Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for the Nation
For the director of music. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
85 Lord, you have been kind to your land;
you brought back the people of Jacob.
2 You forgave the guilt of the people
and covered all their sins. Selah
3 You stopped all your anger;
you turned back from your strong anger.
4 God our Savior, bring us back again.
Stop being angry with us.
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you stay angry from now on?
6 Won’t you give us life again?
Your people would rejoice in you.
7 Lord, show us your love,
and save us.
8 I will listen to God the Lord.
He has ordered peace for those who worship him.
Don’t let them go back to foolishness.
9 God will soon save those who respect him,
and his glory will be seen in our land.
10 Love and truth belong to God’s people;
goodness and peace will be theirs.
11 On earth people will be loyal to God,
and God’s goodness will shine down from heaven.
12 The Lord will give his goodness,
and the land will give its crops.
13 Goodness will go before God
and prepare the way for him.
A Cry for Help
A prayer of David.
86 Lord, listen to me and answer me.
I am poor and helpless.
2 Protect me, because I worship you.
My God, save me, your servant who trusts in you.
3 Lord, have mercy on me,
because I have called to you all day.
4 Give happiness to me, your servant,
because I give my life to you, Lord.
5 Lord, you are kind and forgiving
and have great love for those who call to you.
6 Lord, hear my prayer,
and listen when I ask for mercy.
7 I call to you in times of trouble,
because you will answer me.
8 Lord, there is no god like you
and no works like yours.
9 Lord, all the nations you have made
will come and worship you.
They will honor you.
10 You are great and you do miracles.
Only you are God.
11 Lord, teach me what you want me to do,
and I will live by your truth.
Teach me to respect you completely.
12 Lord, my God, I will praise you with all my heart,
and I will honor your name forever.
13 You have great love for me.
You have saved me from death.
14 God, proud people are attacking me;
a gang of cruel people is trying to kill me.
They do not respect you.
15 But, Lord, you are a God who shows mercy and is kind.
You don’t become angry quickly.
You have great love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and have mercy.
Give me, your servant, strength.
Save me, the son of your female servant.
17 Show me a sign of your goodness.
When my enemies look, they will be ashamed.
You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
Safe in the Lord
91 Those who go to God Most High for safety
will be protected by the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “You are my place of safety and protection.
You are my God and I trust you.”
3 God will save you from hidden traps
and from deadly diseases.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you can hide.
His truth will be your shield and protection.
5 You will not fear any danger by night
or an arrow during the day.
6 You will not be afraid of diseases that come in the dark
or sickness that strikes at noon.
7 At your side one thousand people may die,
or even ten thousand right beside you,
but you will not be hurt.
8 You will only watch
and see the wicked punished.
9 The Lord is your protection;
you have made God Most High your place of safety.
10 Nothing bad will happen to you;
no disaster will come to your home.
11 He has put his angels in charge of you
to watch over you wherever you go.
12 They will catch you in their hands
so that you will not hit your foot on a rock.
13 You will walk on lions and cobras;
you will step on strong lions and snakes.
14 The Lord says, “Whoever loves me, I will save.
I will protect those who know me.
15 They will call to me, and I will answer them.
I will be with them in trouble;
I will rescue them and honor them.
16 I will give them a long, full life,
and they will see how I can save.”
Thanksgiving for God’s Goodness
A psalm. A song for the Sabbath day.
92 It is good to praise you, Lord,
to sing praises to God Most High.
2 It is good to tell of your love in the morning
and of your loyalty at night.
3 It is good to praise you with the ten-stringed lyre
and with the soft-sounding harp.
4 Lord, you have made me happy by what you have done;
I will sing for joy about what your hands have done.
5 Lord, you have done such great things!
How deep are your thoughts!
6 Stupid people don’t know these things,
and fools don’t understand.
7 Wicked people grow like the grass.
Evil people seem to do well,
but they will be destroyed forever.
8 But, Lord, you will be honored forever.
9 Lord, surely your enemies,
surely your enemies will be destroyed,
and all who do evil will be scattered.
10 But you have made me as strong as an ox.
You have poured fine oils on me.
11 When I looked, I saw my enemies;
I heard the cries of those who are against me.
12 But good people will grow like palm trees;
they will be tall like the cedars of Lebanon.
13 Like trees planted in the Temple of the Lord,
they will grow strong in the courtyards of our God.
14 When they are old, they will still produce fruit;
they will be healthy and fresh.
15 They will say that the Lord is good.
He is my Rock, and there is no wrong in him.
28 The surrounding glow looked like the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day. It seemed to look like the glory of the Lord. So when I saw it, I bowed facedown on the ground and heard a voice speaking.
The Lord Speaks to Ezekiel
2 He said to me, “Human, stand up on your feet so I may speak with you.” 2 While he spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and put me on my feet. Then I heard the Lord speaking to me.
3 He said, “Human, I am sending you to the people of Israel. That nation has turned against me and broken away from me. They and their ancestors have sinned against me until this very day. 4 I am sending you to people who are stubborn and who do not obey. You will say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’ 5 They may listen, or they may not, since they are a people who have turned against me. But they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 You, human, don’t be afraid of the people or their words. Even though they may be like thorny branches and stickers all around you, and though you may feel like you live with poisonous insects, don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid of their words or their looks, because they are a people who turn against me. 7 But speak my words to them. They may listen, or they may not, because they turn against me. 8 But you, human, listen to what I say to you. Don’t turn against me as those people do. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.”
9 Then I looked and saw a hand stretched out to me, and a scroll was in it. 10 He opened the scroll in front of me. Funeral songs, sad writings, and words about troubles were written on the front and back.
3 Then the Lord said to me, “Human, eat what you find; eat this scroll. Then go and speak to the people of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.
3 He said to me, “Human, eat this scroll which I am giving you, and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
Jesus Is Our High Priest
14 Since we have a great high priest, Jesus the Son of God, who has gone into heaven, let us hold on to the faith we have. 15 For our high priest is able to understand our weaknesses. He was tempted in every way that we are, but he did not sin. 16 Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it.
5 Every high priest is chosen from among other people. He is given the work of going before God for them to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 Since he himself is weak, he is able to be gentle with those who do not understand and who are doing wrong things. 3 Because he is weak, the high priest must offer sacrifices for his own sins and also for the sins of the people.
4 To be a high priest is an honor, but no one chooses himself for this work. He must be called by God as Aaron[a] was. 5 So also Christ did not choose himself to have the honor of being a high priest, but God chose him. God said to him,
“You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.” Psalm 2:7
6 And in another Scripture God says,
“You are a priest forever,
a priest like Melchizedek.”[b] Psalm 110:4
Jesus Talks with Moses and Elijah
28 About eight days after Jesus said these things, he took Peter, John, and James and went up on a mountain to pray. 29 While Jesus was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became shining white. 30 Then two men, Moses and Elijah,[a] were talking with Jesus. 31 They appeared in heavenly glory, talking about his departure which he would soon bring about in Jerusalem. 32 Peter and the others were very sleepy, but when they awoke fully, they saw the glory of Jesus and the two men standing with him. 33 When Moses and Elijah were about to leave, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (Peter did not know what he was talking about.)
34 While he was saying these things, a cloud came and covered them, and they became afraid as the cloud covered them. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen. Listen to him!”
36 When the voice finished speaking, only Jesus was there. Peter, John, and James said nothing and told no one at that time what they had seen.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.