Book of Common Prayer
33 If you start doing wrong,
the Lord will turn rivers
into deserts,
34 (A) flowing streams
into scorched land,
and fruitful fields
into beds of salt.
35 But the Lord can also turn
deserts into lakes
and scorched land
into flowing streams.
36 If you are hungry,
you can settle there
and build a town.
37 You can plant fields
and vineyards that produce
a good harvest.
38 The Lord will bless you
with many children
and with herds of cattle.
39 Sometimes you may be crushed
by troubles and sorrows,
until only a few of you
are left to survive.
40 But the Lord will take revenge
on those who conquer you,
and he will make them wander
across desert sands.
41 When you are suffering
and in need,
he will come to your rescue,
and your families will grow
as fast as a herd of sheep.
42 You will see this because
you obey the Lord,
but everyone who is wicked
will be silenced.
43 Be wise! Remember this
and think about the kindness
of the Lord.
(A song and a psalm by David.)
With God on Our Side
1 Our God, I am faithful to you
with all my heart,
and you can trust me.
I will sing
and play music for you
with all that I am.
2 I will start playing my harps
before the sun rises.
3 I will praise you, Lord,
for everyone to hear;
I will sing hymns to you
in every nation.
4 Your love reaches higher
than the heavens,
and your loyalty extends
beyond the clouds.
5 Our God, may you be honored
above the heavens;
may your glory be seen
everywhere on earth.
6 Answer my prayers
and use your powerful arm
to give us victory.
Then the people you love
will be safe.
7 Our God, from your holy place
you made this promise:
“I will gladly divide up
the city of Shechem
and give away Succoth Valley
piece by piece.
8 The lands of Gilead
and Manasseh are mine.
Ephraim is my war helmet,
and Judah is my symbol
of royal power.
9 Moab is merely my washbasin,
and Edom belongs to me.
I shout with victory
over the Philistines.”
10 Our God, who will bring me
to the fortress
or lead me to Edom?
11 Have you rejected us?
You don't lead our armies.
12 Help us defeat our enemies!
No one else can rescue us.
13 Only you give us victory
and crush our enemies.
Sing Praises to the Lord
1 You are the Lord's people.
Obey him and celebrate!
He deserves your praise.
2 Praise the Lord with harps!
Use harps with ten strings
to make music for him.
3 Sing a new song. Shout!
Play beautiful music.
4 The Lord is truthful;
he can be trusted.
5 He loves justice and fairness,
and he is kind to everyone
everywhere on earth.
6 The Lord made the heavens
and everything in them
by his word.
7 He scooped up the ocean
and stored the water.
8 Everyone in this world
should worship and honor
the Lord!
9 As soon as he spoke
the world was created;
at his command,
the earth was formed.
10 The Lord destroys the plans
and spoils the schemes
of the nations.
11 But what the Lord has planned
will stand forever.
His thoughts never change.
12 The Lord blesses each nation
that worships only him.
He blesses his chosen ones.
13 The Lord looks at the world
14 from his throne in heaven,
and he watches us all.
15 The Lord gave us each a mind,
and nothing we do
can be hidden from him.
16 (A) Mighty armies alone
cannot win wars for a king;
great strength by itself
cannot keep a soldier safe.
17 In war the strength of a horse
cannot be trusted
to take you to safety.
18 But the Lord watches over
all
who honor him
and trust his kindness.
19 He protects them from death
and starvation.
20 We depend on you, Lord,
to help and protect us.
21 You make our hearts glad
because we trust you,
the only God.
22 Be kind and bless us!
We depend on you.
God's Love for His People
11 (A) When Israel was a child,
I loved him, and I called
my son out of Egypt.
2 But as the saying goes,
“The more they were called,
the more they rebelled.”[a]
They never stopped offering
incense and sacrifices
to the idols of Baal.
3 I took Israel by the arm
and taught them to walk.
But they would not admit
that I was the one
who had healed them.
4 I led them with kindness
and with love,
not with ropes.
I held them close to me;[b]
I bent down to feed them.
5 But they rejected me,
and so must return to Egypt;
now Assyria will rule them.
6 War will visit their cities,
and their plans will fail.[c]
7 My people are determined
to reject me for a god
they think is stronger,
but he can't help.[d]
8 (B) Israel, I can't let you go.
I can't give you up.
How could I possibly destroy you
as I did the towns of Admah
and Zeboiim?[e]
I just can't do it.
My feelings for you
are much too strong.
9 Israel, I won't lose my temper
and destroy you again.
I am the Holy God—
not merely some human,
and I won't stay angry.
17 After this I returned to Jerusalem and went to the temple to pray. There I had a vision 18 of the Lord who said to me, “Hurry and leave Jerusalem! The people won't listen to what you say about me.”
19 I replied, “Lord, they know that in many of our synagogues I arrested and beat people who had faith in you. 20 (A) Stephen was killed because he spoke for you, and I stood there and cheered them on. I even guarded the clothes of the men who murdered him.”
21 But the Lord told me to go, and he promised to send me far away to the Gentiles.
22 The crowd listened until Paul said this. Then they started shouting, “Get rid of this man! He doesn't deserve to live.” 23 They kept shouting. They waved their clothes around and threw dust into the air.
Paul and the Roman Army Commander
24 The Roman commander ordered Paul to be taken into the fortress and beaten with a whip. He did this to find out why the people were screaming at Paul.
25 While the soldiers were tying Paul up to be beaten, he asked the officer standing there, “Is it legal to beat a Roman citizen before he has been tried in court?”
26 When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and said, “What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen!”
27 The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”
“Yes,” Paul answered.
28 The commander then said, “I paid a lot of money to become a Roman citizen.”[a]
But Paul replied, “I was born a Roman citizen.”
29 The men who were about to beat and question Paul quickly backed off. And the commander himself was frightened when he realized that he had put a Roman citizen in chains.
Love for Enemies
(Matthew 5.38-48; 7.12a)
27 This is what I say to all who will listen to me:
Love your enemies, and be good to everyone who hates you. 28 Ask God to bless anyone who curses you, and pray for everyone who is cruel to you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, don't stop that person from slapping you on the other cheek. If someone wants to take your coat, don't try to keep back your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who asks and don't ask people to return what they have taken from you. 31 (A) Treat others just as you want to be treated.
32 If you love only someone who loves you, will God praise you for that? Even sinners love people who love them. 33 If you are kind only to someone who is kind to you, will God be pleased with you for that? Even sinners are kind to people who are kind to them. 34 If you lend money only to someone you think will pay you back, will God be pleased with you for that? Even sinners lend to sinners because they think they will get it all back.
35 (B) But love your enemies and be good to them. Lend without expecting to be paid back.[a] Then you will get a great reward, and you will be the true children of God in heaven. He is good even to people who are unthankful and cruel. 36 Have pity on others, just as your Father has pity on you.
Judging Others
(Matthew 7.1-5)
37 Jesus said:
Don't judge others, and God won't judge you. Don't be hard on others, and God won't be hard on you. Forgive others, and God will forgive you. 38 If you give to others, you will be given a full amount in return. It will be packed down, shaken together, and spilling over into your lap. The way you treat others is the way you will be treated.
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