Book of Common Prayer
(A song by David for worship.)
Trust the Lord!
1 I am not conceited, Lord,
and I don't waste my time
on impossible schemes.
2 But I have learned to feel safe
and satisfied,
like a young child
in its mother's arms.
3 People of Israel,
you must trust the Lord
now and forever.
(A song for worship.)
The Lord Is Always with His People
1 Our Lord, don't forget David
and how he suffered.
2 Mighty God of Jacob,
remember how he promised:
3 “I won't go home
or crawl into bed
4 or close my eyelids,
5 until I find a home for you,
the mighty Lord God of Jacob.”
6 (A) When we were in Ephrath,
we heard that the sacred chest
was somewhere near Jaar.
7 Then we said, “Let's go
to the throne of the Lord
and worship at his feet.”
8 Come to your new home, Lord,
you and the sacred chest
with all its power.
9 Let victory be like robes
for the priests;
let your faithful people
celebrate and shout.
10 David is your chosen one,
so don't reject him.
11 (B) You made a solemn promise
to David, when you said,
“I, the Lord, promise
that someone in your family
will always be king.
12 If they keep our agreement
and follow my teachings,
then someone in your family
will rule forever.”
13 You have gladly chosen Zion
as your home, our Lord.
14 You said, “This is my home!
I will live here forever.
15 I will bless Zion with food,
and even the poor will eat
until they are full.
16 Victory will be like robes
for the priests,
and its faithful people
will celebrate and shout.
17 (C) I will give mighty power
to the kingdom of David.
Each of my chosen kings
will shine like a lamp
18 and wear a sparkling crown.
But I will disgrace
their enemies.”
(A song for worship.)
Living Together in Peace
1 It is truly wonderful
when the people of God
live together in peace.
2 It is as beautiful as olive oil
poured on Aaron's head[a]
and running down his beard
and the collar of his robe.
3 It is like the dew
from Mount Hermon,
falling on Zion's mountains,
where the Lord has promised
to bless his people
with life forevermore.
(A song for worship.)
Praising the Lord at Night
1 Everyone who serves the Lord,
come and offer praises.
Everyone who has gathered
in his temple tonight,
2 lift your hands in prayer
toward his holy place
and praise the Lord.
3 The Lord is the Creator
of heaven and earth,
and I pray that the Lord
will bless you from Zion.
In Praise of the Lord's Kindness
1 Shout praises to the Lord!
You are his servants,
so praise his name.
2 All who serve in the temple
of the Lord our God,
3 come and shout praises.
Praise the name of the Lord!
He is kind and good.
4 He chose the family of Jacob
and the people of Israel
for his very own.
5 The Lord is much greater
than any other god.
6 He does as he chooses
in heaven and on earth
and deep in the sea.
7 The Lord makes the clouds rise
from far across the earth,
and he makes lightning
to go with the rain.
Then from his secret place
he sends out the wind.
8 The Lord killed the first-born
of people and animals
in the land of Egypt.
9 God used miracles and wonders
to fight the king of Egypt
and all of his officials.
10 He destroyed many nations
and killed powerful kings,
11 including King Sihon
of the Amorites
and King Og of Bashan.
He conquered every kingdom
in the land of Canaan
12 and gave their property
to his people Israel.
13 The name of the Lord
will be remembered forever,
and he will be famous
for all time to come.
14 The Lord will bring justice
and show mercy to all
who serve him.
15 (D) Idols of silver and gold
are made and worshiped
in other nations.
16 They have a mouth and eyes,
but they can't speak or see.
17 They are completely deaf,
and they can't breathe.
18 Everyone who makes idols
and all who trust them
will end up as helpless
as their idols.
19 Everyone in Israel,
come praise the Lord!
All the family of Aaron
20 and all the tribe of Levi,[b]
come praise the Lord!
All of his worshipers,
come praise the Lord.
21 Praise the Lord from Zion!
He lives here in Jerusalem.
Shout praises to the Lord!
11 Balak said, “What are you doing? I asked you to come and place a curse on my enemies. But you have blessed them instead!”
12 Balaam answered, “I can say only what the Lord tells me.”
Balaam's Second Message
13 Balak said to Balaam, “Let's go somewhere else. Maybe if you see a smaller part of the Israelites, you will be able to curse them for me.” 14 So he took Balaam to a field on top of Mount Pisgah where lookouts were stationed.[a] Then he built seven altars there and sacrificed a bull and a ram on each one.
15 “Wait here beside your offerings,” Balaam said. “The Lord will appear to me over there.”
16 The Lord appeared to Balaam and gave him another message, then he told him to go and tell Balak. 17 Balaam went back and saw him and his officials standing beside the offerings.
Balak asked, “What did the Lord say?”
18 Balaam answered:
“Pay close attention
to my words—
19 God is no mere human!
He doesn't tell lies
or change his mind.
God always keeps his promises.
20 “My command from God
was to bless these people,
and there's nothing I can do
to change what he has done.
21 Israel's king is the Lord God.
He lives there with them
and intends them no harm.
22 With the strength of a wild ox,
God led Israel out of Egypt.
23 No magic charms can work
against them—
just look what God has done
for his people.
24 They are like angry lions
ready to attack;
and they won't rest
until their victim
is gobbled up.”
25 Balak shouted, “If you're not going to curse Israel, then at least don't bless them.”
26 “I've already told you,” Balaam answered. “I will say only what the Lord tells me.”
Living by the Power of God's Spirit
8 If you belong to Christ Jesus, you won't be punished. 2 The Holy Spirit will give you life that comes from Christ Jesus and will set you[a] free from sin and death. 3 The Law of Moses cannot do this, because our selfish desires make the Law weak. But God set you free when he sent his own Son to be like us sinners and to be a sacrifice for our sin. God used Christ's body to condemn sin. 4 He did this, so that we would do what the Law commands by obeying the Spirit instead of our own desires.
5 People who are ruled by their desires think only of themselves. Everyone who is ruled by the Holy Spirit thinks about spiritual things. 6 If our minds are ruled by our desires, we will die. But if our minds are ruled by the Spirit, we will have life and peace. 7 Our desires fight against God, because they do not and cannot obey God's laws. 8 If we follow our desires, we cannot please God.
9 You are no longer ruled by your desires, but by God's Spirit, who lives in you. People who don't have the Spirit of Christ in them don't belong to him. 10 But Christ lives in you. So you are alive because God has accepted you, even though your bodies must die because of your sins. 11 (A) Yet God raised Jesus to life! God's Spirit now lives in you, and he will raise you to life by his Spirit.
The Great Banquet
(Luke 14.15-24)
22 Once again Jesus used stories to teach the people:
2 The kingdom of heaven is like what happened when a king gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3 The king sent some servants to tell the invited guests to come to the banquet, but the guests refused. 4 He sent other servants to say to the guests, “The banquet is ready! My cattle and prize calves have all been prepared. Everything is ready. Come to the banquet!”
5 But the guests did not pay any attention. Some of them left for their farms, and some went to their places of business. 6 Others grabbed the servants, then beat them up and killed them.
7 This made the king so furious that he sent an army to kill those murderers and burn down their city. 8 Then he said to the servants, “It is time for the wedding banquet, and the invited guests don't deserve to come. 9 Go out to the street corners and tell everyone you meet to come to the banquet.” 10 They went out on the streets and brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike. And the banquet room was filled with guests.
11 When the king went in to meet the guests, he found that one of them wasn't wearing the right kind of clothes for the wedding. 12 The king asked, “Friend, why didn't you wear proper clothes for the wedding?” But the guest had no excuse. 13 (A) So the king gave orders for this person to be tied hand and foot and to be thrown outside into the dark. That's where people will cry and grit their teeth in pain. 14 (B) Many are invited, but only a few are chosen.
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