Book of Common Prayer
55 Listen to my prayer, O God; don’t hide yourself when I cry to you. 2 Hear me, Lord! Listen to me! For I groan and weep beneath my burden of woe.
3 My enemies shout against me and threaten me with death. They surround me with terror and plot to kill me. Their fury and hatred rise to engulf me. 4 My heart is in anguish within me. Stark fear overpowers me. 5 Trembling and horror overwhelm me. 6 Oh, for wings like a dove, to fly away and rest! 7 I would fly to the far-off deserts and stay there. 8 I would flee to some refuge from all this storm.
9 O Lord, make these enemies begin to quarrel among themselves—destroy them with their own violence and strife.[a] 10 Though they patrol their walls night and day against invaders, their real problem is internal—wickedness and dishonesty are entrenched in the heart of the city. 11 There is murder and robbery there, and cheating in the markets and wherever you look.
12 It was not an enemy who taunted me—then I could have borne it; I could have hidden and escaped. 13 But it was you, a man like myself, my companion and my friend. 14 What fellowship we had, what wonderful discussions as we walked together to the Temple of the Lord on holy days.
15 Let death seize them and cut them down in their prime, for there is sin in their homes, and they are polluted to the depths of their souls.
16 But I will call upon the Lord to save me—and he will. 17 I will pray morning, noon, and night, pleading aloud with God; and he will hear and answer. 18 Though the tide of battle runs strongly against me, for so many are fighting me, yet he will rescue me. 19 God himself—God from everlasting ages past—will answer them! For they refuse to fear him or even honor his commands.
20 This friend of mine betrayed me—I who was at peace with him. He broke his promises. 21 His words were oily smooth, but in his heart was war. His words were sweet, but underneath were daggers.
22 Give your burdens to the Lord. He will carry them. He will not permit the godly to slip or fall. 23 He will send my enemies to the pit of destruction. Murderers and liars will not live out half their days. But I am trusting you to save me.
138 Lord, with all my heart I thank you. I will sing your praises before the armies of angels.[a] 2 I face your Temple as I worship, giving thanks to you for all your loving-kindness and your faithfulness, for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.[b] 3 When I pray, you answer me and encourage me by giving me the strength I need.
4 Every king in all the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord, for all of them shall hear your voice. 5 Yes, they shall sing about Jehovah’s glorious ways, for his glory is very great. 6 Yet though he is so great, he respects the humble, but proud men must keep their distance. 7 Though I am surrounded by troubles, you will bring me safely through them. You will clench your fist against my angry enemies! Your power will save me. 8 The Lord will work out his plans for my life—for your loving-kindness, Lord, continues forever. Don’t abandon me—for you made me.
139 O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. 2 You know when I sit or stand. When far away you know my every thought. 3 You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. 4 You know what I am going to say before I even say it. 5 You both precede and follow me and place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 This is too glorious, too wonderful to believe! 7 I can never be lost to your Spirit! I can never get away from my God! 8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there. 9 If I ride the morning winds to the farthest oceans, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your strength will support me. 11 If I try to hide in the darkness, the night becomes light around me. 12 For even darkness cannot hide from God; to you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are both alike to you.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit them together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it. 15 You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion! 16 You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book!
17-18 How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly! I can’t even count how many times a day your thoughts turn toward me.[c] And when I waken in the morning, you are still thinking of me!
19 Surely you will slay the wicked, Lord! Away, bloodthirsty men! Begone! 20 They blaspheme your name and stand in arrogance against you—how silly can they be? 21 O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you? Shouldn’t I be grieved with them? 22 Yes, I hate them, for your enemies are my enemies too.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test my thoughts.
18 The Lord appeared again to Abraham while he was living in the oak grove at Mamre. This is the way it happened: One hot summer afternoon as he was sitting in the opening of his tent, 2 he suddenly noticed three men coming toward him. He sprang up and ran to meet them and welcomed them.
3-4 “Sirs,” he said, “please don’t go any farther. Stop awhile and rest here in the shade of this tree while I get water to refresh your feet, 5 and a bite to eat to strengthen you. Do stay awhile before continuing your journey.”
“All right,” they said, “do as you have said.”
6 Then Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Mix up some pancakes![a] Use your best flour, and make enough for the three of them!” 7 Then he ran out to the herd and selected a fat calf and told a servant to hurry and butcher it. 8 Soon, taking them cheese and milk and the roast veal, he set it before the men and stood beneath the trees beside them as they ate.
9 “Where is Sarah, your wife?” they asked him.
“In the tent,” Abraham replied.
10 Then the Lord said, “Next year[b] I will give you and Sarah a son!” (Sarah was listening from the tent door behind him.) 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were both very old, and Sarah was long since past the time when she could have a baby.
12 So Sarah laughed silently. “A woman my age have a baby?” she scoffed to herself. “And with a husband as old as mine?”
13 Then God said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ 14 Is anything too hard for God? Next year, just as I told you, I will certainly see to it that Sarah has a son.”
15 But Sarah denied it. “I didn’t laugh,” she lied, for she was afraid.
16 Then the men stood up from their meal and started on toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them part of the way.
26 If anyone sins deliberately by rejecting the Savior after knowing the truth of forgiveness, this sin is not covered by Christ’s death; there is no way to get rid of it. 27 There will be nothing to look forward to but the terrible punishment of God’s awful anger, which will consume all his enemies. 28 A man who refused to obey the laws given by Moses was killed without mercy if there were two or three witnesses to his sin. 29 Think how much more terrible the punishment will be for those who have trampled underfoot the Son of God and treated his cleansing blood as though it were common and unhallowed, and insulted and outraged the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to his people.
30 For we know him who said, “Justice belongs to me; I will repay them”; who also said, “The Lord himself will handle these cases.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32 Don’t ever forget those wonderful days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you kept right on with the Lord even though it meant terrible suffering. 33 Sometimes you were laughed at and beaten, and sometimes you watched and sympathized with others suffering the same things. 34 You suffered with those thrown into jail, and you were actually joyful when all you owned was taken from you, knowing that better things were awaiting you in heaven, things that would be yours forever.
35 Do not let this happy trust in the Lord die away, no matter what happens. Remember your reward! 36 You need to keep on patiently doing God’s will if you want him to do for you all that he has promised. 37 His coming will not be delayed much longer. 38 And those whose faith has made them good in God’s sight must live by faith, trusting him in everything. Otherwise, if they shrink back, God will have no pleasure in them.
39 But we have never turned our backs on God and sealed our fate. No, our faith in him assures our souls’ salvation.
16 That evening his disciples went down to the shore to wait for him. 17 But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed out across the lake toward Capernaum. 18-19 But soon a gale swept down upon them as they rowed, and the sea grew very rough. They were three or four miles out when suddenly they saw Jesus walking toward the boat! They were terrified, 20 but he called out to them and told them not to be afraid. 21 Then they were willing to let him in, and immediately the boat was where they were going![a]
22-23 The next morning, back across the lake, crowds began gathering on the shore waiting to see Jesus.[b] For they knew that he and his disciples had come over together and that the disciples had gone off in their boat, leaving him behind. Several small boats from Tiberias were nearby, 24 so when the people saw that Jesus wasn’t there, nor his disciples, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him.
25 When they arrived and found him, they said, “Sir, how did you get here?” 26 Jesus replied, “The truth of the matter is that you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you believe in me. 27 But you shouldn’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. No, spend your energy seeking the eternal life that I, the Messiah,[c] can give you. For God the Father has sent me for this very purpose.”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.