Book of Common Prayer
Two Ways to Live
1 Happy are those who don’t listen to the wicked,
who don’t go where sinners go,
who don’t do what evil people do.
2 They love the Lord’s teachings,
and they think about those teachings day and night.
3 They are strong, like a tree planted by a river.
The tree produces fruit in season,
and its leaves don’t die.
Everything they do will succeed.
4 But wicked people are not like that.
They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 So the wicked will not escape God’s punishment.
Sinners will not worship with God’s people.
6 This is because the Lord takes care of his people,
but the wicked will be destroyed.
The Lord’s Chosen King
2 Why are the nations so angry?
Why are the people making useless plans?
2 The kings of the earth prepare to fight,
and their leaders make plans together
against the Lord
and his appointed one.
3 They say, “Let’s break the chains that hold us back
and throw off the ropes that tie us down.”
4 But the one who sits in heaven laughs;
the Lord makes fun of them.
5 Then the Lord warns them
and frightens them with his anger.
6 He says, “I have appointed my own king
to rule in Jerusalem on my holy mountain, Zion.”
7 Now I will tell you what the Lord has declared:
He said to me, “You are my son.
Today I have become your father.
8 If you ask me, I will give you the nations;
all the people on earth will be yours.
9 You will rule over them with an iron rod.
You will break them into pieces like pottery.”
10 So, kings, be wise;
rulers, learn this lesson.
11 Obey the Lord with great fear.
Be happy, but tremble.
12 Show that you are loyal to his son,
or you will be destroyed by his anger,
because he can quickly become angry.
But happy are those who trust him for protection.
A Morning Prayer
David sang this when he ran away from his son Absalom.
3 Lord, I have many enemies!
Many people have turned against me.
2 Many are saying about me,
“God won’t rescue him.” Selah
3 But, Lord, you are my shield,
my wonderful God who gives me courage.
4 I will pray to the Lord,
and he will answer me from his holy mountain. Selah
5 I can lie down and go to sleep,
and I will wake up again,
because the Lord gives me strength.
6 Thousands of troops may surround me,
but I am not afraid.
7 Lord, rise up!
My God, come save me!
You have struck my enemies on the cheek;
you have broken the teeth of the wicked.
8 The Lord can save his people.
Lord, bless your people. Selah
An Evening Prayer
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David.
4 Answer me when I pray to you,
my God who does what is right.
Make things easier for me when I am in trouble.
Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
2 People, how long will you turn my honor into shame?
How long will you love what is false and look for new lies? Selah
3 You know that the Lord has chosen for himself those who are loyal to him.
The Lord listens when I pray to him.
4 When you are angry, do not sin.
Think about these things quietly
as you go to bed. Selah
5 Do what is right as a sacrifice to the Lord
and trust the Lord.
6 Many people ask,
“Who will give us anything good?”
Lord, be kind to us.
7 But you have made me very happy,
happier than they are,
even with all their grain and new wine.
8 I go to bed and sleep in peace,
because, Lord, only you keep me safe.
A Prayer for Fairness
A shiggaion of David which he sang to the Lord about Cush, from the tribe of Benjamin.
7 Lord my God, I trust in you for protection.
Save me and rescue me
from those who are chasing me.
2 Otherwise, like a lion they will tear me apart.
They will rip me to pieces, and no one can save me.
3 Lord my God, what have I done?
Have my hands done something wrong?
4 Have I done wrong to my friend
or stolen without reason from my enemy?
5 If I have, let my enemy chase me and capture me.
Let him trample me into the dust
and bury me in the ground. Selah
6 Lord, rise up in your anger;
stand up against my enemies’ anger.
Get up and demand fairness.
7 Gather the nations around you
and rule them from above.
8 Lord, judge the people.
Lord, defend me because I am right,
because I have done no wrong, God Most High.
9 God, you do what is right.
You know our thoughts and feelings.
Stop those wicked actions done by evil people,
and help those who do what is right.
10 God protects me like a shield;
he saves those whose hearts are right.
11 God judges by what is right,
and God is always ready to punish the wicked.
12 If they do not change their lives,
God will sharpen his sword;
he will string his bow and take aim.
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he has made his flaming arrows.
14 There are people who think up evil
and plan trouble and tell lies.
15 They dig a hole to trap others,
but they will fall into it themselves.
16 They will get themselves into trouble;
the violence they cause will hurt only themselves.
17 I praise the Lord because he does what is right.
I sing praises to the Lord Most High.
21 Then Moses held his hand over the sea. All that night the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind, making the sea become dry ground. The water was split, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry land, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
23 Then all the king’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers followed them into the sea. 24 When morning came, the Lord looked down from the pillar of cloud and fire at the Egyptian army and made them panic. 25 He kept the wheels of the chariots from turning, making it hard to drive the chariots. The Egyptians shouted, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them and against Egypt.”
26 Then the Lord told Moses, “Hold your hand over the sea so that the water will come back over the Egyptians, their chariots, and chariot drivers.” 27 So Moses raised his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its place. The Egyptians tried to run from it, but the Lord swept them away into the sea. 28 The water returned, covering the chariots, chariot drivers, and all the king’s army that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
29 But the Israelites crossed the sea on dry land, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 So that day the Lord saved the Israelites from the Egyptians, and the Israelites saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore. 31 When the Israelites saw the great power the Lord had used against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord, and they trusted him and his servant Moses.
1 From Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.
To God’s chosen people who are away from their homes and are scattered all around Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. 2 God planned long ago to choose you by making you his holy people, which is the Spirit’s work. God wanted you to obey him and to be made clean by the blood of the death of Jesus Christ.
Grace and peace be yours more and more.
We Have a Living Hope
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In God’s great mercy he has caused us to be born again into a living hope, because Jesus Christ rose from the dead. 4 Now we hope for the blessings God has for his children. These blessings, which cannot be destroyed or be spoiled or lose their beauty, are kept in heaven for you. 5 God’s power protects you through your faith until salvation is shown to you at the end of time. 6 This makes you very happy, even though now for a short time different kinds of troubles may make you sad. 7 These troubles come to prove that your faith is pure. This purity of faith is worth more than gold, which can be proved to be pure by fire but will ruin. But the purity of your faith will bring you praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is shown to you. 8 You have not seen Christ, but still you love him. You cannot see him now, but you believe in him. So you are filled with a joy that cannot be explained, a joy full of glory. 9 And you are receiving the goal of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
10 The prophets searched carefully and tried to learn about this salvation. They prophesied about the grace that was coming to you. 11 The Spirit of Christ was in the prophets, telling in advance about the sufferings of Christ and about the glory that would follow those sufferings. The prophets tried to learn about what the Spirit was showing them, when those things would happen, and what the world would be like at that time. 12 It was shown them that their service was not for themselves but for you, when they told about the truths you have now heard. Those who preached the Good News to you told you those things with the help of the Holy Spirit who was sent from heaven—things into which angels desire to look.
Jesus Comforts His Followers
14 Jesus said, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me. 2 There are many rooms in my Father’s house; I would not tell you this if it were not true. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 After I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”[a]
5 Thomas said to Jesus, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. So how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father, too. But now you do know him, and you have seen him.”
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father. That is all we need.”
9 Jesus answered, “I have been with you a long time now. Do you still not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. So why do you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say to you don’t come from me, but the Father lives in me and does his own work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or believe because of the miracles I have done. 12 I tell you the truth, whoever believes in me will do the same things that I do. Those who believe will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And if you ask for anything in my name, I will do it for you so that the Father’s glory will be shown through the Son. 14 If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.
The Promise of the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, you will obey my commands. 16 I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper[b] to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it does not see him or know him. But you know him, because he lives with you and he will be in you.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.