Book of Common Prayer
This is a song that David wrote.
The great King[a]
24 The whole earth belongs to the Lord.
Everybody who lives in the world
and all the things in it belong to him.
2 The Lord built the foundation of the earth.
He built it on the seas and the rivers.[b]
3 Who may climb up the hill of the Lord?[c]
Who can stand in his holy place?[d]
4 Only the person who does what is right,
and who has pure thoughts.
He does not worship idols
and he does not make false promises.
5 The Lord will bless people who are like that.
God will save them.
He will say that they are not guilty of wrong things.
6 People like that come to God.
They want to please him.
They like to pray to the God of Jacob.
Selah.
7 Old gates of the city, wake up!
Open now, to leave a wide path!
Then the great king will come in.
8 Who is this great king?
He is the Lord,
who is strong and powerful.
He is the Lord,
who wins against his enemies.
9 Be ready, you old gates of the city!
Be ready to open wide!
Then the great king will come in.
10 Who is this great king?
He is the Almighty Lord.
Yes, he is the great king!
Selah.
This is a song that David wrote.
The storm[a]
29 All you angels in heaven,
say how great the Lord is!
Say that the Lord rules with power!
2 Say that the Lord's name is great!
Worship the Lord for who he is,
and remember that he is holy.
3 The voice of the Lord shouts over the water.
The God of glory makes the noise of thunder.
The Lord appears over the great sea.[b]
4 The Lord's voice is powerful.
It has the authority of a king!
5 When the Lord shouts,
even the cedar trees break!
Yes! The Lord breaks the great cedar trees of Lebanon.[c]
6 He makes Lebanon jump like a calf.
He causes Hermon mountain to shake
like a young bull jumps.
7 The Lord's voice makes fire
like lightning in the sky.
8 When the Lord shouts,
the desert shakes!
He makes the Kadesh desert shake!
9 When the Lord shouts,
the big oak trees bend over.
The leaves fall off all the trees in the forests.
But in his temple,
everyone says, ‘He is great!’
10 The Lord rules as king over the deep waters.[d]
The Lord will be king for ever.
11 The Lord makes his people strong.
The Lord blesses his people with peace.
The music leader must use special music.
This is a song that David wrote.
The sky at night[a]
8 Lord, our ruler,
your name is famous all over the world.
The sky above shows how great you are.
2 You have taught children and babies to praise you.
You do that to show your enemies how strong you are.
Anyone who turns against you has to be quiet.
Your cruel enemies can do nothing!
3 You made the skies with your own hands.
When I look up, I see the moon and the stars.
You have put them all in their right place.
4 So why do you even think about men and women?
Why do you take care of humans?
5 You have made their place a little below God himself.[b]
You have given them honour, like kings.
6 You have chosen them to rule everything that you have made.
You have put everything under their authority.
7-8 Yes! Humans rule them all:
Farm animals and wild animals,
birds, fish and all the things that swim in the sea.
9 Lord, our ruler,
your name is famous all over the world.
Korah's sons wrote this song for the music leader. Use special music.
The journey to Zion
84 Lord Almighty,
the temple where you live is beautiful!
2 I want very much to go to the Lord's temple.
I very much want to be in the temple yards.
With all that I am, and with great joy,
I sing to you, the God who lives for ever!
3 In your temple,
even sparrows[a] have their homes.
Swallows builds their nests there,
to take care of their babies.
They can be near to your altars,
Lord Almighty, my king and my God.
4 You have truly blessed those people
who live in your temple.
They can praise you all the time!
Selah.
5 You have blessed those people
who come to you to make them strong.
They love to travel to your temple in Zion.
6 As they go through the dry Baka valley,
springs of water appear there!
The autumn rain covers the valley with pools.
7 The people become stronger as they travel,
until each one meets with God in Zion.[b]
8 Lord God Almighty,
please listen to my prayer!
God of Jacob, hear me!
Selah.
9 God, look at our king,
the one who protects us like a shield!
Take care of the king that you have chosen.
10 I would rather be near your temple for one day
than have a thousand days anywhere else.
I would rather stand near the door of God's temple
than live among wicked people.
11 The Lord God is like a sun
and a shield for his people.
He is kind to his people
and he gives glory to them.
To those who do what is right,
he gives every good thing that they need.
12 Lord Almighty,
you have truly blessed everyone who trusts in you!
The believers must continue to trust God
13 We always thank God for you, our Christian friends that the Lord loves. We ought to thank God, because he has chosen to save you. God chose you to belong to him, as some of the first people that he would save. You believed God's true message. And God's Spirit makes you separate from things that are bad. 14 We told you God's good news. That is how God called you to come to him. He saved you so that you would join with our Lord Jesus Christ in heaven.
15 Because of that, our Christian friends, you must continue to trust Christ. Continue to believe the true things that we taught you. Those are the things that we told you when we were with you. We also wrote about them in our letter to you.
16 We ask our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, our Father, to help you. God has shown that he loves us very much. He has helped us to be brave and strong for all time. We continue to hope for the good things that will come. Yes, God has been very kind to us! 17 We pray that he will continue to help you and make you strong. Then you will always be able to do good things and to say good things.
Jesus teaches his disciples more about God
7 Jesus said, ‘Go on asking God for what you need. Then God will give it to you. Go on looking for what you need. Then you will find it. Go on knocking at the door, and God will open it for you. 8 Everyone who asks for something will receive it. Everyone who looks for something will find it. God will open the door for everyone who knocks on it.
9 Some of you are fathers. If your son asks you for some bread, you would not give him a stone. 10 If he asks you for a fish, you would not give him a snake. 11 You may be bad, but even you know how to give good things to your children. Your Father in heaven knows much better than you do how to give good things to his children. He will give good things to everyone who asks him.[a] 12 So do the good things for other people that you would want them to do for you. That is true in everything you do. That is what God's Law and the messages of God's prophets teach us.’
Jesus teaches people how to get true life
13 ‘Go in through the narrow gate to get true life with God. There is a wide gate that is easy to go through. The wide path is easy to travel on. Many people find that wide gate, but it is the way to hell. 14 It is difficult to go through the small gate. And it is difficult to walk on the narrow road. But when you do go that way, you will get true life. Not many people find that narrow gate.’[b]
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