Book of Common Prayer
The Word of God
119 Happy are those who live pure lives,
who follow the Lord’s teachings.
2 Happy are those who keep his rules,
who try to obey him with their whole heart.
3 They don’t do what is wrong;
they follow his ways.
4 Lord, you gave your orders
to be obeyed completely.
5 I wish I were more loyal
in obeying your demands.
6 Then I would not be ashamed
when I study your commands.
7 When I learned that your laws are fair,
I praised you with an honest heart.
8 I will obey your demands,
so please don’t ever leave me.
9 How can a young person live a pure life?
By obeying your word.
10 With all my heart I try to obey you.
Don’t let me break your commands.
11 I have taken your words to heart
so I would not sin against you.
12 Lord, you should be praised.
Teach me your demands.
13 My lips will tell about
all the laws you have spoken.
14 I enjoy living by your rules
as people enjoy great riches.
15 I think about your orders
and study your ways.
16 I enjoy obeying your demands,
and I will not forget your word.
17 Do good to me, your servant, so I can live,
so I can obey your word.
18 Open my eyes to see
the miracles in your teachings.
19 I am a stranger on earth.
Do not hide your commands from me.
20 I wear myself out with desire
for your laws all the time.
21 You scold proud people;
those who ignore your commands are cursed.
22 Don’t let me be insulted and hated
because I keep your rules.
23 Even if princes speak against me,
I, your servant, will think about your demands.
24 Your rules give me pleasure;
they give me good advice.
A Prayer Against Liars
For the director of music. Upon the sheminith. A psalm of David.
12 Save me, Lord, because the good people are all gone;
no true believers are left on earth.
2 Everyone lies to his neighbors;
they say one thing and mean another.
3 The Lord will stop those flattering lips
and cut off those bragging tongues.
4 They say, “Our tongues will help us win.
We can say what we wish; no one is our master.”
5 But the Lord says,
“I will now rise up,
because the poor are being hurt.
Because of the moans of the helpless,
I will give them the help they want.”
6 The Lord’s words are pure,
like silver purified by fire,
like silver purified seven times over.
7 Lord, you will keep us safe;
you will always protect us from such people.
8 But the wicked are all around us;
everyone loves what is wrong.
A Prayer for God to Be Near
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
13 How long will you forget me, Lord? Forever?
How long will you hide from me?
2 How long must I worry
and feel sad in my heart all day?
How long will my enemy win over me?
3 Lord, look at me.
Answer me, my God;
tell me, or I will die.
4 Otherwise my enemy will say, “I have won!”
Those against me will rejoice that I’ve been defeated.
5 I trust in your love.
My heart is happy because you saved me.
6 I sing to the Lord
because he has taken care of me.
The Unbelieving Fool
For the director of music. Of David.
14 Fools say to themselves,
“There is no God.”
Fools are evil and do terrible things;
there is no one who does anything good.
2 The Lord looked down from heaven on all people
to see if anyone understood,
if anyone was looking to God for help.
3 But all have turned away.
Together, everyone has become evil.
There is no one who does anything good,
not even one.
4 Don’t the wicked understand?
They destroy my people as if they were eating bread.
They do not ask the Lord for help.
5 But the wicked are filled with terror,
because God is with those who do what is right.
6 The wicked upset the plans of the poor,
but the Lord will protect them.
7 I pray that victory will come to Israel from Mount Zion!
May the Lord bring them back.
Then the people of Jacob will rejoice,
and the people of Israel will be glad.
12 This is what the Lord says:
“A shepherd might save from a lion’s mouth
only two leg bones or a scrap of an ear of his sheep.
In the same way only a few Israelites in Samaria will be saved—
people who now sit on their beds
and on their couches.”
13 “Listen and be witnesses against the family of Jacob,” says the Lord God, the God All-Powerful.
14 “When I punish Israel for their sins,
I will also destroy the altars at Bethel.
The corners of the altar will be cut off,
and they will fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter house,
together with the summer house.
The houses decorated with ivory will be destroyed,
and the great houses will come to an end,” says the Lord.
Israel Will Not Return
4 Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan[a] on the Mountain of Samaria.
You take things from the poor
and crush people who are in need.
Then you command your husbands,
“Bring us something to drink!”
2 The Lord God has promised this:
“Just as surely as I am a holy God,
the time will come
when you will be taken away by hooks,
and what is left of you with fishhooks.
3 You will go straight out of the city
through holes in the walls,
and you will be thrown on the garbage dump,” says the Lord.
4 “Come to the city of Bethel and sin;
come to Gilgal and sin even more.
Offer your sacrifices every morning,
and bring one-tenth of your crops every three days.
5 Offer bread made with yeast as a sacrifice to show your thanks,
and brag about the special offerings you bring,
because this is what you love to do, Israelites,” says the Lord God.
Jesus Will Come Again
3 My friends, this is the second letter I have written you to help your honest minds remember. 2 I want you to think about the words the holy prophets spoke in the past, and remember the command our Lord and Savior gave us through your apostles. 3 It is most important for you to understand what will happen in the last days. People will laugh at you. They will live doing the evil things they want to do. 4 They will say, “Jesus promised to come again. Where is he? Our fathers have died, but the world continues the way it has been since it was made.” 5 But they do not want to remember what happened long ago. By the word of God heaven was made, and the earth was made from water and with water. 6 Then the world was flooded and destroyed with water. 7 And that same word of God is keeping heaven and earth that we now have in order to be destroyed by fire. They are being kept for the Judgment Day and the destruction of all who are against God.
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: To the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow in doing what he promised—the way some people understand slowness. But God is being patient with you. He does not want anyone to be lost, but he wants all people to change their hearts and lives.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The skies will disappear with a loud noise. Everything in them will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be exposed.[a]
Leaders Doubt Jesus’ Authority
23 Jesus went to the Temple, and while he was teaching there, the leading priests and the elders of the people came to him. They said, “What authority do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?”
24 Jesus answered, “I also will ask you a question. If you answer me, then I will tell you what authority I have to do these things. 25 Tell me: When John baptized people, did that come from God or just from other people?”
They argued about Jesus’ question, saying, “If we answer, ‘John’s baptism was from God,’ Jesus will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘It was from people,’ we are afraid of what the crowd will do because they all believe that John was a prophet.”
27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Jesus said to them, “Then I won’t tell you what authority I have to do these things.
A Story About Two Sons
28 “Tell me what you think about this: A man had two sons. He went to the first son and said, ‘Son, go and work today in my vineyard.’ 29 The son answered, ‘I will not go.’ But later the son changed his mind and went. 30 Then the father went to the other son and said, ‘Son, go and work today in my vineyard.’ The son answered, ‘Yes, sir, I will go and work,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two sons obeyed his father?”
The priests and leaders answered, “The first son.”
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God before you do. 32 John came to show you the right way to live. You did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. Even after seeing this, you still refused to change your ways and believe him.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.