Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for God to Guide
Of David.
25 Lord, I give myself to you;
2 my God, I trust you.
Do not let me be disgraced;
do not let my enemies laugh at me.
3 No one who trusts you will be disgraced,
but those who sin without excuse will be disgraced.
4 Lord, tell me your ways.
Show me how to live.
5 Guide me in your truth,
and teach me, my God, my Savior.
I trust you all day long.
6 Lord, remember your mercy and love
that you have shown since long ago.
7 Do not remember the sins
and wrong things I did when I was young.
But remember to love me always
because you are good, Lord.
8 The Lord is good and right;
he points sinners to the right way.
9 He shows those who are humble how to do right,
and he teaches them his ways.
10 All the Lord’s ways are loving and true
for those who follow the demands of his agreement.
11 For the sake of your name, Lord,
forgive my many sins.
12 Are there those who respect the Lord?
He will point them to the best way.
13 They will enjoy a good life,
and their children will inherit the land.
14 The Lord tells his secrets to those who respect him;
he tells them about his agreement.
15 My eyes are always looking to the Lord for help.
He will keep me from any traps.
16 Turn to me and have mercy on me,
because I am lonely and hurting.
17 My troubles have grown larger;
free me from my problems.
18 Look at my suffering and troubles,
and take away all my sins.
19 Look at how many enemies I have!
See how much they hate me!
20 Protect me and save me.
I trust you, so do not let me be disgraced.
21 My hope is in you,
so may goodness and honesty guard me.
22 God, save Israel from all their troubles!
Thanksgiving for Victory
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.
9 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart.
I will tell all the miracles you have done.
2 I will be happy because of you;
God Most High, I will sing praises to your name.
3 My enemies turn back;
they are overwhelmed and die because of you.
4 You have heard my complaint;
you sat on your throne and judged by what was right.
5 You spoke strongly against the foreign nations and destroyed the wicked;
you wiped out their names forever and ever.
6 The enemy is gone forever.
You destroyed their cities;
no one even remembers them.
7 But the Lord rules forever.
He sits on his throne to judge,
8 and he will judge the world in fairness;
he will decide what is fair for the nations.
9 The Lord defends those who suffer;
he defends them in times of trouble.
10 Those who know the Lord trust him,
because he will not leave those who come to him.
11 Sing praises to the Lord who is king on Mount Zion.
Tell the nations what he has done.
12 He remembers who the murderers are;
he will not forget the cries of those who suffer.
13 Lord, have mercy on me.
See how my enemies hurt me.
Do not let me go through the gates of death.
14 Then, at the gates of Jerusalem, I will praise you;
I will rejoice because you saved me.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they dug.
Their feet are caught in the nets they laid.
16 The Lord has made himself known by his fair decisions;
the wicked get trapped by what they do. Higgaion. Selah
17 Wicked people will go to the grave,
and so will all those who forget God.
18 But those who have troubles will not be forgotten.
The hopes of the poor will never die.
19 Lord, rise up and judge the nations.
Don’t let people think they are strong.
20 Teach them to fear you, Lord.
The nations must learn that they are only human. Selah
What the Lord Demands
A psalm of David.
15 Lord, who may enter your Holy Tent?
Who may live on your holy mountain?
2 Only those who are innocent
and who do what is right.
Such people speak the truth from their hearts
3 and do not tell lies about others.
They do no wrong to their neighbors
and do not gossip.
4 They do not respect hateful people
but honor those who honor the Lord.
They keep their promises to their neighbors,
even when it hurts.
5 They do not charge interest on money they lend
and do not take money to hurt innocent people.
Whoever does all these things will never be destroyed.
8 How terrible it will be for you who add more houses to your houses
and more fields to your fields
until there is no room left for other people.
Then you are left alone in the land.
9 The Lord All-Powerful said this to me:
“The fine houses will be destroyed;
the large and beautiful houses will be left empty.
10 At that time a ten-acre vineyard will make only six gallons of wine,
and ten bushels of seed will grow only half a bushel of grain.”
11 How terrible it will be for people who rise early in the morning
to look for strong drink,
who stay awake late at night,
becoming drunk with wine.
12 At their parties they have lyres, harps,
tambourines, flutes, and wine.
They don’t see what the Lord has done
or notice the work of his hands.
18 How terrible it will be for those people!
They pull their guilt and sins behind them
as people pull wagons with ropes.
19 They say, “Let God hurry;
let him do his work soon
so we may see it.
Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel happen soon
so that we will know what it is.”
20 How terrible it will be for people who call good things bad
and bad things good,
who think darkness is light
and light is darkness,
who think sour is sweet
and sweet is sour.
21 How terrible it will be for people who think they are wise
and believe they are clever.
22 How terrible it will be for people who are famous for drinking wine
and are champions at mixing drinks.
23 They take money to set the guilty free
and don’t allow good people to be judged fairly.
Be Ready for the Lord’s Coming
5 Now, brothers and sisters, we do not need to write you about times and dates. 2 You know very well that the day the Lord comes again will be a surprise, like a thief that comes in the night. 3 While people are saying, “We have peace and we are safe,” they will be destroyed quickly. It is like pains that come quickly to a woman having a baby. Those people will not escape. 4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not living in darkness, and so that day will not surprise you like a thief. 5 You are all people who belong to the light and to the day. We do not belong to the night or to darkness. 6 So we should not be like other people who are sleeping, but we should be alert and have self-control. 7 Those who sleep, sleep at night. Those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But we belong to the day, so we should control ourselves. We should wear faith and love to protect us, and the hope of salvation should be our helmet. 9 God did not choose us to suffer his anger but to have salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 Jesus died for us so that we can live together with him, whether we are alive or dead when he comes. 11 So encourage each other and give each other strength, just as you are doing now.
Jerusalem Will Be Destroyed
20 “When you see armies all around Jerusalem, you will know it will soon be destroyed. 21 At that time, the people in Judea should run away to the mountains. The people in Jerusalem must get out, and those who are near the city should not go in. 22 These are the days of punishment to bring about all that is written in the Scriptures. 23 How terrible it will be for women who are pregnant or have nursing babies! Great trouble will come upon this land, and God will be angry with these people. 24 They will be killed by the sword and taken as prisoners to all nations. Jerusalem will be crushed by non-Jewish people until their time is over.
Don’t Fear
25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. On earth, nations will be afraid and confused because of the roar and fury of the sea. 26 People will be so afraid they will faint, wondering what is happening to the world, because the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then people will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to happen, look up and hold your heads high, because the time when God will free you is near!”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.