Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer About a False Friend
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil of David.
55 God, listen to my prayer
and do not ignore my cry for help.
2 Pay attention to me and answer me.
I am troubled and upset
3 by what the enemy says
and how the wicked look at me.
They bring troubles down on me,
and in anger they attack me.
4 I am frightened inside;
the terror of death has attacked me.
5 I am scared and shaking,
and terror grips me.
6 I said, “I wish I had wings like a dove.
Then I would fly away and rest.
7 I would wander far away
and stay in the desert. Selah
8 I would hurry to my place of escape,
far away from the wind and storm.”
9 Lord, destroy and confuse their words,
because I see violence and fighting in the city.
10 Day and night they are all around its walls,
and evil and trouble are everywhere inside.
11 Destruction is everywhere in the city;
trouble and lying never leave its streets.
12 It was not an enemy insulting me.
I could stand that.
It was not someone who hated me.
I could hide from him.
13 But it is you, a person like me,
my companion and good friend.
14 We had a good friendship
and walked together to God’s Temple.
15 Let death take away my enemies.
Let them die while they are still young
because evil lives with them.
16 But I will call to God for help,
and the Lord will save me.
17 Morning, noon, and night I am troubled and upset,
but he will listen to me.
18 Many are against me,
but he keeps me safe in battle.
19 God who lives forever
will hear me and punish them. Selah
But they will not change;
they do not fear God.
20 The one who was my friend attacks his friends
and breaks his promises.
21 His words are slippery like butter,
but war is in his heart.
His words are smoother than oil,
but they cut like knives.
22 Give your worries to the Lord,
and he will take care of you.
He will never let good people down.
23 But, God, you will bring down
the wicked to the grave.
Murderers and liars will live
only half a lifetime.
But I will trust in you.
A Hymn of Thanksgiving
A psalm of David.
138 Lord, I will thank you with all my heart;
I will sing to you before the gods.
2 I will bow down facing your holy Temple,
and I will thank you for your love and loyalty.
You have made your name and your word
greater than anything.
3 On the day I called to you, you answered me.
You made me strong and brave.
4 Lord, let all the kings of the earth praise you
when they hear the words you speak.
5 They will sing about what the Lord has done,
because the Lord’s glory is great.
6 Though the Lord is supreme,
he takes care of those who are humble,
but he stays away from the proud.
7 Lord, even when I have trouble all around me,
you will keep me alive.
When my enemies are angry,
you will reach down and save me by your power.
8 Lord, you do everything for me.
Lord, your love continues forever.
Do not leave us, whom you made.
God Knows Everything
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
139 Lord, you have examined me
and know all about me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I get up.
You know my thoughts before I think them.
3 You know where I go and where I lie down.
You know everything I do.
4 Lord, even before I say a word,
you already know it.
5 You are all around me—in front and in back—
and have put your hand on me.
6 Your knowledge is amazing to me;
it is more than I can understand.
7 Where can I go to get away from your Spirit?
Where can I run from you?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there.
If I lie down in the grave, you are there.
9 If I rise with the sun in the east
and settle in the west beyond the sea,
10 even there you would guide me.
With your right hand you would hold me.
11 I could say, “The darkness will hide me.
Let the light around me turn into night.”
12 But even the darkness is not dark to you.
The night is as light as the day;
darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You made my whole being;
you formed me in my mother’s body.
14 I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way.
What you have done is wonderful.
I know this very well.
15 You saw my bones being formed
as I took shape in my mother’s body.
When I was put together there,
16 you saw my body as it was formed.
All the days planned for me
were written in your book
before I was one day old.
17 God, your thoughts are precious to me.
They are so many!
18 If I could count them,
they would be more than all the grains of sand.
When I wake up,
I am still with you.
19 God, I wish you would kill the wicked!
Get away from me, you murderers!
20 They say evil things about you.
Your enemies use your name thoughtlessly.
21 Lord, I hate those who hate you;
I hate those who rise up against you.
22 I feel only hate for them;
they are my enemies.
23 God, examine me and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
18 When Moses set up the Holy Tent, he put the bases in place, and he put the frames on the bases. Next he put the crossbars through the rings of the frames and set up the posts. 19 After that, Moses spread the cloth over the Holy Tent and put the covering over it, just as the Lord commanded.
20 Moses put the stone tablets that had the Agreement written on them into the Ark. He put the poles through the rings of the Ark and put the lid on it. 21 Next he brought the Ark into the Tent and hung the curtain to cover the Ark, just as the Lord commanded him.
22 Moses put the table in the Meeting Tent on the north side of the Holy Tent in front of the curtain. 23 Then he put the bread on the table before the Lord, just as the Lord commanded him. 24 Moses put the lampstand in the Meeting Tent on the south side of the Holy Tent across from the table. 25 Then he put the lamps on the lampstand before the Lord, just as the Lord commanded him.
26 Moses put the gold altar for burning incense in the Meeting Tent in front of the curtain. 27 Then he burned sweet-smelling incense on it, just as the Lord commanded him. 28 Then he hung the curtain at the entrance to the Holy Tent.
29 He put the altar for burnt offerings at the entrance to the Holy Tent, the Meeting Tent, and offered a whole burnt offering and grain offerings on it, just as the Lord commanded him. 30 Moses put the bowl between the Meeting Tent and the altar for burnt offerings, and he put water in it for washing. 31 Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons used this water to wash their hands and feet. 32 They washed themselves every time they entered the Meeting Tent and every time they went near the altar for burnt offerings, just as the Lord commanded Moses.
33 Then Moses set up the courtyard around the Holy Tent and the altar, and he put up the curtain at the entry to the courtyard. So Moses finished the work.
The Cloud over the Holy Tent
34 Then the cloud covered the Meeting Tent, and the glory of the Lord filled the Holy Tent. 35 Moses could not enter the Meeting Tent, because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the Holy Tent.
36 When the cloud rose from the Holy Tent, the Israelites would begin to travel, 37 but as long as the cloud stayed on the Holy Tent, they did not travel. They stayed in that place until the cloud rose. 38 So the cloud of the Lord was over the Holy Tent during the day, and there was a fire in the cloud at night. So all the Israelites could see the cloud while they traveled.
A Life that Pleases God
4 Brothers and sisters, we taught you how to live in a way that will please God, and you are living that way. Now we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live that way even more. 2 You know what we told you to do by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3 God wants you to be holy and to stay away from sexual sins. 4 He wants each of you to learn to control your own body[a] in a way that is holy and honorable. 5 Don’t use your body for sexual sin like the people who do not know God. 6 Also, do not wrong or cheat another Christian in this way. The Lord will punish people who do those things as we have already told you and warned you. 7 God called us to be holy and does not want us to live in sin. 8 So the person who refuses to obey this teaching is disobeying God, not simply a human teaching. And God is the One who gives us his Holy Spirit.
9 We do not need to write you about having love for your Christian family, because God has already taught you to love each other. 10 And truly you do love the Christians in all of Macedonia. Brothers and sisters, now we encourage you to love them even more.
11 Do all you can to live a peaceful life. Take care of your own business, and do your own work as we have already told you. 12 If you do, then people who are not believers will respect you, and you will not have to depend on others for what you need.
Don’t Fight Back
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’[a] 39 But I tell you, don’t stand up against an evil person. If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other cheek also. 40 If someone wants to sue you in court and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. 41 If someone forces you to go with him one mile, go with him two miles. 42 If a person asks you for something, give it to him. Don’t refuse to give to someone who wants to borrow from you.
Love All People
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[b] and hate your enemies.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you.[c] 45 If you do this, you will be true children of your Father in heaven. He causes the sun to rise on good people and on evil people, and he sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong. 46 If you love only the people who love you, you will get no reward. Even the tax collectors do that. 47 And if you are nice only to your friends, you are no better than other people. Even those who don’t know God are nice to their friends. 48 So you must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.