Book of Common Prayer
The Lord Brings Justice
1 The Lord is King!
Tell the earth to celebrate
and all islands to shout.
2 Dark clouds surround him,
and his throne is supported
by justice and fairness.
3 Fire leaps from his throne,
destroying his enemies,
4 and his lightning is so bright
that the earth sees it
and trembles.
5 Mountains melt away like wax
in the presence of the Lord
of all the earth.
6 The heavens announce,
“The Lord brings justice!”
Everyone sees God's glory.
7 Those who brag about
the useless idols they worship
are terribly ashamed,
and all the false gods
bow down to the Lord.
8 When the people of Zion
and of the towns of Judah
hear that God brings justice,
they will celebrate.
9 The Lord rules the whole earth,
and he is more glorious
than all the false gods.
10 Love the Lord
and hate evil!
God protects his loyal people
and rescues them
from violence.
11 If you obey and do right,
a light will show you the way
and fill you with happiness.
12 You are the Lord's people!
So celebrate and praise
the only God.
Our Lord Is King
1 (A) Our Lord, you are King!
You rule from your throne
above the winged creatures,[a]
as people tremble
and the earth shakes.
2 You are praised in Zion,
and you control all nations.
3 Only you are God!
And your power alone,
so great and fearsome,
is worthy of praise.
4 You are our mighty King,[b]
a lover of fairness,
who sees that justice is done
everywhere in Israel.
5 Our Lord and our God,
we praise you
and kneel down to worship you,
the God of holiness!
6 Moses and Aaron were two
of your priests.
Samuel was also one of those
who prayed in your name,
and you, our Lord,
answered their prayers.
7 (B) You spoke to them
from a thick cloud,
and they obeyed your laws.
8 Our Lord and our God,
you answered their prayers
and forgave their sins,
but when they did wrong,
you punished them.
9 We praise you, Lord God,
and we worship you
at your sacred mountain.
Only you are God!
(A psalm of praise.)
The Lord Is God
1 Shout praises to the Lord,
everyone on this earth.
2 Be joyful and sing
as you come in
to worship the Lord!
3 You know the Lord is God!
He created us,
and we belong to him;
we are his people,
the sheep in his pasture.
4 Be thankful and praise the Lord
as you enter his temple.
5 (C) The Lord is good!
His love and faithfulness
will last forever.
The Lord Punishes the Guilty
1 Lord God, you punish
the guilty.
Show what you are like
and punish them now.
2 You judge the earth.
Come and help us!
Pay back those proud people
for what they have done.
3 How long will the wicked
celebrate and be glad?
4 All of those cruel people
strut and boast,
5 and they crush and wound
your chosen nation, Lord.
6 They murder widows,
foreigners, and orphans.
7 Then they say,
“The Lord God of Jacob
doesn't see or know.”
8 Can't you fools see?
Won't you ever learn?
9 God gave us ears and eyes!
Can't he hear and see?
10 God instructs the nations
and gives knowledge to us all.
Won't he also correct us?
11 (A) The Lord knows how useless
our plans really are.
12 Our Lord, you bless everyone
that you instruct and teach
by using your Law.
13 You give them rest
from their troubles,
until a pit can be dug
for the wicked.
14 You won't turn your back
on your chosen nation.
15 Justice and fairness
will go hand in hand,
and all who do right
will follow along.
16 Who will stand up for me
against those cruel people?
17 If you had not helped me, Lord,
I would soon have gone
to the land of silence.[a]
18 When I felt my feet slipping,
you came with your love
and kept me steady.
19 And when I was burdened
with worries,
you comforted me
and made me feel secure.
20 But you are opposed
to dishonest lawmakers
21 who gang up to murder
innocent victims.
22 You, Lord God, are my fortress,
that mighty rock[b]
where I am safe.
23 You will pay back my enemies,
and you will wipe them out
for the evil they did.
Worship and Obey the Lord
1 Sing joyful songs to the Lord!
Praise the mighty rock[c]
where we are safe.
2 Come to worship him
with thankful hearts
and songs of praise.
3 The Lord is the greatest God,
king over all other gods.
4 He holds the deepest part
of the earth in his hands,
and the mountain peaks
also belong to him.
5 The ocean is the Lord's
because he made it,
and with his own hands
he formed the dry land.
6 Bow down and worship
the Lord our Creator!
7 (B)(C) The Lord is our God,
and we are his people,
the sheep he takes care of
in his own pasture.
Listen to God's voice today!
8 (D) Don't be stubborn and rebel
as your ancestors did
at Meribah and Massah[d]
out in the desert.
9 For forty years
they tested God and saw
the things he did.
10 Then God got tired of them
and said,
“You never show good sense,
and you don't understand
what I want you to do.”
11 (E) In his anger, God told them,
“You people will never enter
my place of rest.”
The Lord's Goodness to His People
7 I will tell about the kind deeds
the Lord has done.
They deserve praise!
The Lord has shown mercy
to the people of Israel;
he has been kind and good.
8 The Lord rescued his people,
and said, “They are mine.
They won't betray me.”
9 It troubled the Lord
to see them in trouble,
and his angel saved them.[a]
The Lord was truly merciful,
so he rescued his people.
He took them in his arms
and carried them all those years.
10 Then the Lord's people
turned against him and made
his Holy Spirit sad.
So he became their enemy
and attacked them.
11 But his people remembered
what had happened
during the time of Moses.[b]
Didn't the Lord[c] bring them
and their leaders
safely through the sea?
Didn't he[d] give them
his Holy Spirit?
12 (A) The glorious power of the Lord
marched beside Moses.
The Lord will be praised forever
for dividing the sea.
13 He led his people across
like horses running wild
without stumbling.
14 His Spirit gave them rest,
just as cattle find rest
when led into a valley.[e]
The name of the Lord was praised
for doing these things.
18 Timothy, my son, the instructions I am giving you are based on what some prophets[a] once said about you. If you follow these instructions, you will fight like a good soldier. 19 You will be faithful and have a clear conscience. Some people have made a mess of their faith because they didn't listen to their consciences. 20 Two of them are Hymenaeus and Alexander. I have given these men over to the power of Satan, so they will learn not to oppose God.
How To Pray
2 First of all, I ask you to pray for everyone. Ask God to help and bless them all, and tell God how thankful you are for each of them. 2 Pray for kings and others in power, so we may live quiet and peaceful lives as we worship and honor God. 3 This kind of prayer is good, and it pleases God our Savior. 4 God wants everyone to be saved and to know the whole truth, which is,
5 There is only one God,
and Christ Jesus
is the only one
who can bring us
to God.
Jesus was truly human,
and he gave himself
to rescue all of us.
6 God showed us this
at the right time.
7 (A) This is why God chose me to be a preacher and an apostle of the good news. I am telling the truth. I am not lying. God sent me to teach the Gentiles about faith and truth.
8 I want everyone everywhere to lift innocent hands toward heaven and pray, without being angry or arguing with each other.
Jesus Puts a Curse on a Fig Tree
(Matthew 21.18,19)
12 When Jesus and his disciples left Bethany the next morning, he was hungry. 13 From a distance Jesus saw a fig tree covered with leaves, and he went to see if there were any figs on the tree. But there were none, because it wasn't the season for figs. 14 So Jesus said to the tree, “Never again will anyone eat fruit from this tree!” The disciples heard him say this.
Jesus in the Temple
(Matthew 21.12-17; Luke 19.45-48; John 2.13-22)
15 After Jesus and his disciples reached Jerusalem, he went into the temple and began chasing out everyone who was selling and buying. He turned over the tables of the moneychangers and the benches of those who were selling doves. 16 Jesus would not let anyone carry things through the temple. 17 (A) Then he taught the people and said, “The Scriptures say, ‘My house should be called a place of worship for all nations.’ But you have made it a place where robbers hide!”
18 The chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses heard what Jesus said, and they started looking for a way to kill him. They were afraid of him, because the crowds were completely amazed at his teaching.
19 That evening, Jesus and the disciples went outside the city.
A Lesson from the Fig Tree
(Matthew 21.20-22)
20 As the disciples walked past the fig tree the next morning, they noticed that it was completely dried up, roots and all. 21 Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree. Then Peter said, “Teacher, look! The tree you put a curse on has dried up.”
22 Jesus told his disciples:
Have faith in God! 23 (B) If you have faith in God and don't doubt, you can tell this mountain to get up and jump into the sea, and it will. 24 Everything you ask for in prayer will be yours, if you only have faith.
25-26 (C) Whenever you stand up to pray, you must forgive what others have done to you. Then your Father in heaven will forgive your sins.[a]
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