Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for God to Guide
Of David.
25 Lord, I give myself to you;
2 my God, I trust you.
Do not let me be disgraced;
do not let my enemies laugh at me.
3 No one who trusts you will be disgraced,
but those who sin without excuse will be disgraced.
4 Lord, tell me your ways.
Show me how to live.
5 Guide me in your truth,
and teach me, my God, my Savior.
I trust you all day long.
6 Lord, remember your mercy and love
that you have shown since long ago.
7 Do not remember the sins
and wrong things I did when I was young.
But remember to love me always
because you are good, Lord.
8 The Lord is good and right;
he points sinners to the right way.
9 He shows those who are humble how to do right,
and he teaches them his ways.
10 All the Lord’s ways are loving and true
for those who follow the demands of his agreement.
11 For the sake of your name, Lord,
forgive my many sins.
12 Are there those who respect the Lord?
He will point them to the best way.
13 They will enjoy a good life,
and their children will inherit the land.
14 The Lord tells his secrets to those who respect him;
he tells them about his agreement.
15 My eyes are always looking to the Lord for help.
He will keep me from any traps.
16 Turn to me and have mercy on me,
because I am lonely and hurting.
17 My troubles have grown larger;
free me from my problems.
18 Look at my suffering and troubles,
and take away all my sins.
19 Look at how many enemies I have!
See how much they hate me!
20 Protect me and save me.
I trust you, so do not let me be disgraced.
21 My hope is in you,
so may goodness and honesty guard me.
22 God, save Israel from all their troubles!
Thanksgiving for Victory
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.
9 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart.
I will tell all the miracles you have done.
2 I will be happy because of you;
God Most High, I will sing praises to your name.
3 My enemies turn back;
they are overwhelmed and die because of you.
4 You have heard my complaint;
you sat on your throne and judged by what was right.
5 You spoke strongly against the foreign nations and destroyed the wicked;
you wiped out their names forever and ever.
6 The enemy is gone forever.
You destroyed their cities;
no one even remembers them.
7 But the Lord rules forever.
He sits on his throne to judge,
8 and he will judge the world in fairness;
he will decide what is fair for the nations.
9 The Lord defends those who suffer;
he defends them in times of trouble.
10 Those who know the Lord trust him,
because he will not leave those who come to him.
11 Sing praises to the Lord who is king on Mount Zion.
Tell the nations what he has done.
12 He remembers who the murderers are;
he will not forget the cries of those who suffer.
13 Lord, have mercy on me.
See how my enemies hurt me.
Do not let me go through the gates of death.
14 Then, at the gates of Jerusalem, I will praise you;
I will rejoice because you saved me.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they dug.
Their feet are caught in the nets they laid.
16 The Lord has made himself known by his fair decisions;
the wicked get trapped by what they do. Higgaion. Selah
17 Wicked people will go to the grave,
and so will all those who forget God.
18 But those who have troubles will not be forgotten.
The hopes of the poor will never die.
19 Lord, rise up and judge the nations.
Don’t let people think they are strong.
20 Teach them to fear you, Lord.
The nations must learn that they are only human. Selah
What the Lord Demands
A psalm of David.
15 Lord, who may enter your Holy Tent?
Who may live on your holy mountain?
2 Only those who are innocent
and who do what is right.
Such people speak the truth from their hearts
3 and do not tell lies about others.
They do no wrong to their neighbors
and do not gossip.
4 They do not respect hateful people
but honor those who honor the Lord.
They keep their promises to their neighbors,
even when it hurts.
5 They do not charge interest on money they lend
and do not take money to hurt innocent people.
Whoever does all these things will never be destroyed.
9 But be careful! Watch out and don’t forget the things you have seen. Don’t forget them as long as you live, but teach them to your children and grandchildren. 10 Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Mount Sinai. He said to me, “Bring the people together so I can tell them what I have to say. Then they will respect me as long as they live in the land, and they will teach these things to their children.” 11 When you came and stood at the bottom of the mountain, it blazed with fire that reached to the sky, and black clouds made it very dark. 12 The Lord spoke to you from the fire. You heard the sound of words, but you did not see him; there was only a voice. 13 The Lord told you about his Agreement, the Ten Commandments. He told you to obey them, and he wrote them on two stone tablets. 14 Then the Lord commanded me to teach you the laws and rules that you must obey in the land you will take when you cross the Jordan River.
1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am an apostle because that is what God wanted. Also from Timothy our brother in Christ.
To the church of God in Corinth, and to all of God’s people everywhere in Southern Greece:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul Gives Thanks to God
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is the Father who is full of mercy and all comfort. 4 He comforts us every time we have trouble, so when others have trouble, we can comfort them with the same comfort God gives us. 5 We share in the many sufferings of Christ. In the same way, much comfort comes to us through Christ. 6 If we have troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation, and if we have comfort, you also have comfort. This helps you to accept patiently the same sufferings we have. 7 Our hope for you is strong, knowing that you share in our sufferings and also in the comfort we receive.
8 Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the trouble we suffered in Asia. We had great burdens there that were beyond our own strength. We even gave up hope of living. 9 Truly, in our own hearts we believed we would die. But this happened so we would not trust in ourselves but in God, who raises people from the dead. 10 God saved us from these great dangers of death, and he will continue to save us. We have put our hope in him, and he will save us again. 11 And you can help us with your prayers. Then many people will give thanks for us—that God blessed us because of their many prayers.
The Cost of Being Jesus’ Follower
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me but loves his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, or sisters—or even life—more than me, he cannot be my follower. 27 Whoever is not willing to carry his cross and follow me cannot be my follower. 28 If you want to build a tower, you first sit down and decide how much it will cost, to see if you have enough money to finish the job. 29 If you don’t, you might lay the foundation, but you would not be able to finish. Then all who would see it would make fun of you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build but was not able to finish.’
31 “If a king is going to fight another king, first he will sit down and plan. He will decide if he and his ten thousand soldiers can defeat the other king who has twenty thousand soldiers. 32 If he can’t, then while the other king is still far away, he will send some people to speak to him and ask for peace. 33 In the same way, you must give up everything you have to be my follower.
Don’t Lose Your Influence
34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its salty taste, you cannot make it salty again. 35 It is no good for the soil or for manure; it is thrown away.
“Let those with ears use them and listen.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.