Book of Common Prayer
ז Zayin
49 Remember what you have said to me.
You have given me hope.
50 Even when I suffer, I am comforted
because you promised to keep me alive.
51 Proud people make fun of me without mercy.
But I don’t turn away from your law.
52 Lord, I remember the laws you gave long ago.
I find comfort in them.
53 I am very angry
because evil people have turned away from your law.
54 No matter where I live,
I sing about your orders.
55 Lord, during the night I remember who you are.
That’s why I keep your law.
56 I have really done my best
to obey your rules.
ח Heth
57 Lord, you are everything I need.
I have promised to obey your words.
58 I have looked to you with all my heart.
Be kind to me as you have promised.
59 I have thought about the way I live.
And I have decided to follow your covenant laws.
60 I won’t waste any time.
I will be quick to obey your commands.
61 Evil people may tie me up with ropes.
But I won’t forget to obey your law.
62 At midnight I get up to give you thanks
because your decisions are very fair.
63 I’m a friend to everyone who has respect for you.
I’m a friend to everyone who follows your rules.
64 Lord, the earth is filled with your love.
Teach me your orders.
ט Teth
65 Lord, be good to me
as you have promised.
66 Increase my knowledge and give me good sense,
because I trust your commands.
67 Before I went through suffering, I went down the wrong path.
But now I obey your word.
68 You are good, and what you do is good.
Teach me your orders.
69 The lies of proud people have taken away my good name.
But I follow your rules with all my heart.
70 Their unfeeling hearts are hard and stubborn.
But I take delight in your law.
71 It was good for me to suffer.
That’s what helped me to understand your orders.
72 The law you gave is worth more to me
than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.
For the director of music. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.
49 Hear this, all you nations.
Listen, all you who live in this world.
2 Listen, people, whether you are ordinary or important.
Listen, people, whether you are rich or poor.
3 My mouth will speak wise words.
What I think about in my heart will give you understanding.
4 I will pay attention to a proverb.
I will explain my riddle as I play the harp.
5 Why should I be afraid when trouble comes?
Why should I fear when sinners are all around me?
They are the kind of people who want to take advantage of me.
6 They trust in their wealth.
They brag about how rich they are.
7 No one can pay for the life of anyone else.
No one can give God what that would cost.
8 The price for a life is very high.
No payment is ever enough.
9 No one can pay enough to live forever
and not rot in the grave.
10 Everyone can see that even wise people die.
People who are foolish and who have no sense also pass away.
All of them leave their wealth to others.
11 Their tombs will remain their houses forever.
Their graves will be their homes for all time to come.
Naming lands after themselves won’t help either.
12 Even though people may be very rich, they don’t live on and on.
They are like the animals. They die.
13 That’s what happens to those who trust in themselves.
It also happens to their followers, who agree with what they say.
14 They are like sheep and will end up in the grave.
Death will be their shepherd.
But when honest people come to power, a new day will dawn.
The bodies of sinners will waste away in the grave.
They will end up far away from their princely houses.
15 But God will save me from the place of the dead.
He will certainly take me to himself.
16 Don’t get too upset when other people become rich.
Don’t be troubled when they become more and more wealthy.
17 They won’t take anything with them when they die.
Their riches won’t go down to the grave with them.
18 While they lived, they believed they were blessed.
People praised them when things were going well for them.
19 But they will die, like their people of long ago.
They will never again see the light of life.
20 People who have riches but don’t understand
are like the animals. They die.
For the director of music. According to mahalath. A maskil of David.
53 Foolish people say in their hearts,
“There is no God.”
They do all kinds of horrible and evil things.
No one does anything good.
2 God looks down from heaven
on all people.
He wants to see if there are any who understand.
He wants to see if there are any who trust in God.
3 All of them have turned away.
They have all become evil.
No one does anything good,
no one at all.
4 Don’t these people who do evil know anything?
They eat up my people as if they were eating bread.
They never call out to God for help.
5 Just look at them! They are filled with terror
even when there is nothing to be afraid of!
People of Israel, God scattered the bones of those who attacked you.
You put them to shame, because God hated them.
6 How I pray that the God who saves Israel will come out of Zion!
God will bless his people with great success again.
Then let the people of Jacob be filled with joy! Let Israel be glad!
Hagar and Ishmael
16 Abram’s wife Sarai had never had any children by him. But she had a female slave from Egypt named Hagar. 2 So she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go and sleep with my slave. Maybe I can have a family through her.”
Abram agreed to what Sarai had said. 3 His wife Sarai gave him her slave Hagar to be his wife. That was after he had been living in Canaan for ten years. 4 Then he slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant.
When Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to look down on the woman who owned her. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “It’s your fault that I’m suffering like this. I put my slave in your arms. Now that she knows she’s pregnant, she looks down on me. May the Lord judge between you and me. May he decide which of us is right.”
6 “Your slave belongs to you,” Abram said. “Do with her what you think is best.” Then Sarai treated Hagar badly. So Hagar ran away from her.
7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert. The spring was beside the road to Shur. 8 The angel said, “Hagar, you are Sarai’s slave. Where have you come from? Where are you going?”
“I’m running away from my owner Sarai,” she answered.
9 Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to the woman who owns you. Obey her.” 10 The angel continued, “I will give you and your family many children. There will be more of them than anyone can count.”
11 The angel of the Lord also said to her,
“You are now pregnant
and will have a son.
You will name him Ishmael,
because the Lord has heard about your suffering.
12 He will be like a wild donkey.
He will use his power against everyone,
and everyone will be against him.
He will not get along with any of his family.”
13 She gave a name to the Lord who spoke to her. She called him “You are the God who sees me.” That’s because she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” 14 That’s why the well was named Beer Lahai Roi. It’s still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
15 That’s why Christ is the go-between of a new covenant. Now those God calls to himself will receive the eternal gift he promised. They will receive it now that Christ has died to save them. He died to set them free from the sins they committed under the first covenant.
16 What happens when someone leaves a will? It is necessary to prove that the person who made the will has died. 17 A will is in effect only when somebody has died. It never takes effect while the one who made it is still living. 18 That’s why even the first covenant was not put into effect without the spilling of blood. 19 Moses first announced every command of the law to all the people. Then he took the blood of calves. He also took water, bright red wool and branches of a hyssop plant. He sprinkled the Book of the Covenant. He also sprinkled all the people. 20 He said, “This is the blood of the covenant God has commanded you to keep.” (Exodus 24:8) 21 In the same way, he sprinkled the holy tent with blood. He also sprinkled everything that was used in worship there. 22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be made “clean” with blood. Without the spilling of blood, no one can be forgiven.
23 So the copies of the heavenly things had to be made pure with these sacrifices. But the heavenly things themselves had to be made pure with better sacrifices. 24 Christ did not enter a sacred tent made with human hands. That tent was only a copy of the true one. He entered heaven itself. He did it to stand in front of God for us. He is there right now. 25 The high priest enters the Most Holy Room every year. He enters with blood that is not his own. But Christ did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again. 26 If he had, he would have had to suffer many times since the world was created. But he has appeared once and for all time. He has come at the time when God’s work is being completed. He has come to do away with sin by offering himself. 27 People have to die once. After that, God will judge them. 28 In the same way, Christ was offered up once. He took away the sins of many people. He will also come a second time. At that time he will not suffer for sin. Instead, he will come to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
19 Jesus answered, “What I’m about to tell you is true. The Son can do nothing by himself. He can do only what he sees his Father doing. What the Father does, the Son also does. 20 This is because the Father loves the Son. The Father shows him everything he does. Yes, and the Father will show the Son even greater works than these. And you will be amazed. 21 The Father raises the dead and gives them life. In the same way, the Son gives life to anyone he wants to. 22 Also, the Father does not judge anyone. He has given the Son the task of judging. 23 Then all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.
24 “What I’m about to tell you is true. Anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. They will not be judged. They have crossed over from death to life. 25 What I’m about to tell you is true. A time is coming for me to give life. In fact, it has already begun. The dead will hear the voice of the Son of God. Those who hear it will live. 26 The Father has life in himself. He has allowed the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And the Father has given him the authority to judge. This is because he is the Son of Man.
28 “Do not be amazed at this. A time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice. 29 They will all come out of their graves. People who have done what is good will rise and live again. People who have done what is evil will rise and be found guilty.
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