Book of Common Prayer
A song from the Korah family. To the director: About a painful sickness. A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
88 Lord God, you are my Savior.
I have been praying to you day and night.
2 Please pay attention to my prayers.
Listen to my prayers for mercy.
3 My soul has had enough of this pain!
I am ready to die.
4 People already treat me like a dead man,
like someone too weak to live.
5 Look for me among the dead,
like a body in the grave.
I am one of those you have forgotten,
cut off from you and your care.
6 You put me in that hole in the ground.
Yes, you put me in that dark place.
7 Your anger presses down on me like a heavy weight.
It’s like one wave after another pounding against me. Selah
8 You made my friends leave me.
They all avoid me like someone no one wants to touch.
Like a prisoner in my house, I cannot go out.
9 My eyes hurt from crying.
Lord, I pray to you constantly!
I lift my arms in prayer to you.
10 Do you do miracles for the dead?
Do ghosts rise up and praise you? No! Selah
11 The dead in their graves cannot talk about your faithful love.
People in the world of the dead[a] cannot talk about your faithfulness.
12 The dead who lie in darkness cannot see the amazing things you do.
Those in the world of the forgotten cannot talk about your goodness.
13 Lord, I am asking you to help me!
Early each morning I pray to you.
14 Lord, why have you abandoned me?
Why do you refuse to listen to me?
15 I have been sick and weak since I was young.
I have suffered your anger, and I am helpless.
16 Your anger covers me like a flood.
Your attacks are killing me.
17 They surround me on every side.
I feel like a drowning man.
18 You caused my friends and loved ones to leave me.
Now darkness is my closest friend.
91 You can go to God Most High to hide.
You can go to God All-Powerful for protection.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my place of safety, my fortress.
My God, I trust in you.”
3 God will save you from hidden dangers
and from deadly diseases.
4 You can go to him for protection.
He will cover you like a bird spreading its wings over its babies.
You can trust him to surround and protect you like a shield.
5 You will have nothing to fear at night
and no need to be afraid of enemy arrows during the day.
6 You will have no fear of diseases that come in the dark
or terrible suffering that comes at noon.
7 A thousand people may fall dead at your side
or ten thousand right beside you,
but nothing bad will happen to you!
8 All you will have to do is watch,
and you will see that the wicked are punished.
9 You trust in the Lord for protection.
You have made God Most High your place of safety.
10 So nothing bad will happen to you.
No diseases will come near your home.
11 He will command his angels to protect you wherever you go.
12 Their hands will catch you
so that you will not hit your foot on a rock.
13 You will have power to trample on lions
and poisonous snakes.
14 The Lord says, “If someone trusts me, I will save them.
I will protect my followers who call to me for help.
15 When my followers call to me, I will answer them.
I will be with them when they are in trouble.
I will rescue them and honor them.
16 I will give my followers a long life
and show them my power to save.”
A song of praise for the Sabbath.
92 It is good to praise the Lord.
God Most High, it is good to praise your name.
2 It is good to sing about your love in the morning
and about your faithfulness at night.
3 It is good to play for you on the ten-stringed instrument and lyre
and to add the soft sounds of the harp to my praise.
4 Lord, you make us very happy because of what you did.
I gladly sing about it.
5 Lord, you did such great things.
Your thoughts are too hard for us to understand.
6 Stupid people don’t know this.
Fools don’t understand.
7 The wicked may sprout like grass,
and those who do evil may blossom like flowers,
but they will be destroyed, never to be seen again.
8 But, Lord, you will be honored forever.
9 Lord, all your enemies will be destroyed,
and all who do evil will be scattered.
10 But you have made me as strong as a wild ox.
You have given me your blessing.[a]
11 My eyes will see the defeat of those waiting to attack me.
My ears will hear the cries of my evil enemies.
12 Good people are like budding palm trees.
They grow strong like the cedar trees of Lebanon.
13 They are planted in the house[b] of the Lord.
They grow strong there in the courtyards of our God.
14 Even when they are old,
they will continue producing fruit like young, healthy trees.
15 They are there to show everyone that the Lord is good.[c]
He is my Rock, and he does no wrong.[d]
The Lord’s Message of Freedom
61 The Spirit of the Lord God is on me. The Lord has chosen me to tell good news to the poor and to comfort those who are sad. He sent me to tell the captives and prisoners that they have been set free. 2 He sent me to announce that the time has come for the Lord to show his kindness, when our God will also punish evil people. He has sent me to comfort those who are sad, 3 those in Zion who mourn. I will take away the ashes on their head, and I will give them a crown. I will take away their sadness, and I will give them the oil of happiness. I will take away their sorrow, and I will give them celebration clothes. He sent me to name them ‘Good Trees’ and ‘The Lord’s Wonderful Plant.’
4 Then the old cities that were destroyed will be rebuilt. Those ancient ruins will be made new, as they were in the beginning.
5 Then your enemies will come to care for your sheep, and their children will work in your fields and in your gardens. 6 You will be called, ‘The Lord’s Priests,’ ‘The Servants of our God.’ You will be proud of all the riches that have come to you from all the nations on earth.
7 In the past, other people shamed you and said bad things to you. You were shamed much more than any other people. So in your land you will get two times more than other people. You will get the joy that continues forever. 8 That’s because I am the Lord and I love justice. I hate stealing and everything that is wrong. So I will give the people what they deserve. I will make an agreement with my people forever. 9 Their descendants will be known throughout the earth, and everyone will know their children. Whoever sees them will know that the Lord has blessed them.
Many People Will Stop Loving God
3 Remember this: There are some terrible times coming in the last days. 2 People will love only themselves and money. They will be proud and boast about themselves. They will abuse others with insults. They will not obey their parents. They will be ungrateful and against all that is pleasing to God. 3 They will have no love for others and will refuse to forgive anyone. They will talk about others to hurt them and will have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. 4 People will turn against their friends. They will do foolish things without thinking and will be so proud of themselves. Instead of loving God, they will love pleasure. 5 They will go on pretending to be devoted to God, but they will refuse to let that “devotion” change the way they live. Stay away from these people!
6 Some of them go into homes and get control over weak women, whose lives are full of sin—women who are led into sin by all the things they want. 7 These women always want to learn something new, but they are never able to fully understand the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres[a] fought against Moses, these people fight against the truth. Their thinking has been confused. The faith they have and teach is worthless. 9 But they will not succeed in what they are trying to do. Everyone will see how foolish they are. That is what happened to Jannes and Jambres.
Last Instructions
10 But you know all about me. You know what I teach and the way I live. You know my goal in life. You know my faith, my patience, and my love. You know that I never stop trying. 11 You know about my persecutions and my sufferings. You know all the things that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra—the persecution I suffered in those places. But the Lord saved me from all of it. 12 Everyone who wants to live showing true devotion to God in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13 People who are evil and cheat others will become worse and worse. They will fool others, but they will also be fooling themselves.
14 But you should continue following the teaching you learned. You know it is true, because you know you can trust those who taught you. 15 You have known the Holy Scriptures[b] since you were a child. These Scriptures are able to make you wise. And that wisdom leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is given by God. And all Scripture is useful for teaching and for showing people what is wrong in their lives. It is useful for correcting faults and teaching the right way to live. 17 Using the Scriptures, those who serve God will be prepared and will have everything they need to do every good work.
Jesus Talks Again About His Death(A)
32 Jesus and those with him were on their way to Jerusalem. He was at the front of the group. His followers were wondering what was happening, and the people who followed behind them were feeling afraid. Jesus gathered the twelve apostles again and talked with them alone. He told them what would happen in Jerusalem. 33 He said, “We are going to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the leading priests and teachers of the law. They will say that he must die and will hand him over to the foreigners, 34 who will laugh at him and spit on him. They will beat him with whips and kill him. But on the third day after his death, he will rise to life again.”
James and John Ask for a Favor(B)
35 Then James and John, sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want to ask you to do something for us.”
36 Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?”
37 The sons answered, “Let us share the great honor you will have as king. Let one of us sit at your right side and the other at your left.”
38 Jesus said, “You don’t understand what you are asking. Can you drink from the cup[a] that I must drink from? Can you be baptized with the same baptism[b] that I must go through?”
39 The sons answered, “Yes, we can!”
Jesus said to the sons, “It is true that you will drink from the cup that I drink from. And you will be baptized with the same baptism that I must go through. 40 But it is not for me to say who will sit at my right or my left. God has prepared those places for the ones he chooses.”
41 When the other ten followers heard this, they were angry with James and John. 42 Jesus called all the followers together. He said, “The non-Jewish people have men they call rulers. You know that those rulers love to show their power over the people. And their important leaders love to use all their authority over the people. 43 But it should not be that way with you. Whoever wants to be your leader must be your servant. 44 Whoever wants to be first must serve the rest of you like a slave. 45 Follow my example: Even the Son of Man did not come for people to serve him. He came to serve others and to give his life to save many people.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International