Book of Common Prayer
Mem
97 Oh, how I love your teachings!
I talk about them all the time.
98 Your commands are always with me,
and they make me wiser than my enemies.
99 I am wiser than all my teachers,
because I study your rules.
100 I understand more than those who are older,
because I obey your instructions.
101 I have avoided every path that leads to evil
so that I could obey your word.
102 You are my teacher,
so I will always do whatever you decide.
103 Your words are so sweet to me,
like the taste of honey!
104 I gain understanding from your instructions,
so I hate anything that leads people the wrong way.
Nun
105 Your word is like a lamp that guides my steps,
a light that shows the path I should take.
106 Your laws are good and fair.
I have promised to obey them, and I will keep my promise.
107 Lord, I have suffered for a long time.
Say the word, and I will live again![a]
108 Lord, accept the praise I want to give you,
and teach me your laws.
109 My life is always in danger,
but I have not forgotten your teachings.
110 The wicked try to trap me,
but I have not disobeyed your instructions.
111 The rules you have given me to follow will be mine forever.
They give me great joy.
112 More than anything I want to obey your laws always,
until the end of my life.
Samekh
113 Lord, I hate those who are not completely loyal to you,
but I love your teachings.
114 Hide me and protect me.
I trust what you say.
115 Don’t come near me, you who are evil,
so that I can obey my God’s commands.
116 Support me, Lord, as you promised, and I will live.
I trust in you, so don’t disappoint me.
117 Help me and I will be saved.
And I will always give attention to your laws.
118 You reject all who don’t obey your laws,
because they are liars and did not do what they said.
119 You throw away the wicked of this world like trash.
So I love your rules.
120 I am shaking with fear before you.
I fear and respect your judgments.
To the director: On the gittith. One of Asaph’s songs.
81 Be happy and sing to God, our strength.
Shout with joy to the God of Jacob.
2 Begin the music.
Play the tambourines.
Play the pleasant harps and lyres.
3 Blow the ram’s horn at the time of the new moon[a]
and at the time of the full moon,[b] when our festival begins.
4 This is the law for the people of Israel.
The God of Jacob gave the command.
5 God made this agreement with Joseph’s people,
when he led them out of Egypt.
In a language we didn’t understand, God said,
6 “I took the load from your shoulder.
I let you drop the worker’s basket.
7 When you were in trouble, you called for help, and I set you free.
I was hidden in the storm clouds, and I answered you.
I tested you by the water at Meribah.[c]” Selah
8 “My people, I am warning you.
Israel, listen to me!
9 Don’t worship any of the false gods
that the foreigners worship.
10 I, the Lord, am your God.
I brought you out of Egypt.
Israel, open your mouth,
and I will feed you.
11 “But my people did not listen to me.
Israel did not obey me.
12 So I let them go their own stubborn way
and do whatever they wanted.
13 If my people would listen to me
and would live the way I want,
14 then I would defeat their enemies.
I would punish those who cause them trouble.
15 Those who hate the Lord would shake with fear.
They would be punished forever.
16 I would give the best wheat to my people.
I would give them the purest honey, until they were satisfied.”
One of Asaph’s songs of praise.
82 God stands in the assembly of the gods.[d]
He stands as judge among the judges.
2 He says, “How long will you judge unfairly
and show special favors to the wicked?” Selah
3 “Defend the poor and orphans.
Protect the rights of the poor.
4 Help those who are poor and helpless.
Save them from those who are evil.
5 “They[e] don’t know what is happening.
They don’t understand!
They don’t know what they are doing.
Their world is falling down around them!”
6 I, God Most High, say,
“You are gods,[f] my own sons.
7 But you will die as all people must die.
Your life will end like that of any ruler.”
8 Get up, God! You be the judge!
You be the leader over all the nations!
David Is Kind to Saul’s Family
9 David asked, “Is there anyone still left in Saul’s family? I want to show kindness to this person. I want to do it for Jonathan.”
2 There was a servant named Ziba from Saul’s family. David’s servants called Ziba to David. King David said to Ziba, “Are you Ziba?”
Ziba said, “Yes, I am your servant Ziba.”
3 The king said, “Is there anyone left in Saul’s family? I want to show God’s kindness to this person.”
Ziba said to King David, “Jonathan has a son still living. He is crippled in both feet.”
4 The king said to Ziba, “Where is this son?”
Ziba said to the king, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”
5 Then King David sent some of his officers to Lo Debar to bring Jonathan’s son from the house of Makir son of Ammiel. 6 Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth came to David and bowed with his face low to the floor.
David said, “Mephibosheth?”
Mephibosheth said, “Yes sir, it is I, your servant Mephibosheth.”
7 David said to Mephibosheth, “Don’t be afraid. I will be kind to you because of your father Jonathan. I will give back to you all the land of your grandfather Saul. And you will always be able to eat at my table.”
8 Mephibosheth bowed to David again and he said, “I am no better than a dead dog, but you are being very kind to me.”
9 Then King David called Saul’s servant Ziba and said, “I have given Saul’s family and everything he owns to your master’s grandson, Mephibosheth. 10 You will farm the land for Mephibosheth. Your sons and servants will do this for him. You will harvest the crops. Then your master’s grandson will have plenty of food to eat, but Mephibosheth will always be allowed to eat at my table.”
Ziba had 15 sons and 20 servants. 11 He said to King David, “I am your servant. I will do everything that my lord the king commands.”
So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons. 12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica. All the people in Ziba’s family became Mephibosheth’s servants. 13 Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem. He was crippled in both feet, and every day he ate at the king’s table.
Paul in Ephesus
19 While Apollos was in the city of Corinth, Paul was visiting some places on his way to Ephesus. In Ephesus he found some other followers of the Lord. 2 He asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
These followers said to him, “We have never even heard of a Holy Spirit!”
3 Paul asked them, “So what kind of baptism did you have?”
They said, “It was the baptism that John taught.”
4 Paul said, “John told people to be baptized to show they wanted to change their lives. He told people to believe in the one who would come after him, and that one is Jesus.”
5 When these followers heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 Then Paul laid his hands on them, and the Holy Spirit came on them. They began speaking different languages and prophesying. 7 There were about twelve men in this group.
8 Paul went into the synagogue and spoke very boldly. He continued doing this for three months. He talked with the Jews, trying to persuade them to accept what he was telling them about God’s kingdom. 9 But some of them became stubborn and refused to believe. In front of everyone, they said bad things about the Way. So Paul left these Jews and took the Lord’s followers with him. He went to a place where a man named Tyrannus had a school. There Paul talked with people every day. 10 He did this for two years. Because of this work, everyone in Asia, Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.
34 Then Jesus called the crowd and his followers to him. He said, “Any of you who want to be my follower must stop thinking about yourself and what you want. You must be willing to carry the cross that is given to you for following me. 35 Any of you who try to save the life you have will lose it. But you who give up your life for me and for the Good News will save it. 36 It is worth nothing for you to have the whole world if you yourself are lost. 37 You could never pay enough to buy back your life. 38 People today are so sinful. They have not been faithful to God. As you live among them, don’t be ashamed of me and my teaching. If that happens, I[a] will be ashamed of you when I come with the glory of my Father and the holy angels.”
9 Then Jesus said, “Believe me when I say that some of you people standing here will see God’s kingdom come with power before you die.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International