Book of Common Prayer
God Wants True Worship
A psalm of Asaph.
50 The God of gods, the Lord, speaks.
He calls the earth from the rising to the setting sun.
2 God shines from Jerusalem,
whose beauty is perfect.
3 Our God comes, and he will not be silent.
A fire burns in front of him,
and a powerful storm surrounds him.
4 He calls to the sky above and to the earth
that he might judge his people.
5 He says, “Gather around, you who worship me,
who have made an agreement with me, using a sacrifice.”
6 God is the judge,
and even the skies say he is right. Selah
7 God says, “My people, listen to me;
Israel, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
8 I do not scold you for your sacrifices.
You always bring me your burnt offerings.
9 But I do not need bulls from your stalls
or goats from your pens,
10 because every animal of the forest is already mine.
The cattle on a thousand hills are mine.
11 I know every bird on the mountains,
and every living thing in the fields is mine.
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
because the earth and everything in it are mine.
13 I don’t eat the meat of bulls
or drink the blood of goats.
14 Give an offering to show thanks to God.
Give God Most High what you have promised.
15 Call to me in times of trouble.
I will save you, and you will honor me.”
16 But God says to the wicked,
“Why do you talk about my laws?
Why do you mention my agreement?
17 You hate my teachings
and turn your back on what I say.
18 When you see a thief, you join him.
You take part in adultery.
19 You don’t stop your mouth from speaking evil,
and your tongue makes up lies.
20 You speak against your brother
and lie about your mother’s son.
21 I have kept quiet while you did these things,
so you thought I was just like you.
But I will scold you
and accuse you to your face.
22 “Think about this, you who forget God.
Otherwise, I will tear you apart,
and no one will save you.
23 Those people honor me
who bring me offerings to show thanks.
And I, God, will save those who do that.”
A Prayer for Protection
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A miktam of David when Saul sent men to watch David’s house to kill him.
59 God, save me from my enemies.
Protect me from those who come against me.
2 Save me from those who do evil
and from murderers.
3 Look, they are waiting to ambush me.
Cruel people attack me,
but I have not sinned or done wrong, Lord.
4 I have done nothing wrong, but they are ready to attack me.
Wake up to help me, and look.
5 You are the Lord God All-Powerful, the God of Israel.
Arise and punish those people.
Do not give those traitors any mercy. Selah
6 They come back at night.
Like dogs they growl and roam around the city.
7 Notice what comes from their mouths.
Insults come from their lips,
because they say, “Who’s listening?”
8 But, Lord, you laugh at them;
you make fun of all of them.
9 God, my strength, I am looking to you,
because God is my defender.
10 My God loves me, and he goes in front of me.
He will help me defeat my enemies.
11 Lord, our protector, do not kill them, or my people will forget.
With your power scatter them and defeat them.
12 They sin by what they say;
they sin with their words.
They curse and tell lies,
so let their pride trap them.
13 Destroy them in your anger;
destroy them completely!
Then they will know
that God rules over Israel
and to the ends of the earth. Selah
14 They come back at night.
Like dogs they growl
and roam around the city.
15 They wander about looking for food,
and they howl if they do not find enough.
16 But I will sing about your strength.
In the morning I will sing about your love.
You are my defender,
my place of safety in times of trouble.
17 God, my strength, I will sing praises to you.
God, my defender, you are the God who loves me.
A Prayer After a Defeat
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lily of the Agreement.” A miktam of David. For teaching. When David fought the Arameans of Northwest Mesopotamia and Zobah, and when Joab returned and defeated twelve thousand Edomites at the Valley of Salt.
60 God, you have rejected us and scattered us.
You have been angry, but please come back to us.
2 You made the earth shake and crack.
Heal its breaks because it is shaking.
3 You have given your people trouble.
You made us unable to walk straight, like people drunk with wine.
4 You have raised a banner to gather those who fear you.
Now they can stand up against the enemy. Selah
5 Answer us and save us by your power
so the people you love will be rescued.
6 God has said from his Temple,
“When I win, I will divide Shechem
and measure off the Valley of Succoth.
7 Gilead and Manasseh are mine.
Ephraim is like my helmet.
Judah holds my royal scepter.
8 Moab is like my washbowl.
I throw my sandals at Edom.
I shout at Philistia.”
9 Who will bring me to the strong, walled city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 God, surely you have rejected us;
you do not go out with our armies.
11 Help us fight the enemy.
Human help is useless,
12 but we can win with God’s help.
He will defeat our enemies.
Thanksgiving for Victory
118 Thank the Lord because he is good.
His love continues forever.
2 Let the people of Israel say,
“His love continues forever.”
3 Let the family of Aaron say,
“His love continues forever.”
4 Let those who respect the Lord say,
“His love continues forever.”
5 I was in trouble, so I called to the Lord.
The Lord answered me and set me free.
6 I will not be afraid, because the Lord is with me.
People can’t do anything to me.
7 The Lord is with me to help me,
so I will see my enemies defeated.
8 It is better to trust the Lord
than to trust people.
9 It is better to trust the Lord
than to trust princes.
10 All the nations surrounded me,
but I defeated them in the name of the Lord.
11 They surrounded me on every side,
but with the Lord’s power I defeated them.
12 They surrounded me like a swarm of bees,
but they died as quickly as thorns burn.
By the Lord’s power, I defeated them.
13 They chased me until I was almost defeated,
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord gives me strength and a song.
He has saved me.
15 Shouts of joy and victory
come from the tents of those who do right:
“The Lord has done powerful things.”
16 The power of the Lord has won the victory;
with his power the Lord has done mighty things.
17 I will not die, but live,
and I will tell what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has taught me a hard lesson,
but he did not let me die.
19 Open for me the Temple gates.
Then I will come in and thank the Lord.
20 This is the Lord’s gate;
only those who are good may enter through it.
21 Lord, I thank you for answering me.
You have saved me.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
became the cornerstone.
23 The Lord did this,
and it is wonderful to us.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad today!
25 Please, Lord, save us;
please, Lord, give us success.
26 God bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless all of you from the Temple of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has shown kindness to us.
With branches in your hands, join the feast.
Come to the corners of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will thank you;
you are my God, and I will praise your greatness.
29 Thank the Lord because he is good.
His love continues forever.
13 Heavens and earth, be happy.
Mountains, shout with joy,
because the Lord comforts his people
and will have pity on those who suffer.
Jerusalem and Her Children
14 But Jerusalem said, “The Lord has left me;
the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 The Lord answers, “Can a woman forget the baby she nurses?
Can she feel no kindness for the child to which she gave birth?
Even if she could forget her children,
I will not forget you.
16 See, I have written your name on my hand.
Jerusalem, I always think about your walls.
17 Your children will soon return to you,
and the people who defeated you and destroyed you will leave.
18 Look up and look around you.
All your children are gathering to return to you.”
The Lord says, “As surely as I live,
your children will be like jewels
that a bride wears proudly.
19 “You were destroyed and defeated,
and your land was made useless.
But now you will have more people than the land can hold,
and those people who destroyed you will be far away.
20 Children were born to you while you were sad,
but they will say to you,
‘This place is too small for us.
Give us a bigger place to live.’
21 Then you will say to yourself,
‘Who gave me all these children?
I was sad and lonely,
defeated and separated from my people.
So who reared these children?
I was left all alone.
Where did all these children come from?’”
22 This is what the Lord God says:
“See, I will lift my hand to signal the nations;
I will raise my banner for all the people to see.
Then they will bring your sons back to you in their arms,
and they will carry your daughters on their shoulders.
23 Kings will teach your children,
and daughters of kings will take care of them.
They will bow down before you
and kiss the dirt at your feet.
Then you will know I am the Lord.
Anyone who trusts in me will not be disappointed.”
Blessing Comes Through Faith
3 You people in Galatia were told very clearly about the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. But you were foolish; you let someone trick you. 2 Tell me this one thing: How did you receive the Holy Spirit? Did you receive the Spirit by following the law? No, you received the Spirit because you heard the Good News and believed it. 3 You began your life in Christ by the Spirit. Now are you trying to make it complete by your own power? That is foolish. 4 Were all your experiences wasted? I hope not! 5 Does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you because you follow the law? No, he does these things because you heard the Good News and believed it.
6 The Scriptures say the same thing about Abraham: “Abraham believed God, and God accepted Abraham’s faith, and that faith made him right with God.”[a] 7 So you should know that the true children of Abraham are those who have faith. 8 The Scriptures, telling what would happen in the future, said that God would make the non-Jewish people right through their faith. This Good News was told to Abraham beforehand, as the Scripture says: “All nations will be blessed through you.”[b] 9 So all who believe as Abraham believed are blessed just as Abraham was. 10 But those who depend on following the law to make them right are under a curse, because the Scriptures say, “Anyone will be cursed who does not always obey what is written in the Book of the Law.”[c] 11 Now it is clear that no one can be made right with God by the law, because the Scriptures say, “Those who are right with God will live by faith.”[d] 12 The law is not based on faith. It says, “A person who obeys these things will live because of them.”[e] 13 Christ took away the curse the law put on us. He changed places with us and put himself under that curse. It is written in the Scriptures, “Anyone whose body is displayed on a tree[f] is cursed.” 14 Christ did this so that God’s blessing promised to Abraham might come through Jesus Christ to those who are not Jews. Jesus died so that by our believing we could receive the Spirit that God promised.
More than Five Thousand Fed
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and told him about all the things they had done and taught. 31 Crowds of people were coming and going so that Jesus and his followers did not even have time to eat. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves, and we will go to a lonely place to get some rest.”
32 So they went in a boat by themselves to a lonely place. 33 But many people saw them leave and recognized them. So from all the towns they ran to the place where Jesus was going, and they got there before him. 34 When he arrived, he saw a great crowd waiting. He felt sorry for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things.
35 When it was late in the day, his followers came to him and said, “No one lives in this place, and it is already very late. 36 Send the people away so they can go to the countryside and towns around here to buy themselves something to eat.”
37 But Jesus answered, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to him, “We would all have to work a month to earn enough money to buy that much bread!”
38 Jesus asked them, “How many loaves of bread do you have? Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five loaves and two fish.”
39 Then Jesus told his followers to have the people sit in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat in groups of fifty or a hundred. 41 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish and, looking up to heaven, he thanked God for the food. He divided the bread and gave it to his followers for them to give to the people. Then he divided the two fish among them all. 42 All the people ate and were satisfied. 43 The followers filled twelve baskets with the leftover pieces of bread and fish. 44 There were five thousand men who ate.
Jesus Walks on the Water
45 Immediately Jesus told his followers to get into the boat and go ahead of him to Bethsaida across the lake. He stayed there to send the people home. 46 After sending them away, he went into the hills to pray.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.