Book of Common Prayer
Praise and Prayer for Help
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
40 I waited patiently for the Lord.
He ·turned [bent down; inclined; stooped] to me and heard my cry.
2 He ·lifted [drew] me out of the pit of ·destruction [or desolation],
out of the ·sticky mud [miry/muddy pit/bog/swamp].
He ·stood me [L placed my feet] on a rock
and made my ·feet [L step] steady.
3 He put a new song [C celebrating victory; 33:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1; Is. 42:10; Rev. 5:9; 14:3] in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many people will see this and ·worship [fear] him.
Then they will ·trust [find refuge in] the Lord.
4 ·Happy [Blessed] is the person
who ·trusts [finds refuge in] the Lord,
who doesn’t turn to those who are proud
or to those who ·worship [go astray to] ·false gods [L a lie].
5 Lord my God, you have done many ·miracles [wonders; great acts].
Your plans for us are many.
If I tried to tell them all,
there would be too many to count [104:24; 139:17–18; John 21:25].
6 You do not want sacrifices and ·offerings [grain offerings; or gifts; tribute; Lev. 2:1].
But you have ·made a hole in [or pierced; L dug] my ear [C to make him hear better or perhaps a reference to the ritual that made one a slave forever; Ex. 21:6; Heb. 10:5–7].
You do not ask for burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17]
and ·sin [or purification] offerings [Lev. 4:3].
7 Then I said, “Look, I have come.
It is written about me in the ·book [scroll].
8 My God, I ·want [delight; take pleasure] to do ·what you want [your pleasure].
Your ·teachings [instructions; laws] are in my heart.”
9 I will tell ·about your goodness [the good news] in the great ·meeting of your people [assembly].
Lord, you know ·my lips are not silent [L I have not restrained my lips].
10 I do not hide your ·goodness [righteousness] in my heart;
I speak about your ·loyalty [faithfulness] and ·salvation [victory].
I do not hide your ·love [loyalty] and ·truth [faithfulness]
from the people in the great ·meeting [assembly].
11 Lord, do not ·hold back [restrain] your ·mercy [compassion] from me;
let your ·love [loyalty] and ·truth [faithfulness] always protect me.
12 ·Troubles [Evils] have surrounded me;
·there are too many to count [L without number].
My ·sins [iniquities] have ·caught [overtaken] me
so that I cannot see [C a way to escape].
I have more ·sins [iniquities] than hairs on my head,
and ·I have lost my courage [L my heart fails/abandons/forsakes me].
13 ·Please [L Be pleased], Lord, ·save [rescue; T deliver] me.
Hurry, Lord, to help me.
14 People are ·trying to kill me [L seeking my life].
Shame them and disgrace them.
People want to hurt me.
Let them ·run away [be turned back] in disgrace.
15 People are ·making fun of me [L saying to me, “Aha! Aha!”].
Let them be ·shamed into silence [L devastated by their own shame].
16 But let those who ·follow [L seek] you
be happy and glad.
They love you for ·saving [delivering] them.
May they always say, “·Praise [Magnify; Great is] the Lord!”
17 Lord, because I am poor and ·helpless [needy],
please ·remember [L think of; consider] me.
You are my helper and ·savior [rescuer; T deliverer].
My God, do not ·wait [delay].
A Prayer for Help
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of David when the Ziphites went to Saul and said, “·We think David is [L Is not David…?] hiding among ·our people [L us; 1 Sam. 23:13–29; 26:1].”
54 God, ·save [give victory to] me ·because of who you are [L by your name].
By your ·strength [L name] ·show that I am innocent [contend for me].
2 Hear my prayer, God;
·listen [L give ear] to ·what I say [L the speech of my mouth].
3 Strangers ·turn [L rise up] against me,
and ·cruel people want to kill me [L violent people seek my life].
They do not ·care about God [think about God; L set God before them]. ·
4 ·See [T Behold], God ·will help me [L is my helper];
the Lord ·will support me [L is with/or among those who uphold me].
5 Let ·my enemies be punished with their own evil [L evil return to my enemies].
·Destroy [Put an end to] them because ·you are loyal to me [L of your faithfulness].
6 I will ·offer a sacrifice as a special gift [sacrifice a freewill offering] to you.
I will ·thank [praise] ·you [L your name], Lord, because you are good.
7 You have ·saved [rescued] me from all my ·troubles [distress],
and ·I have seen my enemies defeated [L my eyes have looked on my enemies].
A Prayer for Forgiveness
For the director of music. A psalm of David when the prophet Nathan came to David after ·David’s sin with Bathsheba [he committed adultery with/L had gone to Bathsheba; 2 Sam. 11:1—12:25].
51 God, be ·merciful [gracious] to me
·because you are loving [according to your love/loyalty].
·Because you are always ready to be merciful [According to your abundant compassion],
·wipe [blot] out all my ·wrongs [transgressions].
2 Wash ·away [L me thoroughly from] all my guilt
and make me clean ·again [L from my sin].
3 I know about my ·wrongs [transgressions],
and ·I can’t forget my sin [L my sin is continually before me].
4 You ·are the only one [alone] I have sinned against;
I have done ·what you say is wrong [L evil in your eyes].
You are ·right [vindicated] when you speak
and ·fair [pure; blameless] when you judge.
5 I was ·brought into this world [born] in ·sin [guilt].
In sin my mother ·gave birth to [conceived] me [Rom. 3:9–20; 7:18].
6 You ·want me to be completely truthful [L desire truth/faithfulness in my inward parts],
·so teach me wisdom [L and secretly you make me know wisdom].
7 ·Take away my sin [L Remove my sin with hyssop; Ex. 12:22; C a plant used in purification rituals; Lev. 14:4, 6, 49–51; Num. 19:18], and I will be clean.
Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow [Is. 1:18].
8 Make me hear sounds of joy and gladness;
let the bones you crushed ·be happy [rejoice] again.
9 ·Turn [L Hide] your face from my sins
and ·wipe [blot] out all my guilt.
10 Create in me a ·pure [clean] heart, God,
and ·make my spirit right again [L renew a right/steadfast spirit in me].
11 Do not send me away from you
or take your ·Holy Spirit [or holy spirit] away from me.
12 ·Give me back [Restore to me] the joy of your ·salvation [rescue].
·Keep me strong by giving [Sustain in] me a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach your ways to ·those who do wrong [transgressors],
and sinners will turn back to you.
14 God, save me from ·the guilt of murder [bloodshed],
God of my ·salvation [rescue],
and ·I will sing about your goodness [L let my tongue sing for joy of your righteousness].
15 Lord, let ·me speak [L my lips open]
so ·I may praise you [L my mouth may speak your praise].
16 You are not pleased by sacrifices, or I would give them.
You don’t want burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17].
17 The sacrifice God wants is a broken spirit.
God, you will not ·reject [despise] a heart that is broken and ·sorry for sin [contrite; Is. 57:15; 66:2; Mic. 6:6–8].
18 Do whatever good you wish for ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple].
Rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will be pleased with right sacrifices and whole burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17],
and bulls will be offered on your altar.
Be Careful About Making Promises
5 ·Be careful [Watch your step/L feet] when you go to worship at the ·Temple [L house of God]. It is better to listen than to offer ·foolish sacrifices [or the sacrifice of fools] without even knowing you are doing wrong.
2 ·Think before you speak [L Do not be quick with your mouth],
and ·be careful about what you say [L do not let your heart rush to utter a word] to God.
God is in heaven,
and you are on the earth,
so ·say only a few words to God [L let your words be few].
3 Dreams come from too much ·worrying [or work],
and too many words come from foolish people.
4 If you make a ·promise [vow] to God, don’t ·be slow to keep [delay to fulfill] it. ·God is not happy [L For there is no pleasure] with fools, so ·give God what you promised [L fulfill what you have vowed]. 5 It is better not to ·promise anything than to promise something and not do it [make a vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it; Deut. 23:21; Prov. 20:25; Matt. 23:16–22]. 6 Don’t let your ·words [L mouth] cause ·you [L your flesh] to sin, and don’t say to the ·priest at the Temple [L messenger], “·I didn’t mean what I promised [L It was a mistake].” ·If you do, God will [L Why should God…?] become angry with your words and will destroy ·everything you have worked for [L the work of your hands]. 7 Many useless [1:2] ·promises [or words] are like so many dreams; they mean nothing. You should ·respect [or be afraid of; 5:7; 7:18; 8:12, 13] God.
The Law and the Promise
15 Brothers and sisters, let us think ·in human terms [or of an example from everyday life; L according to man]: Even in the case of a human ·agreement [covenant; or will and testament], after it has been ·accepted [ratified; put into affect] no one can ·set it aside [annul it] or add anything to it. 16 God made promises both to Abraham and to his ·descendant [seed]. God did not say, “and to your ·descendants [seeds].” That would mean many people. But God said, “and to your ·descendant [seed; Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 17:7; 24:7].” That means only one person; that person is Christ. 17 This is what I mean: The law, which came four hundred thirty years later, cannot ·change [cancel; nullify] that ·agreement [covenant] previously made by God and so ·destroy [nullify; render invalid] God’s promise to Abraham. 18 If the law could give us ·Abraham’s blessing [L the inheritance], then ·the promise would not be necessary [or it is not based on a promise]. But that is not possible, because God freely gave ·his blessings [L it] to Abraham through the promise he had made.
19 So what was the law for? It was ·given to show that the wrong things people do are against God’s will [L added because of transgressions]. And it continued until the ·special descendant [seed], who had been promised, came. The law was given through angels [Acts 7:53; Heb. 2:2] ·who used Moses for a mediator to give the law to people [L by the hand of a mediator/intermediary]. 20 But a mediator is not needed when there is only one side, and God is only one.
The Purpose of the Law of Moses
21 Does this mean that the law is against God’s promises? ·Never [Absoluely not; May it never be]! That would be true only if the law could make us ·right with God [righteous]. But God did not give a law that can bring life. 22 Instead, the Scriptures ·showed that the whole world is bound by sin [L imprisoned all things under (the power of) sin; C Scripture is personified as the jailer]. This was so the promise would be given ·through faith to people who believe in Jesus Christ [or because of Christ’s faithfulness, to all who believe].
Jesus Walks on the Water(A)
22 Immediately Jesus ·told [compelled; made] his ·followers [disciples] to get into the boat and go ahead of him ·across the lake [to the other side]. He stayed there to ·send the people home [dismiss the crowds]. 23 After he had ·sent them away [dismissed them], he went by himself up into the ·hills [mountain] to pray. ·It was late, and [When evening/night came,] Jesus was there alone. 24 By this time, the boat was already ·far away [L many stadia; C a stadion was about six hundred feet] from land. It was being ·hit [buffeted; beaten] by waves, because the wind was blowing against it.
25 ·Between three and six o’clock in the morning [L And in the fourth watch of the night], Jesus came to them, walking on the water. 26 When his ·followers [disciples] saw him walking on the water, they were ·afraid [terrified]. They said, “It’s a ghost!” and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus ·quickly [immediately] spoke to them, “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”
28 Peter said, “Lord, if it is really you, then ·command [tell] me to come to you on the water.”
29 Jesus said, “Come.”
And Peter left the boat and walked on the water ·to [L and came toward] Jesus. 30 But when Peter saw the wind,[a] he became ·afraid [terrified] and began to sink. He shouted, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and ·caught [took hold of] Peter. Jesus said, “·Your faith is small [What little faith you have; T You of little faith]. Why did you doubt?”
32 After they got into the boat, the wind ·became calm [stopped; died down]. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped Jesus and said, “Truly you are the Son of God!”
Healings at Gennesaret(B)
34 When they had crossed the lake, they came to shore at Gennesaret. 35 When the ·people there [or men of that place] recognized Jesus, they ·told people [sent word] all around there that Jesus had come, and they brought all their sick to him. 36 They begged Jesus to let them touch just the ·edge [or tassels; see Num. 15:38–39] of his ·coat [cloak], and all who touched it were healed.
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