Book of Common Prayer
A psalm of David.
25 In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.
2 I trust in you.
Don’t let me be put to shame.
Don’t let my enemies win the battle over me.
3 Those who put their hope in you
will never be put to shame.
But those who lie to other people for no reason
will be put to shame.
4 Lord, show me your ways.
Teach me how to follow you.
5 Guide me in your truth. Teach me.
You are God my Savior.
I put my hope in you all day long.
6 Lord, remember your great mercy and love.
You have shown them to your people for a long time.
7 Don’t remember the sins I committed when I was young.
Don’t remember how often I refused to obey you.
Remember me because you love me.
Lord, you are good.
8 The Lord is honest and good.
He teaches sinners to walk in his ways.
9 He shows those who aren’t proud how to do what is right.
He teaches them his ways.
10 All the Lord’s ways are loving and faithful
toward those who obey what his covenant commands.
11 Lord, be true to your name.
Forgive my sin, even though it is great.
12 Who are the people who have respect for the Lord?
God will teach them the ways they should choose.
13 Things will always go well for them.
Their children will be given the land.
14 The Lord shares his plans with those who have respect for him.
He makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes always look to the Lord.
He alone can set my feet free from the trap.
16 Turn to me and help me.
I am lonely and hurting.
17 Take away the troubles of my heart.
Set me free from my great pain.
18 Look at how I’m hurting! See how much I suffer!
Take away all my sins.
19 Look at how many enemies I have!
See how terrible their hatred is for me!
20 Guard my life. Save me.
Don’t let me be put to shame.
I go to you for safety.
21 May my honest and good life keep me safe.
Lord, I have put my hope in you.
22 God, set Israel free
from all their troubles!
For the director of music. A psalm of David to the tune of “The Death of the Son.”
9 Lord, I will give thanks to you with all my heart.
I will tell about all the wonderful things you have done.
2 I will be glad and full of joy because of you.
Most High God, I will sing the praises of your name.
3 My enemies turn back.
They fall down and die right in front of you.
4 You have proved that I haven’t done anything wrong.
You have sat on your throne and judged fairly.
5 You have punished the nations. You have destroyed evil people.
You have erased their names from your book for ever and ever.
6 My enemies have been destroyed forever.
You have leveled their cities to the ground.
Even the memory of them is gone.
7 The Lord rules forever.
He has set up his throne so that he can judge people.
8 He rules the world in keeping with what is right.
He judges all its people fairly.
9 The Lord is a place of safety for those who have been treated badly.
He keeps them safe in times of trouble.
10 Lord, those who know you will trust in you.
You have never deserted those who look to you.
11 Sing the praises of the Lord. He rules from his throne in Zion.
Tell among the nations what he has done.
12 The God who pays back murderers remembers.
He doesn’t forget the cries of those who are hurting.
13 Lord, see how badly my enemies treat me!
Help me! Don’t let me go down to the gates of death!
14 Then I can give praise to you
at the gates of the city of Zion.
There I will be full of joy
because you have saved me.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug.
Their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
16 The Lord is known to be fair by the things he does.
Evil people are trapped by what they have done.
17 Sinful people go down to the place of the dead.
So do all the nations that forget God.
18 But God will never forget needy people.
The hope of those who are hurting will never die.
19 Lord, rise up. Don’t let people win the battle.
Let the nations come to you and be judged.
20 Lord, strike them with terror.
Let the nations know they are only human beings.
A psalm of David.
15 Lord, who can live in your sacred tent?
Who can stay on your holy mountain?
2 Anyone who lives without blame
and does what is right.
They speak the truth from their heart.
3 They don’t tell lies about other people.
They don’t do wrong to their neighbors.
They don’t say anything bad about them.
4 They hate evil people.
But they honor those who have respect for the Lord.
They keep their promises even when it hurts.
They do not change their mind.
5 They lend their money to poor people without charging interest.
They don’t accept money to harm those who aren’t guilty.
Anyone who lives like that
will always be secure.
Worshiping Other Gods Brings Horrible Trouble
44 A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. It was about all the Jews living in Lower Egypt. They were living in Migdol, Tahpanhes and Memphis. It was also about all the Jews living in Upper Egypt. 2 The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He said, “You saw all the trouble I brought on Jerusalem. I also brought it on all the towns in Judah. Today they lie there deserted and destroyed. 3 That’s because of the evil things their people did. They made me very angry. They burned incense to other gods. And they worshiped them. They and you and your people of long ago never knew those gods. 4 Again and again I sent my servants the prophets. They said, ‘Don’t worship other gods! The Lord hates it!’ 5 But the people didn’t listen. They didn’t pay any attention. They didn’t turn from their sinful ways. They didn’t stop burning incense to other gods. 6 So my burning anger was poured out. It blazed out against the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. It made them the dry and empty places they are today.”
7 The Lord God who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, “Why do you want to bring all this trouble on yourselves? You are removing from Judah its men and women, its children and babies. Not one of you will be left. 8 Why do you want to make me angry with the gods your hands have made? Why do you burn incense to the gods of Egypt, where you now live? You will destroy yourselves. All the nations on earth will use your name as a curse. They will say you are shameful. 9 Have you forgotten the evil things done by your people of long ago? The kings and queens of Judah did those same things. So did you and your wives. They were done in the land of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. 10 To this day the people of Judah have not made themselves humble in my sight. They have not shown any respect for me. They have not obeyed my law. They have not followed the rules I gave you and your people of long ago.”
11 The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, “I have decided to bring horrible trouble on you. I will destroy the whole land of Judah. 12 I will destroy the people of Judah who are left. They had decided to go to Egypt and make their homes there. But all of them will die in Egypt. They will die of war or hunger. All of them will die, from the least important of them to the most important. They will die of war or hunger. People will use their name as a curse. They will be shocked at them. They will say bad things about them. And they will say they are shameful. 13 I will use war, hunger and plague to punish the Jews who live in Egypt. I punished Jerusalem in the same way. 14 None of the people of Judah who have gone to live in Egypt will escape. Not one of them will live to return to Judah. They long to return and live there. But only a few will escape from Egypt and go back.”
30 And why would we put ourselves in danger every hour? 31 I face death every day. That’s the truth. And here is something you can be just as sure of. I take pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done for you through my work. 32 Did I fight wild animals in Ephesus with nothing more than human hopes? Then what have I gotten for it? If the dead are not raised,
“Let us eat and drink,
because tomorrow we will die.” (Isaiah 22:13)
33 Don’t let anyone fool you. “Bad companions make a good person bad.” 34 You should come back to your senses and stop sinning. Some of you don’t know anything about God. I say this to make you ashamed.
The Body That Rises From the Dead
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have?” 36 How foolish! What you plant doesn’t come to life unless it dies. 37 When you plant something, it isn’t a completely grown plant that you put in the ground. You only plant a seed. Maybe it’s wheat or something else. 38 But God gives the seed a body just as he has planned. And to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 Not all earthly creatures are the same. People have one kind of body. Animals have another. Birds have another kind. Fish have still another. 40 There are also heavenly bodies as well as earthly bodies. Heavenly bodies have one kind of glory. Earthly bodies have another. 41 The sun has one kind of glory. The moon has another kind. The stars have still another. And one star’s glory is different from that of another star.
16 “What can I compare today’s people to? They are like children sitting in the markets and calling out to others. They say,
17 “ ‘We played the flute for you.
But you didn’t dance.
We sang a funeral song.
But you didn’t become sad.’
18 When John came, he didn’t eat or drink as you do. And people say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 But when the Son of Man came, he ate and drank as you do. And people say, ‘This fellow is always eating and drinking far too much. He’s a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.” ’ By wise actions wisdom is shown to be right.”
Towns That Do Not Turn Away From Sin
20 Jesus began to speak against the towns where he had done most of his miracles. The people there had not turned away from their sins. So he said, 21 “How terrible it will be for you, Chorazin! How terrible for you, Bethsaida! Suppose the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon. They would have turned away from their sins long ago. They would have put on clothes for mourning. They would have sat down in ashes. 22 But I tell you this. On judgment day it will be easier for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 23 And what about you, Capernaum? Will you be lifted to the heavens? No! You will go down to the place of the dead. Suppose the miracles done in you had been done in Sodom. It would still be here today. 24 But I tell you this. On judgment day it will be easier for Sodom than for you.”
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