Book of Common Prayer
(A psalm by Asaph.)
What Pleases God
1 From east to west,
the powerful Lord God
has been calling together
everyone on earth.
2 God shines brightly from Zion,
the most beautiful city.
3 Our God approaches,
but not silently;
a flaming fire comes first,
and a storm surrounds him.
4 God comes to judge his people.
He shouts to the heavens
and to the earth,
5 “Call my followers together!
They offered me a sacrifice,
and we made an agreement.”
6 The heavens announce,
“God is the judge,
and he is always honest.”
7 My people, I am God!
Israel, I am your God.
Listen to my charges
against you.
8 Although you offer sacrifices
and always bring gifts,
9 I won't accept your offerings
of bulls and goats.
10 Every animal in the forest
belongs to me,
and so do the cattle
on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds
in the mountains,
and every wild creature
is in my care.
12 If I were hungry,
I wouldn't tell you,
because I own the world
and everything in it.
13 I don't eat the meat of bulls
or drink the blood of goats.
14 I am God Most High!
The only sacrifice I want
is for you to be thankful
and to keep your word.
15 Pray to me in time of trouble.
I will rescue you,
and you will honor me.
16 But to the wicked I say:
“You don't have the right
to mention my laws or claim
to keep our agreement!
17 You refused correction
and rejected my commands.
18 You made friends
with every crook you met,
and you liked people who break
their wedding vows.
19 You talked only about violence
and told nothing but lies;
20 you sat around gossiping,
ruining the reputation
of your own relatives.”
21 When you did all this,
I didn't say a word,
and you thought,
“God is just like us!”
But now I will accuse you.
22 You have ignored me!
So pay close attention
or I will tear you apart,
and no one can help you.
23 The sacrifice that honors me
is a thankful heart.
Obey me,[a] and I, your God,
will show my power to save.
(For the music leader. To the tune “Don't Destroy.”[a] A special psalm by David when Saul had David's house watched so that he could kill him.)
A Prayer for Protection
1 (A) Save me, God! Protect me
from enemy attacks!
2 Keep me safe from brutal people
who want to kill me.
3 Merciless enemies, Lord,
are hiding and plotting,
hoping to kill me.
I have not hurt them
in any way at all.
4 But they are ready to attack.
Do something! Help me!
Look at what's happening.
5 Lord God All-Powerful,
you are the God of Israel.
Punish the other nations
and don't pity those terrible
and rebellious people.
6 My enemies return at evening,
growling like dogs
roaming the city.
7 They curse, and their words
cut like swords,
as they say to themselves,
“No one can hear us!”
8 You, Lord, laugh at them
and sneer at the nations.
9 You are my mighty fortress,
and I depend on you.
10 You love me and will let me
see my enemies defeated.
11 Don't kill them,
or everyone may forget!
Just use your mighty power
to make them tremble
and fall.
You are a shield
for your people.
12 My enemies are liars!
So let them be trapped
by their boastful lies.
13 Get angry and destroy them.
Leave them in ruin.
Then all the nations will know
that you rule in Israel.
14 Those liars return at evening,
growling like dogs
roaming the city.
15 They search for scraps of food,
and they snarl
until they are stuffed.
16 But I will sing about
your strength, my God,
and I will celebrate
because of your love.
You are my fortress,
my place of protection
in times of trouble.
17 I will sing your praises!
You are my mighty fortress,
and you love me.
(For the music leader. To the tune “Lily of the Promise.” A special psalm by David for teaching. He wrote it during his wars with the Arameans of northern Syria,[b] when Joab came back and killed twelve thousand Edomites[c] in Salt Valley.)
You Can Depend on God
1 (B) You, God, are angry with us!
We are rejected and crushed.
Make us strong again!
2 You made the earth shake
and split wide open;
now heal its wounds
and stop its trembling.
3 You brought hard times
on your people,
and you gave us wine
that made us stagger.
4 You gave a signal to those
who worship you,
so they could escape
from enemy arrows.[d]
5 Answer our prayers, God!
Use your powerful arm
and give us victory.
Then the people you love
will be safe.
6 Our God, you solemnly promised,
“I would gladly divide up
the city of Shechem
and give away Succoth Valley
piece by piece.
7 The lands of Gilead
and Manasseh are mine.
Ephraim is my war helmet,
and Judah is the symbol
of my royal power.
8 Moab is merely my washbasin.
Edom belongs to me,
and I shout in triumph
over the Philistines.”
9 Our God, who will bring me
to the fortress,
or lead me to Edom?
10 Have you rejected us
and deserted our armies?
11 Help us defeat our enemies!
No one else can rescue us.
12 You will 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.
Michael Fights the Dragon
7 (A) A war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels were fighting against the dragon and its angels. 8 But the dragon lost the battle. It and its angels were forced out of their places in heaven 9 (B) and were thrown down to the earth. Yes, that old snake and his angels were thrown out of heaven! That snake, who fools everyone on earth, is known as the devil and Satan. 10 (C) Then I heard a voice from heaven shout,
“Our God has shown
his saving power,
and his kingdom has come!
God's own Chosen One
has shown his authority.
Satan accused our people
in the presence of God
day and night.
Now he has been thrown out!
11 “Our people defeated Satan
because of the blood[a]
of the Lamb
and the message of God.
They were willing
to give up their lives.
12 “The heavens should rejoice,
together with everyone
who lives there.
But pity the earth
and the sea,
because the devil
was thrown down
to the earth.
He knows his time is short,
and he is very angry.”
13 When the dragon realized it had been thrown down to the earth, it tried to make trouble for the woman who had given birth to a son. 14 (D) But the woman was given two wings like those of a huge eagle, so she could fly into the desert. There she would escape from the snake and be taken care of for a time, two times, and half a time.
15 The snake then spewed out water like a river to sweep the woman away. 16 But the earth helped her and swallowed the water that had come from the dragon's mouth. 17 This made the dragon terribly angry with the woman. So it started a war against the rest of her children. They are the people who obey God and are faithful to what Jesus did and taught.
53 Jesus was about to leave, but the teachers and the Pharisees wanted to get even with him. They tried to make him say what he thought about other things, 54 so they could catch him saying something wrong.
Warnings
12 (A) As thousands of people crowded around Jesus and were stepping on each other, he told his disciples:
Be sure to guard against the dishonest teaching[a] of the Pharisees! It is their way of fooling people. 2 (B) Everything that is hidden will be found out, and every secret will be known. 3 Whatever you say in the dark will be heard when it is day. Whatever you whisper in a closed room will be shouted from the housetops.
The One To Fear
(Matthew 10.28-31)
4 (C) My friends, don't be afraid of people. They can kill you, but after that, there is nothing else they can do. 5 God is the one you must fear. Not only can he take your life, but he can throw you into hell. God is certainly the one you should fear!
6 Five sparrows are sold for only a few cents, but God doesn't forget a single one of them. 7 Even the hairs on your head are counted. So don't be afraid! You are worth much more than many sparrows.
Telling Others about Christ
(Matthew 10.32,33; 12.32; 10.19,20)
8 If you tell others that you belong to me, the Son of Man will tell God's angels that you are my followers. 9 But if you reject me, you will be rejected in front of them. 10 (D) If you speak against the Son of Man, you can be forgiven, but if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you cannot be forgiven.
11 (E) When you are brought to trial in the synagogues or before rulers or officials, don't worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say. 12 At that time the Holy Spirit will tell you what to say.
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