Book of Common Prayer
145 I pray to you, Lord!
Please answer me.
I promise to obey your laws.
146 I beg you to save me,
so I can follow your rules.
147 Even before sunrise,
I pray for your help,
and I put my hope
in what you have said.
148 I lie awake at night,
thinking of your promises.
149 Show that you love me, Lord,
and answer my prayer.
Please do the right thing
and save my life.
150 People who disobey your Law
have made evil plans
and want to hurt me,
151 but you are with me,
and all your commands
can be trusted.
152 From studying your laws,
I found out long ago
you made them to last forever.
153 I have not forgotten your Law!
Look at the trouble I am in,
and rescue me.
154 Be my defender and protector!
Remember your promise
and save my life.
155 Evil people won't obey you,
and so they have no hope
of being saved.
156 You are merciful, Lord!
Please do the right thing
and save my life.
157 I have a lot of brutal enemies,
but still I never turn
from your laws.
158 Those unfaithful people
who refuse to obey you
are disgusting to me.
159 Remember how I love your laws,
and show your love for me
by keeping me safe.
160 All you say can be trusted;
your teachings are true
and will last forever.
161 Rulers are cruel to me
for no reason.
But with all my heart
I respect your words,
162 because they bring happiness
like treasures taken in war.
163 I can't stand liars,
but I love your Law.
164 I praise you seven times a day
because your laws are fair.
165 You give peace of mind
to all who love your Law.
Nothing can make them fall.
166 You are my only hope
for being saved, Lord,
and I do all you command.
167 I love and obey your laws
with all my heart.
168 You know everything I do.
You know I respect every law
you have given.
169 Please, Lord, hear my prayer
and give me the understanding
that comes from your word.
170 Listen to my concerns
and keep me safe,
just as you have promised.
171 If you will teach me your laws,
I will praise you 172 and sing
about your promise,
because all your teachings
are what they ought to be.
173 Be ready to protect me
because I have chosen
to obey your laws.
174 I am waiting for you
to save me, Lord.
Your Law makes me happy.
175 Keep me alive,
so I can praise you,
and let me find help
in your teachings.
176 I am your servant,
but I have wandered away
like a lost sheep.
Please come after me,
because I have not forgotten
your teachings.
(A song for worship.)
The Lord Rewards His Faithful People
1 The Lord will bless you
if you respect him
and obey his laws.
2 Your fields will produce,
and you will be happy—
all will go well.
3 Your wife will be as fruitful
as a grapevine,
and just as an olive tree
is rich with olives,
your home will be rich
with healthy children.
4 This is how the Lord will bless
everyone who respects him.
5 I pray that the Lord
will bless you from Zion
and let Jerusalem prosper
as long as you live.
6 May you live long enough
to see your grandchildren.
Let's pray for peace in Israel!
(A song for worship.)
A Prayer for Protection
1 Since the time I was young,
enemies have often attacked!
Let everyone in Israel say:
2 “Since the time I was young,
enemies have often attacked!
But they have not defeated me,
3 though my back is like a field
that has just been plowed.”
4 The Lord always does right,
and he has set me free
from the ropes
of those cruel people.
5 I pray that all who hate
the city of Zion
will be made ashamed
and forced to turn and run.
6 May they be like grass
on the flat roof of a house,
grass that dries up
as soon as it sprouts.
7 Don't let them be like wheat
gathered in bundles.
8 And don't let anyone
who passes by say to them,
“The Lord bless you!
I give you my blessing
in the name of the Lord.”
(A song for worship.)
Trusting the Lord in Times of Trouble
1 From a sea of troubles
I cry out to you, Lord.
2 Won't you please listen
as I beg for mercy?
3 If you kept record of our sins,
no one could last long.
4 But you forgive us,
and so we will worship you.
5 With all my heart,
I am waiting, Lord, for you!
I trust your promises.
6 I wait for you more eagerly
than a soldier on guard duty
waits for the dawn.
Yes, I wait more eagerly
than a soldier on guard duty
waits for the dawn.
7 Israel, trust the Lord!
God is always merciful
and has the power to save you.
8 (A) Israel, the Lord will save you
from all your sins.
A Stick Turns into a Snake
8-9 The Lord said, “Moses, when the king[a] asks you and Aaron to perform a miracle, command Aaron to throw his walking stick down in front of the king, and it will turn into a snake.”
10 Moses and Aaron went to the king and his officials and did exactly as the Lord had commanded—Aaron threw the stick down, and it turned into a snake. 11 Then the king called in the wise men and the magicians, who used their secret powers to do the same thing— 12 they threw down sticks that turned into snakes. But Aaron's snake swallowed theirs. 13 The king behaved just as the Lord had said and stubbornly refused to listen.
The Nile River Turns into Blood
14 (A) The Lord said to Moses:
The Egyptian king[b] stubbornly refuses to change his mind and let the people go. 15 Tomorrow morning take the stick that turned into a snake, then wait beside the Nile River for the king. 16 Tell him, “The Lord God of the Hebrews sent me to order you to release his people, so they can worship him in the desert. But until now, you have paid no attention.
17 (B) “The Lord is going to do something to show you that he really is the Lord. I will strike the Nile with this stick, and the water will turn into blood. 18 The fish will die, the river will stink, and none of you Egyptians will be able to drink the water.”
19 Moses, then command Aaron to hold his stick over the water. And when he does, every drop of water in Egypt will turn into blood, including rivers, canals, ponds, and even the water in buckets and jars.
20 Moses and Aaron obeyed the Lord. Aaron held out his stick, then struck the Nile, as the king and his officials watched. The river turned into blood, 21 the fish died, and the water smelled so bad that none of the Egyptians could drink it. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.
22 But the Egyptian magicians used their secret powers to do the same thing. The king did just as the Lord had said—he stubbornly refused to listen. 23 Then he went back to his palace and never gave it a second thought. 24 The Egyptians had to dig holes along the banks of the Nile for drinking water, because water from the river was unfit to drink.
14 I am grateful that God always makes it possible for Christ to lead us to victory. God also helps us spread the knowledge about Christ everywhere, and this knowledge is like the smell of perfume. 15-16 In fact, God thinks of us as a perfume that brings Christ to everyone. For people who are being saved, this perfume has a sweet smell and leads them to a better life. But for people who are lost, it has a bad smell and leads them to a horrible death.
No one really has what it takes to do this work. 17 A lot of people try to get rich from preaching God's message. But we are God's sincere messengers, and by the power of Christ we speak our message with God as our witness.
God's New Agreement
3 Are we once again bragging about ourselves? Do we need letters to you or from you to tell others about us? Some people do need letters telling about them. 2 But you are our letter, and you are in our[a] hearts for everyone to read and understand. 3 (A) You are like a letter written by Christ and delivered by us. But you are not written with pen and ink or on tablets made of stone. You are written in our hearts by the Spirit of the living God.
4 We are sure about all this. Christ makes us sure in the very presence of God. 5 We don't have the right to claim that we have done anything on our own. God gives us what it takes to do all we do. 6 (B) He makes us worthy to be the servants of his new agreement that comes from the Holy Spirit and not from a written Law. After all, the Law brings death, but the Spirit brings life.
Teaching about Divorce
(Matthew 19.1-12; Luke 16.18)
10 After Jesus left, he went to Judea and then on to the other side of the Jordan River. Once again large crowds came to him, and as usual, he taught them.
2 Some Pharisees wanted to test Jesus. So they came up to him and asked if it was right for a man to divorce his wife. 3 Jesus asked them, “What does the Law of Moses say about this?”
4 (A) They answered, “Moses allows a man to write out divorce papers and send his wife away.”
5 Jesus replied, “Moses gave you this law because you are so heartless. 6 (B) But in the beginning God made a man and a woman. 7 (C) That's why a man leaves his father and mother and gets married. 8 He becomes like one person with his wife. Then they are no longer two people, but one. 9 And no one should separate a couple that God has joined together.”
10 When Jesus and his disciples were back in the house, they asked him about what he had said. 11 (D) He told them, “A man who divorces his wife and marries someone else is unfaithful to his wife. 12 A woman who divorces her husband[a] and marries again is also unfaithful.”
Jesus Blesses Little Children
(Matthew 19.13-15; Luke 18.15-17)
13 Some people brought their children to Jesus so he could bless them by placing his hands on them. But his disciples told the people to stop bothering him.
14 When Jesus saw this, he became angry and said, “Let the children come to me! Don't try to stop them. People who are like these little children belong to the kingdom of God.[b] 15 (E) I promise you that you cannot get into God's kingdom, unless you accept it the way a child does.” 16 Then Jesus took the children in his arms and blessed them by placing his hands on them.
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