Book of Common Prayer
To the director: A song of David.
31 Lord, I come to you for protection.
Don’t let me be disappointed.
You always do what is right, so save me.
2 Listen to me.
Come quickly and save me.
Be my Rock, my place of safety.
Be my fortress and protect me!
3 Yes, you are my Rock and my protection.
For the good of your name, lead me and guide me.
4 Save me from the traps my enemy has set.
You are my place of safety.
5 Lord, you are the God we can trust.
I put my life[a] in your hands.
Save me!
6 I hate those who worship false gods.
I trust only in the Lord.
7 Your kindness makes me so happy.
You have seen my suffering.
You know about the troubles I have.
8 You will not let my enemies take me.
You will free me from their traps.
9 Lord, I have many troubles, so be kind to me.
I have cried until my eyes hurt.
My throat and stomach are aching.
10 Because of my sin, my life is ending in grief;
my years are passing away in sighs of pain.
My life is ending in weakness.
My strength is draining away.
11 My enemies despise me,
and even my neighbors have turned away.
When my friends see me in the street,
they turn the other way.
They are afraid to be around me.
12 People want to forget me like someone already dead,
thrown away like a broken dish.
13 I hear them whispering about me.
They have turned against me and plan to kill me.
14 Lord, I trust in you.
You are my God.
15 My life is in your hands.
Save me from those who are persecuting me.
16 Please welcome and accept your servant.[b]
Be kind to me and save me.
17 Lord, I am praying to you.
Don’t let me be disappointed.
The wicked are the ones who should be disappointed.
Let them go to the grave in silence.
18 Those evil people brag
and tell lies about those who do right.
They are so proud now,
but their lying lips will be silent.
19 Lord, you have hidden away many wonderful things for your followers.
You have done so many good things for those who trust in you.
You have blessed them so that all the world can see.
20 Others make plans to hurt them.
They say such bad things about them.
But you hide your people in your shelter and protect them.
21 Praise the Lord, because he showed me how wonderful his faithful love is
when the city was surrounded by enemies.
22 I was afraid and said, “I am in a place where he cannot see me.”
But I prayed to you, and you heard my loud cries for help.
23 Love the Lord, all of you who are his loyal followers.
The Lord protects those who are loyal to him.
But he punishes those who brag about their own power.
He gives them all the punishment they deserve.
24 Be strong and brave,
all of you who are waiting for the Lord’s help.
A song of David.
35 Lord, oppose those who oppose me.
Fight those who fight me.
2 Pick up your shields, large and small.
Get up and help me!
3 Take a spear and javelin
and fight those who are chasing me.
Tell me, “I will rescue you.”
4 Some people are trying to kill me.
Disappoint them and make them ashamed.
Make them turn and run away.
They are planning to hurt me.
Defeat and embarrass them.
5 Make them like chaff blown by the wind.[a]
Let them be chased by the Lord’s angel.
6 Make their road dark and slippery.
Let the Lord’s angel chase them.
7 I did nothing wrong, but they tried to trap me.
For no reason at all, they dug a pit to catch me.
8 So let them fall into their own traps.
Let them stumble into their own nets.
Let some unknown danger catch them.
9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord.
I will be happy when he saves me.
10 With my whole self I will say,
“Lord, there is no one like you.
You protect the poor from those who are stronger.
You save the poor and helpless from those who try to rob them.”
11 There are witnesses[b] trying to harm me.
They ask me questions that I know nothing about.
12 They pay me back evil for the good I have done.
They make me so very sad.
13 When they were sick, I was sad and wore sackcloth.
I went without eating to show my sorrow.
(May my prayers for them not be answered!)
14 I mourned for them as I would for a friend or a brother.
I bowed low with sadness, crying as I would for my own mother.
15 But when I had troubles, they laughed at me.
They were not really friends.
I was surrounded and attacked
by people I didn’t even know.
16 They made fun of me, using the worst language.
They ground their teeth to show their anger.
17 My Lord, how long will you watch this happen?
Save my life from these people
who are attacking me like lions and trying to destroy me.
18 I will praise you in the great assembly.
I will praise you there among the crowds.
19 Don’t let my lying enemies keep on laughing at me.
They have no reason to hate me.
Surely they will be punished for their secret plans.[c]
20 They have no friendly words for others,
but plan ways to hurt those who want to live in peace.
21 They are telling lies about me.
They say, “Aha! We know what you did!”
22 Lord, surely you can see what is happening.
So don’t keep quiet.
Lord, don’t leave me.
23 Wake up! Get up!
My God and my Lord, fight for me, and bring me justice.
24 Lord my God, judge me with your fairness.
Don’t let those people laugh at me.
25 Don’t let them think, “Aha! We got what we wanted!”
Don’t let them say, “We destroyed him!”
26 Let my enemies be ashamed and embarrassed—
all those who were happy about my troubles.
Proud of themselves, they treated me as worthless.
So let them be covered with shame and disgrace.
27 To those who want the best for me,
I wish them joy and happiness.
May they always say, “Praise the Lord,
who wants what is best for his servant.”
28 So, Lord, I will tell people how good you are.
I will praise you all day long.
Immanuel—God Is With Us
10 Then the Lord spoke to Ahaz again 11 and said, “Ask for a sign from the Lord your God to prove to yourself that this is true. You can ask for any sign you want. The sign can come from a place as deep as Sheol[a] or as high as the skies.[b]”
12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask for a sign as proof. I will not test the Lord.”
13 Then Isaiah said, “Family of David, listen very carefully! Is it not enough that you would test the patience of humans? Will you now test the patience of my God? 14 But the Lord will still show you this sign:
The young woman is pregnant[c]
and will give birth to a son.
She will name him Immanuel.[d]
15 He will eat milk curds and honey[e]
as he learns to choose good and refuse evil.
16 But before he is old enough to make that choice,
the land of the two kings you fear will be empty.
17 “But the Lord will bring troubled times to you. These troubles will be worse than anything that has happened since the time Israel separated from Judah. This will happen to your people and to your father’s family when God brings the king of Assyria to fight against you.
18 “At that time the Lord will call for the ‘Fly’ that is now near the streams of Egypt, and he will call for the ‘Bee’ that is now in the country of Assyria. Those enemies will come to your country. 19 They will settle in the deep valleys and in the caves, by the thornbushes and watering holes. 20 The Lord will use Assyria to punish Judah. Assyria will be hired and used like a razor to shave off Judah’s beard and to remove the hair from his head and body.[f]
21 “At that time someone might keep only one young cow and two sheep alive. 22 But there will be enough milk for them to eat milk curds. In fact, everyone left in the country will eat milk curds and honey. 23 There are now fields that have 1000 grapevines, and each grapevine is worth 1000 pieces of silver. But those fields will be covered with weeds and thorns. 24 That land will be wild and used only as a hunting ground where people go with bows and arrows. 25 People once worked the soil and grew food on these hills, but at that time they will not go there, because the fields will be covered with weeds and thorns. It will be a place where cattle graze and sheep wander.”
You Are Chosen for Salvation
13 Brothers and sisters, you are people the Lord loves. And we always thank God for you. That’s what we should do, because God chose you to be some of the first people[a] to be saved. You are saved by the Spirit making you holy and by your faith in the truth. 14 God chose you to have that salvation. He chose you by using the Good News that we told you. You were chosen so that you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So, brothers and sisters, stand strong and continue to believe the teachings we gave you when we were there and by letter.
16-17 We pray that the Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father will comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say. God loved us and gave us through his grace a wonderful hope and comfort that has no end.
Pray for Us
3 And now, brothers and sisters, pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s teaching will continue to spread quickly. And pray that people will give honor to that teaching, the same as happened with you. 2 And pray that we will be protected from crooked and evil people. Not everyone believes in the Lord, you know.
3 But the Lord is faithful. He will give you strength and protect you from the Evil One. 4 The Lord gives us confidence that you are doing what we told you and that you will continue to do it. 5 We pray that the Lord will cause you to feel God’s love and remember Christ’s patient endurance.
The Lord’s Supper(A)
14 The time came for them to eat the Passover meal. Jesus and the apostles were together at the table. 15 Jesus said to them, “I wanted very much to eat this Passover meal with you before I die. 16 I will never eat another Passover meal until it is given its full meaning in God’s kingdom.”
17 Then Jesus took a cup of wine. He gave thanks to God for it and said, “Take this cup and give it to everyone here. 18 I will never drink wine again until God’s kingdom comes.”
19 Then he took some bread and thanked God for it. He broke off some pieces, gave them to the apostles and said, “This bread is my body that I am giving for you. Eat this to remember me.” 20 In the same way, after supper, Jesus took the cup of wine and said, “This wine represents the new agreement from God to his people. It will begin when my blood is poured out for you.”[a]
Who Will Turn Against Jesus?
21 Jesus said, “But here on this table is the hand of the one who will hand me over to my enemies. 22 The Son of Man will do what God has planned. But it will be very bad for the one who hands over the Son of Man to be killed.”
23 Then the apostles asked each other, “Which one of us would do that?”
Be Like a Servant
24 Later, the apostles began to argue about which one of them was the most important. 25 But Jesus said to them, “The kings of the world rule over their people, and those who have authority over others want to be called ‘the great providers for the people.’ 26 But you must not be like that. The one with the most authority among you should act as if he is the least important. The one who leads should be like one who serves. 27 Who is more important: the one serving or the one sitting at the table being served? Everyone thinks it’s the one being served, right? But I have been with you as the one who serves.
28 “You men have stayed with me through many struggles. 29 So I give you authority to rule with me in the kingdom the Father has given me. 30 You will eat and drink at my table in that kingdom. You will sit on thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International