Book of Common Prayer

55 Listen to my prayer, O God; don’t hide yourself when I cry to you. ² Hear me, Lord! Listen to me! For I groan and weep beneath my burden of woe.

³ My enemies shout against me and threaten me with death. They surround me with terror and plot to kill me. Their fury and hatred rise to engulf me. ⁴ My heart is in anguish within me. Stark fear overpowers me. ⁵ Trembling and horror overwhelm me. ⁶ Oh, for wings like a dove, to fly away and rest! ⁷ I would fly to the far-off deserts and stay there. ⁸ I would flee to some refuge from all this storm.

⁹ O Lord, make these enemies begin to quarrel among themselves—destroy them with their own violence and strife.^{[a] 10} Though they patrol their walls night and day against invaders, their real problem is internal—wickedness and dishonesty are entrenched in the heart of the city. ¹¹ There is murder and robbery there, and cheating in the markets and wherever you look.

¹² It was not an enemy who taunted me—then I could have borne it; I could have hidden and escaped. ¹³ But it was you, a man like myself, my companion and my friend. ¹⁴ What fellowship we had, what wonderful discussions as we walked together to the Temple of the Lord on holy days.

¹⁵ Let death seize them and cut them down in their prime, for there is sin in their homes, and they are polluted to the depths of their souls.

¹⁶ But I will call upon the Lord to save me—and he will. ¹⁷ I will pray morning, noon, and night, pleading aloud with God; and he will hear and answer. ¹⁸ Though the tide of battle runs strongly against me, for so many are fighting me, yet he will rescue me. ¹⁹ God himself—God from everlasting ages past—will answer them! For they refuse to fear him or even honor his commands.

²⁰ This friend of mine betrayed me—I who was at peace with him. He broke his promises. ²¹ His words were oily smooth, but in his heart was war. His words were sweet, but underneath were daggers.

²² Give your burdens to the Lord. He will carry them. He will not permit the godly to slip or fall. ²³ He will send my enemies to the pit of destruction. Murderers and liars will not live out half their days. But I am trusting you to save me.

138 Lord, with all my heart I thank you. I will sing your praises before the armies of angels.^{[a] 2} I face your Temple as I worship, giving thanks to you for all your loving-kindness and your faithfulness, for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.^{[b] 3} When I pray, you answer me and encourage me by giving me the strength I need.

⁴ Every king in all the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord, for all of them shall hear your voice. ⁵ Yes, they shall sing about Jehovah’s glorious ways, for his glory is very great. ⁶ Yet though he is so great, he respects the humble, but proud men must keep their distance. ⁷ Though I am surrounded by troubles, you will bring me safely through them. You will clench your fist against my angry enemies! Your power will save me. ⁸ The Lord will work out his plans for my life—for your loving-kindness, Lord, continues forever. Don’t abandon me—for you made me.

139 O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. ² You know when I sit or stand. When far away you know my every thought. ³ You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. ⁴ You know what I am going to say before I even say it. ⁵ You both precede and follow me and place your hand of blessing on my head.

⁶ This is too glorious, too wonderful to believe! ⁷ I can never be lost to your Spirit! I can never get away from my God! ⁸ If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there. ⁹ If I ride the morning winds to the farthest oceans, ¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me, your strength will support me. ¹¹ If I try to hide in the darkness, the night becomes light around me. ¹² For even darkness cannot hide from God; to you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are both alike to you.

¹³ You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit them together in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it. ¹⁵ You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion! ¹⁶ You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book!

^17-18 How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly! I can’t even count how many times a day your thoughts turn toward me.^[c] And when I waken in the morning, you are still thinking of me!

¹⁹ Surely you will slay the wicked, Lord! Away, bloodthirsty men! Begone! ²⁰ They blaspheme your name and stand in arrogance against you—how silly can they be? ²¹ O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you? Shouldn’t I be grieved with them? ²² Yes, I hate them, for your enemies are my enemies too.

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart; test my thoughts.

^2-3 He summoned all Israel before him and told them, “You have seen with your own eyes the great plagues and mighty miracles that the Lord brought upon Pharaoh and his people in the land of Egypt. ⁴ But even yet the Lord hasn’t given you hearts that understand or eyes that see or ears that hear! ⁵ For forty years God has led you through the wilderness, yet your clothes haven’t become old, and your shoes haven’t worn out! ⁶ The reason he hasn’t let you settle down to grow grain for bread or grapes for wine and strong drink is so that you would realize that it is the Lord your God who has been caring for you.

⁷ “When we came here, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out against us in battle, but we destroyed them, ⁸ and took their land and gave it to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh as their inheritance. ⁹ Therefore, obey the terms of this covenant so that you will prosper in everything you do. ¹⁰ All of you—your leaders, the people, your judges, and your administrative officers—are standing today before the Lord your God, ¹¹ along with your little ones and your wives and the foreigners that are among you—those who chop your wood and carry your water. ¹² You are standing here to enter into a contract with Jehovah your God, a contract he is making with you today. ¹³ He wants to confirm you today as his people, and to confirm that he is your God, just as he promised your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ^14-15 This contract is not with you alone as you stand before him today, but with all future generations of Israel as well.

9 I realize that I really don’t even need to mention this to you, about helping God’s people. ² For I know how eager you are to do it, and I have boasted to the friends in Macedonia that you were ready to send an offering a year ago. In fact, it was this enthusiasm of yours that stirred up many of them to begin helping. ³ But I am sending these men just to be sure that you really are ready, as I told them you would be, with your money all collected; I don’t want it to turn out that this time I was wrong in my boasting about you. ⁴ I would be very much ashamed—and so would you—if some of these Macedonian people come with me, only to find that you still aren’t ready after all I have told them!

⁵ So I have asked these other brothers to arrive ahead of me to see that the gift you promised is on hand and waiting. I want it to be a real gift and not look as if it were being given under pressure.

⁶ But remember this—if you give little, you will get little. A farmer who plants just a few seeds will get only a small crop, but if he plants much, he will reap much. ⁷ Everyone must make up his own mind as to how much he should give. Don’t force anyone to give more than he really wants to, for cheerful givers are the ones God prizes. ⁸ God is able to make it up to you by giving you everything you need and more so that there will not only be enough for your own needs but plenty left over to give joyfully to others. ⁹ It is as the Scriptures say: “The godly man gives generously to the poor. His good deeds will be an honor to him forever.”

¹⁰ For God, who gives seed to the farmer to plant, and later on good crops to harvest and eat, will give you more and more seed to plant and will make it grow so that you can give away more and more fruit from your harvest.

¹¹ Yes, God will give you much so that you can give away much, and when we take your gifts to those who need them they will break out into thanksgiving and praise to God for your help. ¹² So two good things happen as a result of your gifts—those in need are helped, and they overflow with thanks to God. ¹³ Those you help will be glad not only because of your generous gifts to themselves and to others, but they will praise God for this proof that your deeds are as good as your doctrine. ¹⁴ And they will pray for you with deep fervor and feeling because of the wonderful grace of God shown through you.

¹⁵ Thank God for his Son—his Gift too wonderful for words.

¹⁵ One day some mothers brought their babies to him to touch and bless. But the disciples told them to go away.

^16-17 Then Jesus called the children over to him and said to the disciples, “Let the little children come to me! Never send them away! For the Kingdom of God belongs to men who have hearts as trusting as these little children’s. And anyone who doesn’t have their kind of faith will never get within the Kingdom’s gates.”

¹⁸ Once a Jewish religious leader asked him this question: “Good sir, what shall I do to get to heaven?”

¹⁹ “Do you realize what you are saying when you call me ‘good’?” Jesus asked him. “Only God is truly good, and no one else.

²⁰ “But as to your question, you know what the Ten Commandments say—don’t commit adultery, don’t murder, don’t steal, don’t lie, honor your parents, and so on.” ²¹ The man replied, “I’ve obeyed every one of these laws since I was a small child.”

²² “There is still one thing you lack,” Jesus said. “Sell all you have and give the money to the poor—it will become treasure for you in heaven—and come, follow me.”

²³ But when the man heard this he went sadly away, for he was very rich.

²⁴ Jesus watched him go and then said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.”

²⁶ Those who heard him say this exclaimed, “If it is that hard, how can anyone be saved?”

²⁷ He replied, “God can do what men can’t!”

²⁸ And Peter said, “We have left our homes and followed you.”

²⁹ “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and everyone who has done as you have, leaving home, wife, brothers, parents, or children for the sake of the Kingdom of God, ³⁰ will be repaid many times over now, as well as receiving eternal life in the world to come.”