Book of Common Prayer
[a] A song of David.
37 Don’t get upset about evil people.
Don’t be jealous of those who do wrong.
2 They are like grass and other green plants
that dry up quickly and then die.
3 So trust in the Lord and do good.
Live on your land and be dependable.[b]
4 Enjoy serving the Lord,
and he will give you whatever you ask for.
5 Depend on the Lord.
Trust in him, and he will help you.
6 He will make it as clear as day that you are right.
Everyone will see that you are being fair.
7 Trust in the Lord and wait quietly for his help.
Don’t be angry when people make evil plans and succeed.
8 Don’t become so angry and upset that you, too, want to do evil.
9 The wicked will be destroyed,
but those who call to the Lord for help will get the land he promised.
10 In a short time there will be no more evil people.
You can look for them all you want, but they will be gone.
11 Humble people will get the land God promised,
and they will enjoy peace.
12 The wicked plan bad things for those who are good.
They show their teeth in anger at them.
13 But our Lord will laugh at them.
He will make sure they get what they deserve.
14 The wicked draw their swords to kill the poor and the helpless.
They aim their arrows to murder all who live right.
15 But their bows will break,
and their swords will pierce their own hearts.
16 A few good people are better
than a large crowd of those who are evil.
17 The wicked will be destroyed,
but the Lord cares for those who are good.
18 The Lord protects pure people all their life.
Their reward will continue forever.
19 When trouble comes,
good people will not be destroyed.
When times of hunger come,
good people will have plenty to eat.
20 But evil people are the Lord’s enemies,
and they will be destroyed.
Their valleys will dry up and burn.
They will be destroyed completely.
21 The wicked borrow money and never pay it back.
But good people are kind and generous.
22 Everyone the Lord blesses will get the land he promised.
Everyone he curses will be destroyed.
23 The Lord shows us how we should live,
and he is pleased when he sees people living that way.
24 If they stumble, they will not fall,
because the Lord reaches out to steady them.
25 I was young, and now I am old,
but I have never seen good people left with no one to help them;
I have never seen their children begging for food.
26 They are kind and generous,
and their children are a blessing.
27 Stop doing anything evil and do good,
and you will always have a place to live.
28 The Lord loves what is right,
and he will never leave his followers without help.
He will always protect them,
but he will destroy the families of the wicked.
29 Good people will get the land God promised
and will live on it forever.
30 Those who do what is right give good advice.
Their decisions are always fair.
31 They have learned God’s teachings,
and they will never stop living right.[c]
32 The wicked are always looking for ways to kill good people.
33 But the Lord will not let the wicked defeat them.
He will not let good people be judged guilty.
34 Do what the Lord says, and wait for his help.
He will reward you and give you the land he promised.
You will see the wicked being forced to leave.
35 I once saw a wicked man who was powerful.
He was like a strong, healthy tree.
36 But then he was gone.
I looked for him, but I could not find him.
37 Be pure and honest.
Peace loving people will have many descendants.
38 But those who break the law will be destroyed completely.
And their descendants will be forced to leave the land.[d]
39 The Lord saves those who are good.
When they have troubles, he is their strength.
40 The Lord helps good people and rescues them.
They depend on him, so he rescues them from the wicked.
5 I am the Lord, the only God.
There is no other God except me.
I put your clothes on you,[a]
but still you don’t know me.
6 I am doing this so that everyone will know
that I am the only God.
From the east to the west, people will know that I am the Lord
and that there is no other God.
7 I made the light and the darkness.
I bring peace, and I cause trouble.
I, the Lord, do all these things.
8 “May the clouds in the skies above
pour goodness on the earth like rain.
May the earth open up
to let salvation grow.
And may goodness grow with that salvation,
which I, the Lord, created.
God Controls His Creation
9 “Look at these people! They are arguing with the one who made them. Look at them argue with me. They are like pieces of clay from a broken pot. Clay does not say to the one molding it, ‘Man, what are you doing?’ Things that are made don’t have the power to question the one who makes them. 10 A father gives life to his children, and they cannot ask, ‘Why are you giving me life?’ They cannot question their mother and ask, ‘Why are you giving birth to me?’”
11 The Lord God is the Holy One of Israel. He created Israel, and he says,
“My children, you asked me to show you a sign.
You told me to show you what I have done.[b]
12 I made the earth,
and I created the people on it.
I used my own hands to make the skies.
And I command all the armies in the sky.[c]
13 I was right to give power to Cyrus,[d]
and I will make his work easy.
He will rebuild my city,
and he will set my people free without bribes or payment.”
The Lord All-Powerful said this.
14 The Lord says, “Egypt and Ethiopia are rich,
but, Israel, you will get those riches.
The tall people from Seba will be yours.
They will walk behind you with chains around their necks.
They will bow down before you
and ask you to pray for them and say,
‘The true God really is with you,
and there is no other God.’”
15 You are the God people cannot see.
You are the God who saves Israel.
16 Many people make false gods,
but they will be disappointed.
All of them will go away ashamed.
17 But Israel will be saved by the Lord.
That salvation will continue forever.
Never again will Israel be shamed.
15 So be very careful how you live. Live wisely, not like fools. 16 I mean that you should use every opportunity you have for doing good, because these are evil times. 17 So don’t be foolish with your lives, but learn what the Lord wants you to do. 18 Don’t be drunk with wine, which will ruin your life, but be filled with the Spirit. 19 Encourage each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord. 20 Always give thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Wives and Husbands
21 Be willing to serve each other out of respect for Christ.
22 Wives, be willing to serve your husbands the same as the Lord. 23 A husband is the head of his wife, just as Christ is the head of the church. Christ is the Savior of the church, which is his body. 24 The church serves under Christ, so it is the same with you wives. You should be willing to serve your husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives the same as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. 26 He died to make the church holy. He used the telling of the Good News to make the church clean by washing it with water. 27 Christ died so that he could give the church to himself like a bride in all her beauty. He died so that the church could be holy and without fault, with no evil or sin or any other thing wrong in it.
28 And husbands should love their wives like that. They should love their wives as they love their own bodies. The man who loves his wife loves himself, 29 because no one ever hates his own body, but feeds and takes care of it. And that is what Christ does for the church 30 because we are parts of his body. 31 The Scriptures say, “That is why a man will leave his father and mother and join his wife, and the two people will become one.”[a] 32 That secret truth is very important—I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 But each one of you must love his wife as he loves himself. And a wife must respect her husband.
Use the Understanding You Have(A)
21 Then Jesus said to them, “You don’t take a lamp and hide it under a bowl or a bed, do you? Of course not. You put it on a lampstand. 22 Everything that is hidden will be made clear. Every secret thing will be made known. 23 You people who hear me, listen! 24 Think carefully about what you are hearing. God will know how much to give you by how much you understand now. But he will give you more than you deserve. 25 The people who have some understanding will receive more. But those who do not have much will lose even the small amount they have.”
Jesus Uses a Story About Seed
26 Then Jesus said, “God’s kingdom is like a man who plants seed in the ground. 27 The seed begins to grow. It grows night and day. It doesn’t matter whether the man is sleeping or awake, the seed still grows. He doesn’t know how it happens. 28 Without any help the ground produces grain. First the plant grows, then the head, and then all the grain in the head. 29 When the grain is ready, the man cuts it. This is the harvest time.”
What Is God’s Kingdom Like?(B)
30 Then Jesus said, “What can I use to show you what God’s kingdom is like? What story can I use to explain it? 31 God’s kingdom is like a mustard seed, which is smaller than any other seed on earth that you can plant. 32 But when you plant it, it grows and becomes the largest of all the plants in your garden. It has branches that are very big. The wild birds can come and make nests there and be protected from the sun.”
33 Jesus used many stories like these to teach the people. He taught them all they could understand. 34 He always used stories to teach them. But when he was alone with his followers, Jesus explained everything to them.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International