the nations
that do not respect God.
18 Know this: God will not forget the poor for ever.
People who suffer should continue to hope.
19 Lord, stand up!
Do not let people turn against you!
Bring the nations to stand in front of you.
Judge them!
20 Lord, make them afraid!
Make the nations know
that they are only weak and human.
Selah.
David wrote this song.
How may we worship God?
15 Lord, who may stay with you,
in your own home?
Who may live there,
on your holy hill?[a]
2 It is the person who does only things that are right.
It is the person who lives in a completely good way,
and who speaks only what he knows is true.
3 He says nothing bad against other people.
He does nothing that will hurt his friends,
nor does he insult them.
4 He does not respect wicked people,
but he does respect people who serve the Lord.
When he promises to do something,
he always does it.
5 He lends his money to help other people,
and he does not ask for more money in return.
He does not accept a bribe,
to speak against people who have done nothing wrong.
People who live in this way will always be safe.
Job replies to Zophar[a]
12 Then Job replied. This is what he said:
2 ‘You people think that you know everything.
You think that there will be no wisdom after you die.
3 But I understand things as well as you.
You are no better than I am.
Everyone knows the things that you have been saying.
4 I am a person who prayed to God and he answered me.
But my friends now laugh at me.
I have always lived completely in the right way.
But still my friends laugh at me.
5 Some people never have any troubles.
They think that people who suffer are fools.
If people are in trouble,
they knock them down!
6 But robbers seem to live in peace.
They cause God to be angry
but they think that they are safe.
They trust their own strength as their god.
13 God is wise and he is also powerful.
He understands things and he gives good advice.
14 If God destroys something,
nobody can repair it.
If God puts someone in prison,
that person cannot escape.
15 If God stops the rain, the land becomes dry.
If he sends lots of rain, there are floods.
16 God has strength and wisdom.
He has power over people who tell lies,
and the people that they deceive.
17 He causes clever people to become ashamed.
He causes leaders to do foolish things.
18 He takes authority away from kings.
He dresses them like slaves.
19 He causes priests to become ashamed.
He removes the power of important people.
20 He stops faithful men from giving advice.
He removes the wisdom of old men.
21 He causes rulers to be ashamed.
He destroys the power of strong men.
22 He shows people things that have been secrets.
He shines light into dark places.
23 He can make nations become great.
He can also destroy them.
He can make their land become bigger.
He can also send their people away to other places.
24 He stops the world's leaders from understanding things properly.
He sends them to travel through empty deserts.
25 They try to walk in the dark, without any light.
He causes them to walk like drunk men.
The believers go to Antioch
19 After the Jewish leaders had killed Stephen, the believers had a lot of trouble. The believers left Jerusalem and they went to many different places. Some of them went away as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch. They told God's message to people in these places. But they only told the message to Jews.
20 Some of the believers were people who came from Cyprus and Cyrene. These men went to Antioch. There they told God's message to Gentiles, as well as to Jews. They told everyone the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord God helped these men with his power. Very many people believed their message and they trusted in the Lord Jesus.
22 The believers in Jerusalem heard about what had happened in Antioch. So they decided to send Barnabas there. 23 Barnabas arrived in Antioch. He saw how God had been kind to the people there and helped them. Barnabas was happy about this. So he said to the new believers, ‘Continue to trust the Lord Jesus completely.’
24 Barnabas was a good man. The power of God's Holy Spirit was with him. He trusted God completely. Many people in Antioch believed in Jesus and joined the group of believers.
25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul. 26 When Barnabas found him, he brought him back to Antioch. For one whole year, Barnabas and Saul met together with the group of believers there. They taught very many of them about Jesus. Antioch was the first place where the believers were called Christians.
27 During this time, some prophets travelled from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of these men was called Agabus. The Holy Spirit gave him a message from God. He stood up and he said to the people there, ‘Soon people will be very hungry all over the world because there will be no food.’ (That happened when Claudius ruled the Roman world.)[a]
29 The believers in Antioch wanted to help the other believers who lived in Judea. Each of them decided how much of their own money they could give. 30 Then they gave the money to Barnabas and Saul. Barnabas and Saul took this gift to the leaders of the believers in Jerusalem.
Jesus says that he comes from above
21 Jesus said to them again, ‘I will go away and you will look for me. But even when you die, God will still not have forgiven your sins. You cannot go where I will go.’ 22 So the Jewish leaders said to each other, ‘Perhaps he means that he will kill himself. He says, “You cannot go where I will go.” Perhaps that is why he says this.’ 23 Jesus answered, ‘You belong to the things down here in the world. But I have come from above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. 24 I told you that when you die, God will not have forgiven you. You must believe that “I am who I am.”[a] If not, you will die and God will certainly not have forgiven you.’
25 Then the Jewish leaders asked Jesus, ‘So, who are you?’ He answered, ‘I have told you who I am from the beginning. 26 I have many things I could say about you. I could show that you have done many wrong things. But the one who sent me speaks to me. I tell people only what I have heard him say to me. What he says is true.’ 27 They did not understand that he was speaking to them about his Father.[b] 28 So Jesus said to them, ‘You will lift up the Son of Man on a cross. Then you will know that “I am who I am”. And you will know that I do nothing by myself. I say only what the Father has taught me to say. 29 He who sent me is with me. I always do the things that make him happy. So he has never gone away and left me alone.’ 30 Many people who heard Jesus say these things believed in him.[c]
The truth about God will make you free
31 Then Jesus said to the Jews who now believed him, ‘Continue to obey the words that I have spoken to you. If you do that, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know what is true. And that will make you free.’
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