Book of Common Prayer
To the director: A song of praise.
66 Everything on earth, shout with joy to God!
2 Praise his glorious name!
Honor him with songs of praise!
3 Tell God, “Your works are wonderful!
Your great power makes your enemies bow down in fear before you.
4 Let the whole world worship you.
Let everyone sing praises to your name.” Selah
5 Look at what God has done!
These things amaze us.
6 He changed the sea to dry land,[a]
and his people went across the water[b] on foot.
So let’s celebrate because of what he has done!
7 He rules the world with his great power.
He watches people everywhere.
No one can rebel against him. Selah
8 People, praise our God.
Sing loud songs of praise to him.
9 He continues to give us life,
and he keeps us from falling.
10 God, you have tested us, as people test silver with fire.
11 You let us be trapped.
You put heavy burdens on us.
12 You let our enemies run over us.
We went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a safe place.
13-14 So I bring sacrifices to your Temple.
When I was in trouble, I asked for help
and made promises to you.
Now I am giving you what I promised.
15 I bring my best sheep as burnt offerings.
I offer the smoke from them up to you.
I give you sacrifices of bulls and goats. Selah
16 All you people who worship God,
come and I will tell you what he has done for me.
17-18 I cried out to him for help,
and I praised him.
If I had been hiding sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened to me.
19 But God did listen to me;
he heard my prayer.
20 Praise God!
He did not turn away from me—he listened to my prayer.
He continues to show his love to me!
God Wants to Help His People
9 The people say, “Who does he think he is trying to teach and explain his message to? Does he think we are babies who were at their mother’s breast only a very short time ago? 10 He speaks to us as though we were babies:
“Saw lasaw saw lasaw
Qaw laqaw qaw laqaw
Ze’er sham ze’er sham.”[a]
11 So God will use this strange way of talking, and he will use other languages to speak to these people.
12 In the past he spoke to them and said, “Here is a resting place. Let those who are tired come and rest. This is the place of peace.”
But they would not listen to him. 13 So the Lord’s words will be senseless sounds[b] to them:
“Saw lasaw saw lasaw.
Qaw laqaw qaw laqaw.
Ze’er sham ze’er sham.”
When the people try to walk, they will fall backwards. They will be defeated, trapped, and captured.
No One Escapes God’s Judgment
14 You leaders in Jerusalem should listen to the Lord’s message, but now you refuse to listen to him. 15 You have said, “We have made an agreement with death. We have a contract with death. So we will not be punished. Punishment will pass us without hurting us. We will hide behind our tricks and lies.”
16 Because of these things, the Lord God says, “I will put a rock—a cornerstone—in the ground in Zion. This will be a very precious stone.[c] Everything will be built on this very important rock. Anyone who trusts in that rock will not be disappointed.[d]
The Unity of the Body
4 So, as a prisoner for the Lord, I beg you to live the way God’s people should live, because he chose you to be his. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient and accept each other with love. 3 You are joined together with peace through the Spirit. Do all you can to continue as you are, letting peace hold you together. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, and God chose you to have one hope. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. 6 There is one God and Father of us all, who rules over everyone. He works through all of us and in all of us.
7 Christ gave each one of us a special gift. Everyone received what he wanted to give them. 8 That is why the Scriptures say,
“He went up high into the sky;
he took prisoners with him,
and he gave gifts to people.” (A)
9 When it says, “He went up,” what does it mean? It means that he first came down low to earth. 10 So Christ came down, and he is the same one who went up. He went up above the highest heaven in order to fill everything with himself. 11 And that same Christ gave these gifts to people: He made some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to go and tell the Good News, and some to care for and teach God’s people.[a] 12 Christ gave these gifts to prepare God’s holy people for the work of serving, to make the body of Christ stronger. 13 This work must continue until we are all joined together in what we believe and in what we know about the Son of God. Our goal is to become like a full-grown man—to look just like Christ and have all his perfection.
14 Then we will no longer be like babies. We will not be people who are always changing like a ship that the waves carry one way and then another. We will not be influenced by every new teaching we hear from people who are trying to deceive us—those who make clever plans and use every kind of trick to fool others into following the wrong way. 15 No, we will speak the truth with love. We will grow to be like Christ in every way. He is the head, 16 and the whole body depends on him. All the parts of the body are joined and held together, with each part doing its own work. This causes the whole body to grow and to be stronger in love.
116 I love the Lord for hearing me,
for listening to my prayers.
2 Yes, he paid attention to me,
so I will always call to him whenever I need help.
3 Death’s ropes were around me.
The grave was closing in on me.
I was worried and afraid.
4 Then I called on the Lord’s name.
I said, “Lord, save me!”
5 The Lord is good and merciful;
our God is so kind.
6 The Lord takes care of helpless people.
I was without help, and he saved me.
7 My soul, relax!
The Lord is caring for you.
8 Lord, you saved my soul from death.
You stopped my tears.
You kept me from falling.
9 I will continue to serve the Lord
in the land of the living.
10 I continued believing even when I said,
“I am completely ruined!”
11 Yes, even when I was upset and said,
“There is no one I can trust!”
12 What can I give the Lord
for all that he has done for me?
13 He saved me,
so I will give him a drink offering,
and I will call on the Lord’s name.
14 I will give the Lord what I promised.
I will go in front of all his people now.
15 Very dear to the Lord are the lives of his followers.
He cares when they face death.
16 Lord, I am your servant!
Yes, I am your slave, as my mother was.
You set me free from the chains of death.
17 I will give you a thank offering.
I will call on the Lord’s name.
18 I will stand before the gathering of his people
and give the Lord what I promised.
19 I will do this in Jerusalem,
in the courtyards of the Lord’s Temple.
Praise the Lord!
117 Praise the Lord, all you nations.
Praise him, all you people.
2 He loves us very much!
The Lord will be faithful to us forever!
Praise the Lord!
The Promise of the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, you will do what I command. 16 I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper[a] to be with you forever. 17 The Helper is the Spirit of truth.[b] The people of the world cannot accept him, because they don’t see him or know him. But you know him. He lives with you, and he will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you all alone like orphans. I will come back to you. 19 In a very short time the people in the world will not see me anymore. But you will see me. You will live because I live. 20 On that day you will know that I am in the Father. You will know that you are in me and I am in you. 21 Those who really love me are the ones who not only know my commands but also obey them. My Father will love such people, and I will love them. I will make myself known to them.”
22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “Lord, how will you make yourself known to us, but not to the world?”
23 Jesus answered, “All who love me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them. My Father and I will come to them and live with them. 24 But anyone who does not love me does not obey my teaching. This teaching that you hear is not really mine. It is from my Father who sent me.
25 “I have told you all these things while I am with you. 26 But the Helper will teach you everything and cause you to remember all that I told you. This Helper is the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name.
27 “I leave you peace. It is my own peace I give you. I give you peace in a different way than the world does. So don’t be troubled. Don’t be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am leaving, but I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be happy that I am going back to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am. 29 I have told you this now, before it happens. Then when it happens, you will believe.
30 “I will not talk with you much longer. The ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me. 31 But the world must know that I love the Father. So I do exactly what the Father told me to do.
“Come now, let’s go.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International