Book of Common Prayer
The Lord Is King
1 Our Lord, you are King!
Majesty and power
are your royal robes.
You put the world in place,
and it will never be moved.
2 You have always ruled,
and you are eternal.
3 The ocean is roaring, Lord!
The sea is pounding hard.
4 Its mighty waves are majestic,
but you are even more majestic,
and you rule over all.
5 Your decisions are firm,
and your temple will always
be beautiful and holy.
Sing a New Song to the Lord
1 Sing a new song to the Lord!
Everyone on this earth,
sing praises to the Lord,
2 sing and praise his name.
Day after day announce,
“The Lord has saved us!”
3 Tell every nation on earth,
“The Lord is wonderful
and does marvelous things!
4 The Lord is great and deserves
our greatest praise!
He is the only God
worthy of our worship.
5 Other nations worship idols,
but the Lord created
the heavens.
6 Give honor and praise
to the Lord,
whose power and beauty
fill his holy temple.”
7 (A) Tell everyone of every nation,
“Praise the glorious power
of the Lord.
8 He is wonderful! Praise him
and bring an offering
into his temple.
9 Everyone on earth, now tremble
and worship the Lord,
majestic and holy.”
10 Announce to the nations,
“The Lord is King!
The world stands firm,
never to be shaken,
and he will judge its people
with fairness.”
11 Tell the heavens and the earth
to be glad and celebrate!
Command the ocean to roar
with all its creatures
12 and the fields to rejoice
with all their crops.
Then every tree in the forest
will sing joyful songs
13 to the Lord.
He is coming to judge
all people on earth
with fairness and truth.
(Written by David when he pretended to be crazy in front of Abimelech, so that Abimelech would send him away, and David could leave.)
Honor the Lord
1 (A) I will always praise the Lord.
2 With all my heart,
I will praise the Lord.
Let all who are helpless,
listen and be glad.
3 Honor the Lord with me!
Celebrate his great name.
4 I asked the Lord for help,
and he saved me
from all my fears.
5 Keep your eyes on the Lord!
You will shine like the sun
and never blush with shame.
6 I was a nobody, but I prayed,
and the Lord saved me
from all my troubles.
7 If you honor the Lord,
his angel will protect you.
8 (B) Discover for yourself
that the Lord is kind.
Come to him for protection,
and you will be glad.
9 Honor the Lord!
You are his special people.
No one who honors the Lord
will ever be in need.
10 Young lions[a] may go hungry
or even starve,
but if you trust the Lord,
you will never miss out
on anything good.
11 Come, my children, listen
as I teach you
to respect the Lord.
12 (C) Do you want to live
and enjoy a long life?
13 Then don't say cruel things
and don't tell lies.
14 Do good instead of evil
and try to live at peace.
15 If you obey the Lord,
he will watch over you
and answer your prayers.
16 But God despises evil people,
and he will wipe them all
from the earth,
till they are forgotten.
17 When his people pray for help,
he listens and rescues them
from their troubles.
18 The Lord is there to rescue
all
who are discouraged
and have given up hope.
19 The Lord's people
may suffer a lot,
but he will always
bring them safely through.
20 (D) Not one of their bones
will ever be broken.
21 Wicked people are killed
by their own evil deeds,
and if you hate God's people
you will be punished.
22 The Lord saves the lives
of his servants.
Run to him for protection,
and you won't be punished.
The Seventh Year
(Deuteronomy 15.1-11)
25 (A) When Moses was on Mount Sinai, the Lord told him 2 to say to the community of Israel:
After you enter the land that I am giving you, it must be allowed to rest one year out of every seven. 3 You may raise grain and grapes for six years, 4 but the seventh year you must let your fields and vineyards rest in honor of me, your Lord. 5 This is to be a time of complete rest for your fields and vineyards, so don't harvest anything they produce. 6-7 However, you and your slaves and your hired workers, as well as any domestic or wild animals, may eat whatever grows on its own.
The Year of Celebration
The Lord said to his people:
8 Once every 49 years 9 on the tenth day of the seventh month,[a] which is also the Great Day of Forgiveness,[b] trumpets are to be blown everywhere in the land. 10 This fiftieth year[c] is sacred—it is a time of freedom and of celebration when everyone will receive back their original property, and slaves will return home to their families. 11 This is a year of complete celebration, so don't plant any seed or harvest what your fields or vineyards produce. 12 In this time of sacred celebration you may eat only what grows on its own.
13 During this year, all property must go back to its original owner. 14-15 So when you buy or sell farmland, the price is to be determined by the number of crops it can produce before the next Year of Celebration. Don't try to cheat. 16 If it is a long time before the next Year of Celebration, the price will be higher, because what is really being sold are the crops that the land can produce. 17 I am the Lord your God, so obey me and don't cheat anyone.
Faith and Wisdom
2 (A) My friends, be glad, even if you have a lot of trouble. 3 You know you learn to endure by having your faith tested. 4 But you must learn to endure everything, so you will be completely mature and not lacking in anything.
5 (B) If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won't correct you for asking. 6 But when you ask for something, you must have faith and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like an ocean wave tossed around in a storm. 7-8 If you are that kind of person, you can't make up your mind, and you surely can't be trusted. So don't expect the Lord to give you anything at all.
16 Don't be fooled, my dear friends. 17 Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father who created all the lights in the heavens. He is always the same and never makes dark shadows by changing. 18 He wanted us to be his own special people,[a] and so he sent the true message to give us new birth.
A Rich Fool
13 A man in a crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to give me my share of what our father left us when he died.”
14 Jesus answered, “Who gave me the right to settle arguments between you and your brother?”
15 Then he said to the crowd, “Don't be greedy! Owning a lot of things won't make your life safe.”
16 So Jesus told them this story:
A rich man's farm produced a big crop, 17 and he said to himself, “What can I do? I don't have a place large enough to store everything.”
18 Later, he said, “Now I know what I'll do. I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I can store all my grain and other goods. 19 (A) Then I'll say to myself, ‘You have stored up enough good things to last for years to come. Live it up! Eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.’ ”
20 But God said to him, “You fool! Tonight you will die. Then who will get what you have stored up?”
21 “This is what happens to people who store up everything for themselves, but are poor in the sight of God.”
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