Book of Common Prayer
One of Asaph’s songs of praise.
83 God, don’t keep quiet!
Don’t close your ears!
Please say something, God.
2 Your enemies are getting ready to do something.
Those who hate you will soon attack.
3 They are making secret plans against your people.
Your enemies are discussing plans against the people you love.
4 They say, “Come, let us destroy them completely.
Then no one will ever again remember the name Israel.”
5 God, they have all joined together.
They have united against you.
6-7 Their army includes the Edomites, Ishmaelites, Moabites, and Hagar’s descendants,
the people of Byblos, Ammon, and Amalek,
the Philistines, and the people of Tyre.
8 Even the Assyrians have joined them.
They have made Lot’s descendants very powerful. Selah
9 God, defeat them just as you defeated Midian.
Do what you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.
10 You destroyed the enemy at Endor,
and their bodies rotted on the ground.
11 Punish their leaders as you did Oreb and Zeeb.
Do what you did to Zebah and Zalmunna.
12 They said, “Let’s make this land our own—
these fields of grass that belong to God!”
13 Make them like weeds blown by the wind.
Scatter them the way wind scatters straw.
14 Be like a fire that destroys a forest
or like a flame that sets the hills on fire.
15 Chase them away with your blasts of wind;
frighten them with your storms.
16 Lord, cover them with shame
until they come to you for help.
17 May they be forever ashamed and afraid.
Disgrace and defeat them.
18 Then they will know that your name is Yahweh—
that you alone are the Lord.
They will know that you are God Most High,
ruler over all the earth!
146 Praise the Lord!
My soul, praise the Lord!
2 I will praise the Lord all my life.
I will sing praises to him as long as I live.
3 Don’t depend on your leaders for help.
Don’t depend on people, because they cannot save you.
4 People die and are buried.
Then all their plans to help are gone.
5 It is a great blessing for people to have the God of Jacob to help them.
They depend on the Lord their God.
6 He made heaven and earth.
He made the sea and everything in it.
He can be trusted to do what he says.
7 He does what is right for those who have been hurt.
He gives food to the hungry.
The Lord frees people locked up in prison.
8 The Lord makes the blind see again.
The Lord helps those who are in trouble.
The Lord loves those who do right.
9 The Lord protects strangers in our country.
He cares for widows and orphans,
but he destroys the wicked.
10 The Lord will rule forever!
Zion, your God will rule forever and ever!
Praise the Lord!
147 Praise the Lord because he is good.
Sing praises to our God.
It is good and pleasant to praise him.
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem.
He brings back the Israelites who were taken as prisoners.
3 He heals their broken hearts
and bandages their wounds.
4 He counts the stars
and knows each of them by name.
5 Our Lord is great and powerful.
There is no limit to what he knows.
6 The Lord supports the humble,
but he shames the wicked.
7 Give thanks to the Lord.
Praise our God with harps.
8 He fills the sky with clouds.
He sends rain to the earth.
He makes the grass grow on the mountains.
9 He gives food to the animals.
He feeds the young birds that cry out.
10 War horses and powerful soldiers
are not what he cares about.
11 The Lord enjoys people who worship him
and trust in his faithful love.
12 Jerusalem, praise the Lord!
Zion, praise your God!
13 He makes your gates strong,
and he blesses the people in your city.
14 He brought peace to your country,
so you have plenty of grain for food.
15 He gives a command to the earth,
and it quickly obeys.
16 He makes the snow fall until the ground is as white as wool.
He makes sleet blow through the air like dust.
17 He makes hail fall like rocks from the sky.
No one can stand the cold he sends.
18 Then he gives another command, and warm air begins to blow.
The ice melts, and water begins to flow.
19 He gave his commands to Jacob.
He gave his laws and rules to Israel.
20 He did not do this for any other nation.
He did not teach his laws to other people.
Praise the Lord!
To the director: A song of praise from the Korah family.
85 Lord, you have been so kind to your land.
You have brought success again to the people of Jacob.
2 You have forgiven the bad things your people did.
You have taken away the guilt of their sins! Selah
3 You stopped being angry with them.
Your terrible anger has gone away.
4 Our God and Savior, accept us again.
Don’t be angry with us anymore.
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will your anger reach to our children and to their children?
6 Please, give us new life!
Make your people happy to be yours.
7 Lord, save us
and show us your love.
8 I heard what the Lord God said.
He said there would be peace for his people and his loyal followers.
So they must not go back to their foolish way of living.
9 He will soon save his faithful followers.
His glory will again live in our land.[a]
10 God’s love will come together with his faithful people.
Goodness and peace will greet them with a kiss.
11 People on earth will be loyal to God,
and God in heaven will be good to them.[b]
12 The Lord will give us many good things.
The ground will grow many good crops.
13 Goodness will go before the Lord
and prepare the way for him.
A prayer of David.
86 I am a poor, helpless man.
Lord, please listen to me and answer my prayer!
2 I am your follower, so please protect me.
I am your servant, and you are my God.
I trust in you, so save me.
3 My Lord, be kind to me.
I have been praying to you all day.
4 My Lord, I put my life in your hands.
I am your servant, so make me happy.
5 My Lord, you are good and merciful.
You love all those who call to you for help.
6 Lord, hear my prayer.
Listen to my cry for mercy.
7 I am praying to you in my time of trouble.
I know you will answer me.
8 My Lord, there is no God like you.
No one can do what you have done.
9 My Lord, you made everyone.
I wish they all would come worship you and honor your name.
10 You are great and do amazing things.
You and you alone are God.
11 Lord, teach me your ways,
and I will live and obey your truths.
Help me make worshiping your name
the most important thing in my life.
12 My Lord God, I praise you with all my heart.
I will honor your name forever!
13 You have such great love for me.
You save me from the place of death.
14 Proud people are attacking me, God.
A gang of cruel men is trying to kill me.
They don’t respect you.
15 My Lord, you are a kind and merciful God.
You are patient, loyal, and full of love.
16 Show that you hear me and be kind to me.
I am your servant, so give me strength.
I am your slave, as my mother was, so save me!
17 Lord, show me a sign that you care for me.
My enemies will see it and be disappointed,
because you helped and comforted me.
Elisha Tells a Prophet to Anoint Jehu
9 Elisha the prophet called one of the men from the group of prophets[a] and said to him, “Get ready and take this small bottle of oil in your hand. Go to Ramoth Gilead. 2 When you arrive, find Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Then go in and make him get up from among his brothers. Take him to an inner room. 3 Take the small bottle of oil and pour the oil on Jehu’s head. Say, ‘This is what the Lord says: I have anointed you to be the new king over Israel.’ Then open the door and run away. Don’t wait!”
4 So this young man, the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. 5 When the young man arrived, he saw the captains of the army sitting. He said, “Captain, I have a message for you.”
Jehu asked, “Which one of us is the message for?”
The young man said, “For you, sir.”
6 Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the young prophet poured the oil on Jehu’s head and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘I am anointing you to be the new king over the Lord’s people, Israel. 7 You must destroy the family of Ahab your king. In this way I will punish Jezebel for the deaths of my servants, the prophets, and the deaths of all the Lord’s servants who were murdered. 8 So all Ahab’s family will die. I will not let any male child in Ahab’s family live. It doesn’t matter if that male child is a slave or a free person in Israel. 9 I will make Ahab’s family like the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the family of Baasha son of Ahijah. 10 The dogs will eat Jezebel in the area of Jezreel, and she will not be buried.’”
Then the young prophet opened the door and ran away.
The Servants Announce Jehu as King
11 Jehu went back to his king’s officers. One of the officers said to Jehu, “Is everything all right? Why did this crazy man come to you?”
Jehu answered the servants, “You know the man and the crazy things he says.”
12 The officers said, “No, tell us the truth. What did he say?” Jehu told the officers what the young prophet said. Jehu said, “He said a few things and then he said, ‘This is what the Lord says: I have anointed you to be the new king over Israel.’”
13 Then each officer quickly took his robe off and put it on the steps in front of Jehu. Then they blew the trumpet and made the announcement, “Jehu is king!”
Jehu Goes to Jezreel
14 So Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, made plans against Joram.
At that time Joram and the Israelites had been trying to defend Ramoth Gilead from King Hazael of Aram. 15 King Joram had fought against King Hazael of Aram. But the Arameans wounded King Joram, and he went to Jezreel to get well from those injuries.
So Jehu told the officers, “If you agree that I am the new king, don’t let anyone escape from the city to tell the news in Jezreel.”
16 Joram was resting in Jezreel, so Jehu got in his chariot and drove to Jezreel. King Ahaziah of Judah had also come to Jezreel to see Joram.
Use Your Bodies for God’s Glory
12 “I am allowed to do anything,” you say. My answer to this is that not all things are good. Even if it is true that “I am allowed to do anything,” I will not let anything control me like a slave. 13 Someone else says, “Food is for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” Yes, and God will destroy them both. But the body is not for sexual sin. The body is for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. 14 And God will raise our bodies from death with the same power he used to raise the Lord Jesus. 15 Surely you know that your bodies are parts of Christ himself. So I must never take what is part of Christ and join it to a prostitute! 16 The Scriptures say, “The two people will become one.”[a] So you should know that anyone who is joined with a prostitute becomes one with her in body. 17 But anyone who is joined with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
18 So run away from sexual sin. It involves the body in a way that no other sin does. So if you commit sexual sin, you are sinning against your own body. 19 You should know that your body is a temple[b] for the Holy Spirit that you received from God and that lives in you. You don’t own yourselves. 20 God paid a very high price to make you his. So honor God with your body.
Jesus Teaches About Giving
6 “Be careful! When you do something good, don’t do it in front of others so that they will see you. If you do that, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “When you give to those who are poor, don’t announce that you are giving. Don’t be like the hypocrites. When they are in the synagogues and on the streets, they blow trumpets before they give so that people will see them. They want everyone to praise them. The truth is, that’s all the reward they will get. 3 So when you give to the poor, don’t let anyone know what you are doing.[a] 4 Your giving should be done in private. Your Father can see what is done in private, and he will reward you.
Jesus Teaches About Prayer(A)
5 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites. They love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners and pray loudly. They want people to see them. The truth is, that’s all the reward they will get. 6 But when you pray, you should go into your room and close the door. Then pray to your Father. He is there in that private place. He can see what is done in private, and he will reward you.
Jesus Teaches About Fasting
16 “When you fast, don’t make yourselves look sad like the hypocrites. They put a look of suffering on their faces so that people will see they are fasting. The truth is, that’s all the reward they will get. 17 So when you fast, wash your face and make yourself look nice. 18 Then no one will know you are fasting, except your Father, who is with you even in private. He can see what is done in private, and he will reward you.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International