Book of Common Prayer
(A psalm by David for the music leader. Use flutes.)
A Prayer for Help
1 Listen, Lord, as I pray!
Pay attention when I groan.[a]
2 You are my King and my God.
Answer my cry for help
because I pray to you.
3 Each morning you listen
to my prayer,
as I bring my requests[b] to you
and wait for your reply.
4 You are not the kind of God
who is pleased with evil.
Sinners can't stay with you.
5 No one who boasts can stand
in your presence, Lord,
and you hate evil people.
6 You destroy every liar,
and you despise violence
and deceit.
7 Because of your great mercy,
I come to your house, Lord,
and I am filled with wonder
as I bow down to worship
at your holy temple.
8 You do what is right,
and I ask you to guide me.
Make your teaching clear
because of my enemies.
9 (A) Nothing they say is true!
They just want to destroy.
Their words are deceitful
like a hidden pit,
and their tongues are good
only for telling lies.
10 Punish them, God,
and let their own plans
bring their downfall.
Get rid of them!
They keep committing crimes
and turning against you.
11 Let all who run to you
for protection
always sing joyful songs.
Provide shelter for those
who truly love you
and let them rejoice.
12 Our Lord, you bless those
who live right,
and you shield them
with your kindness.
(A psalm by David for the music leader. Use stringed instruments.[c])
A Prayer in Time of Trouble
1 (B) Don't punish me, Lord,
or even correct me
when you are angry!
2 Have pity on me and heal
my feeble body.
My bones tremble with fear,
3 and I am in deep distress.
How long will it be?
4 Turn and come to my rescue.
Show your wonderful love
and save me, Lord.
5 If I die, I cannot praise you
or even remember you.
6 My groaning has worn me out.
At night my bed and pillow
are soaked with tears.
7 Sorrow has made my eyes dim,
and my sight has failed
because of my enemies.
8 (C) You, Lord, heard my crying,
and those hateful people
had better leave me alone.
9 You have answered my prayer
and my plea for mercy.
10 My enemies will be ashamed
and terrified,
as they quickly run away
in complete disgrace.
A Prayer for Help
1 Why are you far away, Lord?
Why do you hide yourself
when I am in trouble?
2 Proud and brutal people
hunt down the poor.
But let them get caught
by their own evil plans!
3 The wicked brag about
their deepest desires.
Those greedy people hate
and curse you, Lord.
4 The wicked are too proud
to turn to you
or even think about you.
5 They are always successful,
though they can't understand
your teachings,
and they keep sneering
at their enemies.
6 In their hearts they say,
“Nothing can hurt us!
We'll always be happy
and free from trouble.”
7 (A) They curse and tell lies,
and all they talk about
is how to be cruel
or how to do wrong.
8 They hide outside villages,
waiting to strike and murder
some innocent victim.
9 They are hungry lions
hiding in the bushes,
hoping to catch
some helpless passerby.
They trap the poor in nets
and drag them away.
10 They crouch down and wait
to grab a victim.
11 They say, “God can't see!
He's got on a blindfold.”
12 Do something, Lord God,
and use your powerful arm
to help those in need.
13 The wicked don't respect you.
In their hearts they say,
“God won't punish us!”
14 But you see the trouble
and the distress,
and you will do something.
The poor can count on you,
and so can orphans.
15 Now break the power
of all merciless people.
Punish them for doing wrong
and make them stop.
16 Our Lord, you will always rule,
but every godless nation
will vanish from the earth.
17 You listen to the longings
of those who suffer.
You offer them hope,
and you pay attention
to their cries for help.
18 You defend orphans
and everyone else in need,
so that no one on earth
can terrify others again.
(A psalm by David for the music leader.)
Trusting the Lord
1 The Lord is my fortress!
Don't say to me,
“Escape like a bird
to the mountains!”
2 You tell me, “Watch out!
Those evil people have put
their arrows on their bows,
and they are standing
in the shadows,
aiming at good people.
3 What can an honest person do
when everything crumbles?”
4 The Lord is sitting
in his sacred temple
on his throne in heaven.
He knows everything we do
because he sees us all.
5 The Lord tests honest people,
but despises those
who are cruel
and love violence.
6 He will send fiery coals[a]
and flaming sulfur
down on the wicked,
and they will drink nothing
but a scorching wind.
7 The Lord always does right
and wants justice done.
Everyone who does right
will see his face.
The Lord Condemns Jerusalem
21 Jerusalem, you are like
an unfaithful wife.
Once your judges were honest
and your people lived right;
now you are a city
full of murderers.
22 Your silver is fake,
and your wine
is watered down.
23 Your leaders have rejected me
to become friends of crooks;
your rulers are looking
for gifts and bribes.
Widows and orphans
never get a fair trial.
24 I am the Lord All-Powerful,
the mighty ruler of Israel,
and I make you a promise:
You are now my enemy,
and I will show my anger
by taking revenge on you.
25 I will punish you terribly
and burn away everything
that makes you unfit
to worship me.
26 Jerusalem, I will choose
judges and advisors
like those you had before.
Your new name will be
“Justice and Faithfulness.”
The Lord Will Save Jerusalem
27 Jerusalem, you will be saved
by showing justice;[a]
Zion's people who turn to me
will be saved
by doing right.
28 But those rebellious sinners
who turn against me, the Lord,
will all disappear.
29 You will be made ashamed
of those groves of trees
where you worshiped idols.
30 You will be like a grove of trees
dying in a drought.
31 Your strongest leaders
will be like dry wood
set on fire by their idols.[b]
No one will be able to help,
as they all go up in flames.
Paul's Work in Thessalonica
2 My friends, you know our time with you wasn't wasted. 2 (A) As you remember, we had been mistreated and insulted at Philippi. But God gave us the courage to tell you the good news about him, even though many people caused us trouble. 3 We didn't have any hidden motives when we won you over, and we didn't try to fool or trick anyone. 4 God was pleased to trust us with his message. We didn't speak to please people, but to please God who knows our motives.
5 You also know we didn't try to flatter anyone. God himself knows what we did wasn't a cover-up for greed. 6 We were not trying to get you or anyone else to praise us. 7 But as apostles, we could have demanded help from you. After all, Christ is the one who sent us. We chose to be like children or like a mother[a] nursing her baby. 8 We cared so much for you, and you became so dear to us, that we were willing to give our lives for you when we gave you God's message.
9 My dear friends, you surely haven't forgotten our hard work and hardships. You remember how night and day we struggled to make a living, so we could tell you God's message without being a burden to anyone. 10 Both you and God are witnesses that we were pure and honest and innocent in our dealings with you followers of the Lord. 11 You also know we did everything for you that parents would do for their own children. 12 We begged, encouraged, and urged each of you to live in a way that would honor God. He is the one who chose you to share in his own kingdom and glory.
Renters of a Vineyard
(Matthew 21.33-46; Mark 12.1-12)
9 (A) Jesus told the people this story:
A man once planted a vineyard and rented it out. Then he left the country for a long time. 10 When it was time to harvest the crop, he sent a servant to ask the renters for his share of the grapes. But they beat up the servant and sent him away without anything. 11 So the owner sent another servant. The renters also beat him up. They insulted him terribly and sent him away without a thing. 12 The owner sent a third servant. He was also beaten terribly and thrown out of the vineyard.
13 The owner then said to himself, “What am I going to do? I know what. I'll send my son, the one I love so much. They will surely respect him!”
14 When the renters saw the owner's son, they said to one another, “Someday he will own the vineyard. Let's kill him! Then we can have it all for ourselves.” 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
Jesus asked, “What do you think the owner of the vineyard will do? 16 I'll tell you what. He will come and kill those renters and let someone else have his vineyard.”
When the people heard this, they said, “This must never happen!”
17 (B) But Jesus looked straight at them and said, “Then what do the Scriptures mean when they say, ‘The stone the builders tossed aside is now the most important stone of all’? 18 Anyone who stumbles over this stone will get hurt, and anyone it falls on will be smashed to pieces.”
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