Book of Common Prayer
A song of David for the dedication of the Temple.[a]
30 Lord, you lifted me out of my troubles.
You did not give my enemies a reason to laugh,
so I will praise you.
2 Lord my God, I prayed to you,
and you healed me.
3 Lord, you lifted me out of the grave.
I was falling into the place of death, but you saved my life.
4 Praise the Lord, you who are loyal to him!
Praise his holy name[b]!
5 His anger lasts for a little while,
but then his kindness brings life.
The night may be filled with tears,
but in the morning we can sing for joy!
6 When I was safe and secure,
I thought nothing could hurt me.
7 Yes, Lord, while you were kind to me,
I felt that nothing could defeat me.[c]
But when you turned away from me,
I was filled with fear.
8 So, Lord, I turned and prayed to you.
I asked you, Lord, to show me mercy.
9 I said, “What good is it if I die
and go down to the grave?
The dead just lie in the dirt.
They cannot praise you.
They cannot tell anyone how faithful you are.
10 Lord, hear my prayer, and be kind to me.
Lord, help me!”
11 You have changed my sorrow into dancing.
You have taken away my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy.
12 You wanted me to praise you and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise you forever!
A maskil of David.
32 It is a great blessing
when people are forgiven for the wrongs they have done,
when their sins are erased.[a]
2 It is a great blessing
when the Lord says they are not guilty,
when they don’t try to hide their sins.
3 Lord, I prayed to you again and again,
but I did not talk about my sins.
So I only became weaker and more miserable.
4 Every day you made life harder for me.
I became like a dry land in the hot summertime. Selah
5 But then I decided to confess my sins to the Lord.
I stopped hiding my guilt and told you about my sins.
And you forgave them all! Selah
6 That is why your loyal followers pray to you while there is still time.
Then when trouble rises like a flood, it will not reach them.
7 You are a hiding place for me.
You protect me from my troubles.
You surround me and protect me,
so I sing about the way you saved me. Selah
8 The Lord says, “I will teach you
and guide you in the way you should live.
I will watch over you and be your guide.
9 Don’t be like a stupid horse or mule that will not come to you
unless you put a bit in its mouth and pull it with reins.”
10 Many pains will come to the wicked,
but the Lord’s faithful love will surround those who trust in him.
11 Good people, rejoice and be very happy in the Lord.
All you who want to do right, rejoice!
Book 2
(Psalms 42-72)
To the director: A maskil from the Korah family.
42 Like a deer drinking from a stream,
I reach out to you, my God.[a]
2 My soul thirsts for the living God.
When can I go to meet with him?
3 Instead of food, I have only tears day and night,
as my enemies laugh at me and say, “Where is your God?”
4 My heart breaks as I remember the pleasant times in the past,
when I walked with the crowds as I led them up to God’s Temple.
I remember the happy songs of praise
as they celebrated the festival.
5-6 Why am I so sad?
Why am I so upset?
I tell myself, “Wait for God’s help!
You will again be able to praise him,
your God, the one who will save you.”
In my sadness I say, “I will remember you from here on this small hill,[b]
where Mount Hermon and the Jordan River meet.”
7 I hear the roar of the water coming from deep within the earth.
It shouts to the water below as it tumbles down the waterfall.
God, your waves come one after another,
crashing all around and over me.[c]
8 By day the Lord shows his faithful love,
and at night I have a song for him—a prayer for the God of my life.[d]
9 I say to God, my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I suffer this sadness that my enemies have brought me?”
10 Their constant insults are killing me.
They never stop asking, “Where is your God?”
11 Why am I so sad?
Why am I so upset?
I tell myself, “Wait for God’s help!
You will again be able to praise him,
your God, the one who will save you.”
43 Defend me, God.
Argue my case against those people who don’t know you.
Protect me from those evil liars.
2 God, you are my place of safety.
Why have you turned me away?
Why must I suffer this sadness
that my enemies have brought me?
3 Send your light and your truth to guide me,
to lead me to your holy mountain, to your home.
4 I want to go to God’s altar,
to the God who makes me so very happy.
God, my God, I want to play my harp
and sing praises to you!
5 Why am I so sad?
Why am I so upset?
I tell myself, “Wait for God’s help!
You will again have a chance to praise him,
your God, the one who will save you.”
Assyria Is Coming Soon
8 The Lord told me, “Get a large scroll,[a] and use an ordinary pen[b] to write these words: ‘This is for Maher Shalal Hash Baz.’[c]”
2 I found some men who could be trusted to serve as witnesses: Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah. They watched me write those words. 3 Then I went to my wife, the woman prophet. She became pregnant and had a son. The Lord told me, “Name the boy Maher Shalal Hash Baz.” 4 He said that because before the boy learns to say “Mama” and “Daddy,” God will take all the wealth and riches from Damascus[d] and Samaria and give them to the king of Assyria.
5 The Lord spoke to me again. 6 He said, “These people[e] refuse to accept the slow-moving waters of Shiloah.[f] They prefer Rezin and Remaliah’s son.” 7 But the Lord will bring the king of Assyria and all his power against them. The Assyrians will come like their swift moving river, like water that rises and spills over its banks. 8 This water will be like a flash flood as it passes through Judah. It will rise to Judah’s throat and almost drown him.
But he will spread his wings over your whole country, Immanuel.[g]
9 All you nations, prepare for war.
You will be defeated.
Listen, all you faraway countries!
Prepare for battle.
You will be defeated.
10 Make your plans for the fight.
Your plans will be defeated.
Give orders to your armies,
but your orders will be useless,
because God is with us![h]
Warnings to Isaiah
11 The Lord spoke to me with his great power and warned[i] me not to be like these people. He said, 12 “Don’t think there is a plan against you just because the people say there is. Don’t be afraid of what they fear. Don’t let them frighten you!”
13 The Lord All-Powerful is the one you should fear. He is the one you should respect.[j] He is the one who should frighten you. 14 If you people would respect him, he would be a safe place[k] for you. But you don’t respect him, so he is like a stone that you stumble over. He is a rock that makes both families of Israel fall. He has become a trap that all the people of Jerusalem will fall into. 15 (Many people will trip over this rock. They will fall and be broken. They will be caught in the trap.)
The Obligation to Work
6 Brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ we tell you to stay away from any believer who refuses to work. People who refuse to work are not following the teaching that we gave them. 7 You yourselves know that you should live like we do. We were not lazy when we were with you. 8 We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked and worked so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We worked night and day. 9 We had the right to ask you to help us. But we worked to take care of ourselves so that we would be an example for you to follow. 10 When we were with you, we gave you this rule: “Whoever will not work should not be allowed to eat.”
11 We hear that some people in your group refuse to work. They are doing nothing except being busy in the lives of others. 12 Our instruction to them is to stop bothering others, to start working and earn their own food. It is by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ that we are urging them to do this. 13 Brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.
14 If there are some there who refuse to do what we tell you in this letter, remember who they are. Don’t associate with them. Then maybe they will feel ashamed. 15 But don’t treat them as enemies. Counsel them as fellow believers.
Final Words
16 We pray that the Lord of peace will give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all.
17 Here’s my greeting in my own handwriting— Paul. I do this in all my letters to show they are from me. This is the way I write.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Peter Will Be Tested and Fail(A)
31 “Satan has asked to test you men like a farmer tests his wheat. O Simon, Simon,[a] 32 I have prayed that you will not lose your faith! Help your brothers be stronger when you come back to me.”
33 But Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, I am ready to go to jail with you. I will even die with you!”
34 But Jesus said, “Peter, before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will say you don’t know me. You will say this three times.”
Be Ready for Trouble
35 Then Jesus said to the apostles, “Remember when I sent you out without money, a bag, or sandals? Did you need anything?”
The apostles said, “No.”
36 Jesus said to them, “But now if you have money or a bag, carry that with you. If you don’t have a sword, sell your coat and buy one. 37 The Scriptures say,
‘He was considered a criminal.’ (B)
This Scripture must happen. It was written about me, and it is happening now.”
38 The followers said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.”
Jesus said to them, “That’s enough.”[b]
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International