Book of Common Prayer
A psalm of David.
25 In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.
2 I trust in you.
Don’t let me be put to shame.
Don’t let my enemies win the battle over me.
3 Those who put their hope in you
will never be put to shame.
But those who lie to other people for no reason
will be put to shame.
4 Lord, show me your ways.
Teach me how to follow you.
5 Guide me in your truth. Teach me.
You are God my Savior.
I put my hope in you all day long.
6 Lord, remember your great mercy and love.
You have shown them to your people for a long time.
7 Don’t remember the sins I committed when I was young.
Don’t remember how often I refused to obey you.
Remember me because you love me.
Lord, you are good.
8 The Lord is honest and good.
He teaches sinners to walk in his ways.
9 He shows those who aren’t proud how to do what is right.
He teaches them his ways.
10 All the Lord’s ways are loving and faithful
toward those who obey what his covenant commands.
11 Lord, be true to your name.
Forgive my sin, even though it is great.
12 Who are the people who have respect for the Lord?
God will teach them the ways they should choose.
13 Things will always go well for them.
Their children will be given the land.
14 The Lord shares his plans with those who have respect for him.
He makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes always look to the Lord.
He alone can set my feet free from the trap.
16 Turn to me and help me.
I am lonely and hurting.
17 Take away the troubles of my heart.
Set me free from my great pain.
18 Look at how I’m hurting! See how much I suffer!
Take away all my sins.
19 Look at how many enemies I have!
See how terrible their hatred is for me!
20 Guard my life. Save me.
Don’t let me be put to shame.
I go to you for safety.
21 May my honest and good life keep me safe.
Lord, I have put my hope in you.
22 God, set Israel free
from all their troubles!
For the director of music. A psalm of David to the tune of “The Death of the Son.”
9 Lord, I will give thanks to you with all my heart.
I will tell about all the wonderful things you have done.
2 I will be glad and full of joy because of you.
Most High God, I will sing the praises of your name.
3 My enemies turn back.
They fall down and die right in front of you.
4 You have proved that I haven’t done anything wrong.
You have sat on your throne and judged fairly.
5 You have punished the nations. You have destroyed evil people.
You have erased their names from your book for ever and ever.
6 My enemies have been destroyed forever.
You have leveled their cities to the ground.
Even the memory of them is gone.
7 The Lord rules forever.
He has set up his throne so that he can judge people.
8 He rules the world in keeping with what is right.
He judges all its people fairly.
9 The Lord is a place of safety for those who have been treated badly.
He keeps them safe in times of trouble.
10 Lord, those who know you will trust in you.
You have never deserted those who look to you.
11 Sing the praises of the Lord. He rules from his throne in Zion.
Tell among the nations what he has done.
12 The God who pays back murderers remembers.
He doesn’t forget the cries of those who are hurting.
13 Lord, see how badly my enemies treat me!
Help me! Don’t let me go down to the gates of death!
14 Then I can give praise to you
at the gates of the city of Zion.
There I will be full of joy
because you have saved me.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug.
Their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
16 The Lord is known to be fair by the things he does.
Evil people are trapped by what they have done.
17 Sinful people go down to the place of the dead.
So do all the nations that forget God.
18 But God will never forget needy people.
The hope of those who are hurting will never die.
19 Lord, rise up. Don’t let people win the battle.
Let the nations come to you and be judged.
20 Lord, strike them with terror.
Let the nations know they are only human beings.
A psalm of David.
15 Lord, who can live in your sacred tent?
Who can stay on your holy mountain?
2 Anyone who lives without blame
and does what is right.
They speak the truth from their heart.
3 They don’t tell lies about other people.
They don’t do wrong to their neighbors.
They don’t say anything bad about them.
4 They hate evil people.
But they honor those who have respect for the Lord.
They keep their promises even when it hurts.
They do not change their mind.
5 They lend their money to poor people without charging interest.
They don’t accept money to harm those who aren’t guilty.
Anyone who lives like that
will always be secure.
144,000 People Are Marked With the Seal of the Living God
7 After this I saw four angels. They were standing at the four corners of the earth. They were holding back the four winds of the earth. This kept the winds from blowing on the land or the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east. He brought the official seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels. They had been allowed to harm the land and the sea. 3 “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees,” he said. “Wait until we mark with this seal the foreheads of those who serve our God.” 4 Then I heard how many people were marked with the seal. There were 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
5 From the tribe of Judah, 12,000 were marked with the seal.
From the tribe of Reuben, 12,000.
From the tribe of Gad, 12,000.
6 From the tribe of Asher, 12,000.
From the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000.
From the tribe of Manasseh, 12,000.
7 From the tribe of Simeon, 12,000.
From the tribe of Levi, 12,000.
From the tribe of Issachar, 12,000.
8 From the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000.
From the tribe of Joseph, 12,000.
From the tribe of Benjamin, 12,000.
The Samaritans Do Not Welcome Jesus
51 The time grew near for Jesus to be taken up to heaven. So he made up his mind to go to Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers on ahead. They went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him. 53 But the people there did not welcome Jesus. That was because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54 The disciples James and John saw this. They asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy them?” 55 But Jesus turned and commanded them not to do it. 56 Then Jesus and his disciples went on to another village.
The Cost of Following Jesus
57 Once Jesus and those who were with him were walking along the road. A man said to Jesus, “I will follow you no matter where you go.”
58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens. Birds have nests. But the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
59 He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60 Jesus said to him, “Let dead people bury their own dead. You go and tell others about God’s kingdom.”
61 Still another person said, “I will follow you, Lord. But first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”
62 Jesus replied, “Suppose someone starts to plow and then looks back. That person is not fit for service in God’s kingdom.”
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