Book of Common Prayer
33 He changed rivers into a desert
and springs of water into dry ground.
34 He made fertile land salty,
because the people there did evil.
35 He changed the desert into pools of water
and dry ground into springs of water.
36 He had the hungry settle there
so they could build a city in which to live.
37 They planted seeds in the fields and vineyards,
and they had a good harvest.
38 God blessed them, and they grew in number.
Their cattle did not become fewer.
39 Because of disaster, troubles, and sadness,
their families grew smaller and weaker.
40 He showed he was displeased with their leaders
and made them wander in a pathless desert.
41 But he lifted the poor out of their suffering
and made their families grow like flocks of sheep.
42 Good people see this and are happy,
but the wicked say nothing.
43 Whoever is wise will remember these things
and will think about the love of the Lord.
A Prayer for Victory
A song. A psalm of David.
108 God, my heart is steady.
I will sing and praise you with all my being.
2 Wake up, harp and lyre!
I will wake up the dawn.
3 Lord, I will praise you among the nations;
I will sing songs of praise about you to all the nations.
4 Your great love reaches to the skies,
your truth to the heavens.
5 God, you are supreme above the skies.
Let your glory be over all the earth.
6 Answer us and save us by your power
so the people you love will be rescued.
7 God has said from his Temple,
“When I win, I will divide Shechem
and measure off the Valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead and Manasseh are mine.
Ephraim is like my helmet.
Judah holds my royal scepter.
9 Moab is like my washbowl.
I throw my sandals at Edom.
I shout at Philistia.”
10 Who will bring me to the strong, walled city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11 God, surely you have rejected us;
you do not go out with our armies.
12 Help us fight the enemy.
Human help is useless,
13 but we can win with God’s help.
He will defeat our enemies.
Praise God Who Creates and Saves
33 Sing to the Lord, you who do what is right;
honest people should praise him.
2 Praise the Lord on the harp;
make music for him on a ten-stringed lyre.
3 Sing a new song to him;
play well and joyfully.
4 God’s word is true,
and everything he does is right.
5 He loves what is right and fair;
the Lord’s love fills the earth.
6 The sky was made at the Lord’s command.
By the breath from his mouth, he made all the stars.
7 He gathered the water of the sea into a heap.
He made the great ocean stay in its place.
8 All the earth should worship the Lord;
the whole world should fear him.
9 He spoke, and it happened.
He commanded, and it appeared.
10 The Lord upsets the plans of nations;
he ruins all their plans.
11 But the Lord’s plans will stand forever;
his ideas will last from now on.
12 Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he chose for his very own.
13 The Lord looks down from heaven
and sees every person.
14 From his throne he watches
all who live on earth.
15 He made their hearts
and understands everything they do.
16 No king is saved by his great army.
No warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 Horses can’t bring victory;
they can’t save by their strength.
18 But the Lord looks after those who fear him,
those who put their hope in his love.
19 He saves them from death
and spares their lives in times of hunger.
20 So our hope is in the Lord.
He is our help, our shield to protect us.
21 We rejoice in him,
because we trust his holy name.
22 Lord, show your love to us
as we put our hope in you.
God’s Love for Israel
11 “When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and I called my son out of Egypt.
2 But when I called the people of Israel,
they went away from me.
They offered sacrifices to the Baals
and burned incense to the idols.
3 It was I who taught Israel to walk,
and I took them by the arms,
but they did not understand
that I had healed them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ropes of love.
I lifted the yoke from their neck
and bent down and fed them.
5 “The Israelites will become captives again, as they were in Egypt,
and Assyria will become their king,
because they refuse to turn back to God.
6 War will sweep through their cities
and will destroy them
and kill them because of their wicked plans.
7 My people have made up their minds
to turn away from me.
The prophets call them to turn to me,
but none of them honors me at all.
8 “Israel, how can I give you up?
How can I give you away, Israel?
I don’t want to make you like Admah
or treat you like Zeboiim.[a]
My heart beats for you,
and my love for you stirs up my pity.
9 I won’t punish you in my anger,
and I won’t destroy Israel again.
I am God and not a human;
I am the Holy One, and I am among you.
I will not come against you in anger.
17 “Later, when I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying in the Temple, and I saw a vision. 18 I saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem now! The people here will not accept the truth about me.’ 19 But I said, ‘Lord, they know that in every synagogue I put the believers in jail and beat them. 20 They also know I was there when Stephen, your witness, was killed. I stood there agreeing and holding the coats of those who were killing him!’ 21 But the Lord said to me, ‘Leave now. I will send you far away to the other nations.’ ”
22 The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they began shouting, “Get rid of him! He doesn’t deserve to live!” 23 They shouted, threw off their coats,[a] and threw dust into the air.[b]
24 Then the commander ordered the soldiers to take Paul into the army building and beat him. He wanted to make Paul tell why the people were shouting against him like this. 25 But as the soldiers were tying him up, preparing to beat him, Paul said to an officer nearby, “Do you have the right to beat a Roman citizen[c] who has not been proven guilty?”
26 When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. The officer said, “Do you know what you are doing? This man is a Roman citizen.”
27 The commander came to Paul and said, “Tell me, are you really a Roman citizen?”
He answered, “Yes.”
28 The commander said, “I paid a lot of money to become a Roman citizen.”
But Paul said, “I was born a citizen.”
29 The men who were preparing to question Paul moved away from him immediately. The commander was frightened because he had already tied Paul, and Paul was a Roman citizen.
Love Your Enemies
27 “But I say to you who are listening, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who are cruel to you. 29 If anyone slaps you on one cheek, offer him the other cheek, too. If someone takes your coat, do not stop him from taking your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and when someone takes something that is yours, don’t ask for it back. 31 Do to others what you would want them to do to you. 32 If you love only the people who love you, what praise should you get? Even sinners love the people who love them. 33 If you do good only to those who do good to you, what praise should you get? Even sinners do that! 34 If you lend things to people, always hoping to get something back, what praise should you get? Even sinners lend to other sinners so that they can get back the same amount! 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without hoping to get anything back. Then you will have a great reward, and you will be children of the Most High God, because he is kind even to people who are ungrateful and full of sin. 36 Show mercy, just as your Father shows mercy.
Look at Yourselves
37 “Don’t judge others, and you will not be judged. Don’t accuse others of being guilty, and you will not be accused of being guilty. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and you will receive. You will be given much. Pressed down, shaken together, and running over, it will spill into your lap. The way you give to others is the way God will give to you.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.