Book of Common Prayer
A miktam of David.
16 My God, keep me safe.
I go to you for safety.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord.
Without you, I don’t have anything that is good.”
3 I say about God’s people who live in our land, “They are the noble ones.
I take great delight in them.”
4 Those who run after other gods
will suffer more and more.
I will not pour out offerings of blood to those gods.
My lips will not speak their names.
5 Lord, you alone are everything I need.
You make my life secure.
6 I am very pleased with what you have given me.
I am very happy with what I’ve received from you.
7 I will praise the Lord. He gives me good advice.
Even at night my heart teaches me.
8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
He is at my right hand.
So I will always be secure.
9 So my heart is glad. Joy is on my tongue.
My body also will be secure.
10 You will not leave me in the place of the dead.
You will not let your faithful one rot away.
11 You always show me the path of life.
You will fill me with joy when I am with you.
You will make me happy forever at your right hand.
A prayer of David.
17 Lord, hear me, because I ask for what is right.
Listen to my cry for help.
Hear my prayer.
It doesn’t come from lips that tell lies.
2 When you hand down your sentence, may it be in my favor.
May your eyes see what is right.
3 Look deep down into my heart.
Study me carefully at night and test me.
You won’t find anything wrong.
I have planned nothing evil.
My mouth has not said sinful things.
4 Though evil people tried to pay me to do wrong,
I have not done what they wanted.
Instead I have done what you commanded.
5 My steps have stayed on your paths.
My feet have not slipped.
6 My God, I call out to you because you will answer me.
Listen to me. Hear my prayer.
7 Show me the wonders of your great love.
By using your great power,
you save those who go to you for safety from their enemies.
8 Take good care of me, just as you would take care of your own eyes.
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.
9 Save me from the sinful people who want to destroy me.
Save me from my deadly enemies who are all around me.
10 They make their hearts hard and stubborn.
Their mouths speak with pride.
11 They have tracked me down. They are all around me.
Their eyes watch for a chance to throw me to the ground.
12 They are like a hungry lion, waiting to attack.
They are like a powerful lion, hiding in the bushes.
13 Lord, rise up. Oppose them and bring them down.
With your sword, save me from those evil people.
14 Lord, by your power save me from people like that.
They belong to this world. They get their reward in this life.
May what you have stored up for evil people fill their bellies.
May their children’s stomachs be filled with it.
And may there even be leftovers for their little ones.
15 You will show that I am right; I will enjoy your blessing.
When I wake up, I will be satisfied because I will see you.
For the director of music. A psalm of David to the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.”
22 My God, my God, why have you deserted me?
Why do you seem so far away when I need you to save me?
Why do you seem so far away that you can’t hear my groans?
2 My God, I cry out in the daytime. But you don’t answer.
I cry out at night. But you don’t let me sleep.
3 But you rule from your throne as the Holy One.
You are the God Israel praises.
4 Our people of long ago put their trust in you.
They trusted in you, and you saved them.
5 They cried out to you and were saved.
They trusted in you, and you didn’t let them down.
6 Everyone treats me like a worm and not a man.
They hate me and look down on me.
7 All those who see me laugh at me.
They shout at me and make fun of me.
They shake their heads at me.
8 They say, “He trusts in the Lord.
Let the Lord help him.
If the Lord is pleased with him,
let him save him.”
9 But you brought me out of my mother’s body.
You made me trust in you
even when I was at my mother’s breast.
10 From the time I was born, you took good care of me.
Ever since I came out of my mother’s body, you have been my God.
11 Don’t be far away from me.
Trouble is near,
and there is no one to help me.
12 Many enemies are all around me.
They are like strong bulls from the land of Bashan.
13 They are like roaring lions that tear to pieces what they kill.
They open their mouths wide to attack me.
14 My strength is like water that is poured out on the ground.
I feel as if my bones aren’t connected.
My heart has turned to wax.
It has melted away inside me.
15 My mouth is dried up like a piece of broken pottery.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You bring me down to the edge of the grave.
16 A group of sinful people has closed in on me.
They are all around me like a pack of dogs.
They have pierced my hands and my feet.
17 Everyone can see all my bones right through my skin.
People stare at me. They laugh when I suffer.
18 They divide up my clothes among them.
They cast lots for what I am wearing.
19 Lord, don’t be so far away from me.
You give me strength. Come quickly to help me.
20 Save me from being killed by the sword.
Save the only life I have. Save me from the power of those dogs.
21 Save me from the mouths of those lions.
Save me from the horns of those wild oxen.
22 I will announce your name to my people.
I will praise you among those who are gathered to worship you.
23 You who have respect for the Lord, praise him!
All you people of Jacob, honor him!
All you people of Israel, worship him!
24 He has not forgotten the one who is hurting.
He has not turned away from his suffering.
He has not turned his face away from him.
He has listened to his cry for help.
25 Because of what you have done,
I will praise you in the whole community of those who worship you.
In front of those who respect you,
I will keep my promises.
26 Those who are poor will eat and be satisfied.
Those who seek the Lord will praise him.
May their hearts be filled with new hope!
27 People from one end of the earth to the other
will remember and turn to the Lord.
The people of all the nations
will bow down in front of him.
28 The Lord is King.
He rules over the nations.
29 All rich people of the earth will feast and worship God.
All who go down to the grave will kneel in front of him.
Those who cannot keep themselves alive will kneel.
30 Those who are not yet born will serve him.
Those who are born later will be told about the Lord.
31 And they will tell people who have not yet been born,
“The Lord has done what is right!”
The Lord’s Chosen Servant
42 “Here is my servant. I take good care of him.
I have chosen him. I am very pleased with him.
I will put my Spirit on him.
He will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not shout or cry out.
He will not raise his voice in the streets.
3 He will not break a bent twig.
He will not put out a dimly burning flame.
He will be faithful and make everything right.
4 He will not grow weak or lose hope.
He will not give up until he brings justice to the earth.
The islands will put their hope in his teaching.”
5 God created the heavens and stretches them out.
The Lord spreads out the earth with everything that grows on it.
He gives breath to its people.
He gives life to those who walk on it.
He says to his servant,
6 “I, the Lord, have chosen you to do what is right.
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you safe.
You will put into effect my covenant with the people of Israel.
And you will be a light for the Gentiles.
7 You will open eyes that can’t see.
You will set prisoners free.
Those who sit in darkness will come out of their cells.
8 “I am the Lord. That is my name!
I will not let any other god share my glory.
I will not let statues of gods share my praise.
9 What I said would happen has taken place.
Now I announce new things to you.
Before they even begin to happen,
I announce them to you.”
A Song of Praise to the Lord
10 Sing a new song to the Lord.
Sing praise to him from one end of the earth to the other.
Sing, you who sail out on the ocean.
Sing, all you creatures in it.
Sing, you islands.
Sing, all you who live there.
11 Let the desert and its towns raise their voices.
Let those who live in the settlements of Kedar be glad.
Let the people of Sela sing for joy.
Let them shout from the tops of the mountains.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord.
Let them praise him in the islands.
13 The Lord will march out like a mighty warrior.
He will stir up his anger like a soldier getting ready to fight.
He will shout the battle cry.
And he will win the battle over his enemies.
14 The Lord says, “For a long time I have kept silent.
I have been calm and quiet.
But now, like a woman having a baby,
I cry out. I gasp and pant.
15 I will completely destroy the mountains and hills.
I will dry up everything that grows there.
I will turn rivers into dry land.
I will dry up the pools.
16 Israel is blind.
So I will lead them along paths
they had not known before.
I will guide them on roads they are not familiar with.
I will turn the darkness into light as they travel.
I will make the rough places smooth.
Those are the things I will do.
I will not desert my people.
17 Some people trust in statues of gods.
They say to them, ‘You are our gods.’
But they will be dishonored.
They will be put to shame.
God’s Wonderful Plan for the Gentiles
3 I, Paul, am a prisoner because of Christ Jesus. I am in prison because of my work among you who are Gentiles.
2 I am sure you have heard that God appointed me to share his grace with you. 3 I’m talking about the mystery God showed me. I have already written a little about it. 4 By reading about this mystery, you will be able to understand what I know. You will know about the mystery of Christ. 5 The mystery was not made known to people of other times. But now the Holy Spirit has made this mystery known to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6 Here is the mystery. Because of the good news, God’s promises are for Gentiles as well as for Jews. Both groups are parts of one body. They share in the promise. It belongs to them because they belong to Christ Jesus.
7 I now serve the good news because God gave me his grace. His power is at work in me. 8 I am by far the least important of all the Lord’s holy people. But he gave me the grace to preach to the Gentiles about the unlimited riches that Christ gives. 9 God told me to make clear to everyone how the mystery came about. In times past it was kept hidden in the mind of God, who created all things. 10 He wanted the rulers and authorities in the heavenly world to come to know his great wisdom. The church would make it known to them. 11 That was God’s plan from the beginning. He has fulfilled his plan through Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Through him and through faith in him we can approach God. We can come to him freely. We can come without fear. 13 So here is what I’m asking you to do. Don’t lose hope because I am suffering for you. It will lead to the time when God will give you his glory.
Jesus Chooses Levi and Eats With Sinners
13 Once again Jesus went out beside the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd came to him. He began to teach them. 14 As he walked along he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus. Levi was sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him. Levi got up and followed him.
15 Later Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house. Many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples. They were part of the large crowd following Jesus. 16 Some teachers of the law who were Pharisees were there. They saw Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors. So they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 Jesus heard that. So he said to them, “Those who are healthy don’t need a doctor. Sick people do. I have not come to get those who think they are right with God to follow me. I have come to get sinners to follow me.”
Jesus Is Asked About Fasting
18 John’s disciples and the Pharisees were going without eating. Some people came to Jesus. They said to him, “John’s disciples are fasting. The disciples of the Pharisees are also fasting. But your disciples are not. Why aren’t they?”
19 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the groom go without eating while he is with them? They will not fast as long as he is with them. 20 But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them. On that day they will go without eating.
21 “No one sews a patch of new cloth on old clothes. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old. That will make the tear worse. 22 No one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins. Then the wine and the wineskins will both be destroyed. No, people pour new wine into new wineskins.”
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