Book of Common Prayer
A Welcome for God into the Temple
A psalm of David.
24 The earth belongs to the Lord, and everything in it—
the world and all its people.
2 He built it on the waters
and set it on the rivers.
3 Who may go up on the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy Temple?
4 Only those with clean hands and pure hearts,
who have not worshiped idols,
who have not made promises in the name of a false god.
5 They will receive a blessing from the Lord;
the God who saves them will declare them right.
6 They try to follow God;
they look to the God of Jacob for help. Selah
7 Open up, you gates.
Open wide, you aged doors
and the glorious King will come in.
8 Who is this glorious King?
The Lord, strong and mighty.
The Lord, the powerful warrior.
9 Open up, you gates.
Open wide, you aged doors
and the glorious King will come in.
10 Who is this glorious King?
The Lord All-Powerful—
he is the glorious King. Selah
God in the Thunderstorm
A psalm of David.
29 Praise the Lord, you angels;
praise the Lord’s glory and power.
2 Praise the Lord for the glory of his name;
worship the Lord because he is holy.
3 The Lord’s voice is heard over the sea.
The glorious God thunders;
the Lord thunders over the ocean.
4 The Lord’s voice is powerful;
the Lord’s voice is majestic.
5 The Lord’s voice breaks the trees;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes the land of Lebanon dance like a calf
and Mount Hermon jump like a baby bull.
7 The Lord’s voice makes the lightning flash.
8 The Lord’s voice shakes the desert;
the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The Lord’s voice shakes the oaks
and strips the leaves off the trees.
In his Temple everyone says, “Glory to God!”
10 The Lord controls the flood.
The Lord will be King forever.
11 The Lord gives strength to his people;
the Lord blesses his people with peace.
The Lord’s Greatness
For the director of music. On the gittith. A psalm of David.
8 Lord our Lord,
your name is the most wonderful name in all the earth!
It brings you praise in heaven above.
2 You have taught children and babies
to sing praises to you
because of your enemies.
And so you silence your enemies
and destroy those who try to get even.
3 I look at your heavens,
which you made with your fingers.
I see the moon and stars,
which you created.
4 But why are people even important to you?
Why do you take care of human beings?
5 You made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You put them in charge of everything you made.
You put all things under their control:
7 all the sheep, the cattle,
and the wild animals,
8 the birds in the sky,
the fish in the sea,
and everything that lives under water.
9 Lord our Lord,
your name is the most wonderful name in all the earth!
Wishing to Be in the Temple
For the director of music. On the gittith. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
84 Lord All-Powerful,
how lovely is your Temple!
2 I want more than anything
to be in the courtyards of the Lord’s Temple.
My whole being wants
to be with the living God.
3 The sparrows have found a home,
and the swallows have nests.
They raise their young near your altars,
Lord All-Powerful, my King and my God.
4 Happy are the people who live at your Temple;
they are always praising you. Selah
5 Happy are those whose strength comes from you,
who want to travel to Jerusalem.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it like a spring.
The autumn rains fill it with pools of water.
7 The people get stronger as they go,
and everyone meets with God in Jerusalem.
8 Lord God All-Powerful, hear my prayer;
God of Jacob, listen to me. Selah
9 God, look at our shield;
be kind to your appointed king.
10 One day in the courtyards of your Temple is better
than a thousand days anywhere else.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the Temple of my God
than live in the homes of the wicked.
11 The Lord God is like a sun and shield;
the Lord gives us kindness and honor.
He does not hold back anything good
from those whose lives are innocent.
12 Lord All-Powerful,
happy are the people who trust you!
The Lord’s Special Servant
42 “Here is my servant, the one I support.
He is the one I chose, and I am pleased with him.
I have put my Spirit upon him,
and he will bring justice to all nations.
2 He will not cry out or yell
or speak loudly in the streets.
3 He will not break a crushed blade of grass
or put out even a weak flame.
He will truly bring justice;
4 he will not lose hope or give up
until he brings justice to the world.
And people far away will trust his teachings.”
5 God, the Lord, said these things.
He created the skies and stretched them out.
He spread out the earth and everything on it.
He gives life to all people on earth,
to everyone who walks on the earth.
6 The Lord says, “I, the Lord, called you to do right,
and I will hold your hand
and protect you.
You will be the sign of my agreement with the people,
a light to shine for all people.
7 You will help the blind to see.
You will free those who are in prison,
and you will lead those who live in darkness out of their prison.
8 “I am the Lord. That is my name.
I will not give my glory to another;
I will not let idols take the praise that should be mine.
9 The things I said would happen have happened,
and now I tell you about new things.
Before those things happen,
I tell you about them.”
A Song of Praise to the Lord
10 Sing a new song to the Lord;
sing his praise everywhere on the earth.
Praise him, you people who sail on the seas and you animals who live in them.
Praise him, you people living in faraway places.
11 The deserts and their cities should praise him.
The settlements of Kedar should praise him.
The people living in Sela should sing for joy;
they should shout from the mountaintops.
12 They should give glory to the Lord.
People in faraway lands should praise him.
Wear the Full Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his great power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can fight against the devil’s evil tricks. 12 Our fight is not against people on earth but against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness, against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly world. 13 That is why you need to put on God’s full armor. Then on the day of evil you will be able to stand strong. And when you have finished the whole fight, you will still be standing. 14 So stand strong, with the belt of truth tied around your waist and the protection of right living on your chest. 15 On your feet wear the Good News of peace to help you stand strong. 16 And also use the shield of faith with which you can stop all the burning arrows of the Evil One. 17 Accept God’s salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times with all kinds of prayers, asking for everything you need. To do this you must always be ready and never give up. Always pray for all God’s people.
19 Also pray for me that when I speak, God will give me words so that I can tell the secret of the Good News without fear. 20 I have been sent to preach this Good News, and I am doing that now, here in prison. Pray that when I preach the Good News I will speak without fear, as I should.
16 “God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life. 17 God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him. 18 People who believe in God’s Son are not judged guilty. Those who do not believe have already been judged guilty, because they have not believed in God’s one and only Son. 19 They are judged by this fact: The Light has come into the world, but they did not want light. They wanted darkness, because they were doing evil things. 20 All who do evil hate the light and will not come to the light, because it will show all the evil things they do. 21 But those who follow the true way come to the light, and it shows that the things they do were done through God.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.