Book of Common Prayer
To the director: With flutes.[a] A song of David.
5 Lord, listen to me
and understand what I am trying to say.
2 My God and King,
listen to my prayer.
3 Every morning, Lord, I lay my gifts before you
and look to you for help.
And every morning you hear my prayers.
4 God, you don’t want evil people near you.
They cannot stay in your presence.[b]
5 Fools[c] cannot come near you.
You hate those who do evil.
6 You destroy those who tell lies.
Lord, you hate those who make secret plans to hurt others.
7 But by your great mercy, I can enter your house.
I can worship in your holy Temple with fear and respect for you.
8 Lord, show me your right way of living,
and make it easy for me to follow.
People are looking for my weaknesses,
so show me how you want me to live.
9 My enemies never tell the truth.
They only want to destroy people.
Their words come from mouths that are like open graves.
They use their lying tongues to deceive others.[d]
10 Punish them, God!
Let them be caught in their own traps.
They have turned against you,
so punish them for their many crimes.
11 But let those who trust in you be happy forever.
Protect and strengthen those who love your name.
12 Lord, when you bless good people,
you surround them with your love, like a large shield that protects them.
To the director: With stringed instruments, on the sheminith. A song of David.
6 Lord, don’t punish me.
Don’t correct me when you are so angry.
2 Lord, be kind to me.
I am sick and weak.
Heal me, Lord!
My bones are shaking.
3 I am trembling all over.
Lord, how long until you heal me?[e]
4 Lord, come back and make me strong again.
Save me because you are so loyal and kind.
5 If I am dead, I cannot sing about you.
Those in the grave don’t praise you.
6 Lord, I am so weak.
I cried to you all night.
My pillow is soaked;
my bed is dripping wet from my tears.
7 My enemies have caused me such sorrow
that my eyes are worn out from crying.
8 Go away, you wicked people,
because the Lord has heard my cries.
9 The Lord has heard my request for mercy.
The Lord has accepted my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be filled with fear and shame.
They will be sorry when disgrace suddenly comes upon them.
10 Lord, why do you stay so far away?
Why do you hide from people in times of trouble?
2 The wicked are proud and make evil plans to hurt the poor,
who are caught in their traps and made to suffer.
3 Those greedy people brag about the things they want to get.
They curse the Lord and show that they hate him.
4 The wicked are too proud to ask God for help.
He does not fit into their plans.
5 They succeed in everything they do.
They don’t understand how you can judge them.
They make fun of all their enemies.
6 They say to themselves, “Nothing bad will ever happen to us.
We will have our fun and never be punished.”
7 They are always cursing, lying,
and planning evil things to do.
8 They hide just outside the villages,
waiting to kill innocent people,
always looking for any helpless person they can hurt.
9 They are like lions hiding in the bushes
to catch weak and helpless animals.
They lay their traps for the poor,
who are caught in their nets.
10 Again and again they hurt people
who are already weak and suffering.
11 They say to themselves, “God has forgotten about us.
He is not watching.
He will never see what we are doing.”
12 Lord, get up and do something.
Punish those who are wicked, God.
Don’t forget those who are poor and helpless.
13 The wicked turn against God
because they think he will not punish them.
14 But, Lord, you do see the pain and suffering they cause.
You see it, so punish them.
Those who were left helpless put their trust in you.
After all, you are the one who cares for orphans.
15 Break the arms of those who are wicked and evil.
Punish them for the evil they have done,
and stop them from doing any more.
16 Lord, you are King forever and ever,
so I know you will remove the wicked nations from your land.
17 Lord, you have heard what the poor want.
Listen to their prayers, and do what they ask.
18 Protect the orphans and those who have been hurt.
Don’t let powerful people drive us from our land!
To the director: A song of David.
11 I trust in the Lord, so why did you tell me to run and hide?
Why did you say, “Fly like a bird to your mountain?”
2 Like hunters, the wicked hide in the dark.
They get their bows ready and aim their arrows.
They shoot at good, honest people.
3 What would good people do
if the wicked destroyed all that is good?[a]
4 The Lord is in his holy temple.
The Lord sits on his throne in heaven.
He sees everything that happens.
He watches people closely.
5 The Lord examines those who are good and those who are wicked;
he hates those who enjoy hurting others.
6 He will make hot coals and burning sulfur fall like rain on the wicked.
They will get nothing but a hot, burning wind.
7 The Lord always does what is right, and he loves seeing people do right.
Those who live good lives will be with him.[b]
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
2 During Nebuchadnezzar’s second year as king, he had dreams. They bothered him, and he could not sleep. 2 So the king called his wise men to come to him. They used magic and watched the stars. They did this to try to interpret dreams and to learn what would happen in the future. The king wanted them to tell him what he had dreamed, so they came in and stood in front of him.
3 Then the king said to them, “I had a dream that bothers me. I want to know what it means.”
4 Then the Chaldeans answered the king. They spoke Aramaic[a] and said, “King, live forever! Please tell your dream to us, your servants, and then we will tell you what it means.”
5 Then King Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “No, you must tell me the dream, and then you must tell me what it means. If you don’t, I will give an order for you to be cut into pieces. And I will order your houses to be destroyed until they are nothing but piles of dust and ashes. 6 But if you tell me my dream and explain its meaning, I will give you gifts, rewards, and great honor. So tell me about my dream and what it means.”
7 Again the wise men said to the king, “Please, Sir, tell us about the dream, and we will tell you what it means.”
8 Then King Nebuchadnezzar answered, “I know that you are trying to get more time. You know that I meant what I said. 9 You know that you will be punished if you don’t tell me about my dream. So you have all agreed to lie to me. You are hoping for more time so that I will forget what I want you to do. Now tell me the dream. If you can tell me the dream, I will know that you can tell me what it really means.”
10 The Chaldeans answered the king. They said, “There is not a man on earth who can do what the king is asking! No king has ever asked the wise men, the men who do magic, or the Chaldeans to do something like this. Not even the greatest and most powerful king has ever asked his wise men to do such a thing. 11 The king is asking something that is too hard to do. Only the gods could tell the king his dream and what it means. But the gods don’t live with people.”
12 When the king heard that, he became very angry. So he gave an order for all the wise men of Babylon to be killed. 13 King Nebuchadnezzar’s order to kill all the wise men was announced. The king’s men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to kill them.
14 Arioch was the commander of the king’s guards. He was going to kill the wise men of Babylon, but Daniel talked to him. Daniel spoke politely to Arioch 15 and said, “Why did the king order such a severe punishment?”
Then Arioch explained the whole story about the king’s dreams, and Daniel understood. 16 When Daniel heard the story, he went to King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel asked the king to give him some more time. Then he would tell the king what the dream meant.
Jesus Is Our Helper
2 My dear children, I write this letter to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone sins, we have Jesus Christ to help us. He always did what was right, so he is able to defend us before God the Father. 2 Jesus is the way our sins are taken away. And he is the way all people can have their sins taken away too.
3 If we obey what God has told us to do, then we are sure that we know him. 4 If we say we know God but do not obey his commands, we are lying. The truth is not in us. 5 But when we obey God’s teaching, his love is truly working in us. This is how we know that we are living in him. 6 If we say we live in God, we must live the way Jesus lived.
Jesus Told Us to Love Others
7 My dear friends, I am not writing a new command to you. It is the same command you have had since the beginning. This command is the teaching you have already heard. 8 But what I write is also a new command. It is a true one; you can see its truth in Jesus and in yourselves. The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.
9 Someone might say, “I am in the light,” but if they hate any of their brothers or sisters in God’s family, they are still in the darkness. 10 Those who love their brothers and sisters live in the light, and there is nothing in them that will make them do wrong. 11 But whoever hates their brother or sister is in darkness. They live in darkness. They don’t know where they are going, because the darkness has made them blind.
12 While I was with them, I kept them safe by the power of your name—the name you gave me. I protected them. And only one of them was lost—the one who was sure to be lost. This was to show the truth of what the Scriptures said would happen.
13 “I am coming to you now. But I pray these things while I am still in the world. I say all this so that these followers can have the true happiness that I have. I want them to be completely happy. 14 I have given them your teaching. And the world has hated them, because they don’t belong to the world, just as I don’t belong to the world.
15 “I am not asking you to take them out of the world. But I am asking that you keep them safe from the Evil One. 16 They don’t belong to the world, just as I don’t belong to the world. 17 Make them ready for your service through your truth. Your teaching is truth. 18 I have sent them into the world, just as you sent me into the world. 19 I am making myself completely ready to serve you. I do this for them, so that they also might be fully qualified for your service.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International