Book of Common Prayer
David wrote this special song for the music leader. Use stringed instruments when you sing it.
A prayer when a friend turns against you[a]
55 God, listen to my prayer.
Do not turn away
when I ask you to help me.
2 Listen carefully and answer me.
I am very upset because of all my troubles.
They are too many for me.
3 I am afraid because of what my enemies say.
Those wicked people give me much pain.
They are so angry that they hate me
and they give me nothing but trouble.
4 My heart beats fast inside me.
Death seems very near,
and I am very afraid.
5 I am shaking with fear!
My troubles are too much for me.
6 So I say, ‘If I had wings to fly like a dove,
I would fly away to a safe place.
7 Yes! I would go far away,
and I would live in the wilderness.
Selah.
8 I would go quickly to a safe place.
The strong winds and storms of my enemies
would not reach me there!’
9 My Lord, make my enemies confused!
Stop them from doing what they want to do.
Everywhere that I look in the city,
I see that they do cruel things to attack people.[b]
10 They walk on the city's walls
in the day and at night.
Inside the city they do evil things
that bring trouble everywhere.
11 They destroy everything!
In all the city's streets, they move freely.
They hurt people and they cheat them.
12 But it is not my enemies that have insulted me.
That would not have hurt me.
If my enemy laughs at me,
I can always hide from him!
13 But it is you, my best friend!
We did things as men together,
and I trusted you!
14 We enjoyed our time together.
We often went to God's temple,
and we joined with the crowd of people there.
15 Please let death suddenly destroy my enemies!
May they go down into their graves alive!
They are at home with evil,
and that is all that they think about.
16 But I will call to God for help.
The Lord will make me safe.
17 I will weep and cry to him,
morning, noon and night.
He will listen to what I say.
18 I have very many enemies
who attack me all the time.
But God will rescue me and keep me safe.
19 God has always ruled everything as king.
He will listen to me,
and he will punish my enemies.
Selah.
They refuse to change their thoughts,
and they do not respect God.
20 But my friend has turned against his own friends.
He has not been a true friend,
as he promised to be.
21 He speaks a message of peace,
but he is really thinking about war.
His words are easy to listen to,
but they hurt like sharp knives.
22 Take your problems to the Lord.
He will take care of you.
He will never let his own people fall.[c]
23 And as for wicked people,
you, God, will send them to their graves.
They will go down into the deep hole of death
while they are still young.
That is what will happen to those cruel people,
who kill and cheat others.
But I will trust in you, God.
David wrote this song.
Thank God for who he is
138 I will thank you, Lord, with my whole being.
I will sing and praise you in front of the gods.[a]
2 I look towards your holy temple,
and I bend down to worship you.
I thank you for who you are.
You love your people and they can always trust you.
You are more famous than anyone,
because you always do what you promise.
3 When I prayed to you, you answered me.
You made me brave and strong.
4 All the kings in the world will thank you, Lord,
when they hear the promises that you have made.
5 They will sing about the things that you have done,
because they see that you are great, Lord.
6 Yes, the Lord is high above the earth.
But he takes care of humble people.
He also knows what proud people are doing,
even if they try to hide.[b]
7 When there is danger all round me,
you help me to be strong.
When my enemy is angry, you fight against him.
You save me with your strong right hand.[c]
8 The Lord stands with me to do what he has promised.
Yes, Lord, your faithful love will always continue.
You have made us who we are,
so do not leave us now!
This is a song that David wrote.
It is for the music leader.
God understands me[d]
139 Lord, you look deep inside me,
and you know all about me.
2 You know when I sit down,
and you know when I get up.
Even when you are far away,
you understand what I am thinking about.
3 You see me when I go out,
and you see me when I stay at home.
You know everything that I do!
4 Yes Lord, before I open my mouth to speak,
you know what I will say.
5 You are all around me, in front of me and behind me.
You put your hand on me to help me.
6 You know so much about me, it is wonderful.
I cannot understand it.
My thoughts cannot reach as high as that!
7 Is there anywhere that I can go
to run away from your Spirit?
Anywhere that I go, you are already there!
8 If I go up to heaven,
you would be there.
If I dig deep down into the ground to reach Sheol,
you would be there too.
9 If I fly away to where the sun rises in the east,
or to the other side of the sea in the west,
you would be there.
10 You would use your hand to lead me.
Your strong right hand would keep me safe.
11 I might say, ‘I will hide myself in the dark,
and the light round me will change into night.’
12 But it is never too dark for you to see.
For you, the night has as much light as the day.
Darkness and light are the same to you!
13 You made every part of me.
You made me grow inside my mother before I was born.
14 I thank you for the wonderful way that you have made me.
Everything that you do is wonderful!
I know it is true.
15 While you caused me to grow in a secret place,
none of my body was hidden from you.
You made me deep in the earth.[e]
16 Your eyes watched me before I was born.
Before I had seen the light of day,
you decided how many days I would live!
You wrote it down in your book.
17 You have so many thoughts about me, God,
that I cannot understand them all.
18 They are too many for me to count,
more than the sand on the shore of the sea.
Even if I finished counting them,
you would still be there!
19 God, you should surely destroy the wicked people!
Yes, you murderers, leave me alone!
20 Those people say bad things against you, God.
Your enemies always tell lies.
21 Lord, I hate those people who hate you.
I have no time for those who turn against you.
22 Yes, I really hate them.
Your enemies are my enemies too.
23 Please God, look deep inside me.
See what is there in my thoughts.
Some people will return
20 At that time, only a few people will remain in Israel. Only a few descendants of Jacob will still be alive. They will no longer expect to receive help from a foreign ruler who is cruel to them. Instead, they will trust the Lord, the Holy God of Israel, to help them.
21 A few of Jacob's descendants will remain, and they will return to serve the mighty God. 22 Israel's people are now very many, as many as the sand on the shore of the sea. But only a few will remain to return. The Lord has decided to destroy you, people of Israel. His punishment is fair and right. 23 The Lord Almighty will destroy the whole land. He is ready to do that, as he has promised.
24 So this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian army. They will hurt you, like someone who hits you with a heavy stick. They will be cruel to you like the people in Egypt were long ago. 25 But soon I will be angry with you no longer. Instead, I will be angry with the Assyrians, and I will be ready to destroy them.’
26 Yes, the Lord Almighty will punish the Assyrians, like someone who uses a whip to beat them. That is how he destroyed the Midianites at the Rock of Oreb.[a] He will hold his stick over the sea. He will lift it up as he did in Egypt.
27 At that time, the Lord will remove the heavy load that is on your shoulders. He will destroy the yoke that is on your neck. You will no longer be their slaves. The Lord will bless you and make you fat.
Christians must continue to trust God
17 But as for you, my friends, remember the message that the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ have taught you. They spoke about what would happen in future times. 18 They said to you, ‘In the last days of this world, some people will laugh at God's message.[a] They will say that it is silly to obey God. Instead, they will do the bad things that they want to do. Those things do not please God.’
19 It is people like this who cause you to argue with one another, so that you belong to separate groups. Their thoughts belong to this world. They do not have God's Spirit in them.
20 But you, my friends, have believed the message that comes from God himself. So you must help one another to trust God more and more. Pray to God with the help of the Holy Spirit. 21 Continue to live in a way that shows God's love. As you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to come, remember that he is very kind. Because of that, you will have life with God for ever.
22 Help those people who do not know whether to trust God. Be kind to them. 23 Some people are in great danger. You must save them from the fire of God's punishment.[b] Also be kind to people who have done wicked and disgusting things. But be careful! Do not let their sins make you bad too.
Jude thanks God
24 God is able to keep you safe so that you continue to trust him. One day you will stand in front of him and you will be very happy. God will bring you to that place and you will be completely good. You will be able to stand near to God, who shines with beautiful light. 25 He is the only God. He is the one who saves us because of our Lord Jesus Christ. So we praise him! We say that he is very great! He rules with power and authority. This has always been true. It is true now, and it will be true for ever. Amen!
John the Baptist prepares people to meet Jesus
3 This report is about John, the son of Zechariah. It happened when Tiberius Caesar had been the Roman ruler for 15 years.[a] Pontius Pilate was the Roman ruler of Judea. Herod had authority over the region of Galilee. Herod's brother Philip had authority over Iturea and Trachonitis. Lysanias had authority over Abilene.[b] 2 At this time, the leaders of the priests were Annas and Caiaphas. John was living in the wilderness. While he was there, God spoke to him.
3 John went to many places near the Jordan River and spoke a message from God. ‘You have done many wrong things,’ he taught everybody. ‘You must turn away from them and change how you live. Then God will forgive you and I will baptize you.’
4 The prophet Isaiah wrote this message from God in his book:
‘Somebody's voice is shouting in the wilderness,
“The Lord will come soon, so prepare a way for him to follow.
Make the paths straight for him.
5 Fill in every valley and make every mountain and hill flat.
Take away every bend so that the road is straight.
Take away all the rocks so that the road is flat.
6 Then everyone will see how God can save them.” ’[c]
7 Crowds of people were going out into the wilderness. They wanted John to baptize them. He told them, ‘You are like dangerous snakes! God is angry. You are trying to run away from him. But he will soon punish people like you. 8 You have to show that you are sorry. Change how you live. Stop doing things that God does not like. Do not begin to say to yourselves, “We are in the family of Abraham. God will surely not punish us.”[d] Listen! God can take these stones and make children for Abraham out of them![e] 9 You are like trees that have bad fruit. God has an axe ready to use. He will cut down every tree that does not make good fruit. He will throw those trees into the fire.’
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