Book of Common Prayer
This is a song that David wrote.
I do what is right
26 Lord, I always try to do what is right.
I continue to trust you all the time.
So please show that I am not guilty of wrong things.
2 Test me, Lord, and see how I have lived.
Look into my mind and see my thoughts.
3 I always know that I can trust you,
because of your faithful love.
So I live to please you.
4 I do not become a friend of people who tell lies.
I do not join together with hypocrites.
5 I keep away from any crowd of evil people.
I do not become a friend of wicked people.
6 I wash my hands as a sign
that I live in a pure way.[a]
I will worship you at your altar, Lord.
7 I will sing aloud to thank you.
I will tell people about all the great things that you have done.
8 Lord, I love the temple that is your house.
It is the place where we clearly see your glory.
9 Do not take away my life,
as you do with sinners.
Do not punish me with death,
as you do with murderers.
10 Those wicked people are always ready to do evil things.
They use bribes to get what they want.
11 But I always try to do what is right.
Please save me and be kind to me!
12 Now I stand in a safe place.
I will praise the Lord
when his people meet together to worship him.
This is a song that David wrote.
God answers prayer
28 Lord, I am calling to you for help.
You are my safe place, like a high rock.[a]
Please do not refuse to listen to me.
If you do not answer me,
I will be like those who are going down
into the deep hole of death.
2 Hear me when I call to you for help.
Please be kind to me.
I am lifting up my hands
towards your Most Holy Place.[b]
3 Do not pull me away to punishment,
as you do with wicked people.
Those people do evil things.
They say kind words to their friends,
but really they want to hurt them.
4 Punish them for their sins.
Give back to them what they deserve!
Yes, punish them!
That is the fair thing to do.
5 They do not want to understand
the things that the Lord has done,
or the things that he has made.
The Lord will punish them,
and he will remove them for ever.
6 We should praise the Lord!
He has been kind to me,
when I called to him for help.
7 The Lord makes me strong.
He keeps me safe like a shield.
I trust in him completely,
and he has helped me.
I am very happy,
and I will thank him with my songs.
8 The Lord makes his people strong.
He protects the king that he has chosen.
The Lord keeps him safe.[c]
9 Lord, save your people!
Bless the people who belong to you!
Take care of your people like a shepherd.
Always carry them in your arms!
The Lord's servant, David, wrote this song for the music leader.
A message from God
36 A wicked person turns against God completely.
He does not respect God.
2 He is too proud to think about his sin,
so he does not hate it.
3 He speaks wicked things to deceive people.
He does nothing that is wise or good.
4 While he lies on his bed at night,
he thinks about bad things that he can do.
He lives only to do things that are not good.
He does not turn away from evil things.
5 Lord your faithful love reaches as high as the sky.
People can trust you beyond the clouds.
6 Your justice is like the strongest mountains.
You always do what is right,
more than the seas are deep.[a]
You take care of people and animals
and you keep them safe.
7 God, your faithful love has great value!
You keep all humans safe,
like birds protect their babies under their wings.
8 You have plenty of food in your house,
to give them all that they need.
You give them water from your river,
that makes them happy when they drink it.
9 Yes, you are the one who gives us light and life.
10 Continue to love those who serve you as your people.
Let good, honest people receive your justice.
11 Do not let proud people hurt me.
Do not let evil people chase me away from home.
12 Now I see that those wicked people have fallen down!
They are lying there on the ground,
and they cannot get up again!
David wrote this song for Jeduthun, the leader of the music.
Life is short[a]
39 I said, ‘I will be careful what I do,
so that I do not sin.
I will also be careful what I say.
When wicked people are listening,
I will not even open my mouth.’
2 So I did not speak a word,
even about good things.
That made me very upset.
3 It was like a fire inside me!
As I thought more about it,
I just had to say something!
So I said this:
4 ‘Lord, tell me about my life.
Tell me how long it will be,
and when it will finish.
I need to remember that life is only short.
5 Yes, you have made the days of my life only a few!
The time that I live seems very short to you.
Human life is only a breath,
even for those who seem to be strong.
Selah.
6 As we live, we are just like shadows.
We work to get things for ourselves.
We may get a lot of money,
but we do not know who will have it after we die.’
7 So, my Lord, what help can I hope to get?
You are the only one that I can really trust!
8 Save me from all my sins!
Do not let fools insult me.
9 I will not say anything more.
I will not open my mouth,
because it is you who have punished me!
10 Please do not hurt me any more!
You have already punished me enough,
so that I am almost dead!
11 When people do wrong things,
you warn them and you punish them.
You destroy their valuable things,
like a moth eats cloth![b]
Yes, our lives are only a breath!
Selah.
12 Lord, please hear my prayer.
Listen to me when I call to you for help.
Do not turn away from me when I weep.
I need your help,
like a foreign person who lives away from his home.
I live on earth as a stranger,
like all my ancestors did.
13 Stop being angry with me,
so that I can be happy again before I die.
16 You may be poor, but you respect and obey the Lord.
That is better than if you are very rich, but you have a lot of trouble.
17 It is better to eat vegetables with people who love each other
than to eat good meat with people who hate each other.
18 Angry people bring quarrels,
but patient people bring peace.
19 A lazy person always has problems,
as if he is walking through thorn bushes.
But an honest person walks on a straight road through life.
20 A wise child makes his father happy.
But a foolish person does not respect his mother.
21 Stupid people are happy when they do foolish things.
But wise people walk on a straight path.
22 Without good advice, your ideas will never happen.
But you will do well if you have many advisors.
23 It makes you happy when you give a good answer to a question.
It is good when you find the right thing to say at the right time.
24 A wise person walks on a path that leads him up to a long life.
He keeps away from the path that would lead him down to death.
25 The Lord destroys the homes of proud men.
But he keeps the land of widows safe.
26 The Lord hates the thoughts of wicked people.
But kind words please him.
27 Anyone who cheats people to become rich
will cause trouble for his family.
But anyone who refuses to accept bribes
will live safely.
28 Righteous people think carefully before they answer someone.
But when wicked people speak, the result is only trouble.
29 The Lord does not answer the prayers of wicked people.
But when righteous people pray, he listens.
30 If someone smiles at you, it makes you happy.
Good news makes you feel strong.
31 If anyone accepts teaching that helps him to live in a good way,
he becomes a friend of wise people.
32 If you refuse to accept it when people warn you,
you are hurting yourself.
But if you agree to listen,
you will learn to do what is right.
33 If you respect and obey the Lord,
that will teach you wisdom.
If you want to receive honour,
first learn to be humble.
Timothy should be a good leader in the church
18 Timothy, you are like my own child. So now I am telling you to serve God well. Remember the words from God that people spoke about you, when you became a servant of God.[a] Those words will help you to be strong, like a soldier who fights well.[b] 19 You must continue to trust God. Always do what you know to be right. Some people have refused to do what is right, even when they know what they should do. As a result, they no longer believe God's true message. 20 Hymenaeus and Alexander are people like that.[c] I have given them to Satan so that he may punish them. Then they will learn not to say bad things against God any more.
Christians should pray for all people
2 So then, this is what I want to ask you first. Please pray for all people. Ask God to supply what they need. Ask God to help them. Thank God for what he does for everyone. 2 Pray in that way for kings and for all rulers and people who have authority. Pray for God to help them, so that we may live our lives without trouble or danger. Then we can live in a good way that respects God and other people. 3 It is good that we should pray like that. It makes God, our Saviour, happy. 4 He wants to save all people. He wants everyone to know his message about what is true.
5 There is only one God. There is also only one person who brings God and people together. That person is Christ Jesus, who became a man himself. 6 He died as a sacrifice on behalf of all people, to pay the debt of their sins. He died at the proper time for God to show his purpose clearly. 7 God chose me as his apostle, to tell this same message to people. I am telling you what is true. I am not telling lies! Yes, he sent me to teach his true message to the Gentiles, so that they would believe in him.
8 So then, in every place where you meet together, I want the men to pray. The men who lift up their hands and pray must be those who live good lives. They must not be people who are angry or who quarrel with others.
Jesus talks about a tree and its fruit
33 Then Jesus said, ‘To have good fruit you must have a good tree. If you have a bad tree, then you will get bad fruit from it. You can know all about a tree by the kind of fruit that it makes. 34 You are like the children of dangerous snakes. You cannot say good things when your thoughts are bad. When you speak, your words show what is in your mind. 35 It is like things that you bring out of a room where you keep them. The good man says good things because he keeps good thoughts in his mind. The bad man says bad things because he keeps bad thoughts in his mind. 36 I tell you this: One day, God will judge everybody. On that day, he will ask you about every useless word that you have spoken. 37 God will think about the words that you have spoken. Then he will decide whether to let you go free or to punish you.’
The Pharisees want to see Jesus do something powerful
38 Then some teachers of God's Law and some Pharisees said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we want to see you do something powerful. This will show us that God has really sent you.’
39 Jesus replied, ‘The people who are alive today are very bad. They do not obey God, but they want God to show them something powerful. But God will not do this for them. They will only see the same powerful thing that God did for his prophet Jonah. 40 Jonah stayed inside a big fish for three days and three nights.[a] In the same way, the Son of Man will remain in the ground for three days and three nights. 41 When God judges everyone, the people who lived in Nineveh will be there. They will stand up and they will speak against you. They will show that the people who are alive today are bad. When Jonah spoke to the people in Nineveh long ago, they stopped doing bad things. But look! There is someone here now who is greater than Jonah was.
42 Also, the Queen of Sheba travelled a long way to meet King Solomon. She wanted to hear his wise words. When God judges everyone, she will stand up. She will speak against you who are alive today. She will show that you are bad people. She listened to King Solomon. But look! There is someone here now who is greater than Solomon was. But you are not listening to me.’[b]
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