Book of Common Prayer
(A prayer for someone who hurts and needs to ask the Lord for help.)
A Prayer in Time of Trouble
1 I pray to you, Lord!
Please listen.
2 Don't hide from me
in my time of trouble.
Pay attention to my prayer
and quickly give an answer.
3 My days disappear like smoke,
and my bones are burning
as though in a furnace.
4 I am wasting away like grass,
and my appetite is gone.
5 My groaning never stops,
and my bones can be seen
through my skin.
6 I am like a lonely owl
in the desert
7 or a restless sparrow
alone on a roof.
8 My enemies insult me all day,
and they use my name
for a curse word.
9 Instead of food,
I have ashes to eat
and tears to drink,
10 because you are furious
and have thrown me aside.
11 My life fades like a shadow
at the end of day
and withers like grass.
12 Our Lord, you are King forever
and will always be famous.
13 You will show pity to Zion
because the time has come.
14 We, your servants,
love each stone in the city,
and we are sad to see them
lying in the dirt.
15 Our Lord, the nations
will honor you,
and all kings on earth
will praise your glory.
16 You will rebuild
the city of Zion.
Your glory will be seen,
17 and the prayers of the homeless
will be answered.
18 Future generations must also
praise the Lord,
so write this for them:
19 “From his holy temple,
the Lord looked down
at the earth.
20 He listened to the groans
of prisoners,
and he rescued everyone
who was doomed to die.”
21 All Jerusalem should praise
you, our Lord,
22 when people from every nation
meet to worship you.
23 I should still be strong,
but you, Lord, have made
an old person of me.
24 You will live forever!
Years mean nothing to you.
Don't cut my life in half!
25 (A) In the beginning, Lord,
you laid the earth's foundation
and created the heavens.
26 They will all disappear
and wear out like clothes.
You change them,
as you would a coat,
but you last forever.
27 You are always the same.
You are God for all time.
28 Every generation of those
who serve you
will live in your presence.
BOOK V
(Psalms 107–150)
The Lord Is Good to His People
1 (A) Shout praises to the Lord!
He is good to us,
and his love never fails.
2 Everyone the Lord has rescued
from trouble
should praise him,
3 everyone he has brought
from the east and the west,
the north and the south.[a]
4 Some of you were lost
in the scorching desert,
far from a town.
5 You were hungry and thirsty
and about to give up.
6 You were in serious trouble,
but you prayed to the Lord,
and he rescued you.
7 At once he brought you
to a town.
8 You should praise the Lord
for his love
and for the wonderful things
he does for all of us.
9 To everyone who is thirsty,
he gives something to drink;
to everyone who is hungry,
he gives good things to eat.
10 Some of you were prisoners
suffering in deepest darkness
and bound by chains,
11 because you had rebelled
against God Most High
and refused his advice.
12 You were worn out
from working like slaves,
and no one came to help.
13 You were in serious trouble,
but you prayed to the Lord,
and he rescued you.
14 He brought you out
of the deepest darkness
and broke your chains.
15 You should praise the Lord
for his love
and for the wonderful things
he does for all of us.
16 He breaks down bronze gates
and shatters iron locks.
17 Some of you had foolishly
committed a lot of sins
and were in terrible pain.
18 The very thought of food
was disgusting to you,
and you were almost dead.
19 You were in serious trouble,
but you prayed to the Lord,
and he rescued you.
20 By the power of his own word,
he healed you and saved you
from destruction.
21 You should praise the Lord
for his love
and for the wonderful things
he does for all of us.
22 You should celebrate
by offering sacrifices
and singing joyful songs
to tell what he has done.
23 Some of you made a living
by sailing the mighty sea,
24 and you saw the miracles
the Lord performed there.
25 At his command a storm arose,
and waves covered the sea.
26 You were tossed to the sky
and to the ocean depths,
until things looked so bad
that you lost your courage.
27 You staggered like drunkards
and gave up all hope.
28 You were in serious trouble,
but you prayed to the Lord,
and he rescued you.
29 He made the storm stop
and the sea be quiet.
30 You were happy because of this,
and he brought you to the port
where you wanted to go.
31 You should praise the Lord
for his love
and for the wonderful things
he does for all of us.
32 Honor the Lord
when you and your leaders
meet to worship.
27 Someday, Israel and Judah will be my field where my people and their livestock will grow. 28 In the past, I took care to uproot them, to tear them down, and to destroy them. But when that day comes, I will take care to plant them and help them grow. 29 (A) No longer will anyone go around saying,
“Sour grapes eaten by parents
leave a sour taste in the mouths
of their children.”
30 When that day comes, only those who eat sour grapes will get the sour taste, and only those who sin will be put to death.
The New Agreement with Israel and Judah
The time will surely come when I will make a new agreement with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 It will be different from the agreement I made with their ancestors when I led them out of Egypt. Although I was their God, they broke that agreement.
33 (D) Here is the new agreement that I, the Lord, will make with the people of Israel:
“I will write my laws
on their hearts and minds.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 (E) “No longer will they have to teach one another to obey me. I, the Lord, promise that all of them will obey me, ordinary people and rulers alike. I will forgive their sins and forget the evil things they have done.”
5 Do as God does. After all, you are his dear children. 2 (A) Let love be your guide. Christ loved us[a] and offered his life for us as a sacrifice that pleases God.
3 You are God's people, so don't let it be said that any of you are immoral or indecent or greedy. 4 Don't use dirty or foolish or filthy words. Instead, say how thankful you are. 5 Being greedy, indecent, or immoral is just another way of worshiping idols. You can be sure people who behave in this way will never be part of the kingdom that belongs to Christ and to God.
Living as People of Light
6 Don't let anyone trick you with foolish talk. God punishes everyone who disobeys him and says[b] foolish things. 7 So don't have anything to do with anyone like that.
8 You used to be like people living in the dark, but now you are people of the light because you belong to the Lord. So act like people of the light 9 and make your light shine. Be good and honest and truthful, 10 as you try to please the Lord. 11 Don't take part in doing those worthless things that are done in the dark. Instead, show how wrong they are. 12 It is disgusting even to talk about what is done in the dark. 13 But the light will show what these things are really like. 14 Light shows up everything,[c] just as the Scriptures say,
“Wake up from your sleep
and rise from death.
Then Christ will shine on you.”
15 Act like people with good sense and not like fools. 16 (B) These are evil times, so make every minute count. 17 Don't be stupid. Instead, find out what the Lord wants you to do. 18 Don't destroy yourself by getting drunk, but let the Spirit fill your life. 19 (C) When you meet together, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, as you praise the Lord with all your heart. 20 Always use the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to thank God the Father for everything.
Jesus Chooses Matthew
(Mark 2.13-17; Luke 5.27-32)
9 As Jesus was leaving, he saw a tax collector[a] named Matthew sitting at the place for paying taxes. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Matthew got up and went with him.
10 (A) Later, Jesus and his disciples were having dinner at Matthew's house.[b] Many tax collectors and other sinners were also there. 11 Some Pharisees asked Jesus' disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and other sinners?”
12 Jesus heard them and answered, “Healthy people don't need a doctor, but sick people do. 13 (B) Go and learn what the Scriptures mean when they say, ‘Instead of offering sacrifices to me, I want you to be merciful to others.’ I didn't come to invite good people to be my followers. I came to invite sinners.”
People Ask about Going without Eating
(Mark 2.18-22; Luke 5.33-39)
14 Some followers of John the Baptist came and asked Jesus, “Why do we and the Pharisees often go without eating,[c] while your disciples never do?”
15 Jesus answered:
The friends of a bridegroom aren't sad while he is still with them. But the time will come when he will be taken from them. Then they will go without eating.
16 No one uses a new piece of cloth to patch old clothes. The patch would shrink and tear a bigger hole.
17 No one pours new wine into old wineskins. The wine would swell and burst the old skins.[d] Then the wine would be lost, and the skins would be ruined. New wine must be put into new wineskins. Both the skins and the wine will then be safe.
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