Book of Common Prayer
David wrote this song.
Trust the Lord[a]
37 Do not become upset
because of what wicked people do.
Do not be jealous of people that do bad things.
2 Remember that they are soon gone!
They are like grass that quickly becomes dry.
They will soon die like green plants in hot weather.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good things.
Then you will live safely in the land.
4 Be happy that the Lord is your friend.
He will give you what you most want.
5 Let the Lord be your guide into the future.
Trust in him and he will help you.
6 He will show everyone that you are righteous.
People will know that you are a good person,
as clearly as the sun shines at noon.
7 Be patient as you wait for the Lord to help you.
Trust him to bring help.
Do not become upset when bad people seem to do well,
when their wicked ideas really happen.
8 Do not become angry or upset!
It will only bring trouble for you.
9 Wicked people will disappear one day!
But people who trust the Lord for help
will live safely in the land that he has given to them.
10 Evil people will soon be gone.
You may look for them,
but you will not find them.
11 Humble people will live safely in the land.
They will live in peace and they will enjoy good things.
12 Wicked people think about how to hurt righteous people.
They show their teeth to frighten good people.
13 But my Lord laughs at those wicked people,
because he knows that their day of punishment will come.
14 Wicked people get out their swords,
and they prepare to shoot their arrows.
They try to make poor and helpless people fall down.
They try to destroy people who do what is right.
15 But their swords will go into their own hearts.
Their bows will break in pieces.
16 It is better to do what is right and only have a few things,
than to be wicked and have many things.
17 The Lord keeps righteous people safe,
but he will destroy the power of wicked people.
18 If anyone lives a completely good life,
the Lord takes care of them.
His gifts to them will last for ever.
19 When times of trouble come,
they will still be safe.
In a time of famine,
they will have enough to eat.
20 But wicked people will die.
They are the Lord's enemies.
They will disappear like smoke from a fire that burns them up.
21 If you lend money to a wicked person,
he will not give it back to you.
But righteous people are kind to others
and they give things freely.
22 Yes, people that the Lord blesses
will live safely in the land.
But people that he has cursed
will disappear.
23 If the way that somebody lives pleases the Lord,
the Lord will lead him into good things.
24 Even if that person trips, he will not fall.
The Lord will hold his hand.
25 I was young once and now I am old.
But in all my life, I have never seen any good man that God has left alone.
I have not seen his children so hungry
that they ask people for food.
26 Good people are always kind.
They lend things to other people.
Their children also bring God's blessing.
27 Turn away from evil things!
Do what is right!
Then you will live safely in the land for ever.
28 The Lord loves justice.
He will never leave those who serve him.
He will take care of them for ever,
but he will remove the children of wicked people.
29 God's righteous people will take the land for themselves.
They will live there for ever.
30 Righteous people speak wise words.
What they say brings justice.
31 They think about God's Law all the time,
so that they do not make mistakes.
32 Evil people wait for a chance to kill righteous people.
33 But the Lord will not leave his righteous people,
so that their enemies have power over them.
When evil people accuse them,
the Lord will show that they are not guilty.
34 Be patient and continue to trust the Lord.
Obey his commands.
Then he will give you honour,
so that you live safely in the land.
You will see that the Lord destroys wicked people.
35 I have seen cruel, wicked people become very powerful,
like trees that grow well in good soil.
36 But soon after that,
I see that they have disappeared!
I looked for them,
but I could not find them anywhere.
37 Think about people who are honest
and who do what is right.
Those who help people to live in peace
will live to enjoy their children.
38 But God will destroy people that turn against him.
Evil people will not have descendants.
39 The Lord will make righteous people safe.
He will take care of them in times of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them.
He saves them from wicked people.
He keeps them safe
because they turn to him for help.
30 There is no wisdom, no knowledge and no advice
that can win against the Lord.
31 You can prepare your horses to fight in a battle,
but only the Lord can help you to win.
22 It is better to receive honour from people than to be very rich.
If people respect you, that is better than silver or gold.
2 This is true about rich people and poor people:
The Lord created them all.
3 A careful person can see danger and he will hide himself.
But a silly person never stops, and he walks into trouble.
4 You should be humble. You should respect and obey the Lord.
Then you will receive riches, honour and a long life.
5 Wicked people go through a lot of trouble,
like thorn bushes and traps in their way.
So be careful to keep far away from them.
6 If you teach children the right way to live,
they will not forget it when they are older.
False teachers
4 God's Spirit tells us clearly that, in later times, some people will stop believing the message about Jesus Christ. Instead, they will listen to bad spirits who want people to believe wrong things. They will listen to the message that comes from demons. 2 The people who teach those false things are hypocrites. They no longer understand that what they teach is wrong. 3 They say that it is wrong for anyone to marry. They tell people not to eat certain kinds of food. But God made those foods for people to eat! We should understand God's true message and trust him. Then we will receive the food that he has given us and we will thank him for it. 4 Everything that God has made is good. So we should not refuse anything that he has made. Instead, we should receive it and thank God for it. 5 God has said that it is good. We should pray that he will bless it. Because of that, it becomes good and clean for us to eat.[a]
How Timothy can be a good servant of Christ
6 You must explain these things to the believers and teach them God's true message. If you do that, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus. Continue to study the message about Jesus that you have already learned. That will help you to be strong. 7 But you must refuse to listen to false stories. Stories like that are not from God and only silly people believe them. Instead, learn to live well in a way that makes God happy. 8 People say this: ‘If a person works to make his body strong and healthy, that will help him a little. But if a person works to live in a way that makes God happy, that will help him much more. It will help that person in his life now on earth. It will also help him in his future life with God in heaven.’ 9 We know that those words are true. Everyone should agree with them. 10 So that is why we work to serve God well. We continue to work, even when we have trouble. We do this because we believe that God will help us. He is the one who lives for ever and who saves all people. Certainly, he saves those who are believers.
11 Teach people to do these things. 12 You are still a young man, but everyone should respect you as the leader in the church. Show the believers how they should live. Be a good example to them in these ways:
what you say,
what you do,
how you love people,
how you trust God,
and how you do only what is right.
13 Until I come, be careful to read the Bible aloud to people. Teach them to understand and to obey the message about Christ. 14 Remember the gift that God's Holy Spirit has given to you. You received that gift when the group of church leaders put their hands on you.[b] They spoke messages from God about how you would serve him. So do not stop using that gift from God.
15 Be careful to do all these things well. Then everyone will see that you are serving God better and better. 16 Think carefully about how you live, and about the message that you teach. Continue to teach God's true message. Then God will save not only you, but also those people who listen to you.
Jesus tells a story about some weeds
24 Then Jesus told the people another story. He said, ‘This is what the kingdom of heaven is like: A farmer planted some good wheat seeds into his field. 25 But one night, when everyone was sleeping, a bad person came to the farmer's field. He did not like the farmer. This bad person planted seeds from weeds among the good wheat seeds. Then the bad person went away again. 26 The good seeds grew and the plants began to make new seeds. But when this happened, the weeds also grew.
27 So the farmer's servants came to speak to him. “Master, you planted only good seeds in your field but now many weeds are also growing there. How did this happen?” they asked him.
28 The farmer said to his servants, “A bad person who does not like me has done this.”
So the servants then asked the farmer, “Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?”
29 The farmer replied, “No, I do not want you to do that. If you pull up the weeds, you may also pull up some of the good wheat plants. 30 Let the good plants and the weeds grow up together. At harvest time, I will tell the workers to cut down the weeds first. Then they will tie them together and burn them. Then they will cut the wheat and bring it into my building. I will store it there.” ’
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