Book of Common Prayer
(A psalm and a song by David for the music leader.)
God Will Win the Battle
1 Do something, God!
Scatter your hateful enemies.
Make them turn and run.
2 Scatter them like smoke!
When you come near,
make them melt
like wax in a fire.
3 But let your people be happy
and celebrate because of you.
4 Our God, you are the one
who rides on the clouds,[a]
and we praise you.
Your name is the Lord,
and we celebrate
as we worship you.
5 Our God, from your sacred home
you take care of orphans
and protect widows.
6 You find families
for those who are lonely.
You set prisoners free
and let them prosper,[b]
but all who rebel will live
in a scorching desert.
7 You set your people free,
and you led them
through the desert.
8 (A) God of Israel,
the earth trembled,
and rain poured down.
You alone are the God
who rules from Mount Sinai.
9 When your land was thirsty,
you sent showers
to refresh it.
10 Your people settled there,
and you were generous
to everyone in need.
11 You gave the command, Lord,
and a chorus of women told
what had happened:
12 “Kings and their armies
retreated and ran,
and everything they left
is now being divided.
13 And for those who stayed back
to guard the sheep,
there are metal doves
with silver-coated wings
and shiny gold feathers.”
14 God All-Powerful, you scattered
the kings like snow falling
on Mount Zalmon.[c]
15 Our Lord and our God,
Bashan is a mighty mountain
covered with peaks.
16 Why is it jealous of Zion,
the mountain you chose
as your home forever?
17 When you, Lord God, appeared
to your people[d] at Sinai,
you came with thousands
of mighty chariots.
18 (B) When you climbed
the high mountain,
you took prisoners with you
and were given gifts.
Your enemies didn't want you
to live there,
but they gave you gifts.
19 We praise you, Lord God!
You treat us with kindness
day after day,
and you rescue us.
20 You always protect us
and save us from death.
21 Our Lord and our God,
your terrible enemies
are ready for war,[e]
but you will crush
their skulls.
22 You promised to bring them
from Bashan
and from the deepest sea.
23 Then we could wash our feet
in their blood,
and our dogs could chew
on their bones.
24 We have seen crowds marching
to your place of worship,
our God and King.
25 Singers come first,
and then the musicians,
surrounded by young women
playing tambourines.
26 They come shouting,
“People of Israel,
praise the Lord God!”
27 The small tribe of Benjamin
leads the way,
followed by the leaders
from Judah.
Then come the leaders
from Zebulun and Naphtali.
28 Our God, show your strength!
Show us once again.
29 Then kings will bring gifts
to your temple
in Jerusalem.[f]
30 Punish that animal
that lives in the swamp![g]
Punish that nation
whose leaders and people
are like wild bulls.
Make them come crawling
with gifts of silver.
Scatter those nations
that enjoy making war.[h]
31 Force the Egyptians to bring
gifts of bronze;
make the Ethiopians[i] hurry
to offer presents.[j]
32 Now sing praises to God!
Every kingdom on earth,
sing to the Lord!
33 Praise the one who rides
across the ancient skies;
listen as he speaks
with a mighty voice.
34 Tell about God's power!
He is honored in Israel,
and he rules the skies.
35 The God of Israel is fearsome
in his temple,
and he makes us strong.
Let's praise our God!
(By Solomon.)
A Prayer for God To Guide and Help the King
1 Please help the king
to be honest and fair
just like you, our God.
2 Let him be honest and fair
with all your people,
especially the poor.
3 Let peace and justice rule
every mountain and hill.
4 Let the king defend the poor,
rescue the homeless, and crush
everyone who hurts them.
5 Let the king live[a] forever
like the sun and the moon.
6 Let him be as helpful as rain
that refreshes the meadows
and the ground.
7 Let the king be fair
with everyone,
and let there be peace
until the moon
falls from the sky.
8 (A) Let his kingdom reach
from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River
across all the earth.
9 Force the desert tribes
to accept his rule,
and make his enemies
crawl in the dirt.
10 Force the rulers of Tarshish[b]
and of the islands
to pay taxes to him.
Make the kings of Sheba
and of Seba[c] bring gifts.
11 Make other rulers bow down
and all nations serve him.
12 Do this because the king
rescues the homeless
when they cry out,
and he helps everyone
who is poor and in need.
13 The king has pity
on the weak and the helpless
and protects those in need.
14 He cares when they hurt,
and he saves them from cruel
and violent deaths.
15 Long live the king!
Give him gold from Sheba.
Always pray for the king
and praise him each day.
16 Let cities overflow with food
and hills be covered with grain,
just like Mount Lebanon.
Let the people in the cities
prosper like wild flowers.
17 May the glory of the king
shine brightly forever
like the sun in the sky.
Let him make nations prosper
and learn to praise him.
18 Lord God of Israel,
we praise you.
Only you can work miracles.
19 We will always praise
your glorious name.
Let your glory be seen
everywhere on earth.
Amen and amen.
20 This ends the prayers
of David, the son of Jesse.
Jacob's Dream at Bethel
10 (A) Jacob left the town of Beersheba and started out for Haran. 11 At sunset he stopped for the night and went to sleep, resting his head on a large rock. 12 (B) In a dream he saw a ladder that reached from earth to heaven, and God's angels were going up and down on it.
13 (C) The Lord was standing beside the ladder[a] and said:
I am the Lord God who was worshiped by Abraham and Isaac. I will give to you and your family the land on which you are now sleeping. 14 (D) Your descendants will spread over the earth in all directions and will become as numerous as the specks of dust. Your family will be a blessing to all people.[b] 15 Wherever you go, I will watch over you, then later I will bring you back to this land. I won't leave you—I will do all I have promised.
16 Jacob woke up suddenly and thought, “The Lord is in this place, and I didn't even know it.” 17 Then Jacob became frightened and said, “What a frightening place! It must be the house of God and the gateway to heaven.”
18 When Jacob got up early the next morning, he took the rock that he had used for a pillow and stood it up as a place of worship. Then he poured olive oil on the rock to dedicate it to God, 19 and he named the place Bethel.[c] Before that it had been named Luz.
20 Jacob solemnly promised God, “If you go with me and watch over me as I travel, and if you give me food and clothes 21 and bring me safely home again, you will be my God. 22 This rock will be your house, and I will give back to you a tenth of everything you give me.”
13 (A) Every one of those people died. But they still had faith, even though they had not received what they had been promised. They were glad just to see these things from far away, and they agreed that they were only strangers and foreigners on this earth. 14 When people talk this way, it is clear they are looking for a place to call their own. 15 If they had been talking about the land where they had once lived, they could have gone back at any time. 16 But they were looking forward to a better home in heaven. This is why God wasn't ashamed for them to call him their God. He even built a city for them.
17-18 (B)(C) Abraham had been promised that Isaac, his only son,[a] would continue his family. But when Abraham was tested, he had faith and was willing to sacrifice Isaac, 19 because he was sure that God could raise people to life. This was just like getting Isaac back from death.
20 (D) Isaac had faith, and he promised blessings to Jacob and Esau. 21 (E) Later, when Jacob was about to die, he leaned on his walking stick and worshiped. Then because of his faith he blessed each of Joseph's sons. 22 (F) And right before Joseph died, he had faith that God would lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. So he told them to take his bones with them.
Jesus Is the Good Shepherd
7 Jesus said:
I tell you for certain that I am the gate for the sheep. 8 Everyone who came before me was a thief or a robber, and the sheep did not listen to any of them. 9 I am the gate. All who come in through me will be saved. Through me they will come and go and find pasture.
10 A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so everyone would have life, and have it fully. 11 (A) I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives up his life for his sheep. 12 Hired workers are not like the shepherd. They don't own the sheep, and when they see a wolf coming, they run off and leave the sheep. Then the wolf attacks and scatters the flock. 13 Hired workers run away because they don't care about the sheep.
14 (B) I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and they know me. 15 (C) Just as the Father knows me, I know the Father, and I give up my life for my sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not in this sheep pen. I must also bring them together, when they hear my voice. Then there will be one flock of sheep and one shepherd.
17 The Father loves me, because I give up my life, so I may receive it back again.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.