Book of Common Prayer
For the director of music. A maskil of David to be played on stringed instruments.
55 God, listen to my prayer.
Pay attention to my cry for help.
2 Hear me and answer me.
My thoughts upset me. I’m very troubled.
3 I’m troubled by what my enemies say about me.
I’m upset because they say they will harm me.
They cause me all kinds of suffering.
When they are angry, they attack me with their words.
4 I feel great pain deep down inside me.
The terrors of death have fallen on me.
5 Fear and trembling have taken hold of me.
Panic has overpowered me.
6 I said, “I wish I had wings like a dove!
Then I would fly away and be at rest.
7 I would escape to a place far away.
I would stay out in the desert.
8 I would hurry to my place of safety.
It would be far away from the winds and storms I’m facing.”
9 Lord, confuse the sinners and keep them from understanding one another.
I see people destroying things and fighting in the city.
10 Day and night they prowl around on top of its walls.
The city is full of crime and trouble.
11 Forces that destroy are at work inside it.
Its streets are full of people who cheat others and take advantage of them.
12 If an enemy were making fun of me,
I could stand it.
If he were getting ready to oppose me,
I could hide.
13 But it’s you, someone like myself.
It’s my companion, my close friend.
14 We used to enjoy good friendship at the house of God.
We used to walk together among those who came to worship.
15 Let death take my enemies by surprise.
Let them be buried alive,
because their hearts and homes are full of evil.
16 But I call out to God.
And the Lord saves me.
17 Evening, morning and noon
I groan and cry out.
And he hears my voice.
18 Even though many enemies are fighting against me,
he brings me safely back from the battle.
19 God has been on his throne since ancient times and does not change.
He will hear my enemies and make them humble.
That’s because they have no respect for God.
20 My companion attacks his friends.
He breaks his promise.
21 His talk is as smooth as butter.
But he has war in his heart.
His words flow like olive oil.
But they are like swords ready for battle.
22 Turn your worries over to the Lord.
He will keep you going.
He will never let godly people be shaken.
23 God, you will bring sinners
down to the grave.
Murderers and liars
won’t live out even half of their lives.
But I trust in you.
A psalm of David.
138 Lord, I will praise you with all my heart.
In front of those who think they are gods
I will sing praise to you.
2 I will bow down facing your holy temple.
I will praise your name,
because you are always loving and faithful.
You have honored your holy word
even more than your own fame.
3 When I called out to you, you answered me.
You made me strong and brave.
4 Lord, may all the kings on earth praise you
when they hear about what you have decided.
5 Lord, may they sing about what you have done,
because your glory is great.
6 Though the Lord is high above all, he cares for the lowly.
Though he is in heaven above, he sees them on earth below.
7 Trouble is all around me,
but you keep me alive.
You reach out your hand to put a stop to the anger of my enemies.
With your powerful right hand you save me.
8 Lord, you will show that I was right to trust you.
Lord, your faithful love continues forever.
You have done so much for us, so don’t stop now.
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
139 Lord, you have seen what is in my heart.
You know all about me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I get up.
You know what I’m thinking even though you are far away.
3 You know when I go out to work and when I come back home.
You know exactly how I live.
4 Lord, even before I speak a word,
you know all about it.
5 You are all around me, behind me and in front of me.
You hold me safe in your hand.
6 I’m amazed at how well you know me.
It’s more than I can understand.
7 How can I get away from your Spirit?
Where can I go to escape from you?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there.
If I lie down in the deepest parts of the earth, you are also there.
9 Suppose I were to rise with the sun in the east.
Suppose I travel to the west where it sinks into the ocean.
10 Your hand would always be there to guide me.
Your right hand would still be holding me close.
11 Suppose I were to say, “I’m sure the darkness will hide me.
The light around me will become as dark as night.”
12 Even that darkness would not be dark to you.
The night would shine like the day,
because darkness is like light to you.
13 You created the deepest parts of my being.
You put me together inside my mother’s body.
14 How you made me is amazing and wonderful.
I praise you for that.
What you have done is wonderful.
I know that very well.
15 None of my bones was hidden from you
when you made me inside my mother’s body.
That place was as dark as the deepest parts of the earth.
When you were putting me together there,
16 your eyes saw my body even before it was formed.
You planned how many days I would live.
You wrote down the number of them in your book
before I had lived through even one of them.
17 God, your thoughts about me are priceless.
No one can possibly add them all up.
18 If I could count them,
they would be more than the grains of sand.
If I were to fall asleep counting and then wake up,
you would still be there with me.
19 God, I wish you would kill the people who are evil!
I wish those murderers would get away from me!
20 They are your enemies. They misuse your name.
They misuse it for their own evil purposes.
21 Lord, I really hate those who hate you!
I really hate those who rise up against you!
22 I have nothing but hatred for them.
I consider them to be my enemies.
23 God, see what is in my heart.
Know what is there.
Test me.
Know what I’m thinking.
The Lord Speaks
38 The Lord spoke to Job out of a storm. He said,
2 “Who do you think you are to disagree with my plans?
You do not know what you are talking about.
3 Get ready to stand up for yourself.
I will ask you some questions.
Then I want you to answer me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you know.
5 Who measured it? I am sure you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 What was it built on?
Who laid its most important stone?
7 When it happened, the morning stars sang together.
All the angels shouted with joy.
8 “Who created the ocean?
Who caused it to be born?
9 I put clouds over it as if they were its clothes.
I wrapped it in thick darkness.
10 I set limits for it.
I put its doors and metal bars in place.
11 I said, ‘You can come this far.
But you can’t come any farther.
Here is where your proud waves have to stop.’
12 “Job, have you ever commanded the morning to come?
Have you ever shown the sun where to rise?
13 The daylight takes the earth by its edges
as if it were a blanket.
Then it shakes sinful people out of it.
14 The earth takes shape like clay stamped with an official’s mark.
Its features stand out
like the different parts of your clothes.
15 Sinners would rather have darkness than light.
When the light comes, their power is broken.
16 “Have you traveled to the springs at the bottom of the ocean?
Have you walked in its deepest parts?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
A Letter Is Written to Gentile Believers
22 Then the apostles, the elders and the whole church decided what to do. They would choose some of their own men who were leaders among the believers. They would send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. So they chose Judas Barsabbas and Silas. They were leaders among the believers. 23 Here is the letter they sent with them.
The apostles and elders, your brothers, are writing this letter.
We are sending it to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia.
Greetings.
24 We have heard that some of our people came to you and caused trouble. You were upset by what they said. But we had given them no authority to go. 25 So we all agreed to send our dear friends Barnabas and Paul to you. We chose some other men to go with them. 26 Barnabas and Paul have put their lives in danger. They did it for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 So we are sending Judas and Silas with them. What they say will agree with this letter. 28 Here is what seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us. We will not give you a load that is too heavy. So here are a few basic rules. 29 Don’t eat food that has been offered to statues of gods. Don’t drink blood. Don’t eat the meat of animals that have been choked to death. And don’t commit sexual sins. You will do well to keep away from these things.
Farewell.
30 So the men were sent down to Antioch. There they gathered the church together. They gave the letter to them. 31 The people read it. They were glad for its message of hope. 32 Judas and Silas were prophets. They said many things to give strength and hope to the believers. 33-34 Judas and Silas stayed there for some time. Then the believers sent them away with the blessing of peace. They sent them back to those who had sent them out. 35 Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch. There they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.
The Plan to Kill Jesus
45 Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary saw what Jesus did. So they believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees. They told the Pharisees what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
“What can we do?” they asked. “This man is performing many signs. 48 If we let him keep on doing this, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will come. They will take away our temple and our nation.”
49 One of the Jewish leaders spoke up. His name was Caiaphas. He was high priest at that time. He said, “You don’t know anything at all! 50 You don’t realize what is good for you. It is better if one man dies for the people than if the whole nation is destroyed.”
51 He did not say this on his own because he was high priest at that time. He prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation. 52 He also prophesied that Jesus would die for God’s children scattered everywhere. He would die to bring them together and make them one. 53 So from that day on, the Jewish rulers planned to kill Jesus.
54 Jesus no longer moved around openly among the people of Judea. Instead, he went away to an area near the desert. He went to a village called Ephraim. There he stayed with his disciples.
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