Book of Common Prayer
To the director: With stringed instruments. A song of David.
61 God, hear my cry for help.
Listen to my prayer.
2 From a faraway land I call to you for help.
I feel so weak and helpless!
Carry me to a high rock
where no one can reach me.
3 You are my place of safety,
a strong tower that protects me from my enemies.
4 I want to live in your tent[a] forever.
I want to hide where you can protect me. Selah
5 God, you heard what I promised to give you,
but everything your worshipers have comes from you.
6 Give the king a long life.
Let him live forever!
7 Let him rule in your presence forever.
Protect him with your faithful love.
8 Then I will praise your name forever.
Every day I will do what I promised.
To the director, Jeduthun.[b] A song of David.
62 I must calm down and turn to God;
only he can rescue me.
2 He is my Rock, the only one who can save me.
He is my high place of safety, where no army can defeat me.
3 How long will you people attack me?
Do you all want to kill me?
I am like a leaning wall,
like a fence ready to fall.
4 You want only to destroy me,
to bring me down from my important position.
It makes you happy to tell lies about me.
In public, you say nice things,
but in private, you curse me. Selah
5 I must calm down and turn to God;
he is my only hope.
6 He is my Rock, the only one who can save me.
He is my high place of safety, where no army can defeat me.
7 My victory and honor come from God.
He is the mighty Rock, where I am safe.
8 People, always put your trust in God!
Tell him all your problems.
God is our place of safety. Selah
9 People cannot really help.
You cannot depend on them.
Compared to God, they are nothing—
no more than a gentle puff of air!
10 Don’t trust in your power to take things by force.
Don’t think you will gain anything by stealing.
And if you become wealthy,
don’t put your trust in riches.
11 God says there is one thing you can really depend on, and I believe it:
“Strength comes from God!”
12 My Lord, your love is real.
You reward all people for what they do.
To the director: A praise song of David.
68 God, get up and scatter your enemies!
May all your enemies run from you.
2 May your enemies be scattered
like smoke blown away by the wind.
May your enemies be destroyed
like wax melting in a fire.
3 But let good people be happy.
Let them gather before God and enjoy themselves together.
4 Sing to God! Sing praises to his name!
Prepare the way for the one who rides on the clouds.
His name is Yah.[a]
Worship before him with joy.
5 God, who lives in his holy palace, is a father to orphans,
and he takes care of widows.
6 God provides homes for those who are lonely.
He frees people from prison and makes them happy.
But those who turn against him will live in the desert.
7 God, you led your people out of Egypt.
You marched across the desert. Selah
8 The ground shook and rain poured from the sky
when God, the God of Israel, came to Sinai.
9 God, you sent the rain
to make a tired, old land strong again.
10 Your people[b] came back to live there,
and you provided good things for the poor.
11 My Lord gave the command,
and many people went to tell the good news:
12 “The armies of powerful kings ran away!
At home, the women divide the things brought from the battle.
13 Those who stayed home will share in the wealth—
metal doves with wings covered in silver and feathers sparkling with gold.”
14 God All-Powerful scattered the kings
like snow falling on Mount Zalmon.
15 Mount Bashan is a great mountain
with many high peaks.
16 But, Bashan, why are you jealous of Mount Zion?
That is where God has chosen to live.
The Lord will live there forever.
17 With his millions of chariots,
the Lord came from Sinai into the holy place.
18 You went up to your high place,
leading a parade of captives.
You received gifts from people,[c]
even those who turned against you.
The Lord God went up there to live.
19 Praise the Lord!
Every day he helps us with the loads we must carry.
He is the God who saves us. Selah
20 He is our God, the God who saves us.
My Lord God saves us from death.
21 God will smash the heads of his enemies.
He will punish those who fight against him.[d]
22 My Lord said, “If they run up to Bashan or down to the depths of the sea,
I will bring them back.
23 So you will march through pools of their blood,
and there will be plenty left for your dogs.”
24 God, everyone can see your victory parade—
the victory march of my God and King into his holy place![e]
25 Singers come marching in front, followed by the musicians;
they are surrounded by young girls playing tambourines.
26 Praise God in the meeting place.[f]
Praise the Lord, people of Israel!
27 There is the smallest tribe, Benjamin, leading them.
And there comes a large group of leaders from Judah.
Following them are the leaders of Zebulun and Naphtali.
28 God, show us your power!
Show us the power you used for us in the past.
29 Kings will bring their wealth to you,
to your Temple in Jerusalem.
30 Punish the people in Egypt.
They are like cattle in the marshes, like bulls among the calves.
You humiliated them.
You scattered them in war.
Now let them come crawling to you,
bringing their pieces of silver.
31 Messengers from Egypt will come bearing gifts.
Ethiopia will offer God their tribute.
32 Kings on earth, sing to God!
Sing songs of praise to our Lord! Selah
33 Sing to him who rides his chariot through the ancient skies.
Listen to his powerful voice!
34 Tell everyone how powerful he is!
He rules over Israel.
His power fills the skies.
35 God, you are awesome in your Temple!
The God of Israel is the one who gives strength and power to his people.
Praise God!
14 There is something else that happens on earth that does not seem fair. Bad things should happen to bad people, and good things should happen to good people. But sometimes bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people. This is not fair. 15 So I decided it was more important to enjoy life because the best thing people can do in this life[a] is to eat, drink, and enjoy life. At least that will help people enjoy the hard work God gave them to do during their life on earth.
We Cannot Understand All God Does
16 I carefully studied the things people do in this life. I saw how busy people are. They work day and night, and they almost never sleep. 17 I also saw that no one can understand all that God does. People can try and try to understand the things that happen here on earth, but they cannot. There may be wise people who claim to understand the meaning of these things, but they are wrong. No one can understand it all.
Is Death Fair?
9 I thought about all this very carefully. I saw that God controls what happens to the good and wise people and what they do. People don’t know if they will be loved or hated, and they don’t know what will happen in the future.
2 But, there is one thing that happens to everyone—we all die! Death comes to good people and bad people. Death comes to those who are pure and to those who are not pure. Death comes to those who give sacrifices and to those who don’t give sacrifices. Good people will die just as sinners do. Those who make promises to God will die just as those who are afraid to make those promises.
3 Of all the things that happen in this life, the worst thing is that all people end life the same way. But it is also very bad that people always think evil and foolish thoughts. And those thoughts lead to death. 4 There is hope for those who are still alive—it does not matter who they are. But this saying is true:
A living dog is better than a dead lion.
5 The living know that they will die, but the dead don’t know anything. They have no more reward. People will soon forget them. 6 After people are dead, their love, hate, and jealousy are all gone. And they will never again share in what happens on earth.
Enjoy Life While You Can
7 So go and eat your food now and enjoy it. Drink your wine and be happy. It is all right with God if you do these things. 8 Wear nice clothes and make yourself look good. 9 Enjoy life with the wife you love. Enjoy every day of your short life. God has given you this short life on earth—and it is all you have. So enjoy the work you have to do in this life. 10 Every time you find work to do, do it the best you can. In the grave there is no work. There is no thinking, no knowledge, and there is no wisdom. And we are all going to the place of death.
The Example of Hagar and Sarah
21 Some of you people want to be under the law. Tell me, do you know what the law says? 22 The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons. The mother of one son was a slave woman, and the mother of the other son was a free woman. 23 Abraham’s son from the slave woman was born in the normal human way. But the son from the free woman was born because of the promise God made to Abraham.
24 This true story makes a picture for us. The two women are like the two agreements between God and his people. One agreement is the law that God made on Mount Sinai. The people who are under this agreement are like slaves. The mother named Hagar is like that agreement. 25 So Hagar is like Mount Sinai in Arabia. She is a picture of the earthly Jewish city of Jerusalem. This city is a slave, and all its people are slaves to the law. 26 But the heavenly Jerusalem that is above is like the free woman, who is our mother. 27 The Scriptures say,
“Be happy, woman—you who cannot have children.
Be glad you never gave birth.
Shout and cry with joy!
You never felt those labor pains.
The woman who is alone[a] will have more children
than the woman who has a husband.” (A)
28 My brothers and sisters, you are children who were born because of God’s promise, just as Isaac was. 29 But the other son of Abraham, who was born in the normal way, caused trouble for the one who was born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same today. 30 But what do the Scriptures say? “Throw out the slave woman and her son! The son of the free woman will receive everything his father has, but the son of the slave woman will receive nothing.”[b] 31 So, my brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman. We are children of the free woman.
Jesus Heals Many People
29 Then Jesus went from there to the shore of Lake Galilee. He went up on a hill and sat down.
30 A large crowd of people came to him. They brought many other sick people and put them before him. There were people who could not walk, people who were blind, crippled, or deaf, and many others. Jesus healed them all. 31 People were amazed when they saw that those who could not speak were now able to speak. Crippled people were made strong. Those who could not walk were now able to walk. The blind were able to see. Everyone thanked the God of Israel for this.
Jesus Feeds More Than 4000(A)
32 Jesus called his followers to him and said, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been with me three days, and now they have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry. They might faint while going home.”
33 The followers asked Jesus, “Where can we get enough bread to feed all these people? We are a long way from any town.”
34 Jesus asked, “How many loaves of bread do you have?”
They answered, “We have seven loaves of bread and a few small fish.”
35 Jesus told the people to sit on the ground. 36 He took the seven loaves of bread and the fish. Then he gave thanks to God for the food. He broke the bread into pieces, which he gave to the followers, and they gave the food to the people. 37 All the people ate until they were full. After this, the followers filled seven baskets with the pieces of food that were not eaten. 38 There were about 4000 men there who ate. There were also some women and children. 39 After they all ate, Jesus told the people they could go home. He got into the boat and went to the area of Magadan.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International