Book of Common Prayer
A miktam of David.
16 Protect me, God, because I depend on you.
2 Some of you[a] have said to the Lord,
“You are my Lord.
Every good thing I have comes from you.”
3 But you have also said about the gods[b] of this land,
“They are my powerful gods.
They are the ones who make me happy.”
4 But those who worship other gods will have many troubles.
I will not share in the gifts of blood they offer to their idols.
I will not even say their names.
5 Lord, you give me all that I need.
You support me.
You give me my share.
6 My share[c] is wonderful.
My inheritance[d] is very beautiful.
7 I praise the Lord because he taught me well.
Even at night he put his instructions deep inside my mind.[e]
8 I always remember that the Lord is with me.[f]
He is here, close by my side,
so nothing can defeat me.
9 So my heart and soul will be very happy.
Even my body will live in safety,
10 because you will not leave me in the place of death.
You will not let your faithful one rot in the grave.
11 You will teach me the right way to live.
Just being with you will bring complete happiness.
Being at your right side will make me happy forever.
A prayer of David.[g]
17 Lord, hear my prayer for justice.
I am calling loudly to you.
I am being honest in what I say,
so please listen to my prayer.
2 You will make the right decision,
because you can see the truth.
3 You were with me all night
and looked deep into my heart.
You questioned me and found that
I did not say or do anything wrong.
4 Unlike most people, I have obeyed your commands,
so I have never been like those who are cruel and evil.
5 I have followed your way.
My feet never left your path.
6 Every time I call to you, God, you answer me.
So listen to me now, and hear what I say.
7 Show your amazing kindness
and rescue those who depend on you.
Use your great power
and protect them from their enemies.
8 Protect me like the pupil[h] of your eye.
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.
9 Save me from the wicked people who are trying to destroy me.
Protect me from those who come to hurt me.
10 They think only of themselves
and brag about what they will do.
11 They have been following me,
and now they are all around me.
They watch me, waiting to throw me to the ground.
12 Like hungry lions, they want to kill and eat.
Like young lions, they hide, ready to attack.
13 Lord, get up[i] and face the enemy.
Make them surrender.
Use your sword and save me from these wicked people.
14 Use your power, Lord,
and remove them from this life.
But as for the people you treasure,
fill them with food.
Give them plenty for their children and their grandchildren.
15 I have done only what is right, so I will see your face.
And seeing you,[j] I will be fully satisfied.
To the director: To the tune “The Deer of Dawn.”[a] A song of David.
22 My God, my God, why have you left me?
You seem too far away to save me,
too far to hear my cries for help!
2 My God, I kept calling by day,
and I was not silent at night.
But you did not answer me.
3 God, you are the Holy One.
You sit as King upon the praises of Israel.
4 Our ancestors trusted you.
Yes, they trusted you, and you saved them.
5 They called to you for help and escaped their enemies.
They trusted you and were not disappointed!
6 But I feel like a worm, less than human!
People insult me and look down on me.
7 Everyone who sees me makes fun of me.
They shake their heads and stick out their tongues at me.
8 They say, “Call to the Lord for help.
Maybe he will save you.
If he likes you so much, surely he will rescue you!”
9 God, the truth is, you are the one who brought me into this world.
You made me feel safe while I was still at my mother’s breasts.
10 You have been my God since the day I was born.
I was thrown into your arms as I came from my mother’s womb.
11 So don’t leave me!
Trouble is near, and there is no one to help me.
12 My enemies surround me like angry bulls.
They are like the powerful bulls of Bashan, and they are all around me.
13 Their mouths are opened wide,
like a lion roaring and tearing at its prey.
14 My strength is gone,
like water poured out on the ground.
My bones have separated.
My courage is gone.[b]
15 My mouth[c] is as dry as a piece of baked pottery.
My tongue is sticking to the roof of my mouth.
You have left me dying in the dust.
16 The “dogs” are all around me—
a pack[d] of evil people has trapped me.
They have pierced my hands and feet.[e]
17 I can see each one of my bones.
My enemies are looking at me;
they just keep staring.
18 They divide my clothes among themselves,
and they throw lots for what I am wearing.
19 Lord, don’t leave me!
You are my strength—hurry and help me!
20 Save me from the sword.
Save my precious life from these dogs.
21 Rescue me from the lion’s mouth.
Protect me from the horns of the bulls.[f]
22 I will tell my people about you.
I will praise you in the great assembly.
23 Praise the Lord, all you who worship him!
Honor him, you descendants of Jacob!
Fear and respect him, all you people of Israel!
24 He does not ignore those who need help.
He does not hate them.
He does not turn away from them.
He listens when they cry for help.
25 Lord, because of you I offer praise in the great assembly.
In front of all these worshipers I will do all that I promised.
26 Poor people, come eat and be satisfied.[g]
You who have come looking for the Lord, praise him!
May your hearts be happy[h] forever.
27 May those in faraway countries remember the Lord and come back to him.
May those in distant lands worship him,
28 because the Lord is the King.
He rules all nations.
29 The people have eaten all they wanted
and bowed down to worship him.
Yes, everyone will bow down to him—
all who are on the way to the grave, unable to hold on to life.
30 Our descendants will serve him.
Those who are not yet born will be told about him.
31 Each generation will tell their children
about the good things the Lord has done.
A Sad Song for Israel
5 People of Israel, listen to this song. This funeral song is about you.
2 The virgin[a] of Israel has fallen.
She will not get up anymore.
She was left alone, lying in the dirt.
There is no one to lift her up.
3 This is what the Lord God says:
“Officers leaving the city with 1000 men
will return with only 100 men.
Officers leaving the city with 100 men
will return with only ten men.”
The Lord Encourages Israel to Come Back
4 The Lord says this to the nation[b] of Israel:
“Come looking for me and live.
5 But don’t look in Bethel.
Don’t go to Gilgal.
Don’t cross the border and go down to Beersheba.[c]
The people of Gilgal will be taken away as prisoners,[d]
and Bethel will be destroyed.[e]
6 Come to the Lord and live.
If you don’t go to him, a fire will start at Joseph’s house,[f]
and no one in Bethel[g] can stop it.
7-9 You should go to the Lord for help.
He is the one who made the Pleiades and Orion.[h]
He changes darkness into the morning light.
He changes the day into the dark night.
He calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the earth.
His name is Yahweh!
He keeps one strong city safe,
and he lets another strong city be destroyed.”
The Evil Things That the Israelites Did
You change justice to poison.[i]
You throw away fairness like trash.
10 You hate those prophets, who go to public places and speak against evil,
even though they teach good, simple truths.
11 You take unfair taxes[j] from the poor.
You take loads of wheat from them.
You build fancy houses with cut stone,
but you will not live in them.
You plant beautiful vineyards,
but you will not drink the wine from them.
12 This is because I know about your many sins.
You have done some very bad things:
You hurt people who do right,
you accept money to do wrong,
and you keep the poor from receiving justice in court.
13 At that time wise teachers will be quiet,
because it is a bad time.
14 You say that God is with you,
so you should do good things, not evil.
Then you will live,
and the Lord God All-Powerful will be with you.
15 Hate evil and love goodness.
Bring justice back into the courts.
Maybe then the Lord God All-Powerful
will be kind to the survivors from Joseph’s family.
A Time of Great Sadness Is Coming
16 The Lord, the Lord God All-Powerful says,
“People will be crying in the public places.
They will be crying in the streets.
They will hire the professional criers.[k]
17 People will be crying in the vineyards,
because I will pass through and punish you.”
This is what the Lord said.
1 Greetings from Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James.
To those who have been chosen and are loved by God the Father and have been kept safe in Jesus Christ.
2 Mercy, peace, and love be yours more and more.
God Will Punish Those Who Do Wrong
3 Dear friends, I wanted very much to write to you about the salvation we all share together. But I felt the need to write to you about something else: I want to encourage you to fight hard for the faith that God gave his holy people. God gave this faith once, and it is good for all time. 4 Some people have secretly entered your group. These people have already been judged guilty for what they are doing. Long ago the prophets wrote about them. They are against God. They have used the grace of our God in the wrong way—to do sinful things. They refuse to follow Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.
5 I want to help you remember some things you already know: Remember that the Lord[a] saved his people by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. But later he destroyed all those who did not believe. 6 And remember the angels who lost their authority to rule. They left their proper home. So the Lord has kept them in darkness, bound with everlasting chains, to be judged on the great day. 7 Also, remember the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and the other towns around them. Like those angels they were full of sexual sin and involved themselves in sexual relations that are wrong. And they suffer the punishment of eternal fire, an example for us to see.
8 It is the same way with these people who have entered your group. They are guided by dreams. They make themselves dirty with sin. They reject God’s authority and say bad things against the glorious ones.[b] 9 Not even the archangel Michael did this. Michael argued with the devil about who would have the body of Moses. But Michael did not dare to condemn even the devil for his false accusations. Instead, Michael said, “The Lord punish you!”
10 But these people criticize things they don’t understand. They do understand some things. But they understand these things not by thinking, but by feeling, the way dumb animals understand things. And these are the things that destroy them. 11 It will be bad for them. They have followed the way that Cain went. To make money, they have given themselves to following the wrong way that Balaam went. They have fought against God like Korah[c] did. And like Korah, they will be destroyed.
12 These people are like dirty spots among you—they bring shame to you in the special meals you share together. They eat with you and have no fear. They take care of only themselves. They are like clouds without rain. The wind blows them around. They are like trees that have no fruit at harvest time and are pulled out of the ground. So they are twice dead. 13 Like the dirty foam on the wild waves in the sea, everyone can see the shameful things they do. They are like stars that wander in the sky. A place in the blackest darkness has been kept for them forever.
14 Enoch, the seventh descendant from Adam, said this about these people: “Look, the Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of his holy angels 15 to judge everyone. He will punish all those who are against him for all the evil they have done in their lack of respect for him. Yes, the Lord will punish all these sinners who don’t honor him. He will punish them for all the evil things they have said against him.”
16 These people always complain and find wrong in others. They always do the evil things they want to do. They boast about themselves. The only reason they say good things about others is to get what they want.
A Story About People Invited to a Dinner(A)
22 Jesus used some more stories to teach the people. He said, 2 “God’s kingdom is like a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son. 3 He invited some people to the feast. When it was ready, the king sent his servants to tell the people to come. But they refused to come to the king’s feast.
4 “Then the king sent some more servants. He said to them, ‘I have already invited the people. So tell them that my feast is ready. I have killed my best bulls and calves to be eaten. Everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’
5 “But when the servants told the people to come, they refused to listen. They all went to do other things. One went to work in his field, and another went to his business. 6 Some of the other people grabbed the servants, beat them, and killed them. 7 The king was very angry. He sent his army to kill those who murdered his servants. And the army burned their city.
8 “After that the king said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready. I invited those people, but they were not good enough to come to my feast. 9 So go to the street corners and invite everyone you see. Tell them to come to my feast.’ 10 So the servants went into the streets. They gathered all the people they could find, good and bad alike, and brought them to where the wedding feast was ready. And the place was filled with guests.
11 “When the king came in to meet the guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in the right clothes for a wedding. 12 The king said, ‘Friend, how were you allowed to come in here? You are not wearing the right clothes.’ But the man said nothing. 13 So the king told some servants, ‘Tie this man’s hands and feet. Throw him out into the darkness, where people are crying and grinding their teeth with pain.’
14 “Yes, many people are invited. But only a few are chosen.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International