Book of Common Prayer
The Prayer of Someone Betrayed by a Friend[a]
55 Hear my prayer, O God;
don't turn away from my plea!
2 Listen to me and answer me;
I am worn out by my worries.
3 I am terrified by the threats of my enemies,
crushed by the oppression of the wicked.
They bring trouble on me;
they are angry with me and hate me.
4 I am terrified,
and the terrors of death crush me.
5 I am gripped by fear and trembling;
I am overcome with horror.
6 I wish I had wings like a dove.
I would fly away and find rest.
7 I would fly far away
and make my home in the desert.
8 I would hurry and find myself a shelter
from the raging wind and the storm.
9 Confuse the speech of my enemies, O Lord!
I see violence and riots in the city,
10 surrounding it day and night,
filling it with crime and trouble.
11 There is destruction everywhere;
the streets are full of oppression and fraud.
12 If it were an enemy making fun of me,
I could endure it;
if it were an opponent boasting over me,
I could hide myself from him.
13 But it is you, my companion,
my colleague and close friend.
14 We had intimate talks with each other
and worshiped together in the Temple.
15 May my enemies die before their time;
may they go down alive into the world of the dead!
Evil is in their homes and in their hearts.
16 But I call to the Lord God for help,
and he will save me.
17 Morning, noon, and night
my complaints and groans go up to him,
and he will hear my voice.
18 He will bring me safely back
from the battles that I fight
against so many enemies.
19 God, who has ruled from eternity,
will hear me and defeat them;
for they refuse to change,
and they do not fear him.
20 My former companion attacked his friends;
he broke his promises.
21 His words were smoother than cream,
but there was hatred in his heart;
his words were as soothing as oil,
but they cut like sharp swords.
22 Leave your troubles with the Lord,
and he will defend you;
he never lets honest people be defeated.
23 But you, O God, will bring those murderers and liars to their graves
before half their life is over.
As for me, I will trust in you.
A Prayer of Thanksgiving[a]
138 I thank you, Lord, with all my heart;
I sing praise to you before the gods.
2 I face your holy Temple,
bow down, and praise your name
because of your constant love and faithfulness,
because you have shown that your name and your commands are supreme.[b]
3 You answered me when I called to you;
with your strength you strengthened me.
4 All the kings in the world will praise you, Lord,
because they have heard your promises.
5 They will sing about what you have done
and about your great glory.
6 Even though you are so high above,
you care for the lowly,
and the proud cannot hide from you.
7 When I am surrounded by troubles,
you keep me safe.
You oppose my angry enemies
and save me by your power.
8 You will do everything you have promised;
Lord, your love is eternal.
Complete the work that you have begun.
God's Complete Knowledge and Care[c]
139 Lord, you have examined me and you know me.
2 You know everything I do;
from far away you understand all my thoughts.
3 You see me, whether I am working or resting;
you know all my actions.
4 Even before I speak,
you already know what I will say.
5 You are all around me on every side;
you protect me with your power.
6 Your knowledge of me is too deep;
it is beyond my understanding.
7 Where could I go to escape from you?
Where could I get away from your presence?
8 If I went up to heaven, you would be there;
if I lay down in the world of the dead, you would be there.
9 If I flew away beyond the east
or lived in the farthest place in the west,
10 you would be there to lead me,
you would be there to help me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
or the light around me to turn into night,
12 but even darkness is not dark for you,
and the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You created every part of me;
you put me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because you are to be feared;
all you do is strange and wonderful.
I know it with all my heart.
15 When my bones were being formed,
carefully put together in my mother's womb,
when I was growing there in secret,
you knew that I was there—
16 you saw me before I was born.
The days allotted to me
had all been recorded in your book,
before any of them ever began.
17 (A)O God, how difficult I find your thoughts;[d]
how many of them there are!
18 If I counted them, they would be more than the grains of sand.
When I awake, I am still with you.
19 O God, how I wish you would kill the wicked!
How I wish violent people would leave me alone!
20 They say wicked things about you;
they speak evil things against your name.[e]
21 O Lord, how I hate those who hate you!
How I despise those who rebel against you!
22 I hate them with a total hatred;
I regard them as my enemies.
23 Examine me, O God, and know my mind;
test me, and discover my thoughts.
18 Moses put down its bases, set up its frames, attached its crossbars, and put up its posts. 19 He spread out the covering over the Tent and put the outer covering over it, just as the Lord had commanded. 20 Then he took the two stone tablets and put them in the Covenant Box. He put the poles in the rings of the Box and put the lid on it. 21 Then he put the Box in the Tent and hung up the curtain. In this way he screened off the Covenant Box, just as the Lord had commanded.
22 He put the table in the Tent, on the north side outside the curtain, 23 and placed on it the bread offered to the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded. 24 He put the lampstand in the Tent, on the south side, opposite the table, 25 and there in the Lord's presence he lit the lamps, just as the Lord had commanded. 26 He put the gold altar in the Tent, in front of the curtain, 27 and burned the sweet-smelling incense, just as the Lord had commanded. 28 He hung the curtain at the entrance of the Tent, 29 and there in front of the curtain he placed the altar for burning offerings. On it he sacrificed the burnt offering and the grain offering, just as the Lord had commanded. 30 He put the washbasin between the Tent and the altar and filled it with water. 31 Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and their feet there 32 whenever they went into the Tent or to the altar, just as the Lord had commanded. 33 Moses set up the enclosure around the Tent and the altar and hung the curtain at the entrance of the enclosure. So he finished all the work.
The Cloud over the Tent of the Lord's Presence(A)
34 (B)Then the cloud covered the Tent and the dazzling light of the Lord's presence filled it. 35 Because of this, Moses could not go into the Tent. 36 The Israelites moved their camp to another place only when the cloud lifted from the Tent. 37 As long as the cloud stayed there, they did not move their camp. 38 During all their wanderings they could see the cloud of the Lord's presence over the Tent during the day and a fire burning above it during the night.
A Life That Pleases God
4 Finally, our friends, you learned from us how you should live in order to please God. This is, of course, the way you have been living. And now we beg and urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to do even more. 2 For you know the instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3 God wants you to be holy and completely free from sexual immorality. 4 Each of you should know how to live with your wife[a] in a holy and honorable way, 5 not with a lustful desire, like the heathen who do not know God. 6 In this matter, then, none of you should do wrong to other Christians or take advantage of them. We have told you this before, and we strongly warned you that the Lord will punish those who do that. 7 God did not call us to live in immorality, but in holiness. 8 So then, whoever rejects this teaching is not rejecting a human being, but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.
9 There is no need to write you about love for each other. You yourselves have been taught by God how you should love one another. 10 And you have, in fact, behaved like this toward all the believers in all of Macedonia. So we beg you, our friends, to do even more. 11 Make it your aim to live a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to earn your own living, just as we told you before. 12 In this way you will win the respect of those who are not believers, and you will not have to depend on anyone for what you need.
Teaching about Revenge(A)
38 (B)“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But now I tell you: do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, let him slap your left cheek too. 40 And if someone takes you to court to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat as well. 41 And if one of the occupation troops forces you to carry his pack one mile, carry it two miles. 42 When someone asks you for something, give it to him; when someone wants to borrow something, lend it to him.
Love for Enemies(C)
43 (D)“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your friends, hate your enemies.’ 44 But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 (E)so that you may become the children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun to shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil. 46 Why should God reward you if you love only the people who love you? Even the tax collectors do that! 47 And if you speak only to your friends, have you done anything out of the ordinary? Even the pagans do that! 48 (F)You must be perfect—just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.