Book of Common Prayer
(By David for the music leader. To be used when an offering is made.)
God Is Wonderful
1 Save me, Lord God!
Hurry and help.
2 Disappoint and confuse
all who want to kill me.
Turn away and disgrace
all who want to hurt me.
3 Embarrass and shame those
who say, “We told you so!”
4 Let your worshipers celebrate
and be glad because of you.
They love your saving power,
so let them always say,
“God is wonderful!”
5 I am poor and needy,
but you, the Lord God,
care about me.
You are the one who saves me.
Please hurry and help!
A Prayer for God's Protection
1 I run to you, Lord,
for protection.
Don't disappoint me.
2 You do what is right,
so come to my rescue.
Listen to my prayer
and keep me safe.
3 Be my mighty rock,[a] the place
where I can always run
for protection.
Save me by your command!
You are my mighty rock
and my fortress.
4 Come and save me, Lord God,
from vicious and cruel
and brutal enemies!
5 I depend on you,
and I have trusted you
since I was young.
6 I have relied on you[b]
from the day I was born.
You brought me safely
through birth,
and I always praise you.
7 Many people think of me
as something evil.
But you are my mighty protector,
8 and I praise and honor you
all day long.
9 Don't throw me aside
when I am old;
don't desert me
when my strength is gone.
10 My enemies are plotting
because they want me dead.
11 They say, “Now we'll catch you!
God has deserted you,
and no one can save you.”
12 Come closer, God!
Please hurry and help.
13 Embarrass and destroy
all who want me dead;
disgrace and confuse
all who want to hurt me.
14 I will never give up hope
or stop praising you.
15 All day long I will tell
the wonderful things you do
to save your people.
But you have done much more
than I could possibly know.
16 I will praise you, Lord God,
for your mighty deeds
and your power to save.
17 You have taught me
since I was a child,
and I never stop telling about
your marvelous deeds.
18 Don't leave me when I am old
and my hair turns gray.
Let me tell future generations
about your mighty power.
19 Your deeds of kindness
are known in the heavens.
No one is like you!
20 You made me suffer a lot,
but you will bring me
back from this deep pit
and give me new life.
21 You will make me truly great
and take my sorrow away.
22 I will praise you, God,
the Holy One of Israel.
You are faithful.
I will play the harp
and sing your praises.
23 You have rescued me!
I will celebrate and shout,
singing praises to you
with all my heart.
24 All day long I will announce
your power to save.
I will tell how you disgraced
and disappointed those
who wanted to hurt me.
(A special psalm by Asaph.)
A Prayer for the Nation in Times of Trouble
1 Our God, why have you
completely rejected us?
Why are you so angry
with the ones you care for?
2 Remember the people
you rescued long ago,
the tribe you chose
for your very own.
Think of Mount Zion,
your home;
3 walk over to the temple
left in ruins forever
by those who hate us.
4 Your enemies roared like lions
in your holy temple,
and they have placed
their banners there.
5 It looks like a forest
chopped to pieces.[a]
6 They used axes and hatchets
to smash the carvings.
7 They burned down your temple
and badly disgraced it.
8 They said to themselves,
“We'll crush them!”
Then they burned every one
of your meeting places
all over the country.
9 There are no more miracles
and no more prophets.
Who knows how long
it will be like this?
10 Our God, how much longer
will our enemies sneer?
Won't they ever stop
insulting you?
11 Why don't you punish them?
Why are you holding back?
12 Our God and King,
you have ruled
since ancient times;
you have won victories
everywhere on this earth.
13 (A) By your power you made a path
through the sea,
and you smashed the heads
of sea monsters.
14 (B) You crushed the heads
of the monster Leviathan,[b]
then fed him to wild creatures
in the desert.
15 You opened the ground
for streams and springs
and dried up mighty rivers.
16 You rule the day and the night,
and you put the moon
and the sun in place.
17 You made summer and winter
and gave them to the earth.[c]
18 Remember your enemies, Lord!
They foolishly sneer
and won't respect you.
19 You treat us like pet doves,
but they mistreat us.
Don't keep forgetting us
and letting us be fed
to those wild animals.
20 Remember the agreement
you made with us.
Violent enemies are hiding
in every dark corner
of the earth.
21 Don't disappoint those in need
or make them turn from you,
but help the poor and homeless
to shout your praises.
22 Do something, God!
Defend yourself.
Remember how those fools
sneer at you all day long.
23 Don't forget the loud shouts
of your enemies.
The Lord's Invitation
55 (A) If you are thirsty,
come and drink water!
If you don't have any money,
come, eat what you want!
Drink wine and milk
without paying a cent.
2 (B) Why waste your money
on what really isn't food?
Why work hard for something
that doesn't satisfy?
Listen carefully to me,
and you will enjoy
the very best foods.
3 (C) Pay close attention!
Come to me and live.
I will promise you
the eternal love and loyalty
that I promised David.
4 I made him the leader and ruler
of the nations;
he was my witness to them.
5 You will call out to nations
you have never known.
And they have never known you,
but they will come running
because I am the Lord,
the holy God of Israel,
and I have honored you.
God's Words Are Powerful
6 Turn to the Lord!
He can still be found.
Call out to God! He is near.
7 Give up your evil ways
and your evil thoughts.
Return to the Lord our God.
He will be merciful
and forgive your sins.
8 The Lord says:
“My thoughts and my ways
are not like yours.
9 Just as the heavens
are higher than the earth,
my thoughts and my ways
are higher than yours.
10 (D) “Rain and snow fall from the sky.
But they don't return
without watering the earth
that produces seeds to plant
and grain to eat.
11 That's how it is with my words.
They don't return to me
without doing everything
I send them to do.”
God's People Will Celebrate
12 When you are set free,
you will celebrate
and travel home in peace.
Mountains and hills will sing
as you pass by,
and trees will clap.
13 Cypress and myrtle trees
will grow in fields
once covered by thorns.
And then those trees will stand
as a lasting witness
to the glory of the Lord.
Christ Gives Freedom
5 Christ has set us free! This means we are really free. Now hold on to your freedom and don't ever become slaves of the Law again.
2 I, Paul, promise you that Christ won't do you any good if you get circumcised. 3 If you do, you must obey the whole Law. 4 And if you try to please God by obeying the Law, you have cut yourself off from Christ and his gift of undeserved grace. 5 But the Spirit makes us sure God will accept us because of our faith in Christ. 6 If you are a follower of Christ Jesus, it makes no difference whether you are circumcised or not. All that matters is your faith that makes you love others.
7 You were doing so well until someone made you turn from the truth. 8 And that person was certainly not sent by the one who chose you. 9 (A) A little yeast can change a whole batch of dough, 10 but you belong to the Lord. This makes me certain you will do what I say, instead of what someone else tells you to do. Whoever is causing trouble for you will be punished.
11 My friends, if I still preach that people need to be circumcised, why am I in so much trouble? The message about the cross would no longer be a problem, if I told people to be circumcised. 12 I wish everyone who is upsetting you would not only get circumcised, but would cut off much more!
13 My friends, you were chosen to be free. So don't use your freedom as an excuse to do anything you want. Use it as an opportunity to serve each other with love. 14 (B) All the Law says can be summed up in the command to love others as much as you love yourself. 15 But if you keep attacking each other like wild animals, you had better watch out or you will destroy yourselves.
Who Is Jesus?
(Matthew 16.13-20; Luke 9.18-21)
27 Jesus and his disciples went to the villages near the town of Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, “What do people say about me?”
28 (A) The disciples answered, “Some say you are John the Baptist or maybe Elijah.[a] Others say you are one of the prophets.”
29 (B) Then Jesus asked, “But who do you say I am?”
“You are the Messiah!” Peter replied.
30 Jesus warned the disciples not to tell anyone about him.
Jesus Speaks about His Suffering and Death
(Matthew 16.21-28; Luke 9.22-27)
31 Jesus began telling his disciples what would happen to him. He said, “The nation's leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses will make the Son of Man suffer terribly. He will be rejected and killed, but three days later he will rise to life.” 32 Then Jesus explained clearly what he meant.
Peter took Jesus aside and told him to stop talking like that. 33 But when Jesus turned and saw the disciples, he corrected Peter. He said to him, “Satan, get away from me! You are thinking like everyone else and not like God.”
34 (C) Jesus then told the crowd and the disciples to come closer, and he said:
If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me. 35 (D) If you want to save your life,[b] you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me and for the good news, you will save it. 36 What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself? 37 What could you give to get back your soul?
38 Don't be ashamed of me and my message among these unfaithful and sinful people! If you are, the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
9 I can assure you that some of the people standing here will not die before they see God's kingdom come with power.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.