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.
Daniel Explains Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
19 Daniel, who was also called Belteshazzar, was very bewildered for a while. His thoughts terrified him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream or its meaning make you afraid.”
Belteshazzar answered, “My master, I wish the dream were about your enemies! I wish its meaning had to do with them! 20 You saw a tree. It grew to be large and strong. Its top touched the sky. It could be seen from anywhere on earth. 21 Its leaves were beautiful. It had a lot of fruit on it. It provided enough food for people and animals. Under the tree, the wild animals found safety. The birds lived in its branches. 22 Your Majesty, you are that tree! You have become great and strong. Your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky. Your rule has spread to all parts of the earth.
23 “Your Majesty, you saw a holy one. He was a messenger. He came down from heaven. He said, ‘Cut down the tree. Destroy it. But leave the stump with its roots in the ground. Let it stay in the field. Put an iron and bronze band around it. Let King Nebuchadnezzar become wet with the dew of heaven. Let him live with the wild animals. Let him stay that way until seven periods of time pass by.’
24 “Your Majesty, here is what your dream means. The Most High God has given an order against you. 25 You will be driven away from people. You will live with the wild animals. You will eat grass just as an ox does. You will become wet with the dew of heaven. Seven periods of time will pass by for you. Then you will recognize that the Most High God rules over all kingdoms on earth. He gives them to anyone he wants. 26 But he gave a command to leave the stump of the tree along with its roots. That means your kingdom will be given back to you. It will happen when you recognize that the God of heaven rules. 27 So, Your Majesty, I hope you will accept my advice. Stop being sinful. Do what is right. Give up your evil practices. Show kindness to those who are being treated badly. Then perhaps things will continue to go well with you.”
19 Here’s how we know that we hold to the truth. And here’s how we put our hearts at rest, knowing that God is watching. 20 If our hearts judge us, we know that God is greater than our hearts. And he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not judge us, we can be bold with God. 22 And he will give us anything we ask. That’s because we obey his commands. We do what pleases him. 23 God has commanded us to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ. He has also commanded us to love one another. 24 The one who obeys God’s commands remains joined to him. And he remains joined to them. Here is how we know that God lives in us. We know it because of the Holy Spirit he gave us.
Jesus Came as a Human Being
4 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit. Test the spirits to see if they belong to God. Many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 Here is how you can recognize the Spirit of God. Every spirit agreeing that Jesus Christ came in a human body belongs to God. 3 But every spirit that doesn’t agree with this does not belong to God. You have heard that the spirit of the great enemy of Christ is coming. Even now it is already in the world.
4 Dear children, you belong to God. You have not accepted the teachings of the false prophets. That’s because the one who is in you is powerful. He is more powerful than the one who is in the world. 5 False prophets belong to the world. So they speak from the world’s point of view. And the world listens to them. 6 We belong to God. And those who know God listen to us. But those who don’t belong to God don’t listen to us. That’s how we can tell the difference between the Spirit of truth and the spirit of lies.
Jesus Is Not Accepted in Nazareth
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit. News about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. On the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue as he usually did. He stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. Jesus unrolled it and found the right place. There it is written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me.
He has anointed me
to announce the good news to poor people.
He has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners.
He has sent me so that the blind will see again.
He wants me to set free those who are treated badly.
19 And he has sent me to announce the year when he will set his people free.” (Isaiah 61:1,2)
20 Then Jesus rolled up the scroll. He gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were staring at him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this passage of Scripture is coming true as you listen.”
22 Everyone said good things about him. They were amazed at the gracious words they heard from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
23 Jesus said, “Here is a saying you will certainly apply to me. ‘Doctor, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me this. ‘Do the things here in your hometown that we heard you did in Capernaum.’ ”
24 “What I’m about to tell you is true,” he continued. “A prophet is not accepted in his hometown. 25 I tell you for sure that there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah. And there had been no rain for three and a half years. There wasn’t enough food to eat anywhere in the land. 26 But Elijah was not sent to any of those widows. Instead, he was sent to a widow in Zarephath near Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel who had skin diseases in the days of Elisha the prophet. But not one of them was healed except Naaman the Syrian.”
28 All the people in the synagogue were very angry when they heard that. 29 They got up and ran Jesus out of town. They took him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They planned to throw him off the cliff. 30 But Jesus walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.