Book of Common Prayer
25 To you, O Lord, I pray. 2 Don’t fail me, Lord, for I am trusting you. Don’t let my enemies succeed. Don’t give them victory over me. 3 None of those who have faith in God will ever be disgraced for trusting him. But all who harm the innocent shall be defeated.
4 Show me the path where I should go, O Lord; point out the right road for me to walk. 5 Lead me; teach me; for you are the God who gives me salvation. I have no hope except in you. 6-7 Overlook my youthful sins, O Lord! Look at me instead through eyes of mercy and forgiveness, through eyes of everlasting love and kindness.
8 The Lord is good and glad to teach the proper path to all who go astray; 9 he will teach the ways that are right and best to those who humbly turn to him. 10 And when we obey him, every path he guides us on is fragrant with his loving-kindness and his truth.
11 But Lord, my sins! How many they are. Oh, pardon them for the honor of your name.
12 Where is the man who fears the Lord? God will teach him how to choose the best.
13 He shall live within God’s circle of blessing, and his children shall inherit the earth.
14 Friendship with God is reserved for those who reverence him. With them alone he shares the secrets of his promises.
15 My eyes are ever looking to the Lord for help, for he alone can rescue me. 16 Come, Lord, and show me your mercy, for I am helpless, overwhelmed, in deep distress; 17 my problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save me from them all! 18 See my sorrows; feel my pain; forgive my sins. 19 See how many enemies I have and how viciously they hate me! 20 Save me from them! Deliver my life from their power! Oh, let it never be said that I trusted you in vain!
21 Assign me Godliness and Integrity as my bodyguards, for I expect you to protect me 22 and to ransom Israel from all her troubles.
9 O Lord, I will praise you with all my heart and tell everyone about the marvelous things you do. 2 I will be glad, yes, filled with joy because of you. I will sing your praises, O Lord God above all gods.[a]
3 My enemies will fall back and perish in your presence; 4 you have vindicated me; you have endorsed my work, declaring from your throne that it is good.[b] 5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked, blotting out their names forever and ever. 6 O enemies of mine, you are doomed forever. The Lord will destroy your cities; even the memory of them will disappear.
7-8 But the Lord lives on forever; he sits upon his throne to judge justly the nations of the world. 9 All who are oppressed may come to him. He is a refuge for them in their times of trouble. 10 All those who know your mercy, Lord, will count on you for help. For you have never yet forsaken those who trust in you.
11 Oh, sing out your praises to the God who lives in Jerusalem.[c] Tell the world about his unforgettable deeds. 12 He who avenges murder has an open ear to those who cry to him for justice. He does not ignore the prayers of men in trouble when they call to him for help.
13 And now, O Lord, have mercy on me; see how I suffer at the hands of those who hate me. Lord, snatch me back from the jaws of death. 14 Save me, so that I can praise you publicly before all the people at Jerusalem’s gates[d] and rejoice that you have rescued me.
15 The nations fall into the pitfalls they have dug for others; the trap they set has snapped on them. 16 The Lord is famous for the way he punishes the wicked in their own snares![e]
17 The wicked shall be sent away to hell; this is the fate of all the nations forgetting the Lord. 18 For the needs of the needy shall not be ignored forever; the hopes of the poor shall not always be crushed.
19 O Lord, arise and judge and punish the nations; don’t let them defy you! 20 Make them tremble in fear; put the nations in their place until at last they know they are but puny men.
15 Lord, who may go and find refuge and shelter in your tabernacle up on your holy hill?
2 Anyone who leads a blameless life and is truly sincere. 3 Anyone who refuses to slander others, does not listen to gossip, never harms his neighbor, 4 speaks out against sin, criticizes those committing it, commends the faithful followers of the Lord, keeps a promise even if it ruins him, 5 does not crush his debtors with high interest rates, and refuses to testify against the innocent despite the bribes offered him—such a man shall stand firm forever.
7 Then I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds from blowing so that not a leaf rustled in the trees, and the ocean became as smooth as glass. 2 And I saw another angel coming from the east, carrying the Great Seal of the Living God. And he shouted out to those four angels who had been given power to injure earth and sea, 3 “Wait! Don’t do anything yet—hurt neither earth nor sea nor trees—until we have placed the Seal of God upon the foreheads of his servants.”
4-8 How many were given this mark? I heard the number—it was 144,000; out of all twelve tribes of Israel, as listed here:
| Judah | 12,000 |
| Reuben | 12,000 |
| Gad | 12,000 |
| Asher | 12,000 |
| Naphtali | 12,000 |
| Manasseh | 12,000 |
| Simeon | 12,000 |
| Levi | 12,000 |
| Issachar | 12,000 |
| Zebulun | 12,000 |
| Joseph | 12,000 |
| Benjamin | 12,000 |
51 As the time drew near for his return to heaven, he moved steadily onward toward Jerusalem with an iron will.
52 One day he sent messengers ahead to reserve rooms for them in a Samaritan village. 53 But they were turned away! The people of the village refused to have anything to do with them because they were headed for Jerusalem.[a]
54 When word came back of what had happened, James and John said to Jesus, “Master, shall we order fire down from heaven to burn them up?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them,[b] 56 and they went on to another village.
57 As they were walking along someone said to Jesus, “I will always follow you no matter where you go.”
58 But Jesus replied, “Remember, I don’t even own a place to lay my head. Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but I, the Messiah,[c] have no earthly home at all.”
59 Another time, when he invited a man to come with him and to be his disciple, the man agreed—but wanted to wait until his father’s death.[d]
60 Jesus replied, “Let those without eternal life concern themselves with things like that.[e] Your duty is to come and preach the coming of the Kingdom of God to all the world.”
61 Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will come, but first let me ask permission of those at home.”[f]
62 But Jesus told him, “Anyone who lets himself be distracted from the work I plan for him is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.