Book of Common Prayer
145 I pray to you, Lord!
Please answer me.
I promise to obey your laws.
146 I beg you to save me,
so I can follow your rules.
147 Even before sunrise,
I pray for your help,
and I put my hope
in what you have said.
148 I lie awake at night,
thinking of your promises.
149 Show that you love me, Lord,
and answer my prayer.
Please do the right thing
and save my life.
150 People who disobey your Law
have made evil plans
and want to hurt me,
151 but you are with me,
and all your commands
can be trusted.
152 From studying your laws,
I found out long ago
you made them to last forever.
153 I have not forgotten your Law!
Look at the trouble I am in,
and rescue me.
154 Be my defender and protector!
Remember your promise
and save my life.
155 Evil people won't obey you,
and so they have no hope
of being saved.
156 You are merciful, Lord!
Please do the right thing
and save my life.
157 I have a lot of brutal enemies,
but still I never turn
from your laws.
158 Those unfaithful people
who refuse to obey you
are disgusting to me.
159 Remember how I love your laws,
and show your love for me
by keeping me safe.
160 All you say can be trusted;
your teachings are true
and will last forever.
161 Rulers are cruel to me
for no reason.
But with all my heart
I respect your words,
162 because they bring happiness
like treasures taken in war.
163 I can't stand liars,
but I love your Law.
164 I praise you seven times a day
because your laws are fair.
165 You give peace of mind
to all who love your Law.
Nothing can make them fall.
166 You are my only hope
for being saved, Lord,
and I do all you command.
167 I love and obey your laws
with all my heart.
168 You know everything I do.
You know I respect every law
you have given.
169 Please, Lord, hear my prayer
and give me the understanding
that comes from your word.
170 Listen to my concerns
and keep me safe,
just as you have promised.
171 If you will teach me your laws,
I will praise you 172 and sing
about your promise,
because all your teachings
are what they ought to be.
173 Be ready to protect me
because I have chosen
to obey your laws.
174 I am waiting for you
to save me, Lord.
Your Law makes me happy.
175 Keep me alive,
so I can praise you,
and let me find help
in your teachings.
176 I am your servant,
but I have wandered away
like a lost sheep.
Please come after me,
because I have not forgotten
your teachings.
(A song for worship.)
The Lord Rewards His Faithful People
1 The Lord will bless you
if you respect him
and obey his laws.
2 Your fields will produce,
and you will be happy—
all will go well.
3 Your wife will be as fruitful
as a grapevine,
and just as an olive tree
is rich with olives,
your home will be rich
with healthy children.
4 This is how the Lord will bless
everyone who respects him.
5 I pray that the Lord
will bless you from Zion
and let Jerusalem prosper
as long as you live.
6 May you live long enough
to see your grandchildren.
Let's pray for peace in Israel!
(A song for worship.)
A Prayer for Protection
1 Since the time I was young,
enemies have often attacked!
Let everyone in Israel say:
2 “Since the time I was young,
enemies have often attacked!
But they have not defeated me,
3 though my back is like a field
that has just been plowed.”
4 The Lord always does right,
and he has set me free
from the ropes
of those cruel people.
5 I pray that all who hate
the city of Zion
will be made ashamed
and forced to turn and run.
6 May they be like grass
on the flat roof of a house,
grass that dries up
as soon as it sprouts.
7 Don't let them be like wheat
gathered in bundles.
8 And don't let anyone
who passes by say to them,
“The Lord bless you!
I give you my blessing
in the name of the Lord.”
(A song for worship.)
Trusting the Lord in Times of Trouble
1 From a sea of troubles
I cry out to you, Lord.
2 Won't you please listen
as I beg for mercy?
3 If you kept record of our sins,
no one could last long.
4 But you forgive us,
and so we will worship you.
5 With all my heart,
I am waiting, Lord, for you!
I trust your promises.
6 I wait for you more eagerly
than a soldier on guard duty
waits for the dawn.
Yes, I wait more eagerly
than a soldier on guard duty
waits for the dawn.
7 Israel, trust the Lord!
God is always merciful
and has the power to save you.
8 (A) Israel, the Lord will save you
from all your sins.
Don't Be Foolish
6 (A) My child, suppose you agree
to pay the debt of someone,
who cannot repay a loan.
2 Then you are trapped
by your own words,
3 and you are now in the power
of someone else.
Here is what you should do:
Go and beg for permission
to call off the agreement.
4 Do this before you fall asleep
or even get sleepy.
5 Save yourself, just as a deer
or a bird tries to escape
from a hunter.
6 You lazy people can learn
by watching an anthill.
7 Ants don't have leaders,
8 but they store up food
during harvest season.
9 How long will you lie there
doing nothing at all?
When are you going to get up
and stop sleeping?
10 (B) Sleep a little. Doze a little.
Fold your hands
and twiddle your thumbs.
11 Suddenly, everything is gone,
as though it had been taken
by an armed robber.
12 Worthless liars go around
13 (C) winking and giving signals
to deceive others.
14 They are always thinking up
something cruel and evil,
and they stir up trouble.
15 But they will be struck
by sudden disaster
and left without a hope.
16 There are six or seven
kinds of people
the Lord doesn't like:
17 Those who are too proud
or tell lies or murder,
18 those who make evil plans
or are quick to do wrong,
19 those who tell lies in court
or stir up trouble
in a family.
Victory over the World
5 If we believe Jesus is truly Christ, we are God's children. Everyone who loves the Father will also love his children. 2 If we love and obey God, we know we will love his children. 3 (A) We show our love for God by obeying his commandments, and they are not hard to follow.
4 Every child of God can defeat the world, and our faith is what gives us this victory. 5 No one can defeat the world without having faith in Jesus as the Son of God.
Who Jesus Is
6 Water and blood came out from the side of Jesus Christ. It wasn't just water, but water and blood.[a] The Spirit tells about this, because the Spirit is truthful. 7 In fact, there are three who tell about it. 8 They are the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and they all agree.
9 We believe what people tell us. But we can trust what God says even more, and God is the one who has spoken about his Son. 10 If we have faith in God's Son, we have believed what God has said. But if we don't believe what God has said about his Son, it is the same as calling God a liar. 11 (B) God has also said he gave us eternal life and this life comes to us from his Son. 12 And so, if we have God's Son, we have this life. But if we don't have the Son, we don't have this life.
The Plot To Kill Jesus
(Matthew 26.1-5; Mark 14.1,2; Luke 22.1,2)
45 Many of the people who had come to visit Mary saw the things Jesus did, and they put their faith in him. 46 Others went to the Pharisees and told what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called the council together and said, “What should we do? This man is working a lot of miracles.[a] 48 If we don't stop him now, everyone will put their faith in him. Then the Romans will come and destroy our temple and our nation.”[b]
49 One of the council members was Caiaphas, who was also high priest that year. He spoke up and said, “You people don't have any sense at all! 50 Don't you know it is better for one person to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed?” 51 Caiaphas did not say this on his own. As high priest that year, he was prophesying that Jesus would die for the nation. 52 Yet Jesus would not die just for the Jewish nation. He would die to bring together all of God's scattered people. 53 From that day on, the council started making plans to put Jesus to death.
54 Because of this plot against him, Jesus stopped going around in public. He went to the town of Ephraim, which was near the desert, and he stayed there with his disciples.
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