Book of Common Prayer
33 He turned rivers into a desert.
He turned flowing springs into thirsty ground.
34 He turned land that produced crops into a salty land where nothing could grow.
He did it because the people who lived there were evil.
35 He turned the desert into pools of water.
He turned the dry and cracked ground into flowing springs.
36 He brought hungry people there to live.
They built a city where they could make their homes.
37 They planted fields and vineyards
that produced large crops.
38 He blessed the people, and they greatly increased their numbers.
He kept their herds from getting smaller.
39 Then the number of God’s people got smaller.
They were made humble by trouble, suffering and sorrow.
40 The God who looks down on proud nobles
made them wander in a desert where no one lives.
41 But he lifted needy people out of their suffering.
He made their families increase like flocks of sheep.
42 Honest people see it and are filled with joy.
But no one who is evil has anything to say.
43 Let those who are wise pay attention to these things.
Let them think about the loving deeds of the Lord.
A song. A psalm of David.
108 God, my heart feels secure.
I will sing and make music to you with all my heart.
2 Harp and lyre, wake up!
I want to sing and make music before the sun rises.
3 Lord, I will praise you among the nations.
I will sing about you among the people of the earth.
4 Great is your love. It is higher than the heavens.
Your truth reaches to the skies.
5 God, may you be honored above the heavens.
Let your glory be over the whole earth.
6 Save us. Help us with your powerful right hand,
so that those you love may be saved.
7 God has spoken from his temple.
He has said, “I will win the battle.
Then I will divide up the land around Shechem.
I will divide up the Valley of Sukkoth.
8 Gilead belongs to me, and so does the land of Manasseh.
Ephraim is the strongest tribe. It is like a helmet for my head.
Judah is the royal tribe. It is like a ruler’s scepter.
9 Moab serves me like one who washes my feet.
I toss my sandal on Edom to show that I own it.
I shout to Philistia that I have won the battle.”
10 Who will bring me to the city that has high walls around it?
Who will lead me to the land of Edom?
11 God, isn’t it you, even though you have now turned away from us?
Isn’t it you, even though you don’t lead our armies into battle anymore?
12 Help us against our enemies.
The help people give doesn’t amount to anything.
13 With your help we will win the battle.
You will walk all over our enemies.
33 You who are godly, sing with joy to the Lord.
It is right for honest people to praise him.
2 With the harp, praise the Lord.
With the lyre that has ten strings, make music to him.
3 Sing a new song to him.
Play with skill, and shout with joy.
4 What the Lord says is right and true.
He is faithful in everything he does.
5 The Lord loves what is right and fair.
The earth is full of his faithful love.
6 The heavens were made when the Lord commanded it to happen.
All the stars were created by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers together the waters of the sea.
He puts the oceans in their places.
8 Let the whole earth have respect for the Lord.
Let all the people in the world honor him.
9 He spoke, and the world came into being.
He commanded, and it stood firm.
10 The Lord blocks the sinful plans of the nations.
He keeps them from doing what they want to do.
11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever.
What he wants to do will last for all time.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.
Blessed are the people he chose to be his own.
13 From heaven the Lord looks down
and sees everyone.
14 From his throne he watches
all those who live on the earth.
15 He creates the hearts of all people.
He is aware of everything they do.
16 A king isn’t saved just because his army is big.
A soldier doesn’t escape just because he is very strong.
17 People can’t trust a horse to save them either.
Though it is very strong, it can’t save them.
18 But the Lord looks with favor on those who respect him.
He watches over those who put their hope in his faithful love.
19 He watches over them to save them from death.
He wants to keep them alive when there is no food in the land.
20 We wait in hope for the Lord.
He helps us. He is like a shield that keeps us safe.
21 Our hearts are full of joy because of him.
We trust in him, because he is holy.
22 Lord, may your faithful love be with us.
We put our hope in you.
21 Here is the message the Lord has spoken against him. The Lord says,
“ ‘You will not win the battle over Zion.
Its people hate you and make fun of you.
The people of Jerusalem lift up their heads proudly
as you run away.
22 Who have you laughed at?
Who have you spoken evil things against?
Who have you raised your voice against?
Who have you looked at so proudly?
You have done it against me.
I am the Holy One of Israel!
23 Through your messengers
you have dared to make fun of the Lord.
And you have said,
“I have many chariots.
With them I have gone to the tops of the mountains.
I’ve climbed the highest mountains in Lebanon.
I’ve cut down its tallest cedar trees.
I’ve cut down the best of its juniper trees.
I’ve reached its farthest parts.
I’ve reached its finest forests.
24 I’ve dug wells in strange lands.
I’ve drunk the water from them.
I’ve walked through all of Egypt’s streams.
I’ve dried up every one of them.”
25 “ ‘But I, the Lord, say, “Haven’t you heard what I have done?
Long ago I arranged for you to do all of that.
In days of old I planned it.
Now I have made it happen.
You have turned cities with high walls
into piles of stone.
26 Their people do not have any power left.
They are troubled and put to shame.
They are like plants in the field.
They are like new green plants.
They are like grass that grows on a roof.
It dries up before it is completely grown.
27 “ ‘ “But I know where you are.
I know when you come and go.
I know how very angry you are with me.
28 You roar against me and brag.
And I have heard your bragging.
So I will put my hook in your nose.
I will put my bit in your mouth.
And I will make you go home
by the same way you came.” ’ ”
29 The Lord said, “Hezekiah, here is a miraculous sign for you.
“This year you will eat what grows by itself.
In the second year you will eat what grows from that.
But in the third year you will plant your crops and gather them in.
You will plant your grapevines and eat their fruit.
30 Those who remain from the kingdom of Judah will be like plants.
Once more they will put down roots and produce fruit.
31 Out of Jerusalem will come those who remain.
Out of Mount Zion will come those who survive.
“The Lord’s great love will make sure that happens.
He rules over all.
32 “Here is a message from me about the king of Assyria. The Lord says,
“ ‘The king of Assyria will not enter this city.
He will not even shoot an arrow at it.
He will not come near it with a shield.
He will not build a ramp in order to climb over its walls.
33 By the same way he came he will go home.
He will not enter this city,’
announces the Lord.
34 ‘I will guard this city and save it.
I will do it for myself. And I will do it for my servant David.’ ”
35 That night the angel of the Lord went into the camp of the Assyrians. He put to death 185,000 people there. The people of Jerusalem got up the next morning and looked out at the camp. There were all the dead bodies! 36 So Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, took the army tents down. Then he left. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.
Warnings From Israel’s History
10 Brothers and sisters, I want you to know something about our people who lived long ago. They were all led by the cloud. They all walked through the Red Sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food. 4 They all drank the same spiritual water. They drank from the spiritual rock that went with them. That rock was Christ. 5 But God was not pleased with most of them. Their bodies were scattered in the desert.
6 Now those things happened as examples for us. They are supposed to keep us from wanting evil things. The people of Israel wanted these evil things. 7 So don’t worship statues of gods, as some of them did. It is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up to dance wildly in front of their god.” (Exodus 32:6) 8 We should not commit sexual sins, as some of them did. In one day 23,000 of them died. 9 We should not test the Messiah, as some of them did. They were killed by snakes. 10 Don’t speak against God. That’s what some of the people of Israel did. And they were killed by the destroying angel.
11 Those things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us. That’s because we are living at the time when God’s work is being completed. 12 So be careful. When you think you are standing firm, you might fall. 13 You are tempted in the same way all other human beings are. God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted any more than you can take. But when you are tempted, God will give you a way out. Then you will be able to deal with it.
The Cost of Following Jesus
18 Jesus saw the crowd around him. So he gave his disciples orders to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. 19 Then a teacher of the law came to him. He said, “Teacher, I will follow you no matter where you go.”
20 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens. Birds have nests. But the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
21 Another follower said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me. Let the dead bury their own dead.”
Jesus Calms the Storm
23 Jesus got into a boat. His disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a terrible storm came up on the lake. The waves crashed over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him up. They said, “Lord! Save us! We’re going to drown!”
26 He replied, “Your faith is so small! Why are you so afraid?” Then Jesus got up and ordered the winds and the waves to stop. It became completely calm.
27 The disciples were amazed. They asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
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