Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for Deliverance
145 With all my heart I call to you;
answer me, Lord, and I will obey your commands!
146 I call to you;
save me, and I will keep your laws.
147 Before sunrise I call to you for help;
I place my hope in your promise.
148 All night long I lie awake,
to meditate on your instructions.
149 Because your love is constant, hear me, O Lord;
show your mercy, and preserve my life!
150 My cruel persecutors are coming closer,
people who never keep your law.
151 But you are near to me, Lord,
and all your commands are permanent.
152 Long ago I learned about your instructions;
you made them to last forever.
A Plea for Help
153 Look at my suffering, and save me,
because I have not neglected your law.
154 Defend my cause, and set me free;
save me, as you have promised.
155 The wicked will not be saved,
for they do not obey your laws.
156 But your compassion, Lord, is great;
show your mercy and save me!
157 I have many enemies and oppressors,
but I do not fail to obey your laws.
158 When I look at those traitors, I am filled with disgust,
because they do not keep your commands.
159 See how I love your instructions, Lord.
Your love never changes, so save me!
160 The heart of your law is truth,
and all your righteous judgments are eternal.
Dedication to the Law of the Lord
161 Powerful people attack me unjustly,
but I respect your law.
162 How happy I am because of your promises—
as happy as someone who finds rich treasure.
163 I hate and detest all lies,
but I love your law.
164 Seven times each day I thank you
for your righteous judgments.
165 Those who love your law have perfect security,
and there is nothing that can make them fall.
166 I wait for you to save me, Lord,
and I do what you command.
167 I obey your teachings;
I love them with all my heart.
168 I obey your commands and your instructions;
you see everything I do.
A Prayer for Help
169 Let my cry for help reach you, Lord!
Give me understanding, as you have promised.
170 Listen to my prayer,
and save me according to your promise!
171 I will always praise you,
because you teach me your laws.
172 I will sing about your law,
because your commands are just.
173 Always be ready to help me,
because I follow your commands.
174 How I long for your saving help, O Lord!
I find happiness in your law.
175 Give me life, so that I may praise you;
may your instructions help me.
176 I wander about like a lost sheep;
so come and look for me, your servant,
because I have not neglected your laws.
The Reward of Obedience to the Lord
128 Happy are those who obey the Lord,
who live by his commands.
2 Your work will provide for your needs;
you will be happy and prosperous.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine in your home,
and your children will be like young olive trees around your table.
4 A man who obeys the Lord
will surely be blessed like this.
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion!
May you see Jerusalem prosper
all the days of your life!
6 May you live to see your grandchildren!
Peace be with Israel!
A Prayer against Israel's Enemies
129 Israel, tell us how your enemies have persecuted you
ever since you were young.
2 “Ever since I was young,
my enemies have persecuted me cruelly,
but they have not overcome me.
3 They cut deep wounds in my back
and made it like a plowed field.
4 But the Lord, the righteous one,
has freed me from slavery.”
5 May everyone who hates Zion
be defeated and driven back.
6 May they all be like grass growing on the housetops,
which dries up before it can grow;
7 no one gathers it up
or carries it away in bundles.
8 No one who passes by will say,
“May the Lord bless you!
We bless you in the name of the Lord.”
A Prayer for Help
130 From the depths of my despair I call to you, Lord.
2 Hear my cry, O Lord;
listen to my call for help!
3 If you kept a record of our sins,
who could escape being condemned?
4 But you forgive us,
so that we should stand in awe of you.
5 I wait eagerly for the Lord's help,
and in his word I trust.
6 I wait for the Lord
more eagerly than sentries wait for the dawn—
than sentries wait for the dawn.
7 Israel, trust in the Lord,
because his love is constant
and he is always willing to save.
8 (A)He will save his people Israel
from all their sins.
David Is Told of Absalom's Death
19 Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said to Joab, “Let me run to the king with the good news that the Lord has saved him from his enemies.”
20 “No,” Joab said, “today you will not take any good news. Some other day you may do so, but not today, for the king's son is dead.” 21 Then he said to his Ethiopian[a] slave, “Go and tell the king what you have seen.” The slave bowed and ran off.
22 Ahimaaz insisted, “I don't care what happens; please let me take the news also.”
“Why do you want to do it, my son?” Joab asked. “You will get no reward for it.”
23 “Whatever happens,” Ahimaaz said again, “I want to go.”
“Then go,” Joab said. So Ahimaaz ran off down the road through the Jordan Valley, and soon he passed the slave.
Paul Is Sent to Governor Felix
23 Then the commander called two of his officers and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready to go to Caesarea, together with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen, and be ready to leave by nine o'clock tonight. 24 Provide some horses for Paul to ride and get him safely through to Governor Felix.” 25 Then the commander wrote a letter that went like this: 26 “Claudius Lysias to His Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings. 27 The Jews seized this man and were about to kill him. I learned that he is a Roman citizen, so I went with my soldiers and rescued him. 28 I wanted to know what they were accusing him of, so I took him down to their Council. 29 I found out that he had not done a thing for which he deserved to die or be put in prison; the accusation against him had to do with questions about their own law. 30 And when I was informed that there was a plot against him, at once I decided to send him to you. I have told his accusers to make their charges against him before you.”
31 The soldiers carried out their orders. They got Paul and took him that night as far as Antipatris. 32 The next day the foot soldiers returned to the fort and left the horsemen to go on with him. 33 They took him to Caesarea, delivered the letter to the governor, and turned Paul over to him. 34 The governor read the letter and asked Paul what province he was from. When he found out that he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will hear you when your accusers arrive.” Then he gave orders for Paul to be kept under guard in the governor's headquarters.
The Question about Paying Taxes(A)
13 Some Pharisees and some members of Herod's party were sent to Jesus to trap him with questions. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you tell the truth, without worrying about what people think. You pay no attention to anyone's status, but teach the truth about God's will for people. Tell us, is it against our Law to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor? Should we pay them or not?”
15 But Jesus saw through their trick and answered, “Why are you trying to trap me? Bring a silver coin, and let me see it.”
16 They brought him one, and he asked, “Whose face and name are these?”
“The Emperor's,” they answered.
17 So Jesus said, “Well, then, pay to the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor, and pay to God what belongs to God.”
And they were amazed at Jesus.
The Question about Rising from Death(B)
18 (C)Then some Sadducees, who say that people will not rise from death, came to Jesus and said, 19 (D)“Teacher, Moses wrote this law for us: ‘If a man dies and leaves a wife but no children, that man's brother must marry the widow so that they can have children who will be considered the dead man's children.’ 20 Once there were seven brothers; the oldest got married and died without having children. 21 Then the second one married the woman, and he also died without having children. The same thing happened to the third brother, 22 and then to the rest: all seven brothers married the woman and died without having children. Last of all, the woman died. 23 Now, when all the dead rise to life on the day of resurrection, whose wife will she be? All seven of them had married her.”
24 Jesus answered them, “How wrong you are! And do you know why? It is because you don't know the Scriptures or God's power. 25 For when the dead rise to life, they will be like the angels in heaven and will not marry. 26 (E)Now, as for the dead being raised: haven't you ever read in the Book of Moses the passage about the burning bush? There it is written that God said to Moses, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 27 He is the God of the living, not of the dead. You are completely wrong!”
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.