Book of Common Prayer
For the director of music. A prayer of David.
70 God, hurry and save me.
Lord, come quickly and help me.
2 Let those who are trying to kill me be put to shame.
Let them not be honored.
Let all those who want to destroy me
be turned back in shame.
3 Some people make fun of me.
Let them be turned back when their plans fail.
4 But let all those who seek you
be joyful and glad because of what you have done.
Let those who want you to save them always say,
“The Lord is great!”
5 But I am poor and needy.
God, come quickly to me.
You are the God who helps me and saves me.
Lord, please don’t wait any longer.
71 Lord, I have gone to you for safety.
Let me never be put to shame.
2 You do what is right, so save me and help me.
Pay attention to me and save me.
3 Be my rock of safety
that I can always go to.
Give the command to save me.
You are my rock and my fort.
4 My God, save me from the power of sinners.
Save me from the hands of those who are mean and evil.
5 You are the King and the Lord. You have always been my hope.
I have trusted in you ever since I was young.
6 From the time I was born I have depended on you.
You brought me out of my mother’s body.
I will praise you forever.
7 To many people I am an example of how much you care.
You are my strong place of safety.
8 My mouth is filled with praise for you.
All day long I will talk about your glory.
9 Don’t push me away when I’m old.
Don’t desert me when my strength is gone.
10 My enemies speak against me.
Those who want to kill me get together and make evil plans.
11 They say, “God has deserted him.
Go after him and grab him.
No one will save him.”
12 God, don’t be far away from me.
My God, come quickly and help me.
13 May those who bring charges against me die in shame.
May those who want to harm me
be covered with shame and dishonor.
14 But I will always have hope.
I will praise you more and more.
15 I will tell other people about all the good things you have done.
All day long I will talk about how you have saved your people.
But there’s no way I could say how many times you’ve done this.
16 Lord and King, I will come and announce your mighty acts.
I will announce all the good things that you alone do.
17 God, ever since I was young you have taught me.
To this very day I tell about your wonderful acts.
18 God, don’t leave me
even when I’m old and have gray hair.
Let me live to tell my children about your power.
Let me tell all of them about your mighty acts.
19 God, your saving acts reach to the skies.
You have done great things.
God, who is like you?
20 You have sent many bitter troubles my way.
But you will give me new life.
Even if I’m almost in the grave,
you will bring me back.
21 You will honor me more and more.
You will comfort me once again.
22 My God, I will use the harp to praise you
because you are always faithful.
Holy One of Israel,
I will use the lyre to sing praise to you.
23 My lips will shout with joy
when I sing praise to you.
You have saved me.
24 All day long my tongue will say
that you have done what is right.
Those who wanted to harm me have been put to shame.
They have not been honored.
A maskil of Asaph.
74 God, why have you turned your back on us for so long?
Why are you so angry with us? We are your very own sheep.
2 Remember the nation that you chose as your own so long ago.
Remember that you set us free from slavery to be your very own people.
Remember Mount Zion, where you lived.
3 Walk through this place that has been torn down beyond repair.
See how completely your enemies have destroyed the temple!
4 In the place where you used to meet with us,
your enemies have shouted, “We’ve won the battle!”
They have set up their flags to show they have beaten us.
5 They acted like people cutting down a forest with axes.
6 They smashed all the beautiful wooden walls
with their axes and hatchets.
7 They burned your temple to the ground.
They polluted the place where your Name is.
8 They had said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely!”
They burned every place where you were worshiped in the land.
9 We don’t get signs from God anymore.
There aren’t any prophets left.
None of us knows how long that will last.
10 God, how long will your enemies make fun of you?
Will they attack you with their words forever?
11 Why don’t you help us? Why do you hold back your power?
Use your strong power to destroy your enemies!
12 God, you have been my king for a long time.
You are the only God who can save anyone on earth.
13 You parted the waters of the Red Sea by your power.
You broke the heads of that sea monster in Egypt.
14 You crushed the heads of the sea monster Leviathan.
You fed it to the creatures of the desert.
15 You opened up streams and springs.
You dried up rivers that flow all year long.
16 You rule over the day and the night.
You created the sun and the moon.
17 You decided where the borders of the earth would be.
You made both summer and winter.
18 Lord, remember how your enemies have made fun of you.
Remember how foolish people have attacked you with their words.
19 Don’t hand over Israel, your dove, to those wild animals.
Don’t forget your suffering people forever.
20 Honor the covenant you made with us.
Horrible things are happening in every dark corner of the land.
21 Don’t let your suffering people be put to shame.
May those who are poor and needy praise you.
22 God, rise up. Stand up for your cause.
Remember how foolish people make fun of you all day long.
23 Pay close attention to the shouts of your enemies.
The trouble they cause never stops.
Ahab Is Killed at Ramoth Gilead
29 So the king of Israel went up to Ramoth Gilead. Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went there too. 30 The king of Israel spoke to Jehoshaphat. He said, “I’ll go into battle wearing different clothes. Then people won’t recognize me. But you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel put on different clothes. Then he went into battle.
31 The king of Aram had given an order to his 32 chariot commanders. He had said, “Fight only against the king of Israel. Don’t fight against anyone else.” 32 The chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat. They thought, “That has to be the king of Israel.” So they turned to attack him. But Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 Then the commanders saw he wasn’t the king of Israel after all. So they stopped chasing him.
34 But someone shot an arrow without taking aim. The arrow hit the king of Israel between the parts of his armor. The king told his chariot driver, “Turn the chariot around. Get me out of this battle. I’ve been wounded.” 35 All day long the battle continued. The king kept himself standing up by leaning against the inside of his chariot. He kept his face toward the men of Aram. The blood from his wound ran down onto the floor of the chariot. That evening he died. 36 As the sun was setting, a cry spread through the army. “Every man must go to his own town!” they said. “Every man must go to his own land!”
37 So the king died. He was brought to Samaria. They buried him there. 38 They washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria. It was where the prostitutes took baths. The dogs licked up Ahab’s blood. It happened exactly as the Lord had said it would.
39 The other events of Ahab’s rule are written down. Everything he did is written down. That includes the palace he built and decorated with ivory. It also includes the cities he built up and put high walls around. All these things are written in the official records of the kings of Israel. 40 Ahab joined the members of his family who had already died. Ahab’s son Ahaziah became the next king after him.
Jehoshaphat King of Judah
41 Jehoshaphat began to rule over Judah. It was in the fourth year that Ahab was king of Israel. Jehoshaphat was the son of Asa. 42 Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother’s name was Azubah. She was the daughter of Shilhi. 43 Jehoshaphat followed all the ways of his father Asa. He didn’t wander away from them. He did what was right in the sight of the Lord. But the high places weren’t removed. The people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense at them. 44 Jehoshaphat was also at peace with the king of Israel.
45 The other events of Jehoshaphat’s rule are written down. The brave things he did in battle and everything else he accomplished are written down. All these things are written in the official records of the kings of Judah.
14 The person without the Spirit doesn’t accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. These things are foolish to them. They can’t understand them. In fact, such things can’t be understood without the Spirit’s help. 15 The person who has the Spirit can judge all things. But no human being can judge those who have the Spirit. It is written,
16 “Who can ever know what is in the Lord’s mind?
Can anyone ever teach him?” (Isaiah 40:13)
But we have the mind of Christ.
The Church and Its Leaders
3 Brothers and sisters, I couldn’t speak to you as people who live by the Holy Spirit. I had to speak to you as people who were still following the ways of the world. You aren’t growing as Christ wants you to. You are still like babies. 2 The words I spoke to you were like milk, not like solid food. You weren’t ready for solid food yet. And you still aren’t ready for it. 3 You are still following the ways of the world. Some of you are jealous. Some of you argue. So aren’t you following the ways of the world? Aren’t you acting like ordinary human beings? 4 One of you says, “I follow Paul.” Another says, “I follow Apollos.” Aren’t you acting like ordinary human beings?
5 After all, what is Apollos? And what is Paul? We are only people who serve. We helped you to believe. The Lord has given each of us our own work to do. 6 I planted the seed. Apollos watered it. But God has been making it grow. 7 So the one who plants is not important. The one who waters is not important. It is God who makes things grow. He is the important one. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have the same purpose. The Lord will give each of them a reward for their work. 9 We work together to serve God. You are like God’s field. You are like his building.
10 God has given me the grace to lay a foundation as a wise builder. Now someone else is building on it. But each one should build carefully. 11 No one can lay any other foundation than what has already been laid. That foundation is Jesus Christ. 12 A person may build on it using gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay or straw. 13 But each person’s work will be shown for what it is. On judgment day it will be brought to light. It will be put through fire. The fire will test how good each person’s work is. 14 If the building doesn’t burn up, God will give the builder a reward for the work. 15 If the building burns up, the builder will lose everything. The builder will be saved, but only like one escaping through the flames.
Jesus Teaches the Disciples and Crowds
5 Jesus saw the crowds. So he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to teach them.
Jesus Gives Blessings
He said,
3 “Blessed are those who are spiritually needy.
The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
4 Blessed are those who are sad.
They will be comforted.
5 Blessed are those who are humble.
They will be given the earth.
6 Blessed are those who are hungry and thirsty for what is right.
They will be filled.
7 Blessed are those who show mercy.
They will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are those whose hearts are pure.
They will see God.
9 Blessed are those who make peace.
They will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who suffer for doing what is right.
The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
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