Book of Common Prayer
49 Don't forget your promise
to me, your servant.
I depend on it.
50 When I am hurting,
I find comfort in your promise
that leads to life.
51 Conceited people sneer at me,
but I obey your Law.
52 I find true comfort, Lord,
because your laws have stood
the test of time.
53 I get furious when evil people
turn against your Law.
54 No matter where I am,
your teachings
fill me with songs.
55 Even in the night
I think about you, Lord,
and I obey your Law.
56 You have blessed me
because I have always followed
your teachings.
57 You, Lord, are my choice,
and I will obey you.
58 With all my heart
I beg you to be kind to me,
just as you have promised.
59 I pay careful attention
as you lead me,
and I follow closely.
60 As soon as you command,
I do what you say.
61 Evil people may set a trap,
but I obey your Law.
62 Your laws are so fair
that I wake up and praise you
in the middle of the night.
63 I choose as my friends
everyone who worships you
and follows your teachings.
64 Our Lord, your love is seen
all over the world.
Teach me your laws.
65 I am your servant, Lord,
and you have kept your promise
to treat me with kindness.
66 Give me wisdom and good sense.
I trust your commands.
67 Once you corrected me
for not obeying you,
but now I do obey.
68 You are kindhearted,
and you do good things,
so teach me your laws.
69 My reputation is being ruined
by conceited liars,
but with all my heart
I follow your teachings.
70 Those liars have no sense,
but I find happiness
in your Law.
71 When you corrected me,
it did me good
because it taught me
to study your laws.
72 I would rather obey you
than to have a thousand pieces
of silver and gold.
(A psalm by the clan of Korah and for the music leader.)
Don't Depend on Wealth
1 Everyone on this earth,
now listen to what I say!
2 Listen, no matter who you are,
rich or poor.
3 I speak words of wisdom,
and my thoughts make sense.
4 I have in mind a mystery
that I will explain
while playing my harp.
5 Why should I be afraid
in times of trouble,
when I am surrounded
by vicious enemies?
6 They trust in their riches
and brag about
all their wealth.
7 You cannot buy back your life
or pay off God!
8 It costs far too much
to buy back your life.
You can never pay God enough
9 to stay alive forever
and safe from death.
10 (A) We see that wise people die,
and so do stupid fools.
Then their money is left
for someone else.
11 The grave[a] will be their home
forever and ever,
although they once had land
of their own.
12 Our human glory disappears,
and, like animals, we die.
13 Here is what happens to fools
and to those who trust
the words of fools:[b]
14 They are like sheep
with death as their shepherd,
leading them to the grave.
In the morning God's people
will walk all over them,[c]
as their bodies lie rotting
in their home, the grave.
15 But God will rescue me
from the power of death.
16 Don't let it bother you
when others get rich
and live in luxury.
17 Soon they will die
and all their wealth
will be left behind.
18 We humans are praised
when we do well,
and all of us are glad
to be alive.
19 But we each will go down
to our ancestors,
never again to see
the light of day.
20 Our human glory disappears,
and, like animals, we die.
(A special psalm by David for the music leader. To the tune “Mahalath.”[a])
No One Can Ignore God
1 (A) Only a fool would say,
“There is no God!”
People like that are worthless!
They are heartless and cruel
and never do right.
2 From heaven God
looks down to see
if anyone is wise enough
to search for him.
3 But all of them
are crooked and corrupt.
Not one of them does right.
4 Won't you lawbreakers learn?
You refuse to pray,
and you gobble up
the people of God.
5 But you will be terrified
worse than ever before.
God will scatter the bones
of his enemies,
and you will be ashamed
when God rejects you.
6 I long for someone from Zion
to come and save Israel!
Our God, when you bless
your people again,
Jacob's family will be glad,
and Israel will celebrate.
13 I've been watching the Israelites, and I've seen how stubborn and rebellious they are. 14 So don't try to stop me! I am going to wipe them out, and no one on earth will remember they ever lived. Then I will let your descendants become an even bigger and more powerful nation than Israel.
Moses said:
15 Fire was raging on the mountaintop as I went back down, carrying the two stones with the commandments on them. 16 I saw how quickly you had sinned and disobeyed the Lord your God. There you were, worshiping the metal idol you had made in the shape of a calf. 17 So I threw down the two stones and smashed them before your very eyes.
18-20 I bowed down at the place of worship and prayed to the Lord, without eating or drinking for 40 days and nights. You had committed a terrible sin by making that idol, and the Lord hated what you had done. He was angry enough to destroy all of you and Aaron as well. So I prayed for you and Aaron as I had done before, and this time the Lord answered my prayers.[a]
21 It was a sin for you to make that idol, so I threw it into the fire to melt it down. Then I took the lump of gold, ground it into powder, and threw the powder into the stream flowing down the mountain.
12 My friends, watch out! Don't let evil thoughts or doubts make any of you turn from the living God. 13 You must encourage one another each day. And you must keep on while there is still a time that can be called “today.” If you don't, then sin may fool some of you and make you stubborn. 14 We were sure about Christ when we first became his people. So let's hold tightly to our faith until the end. 15 (A) The Scriptures say,
“If you hear his voice today,
don't be stubborn
like those who rebelled.”
16 (B) Who were those people that heard God's voice and rebelled? Weren't they the same ones that came out of Egypt with Moses? 17 Who were the people that made God angry for 40 years? Weren't they the ones that sinned and died in the desert? 18 And who did God say would never enter his place of rest? Weren't they the ones that disobeyed him? 19 We see that those people did not enter the place of rest because they did not have faith.
Jesus Knows What People Are Like
23 In Jerusalem during Passover many people put their faith in Jesus, because they saw him work miracles.[a] 24 But Jesus knew what was in their hearts, and he would not let them have power over him. 25 No one had to tell him what people were like. He already knew.
Jesus and Nicodemus
3 There was a man named Nicodemus who was a Pharisee and a Jewish leader. 2 One night he went to Jesus and said, “Rabbi, we know that God has sent you to teach us. You could not work these miracles, unless God were with you.”
3 Jesus replied, “I tell you for certain that you must be born from above[b] before you can see God's kingdom!”
4 Nicodemus asked, “How can a grown man ever be born a second time?”
5 Jesus answered:
I tell you for certain that before you can get into God's kingdom, you must be born not only by water, but by the Spirit. 6 Humans give life to their children. Yet only God's Spirit can change you into a child of God. 7 Don't be surprised when I say that you must be born from above. 8 Only God's Spirit gives new life. The Spirit is like the wind that blows wherever it wants to. You can hear the wind, but you don't know where it comes from or where it is going.
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 Jesus replied:
How can you be a teacher of Israel and not know these things? 11 I tell you for certain we know what we are talking about because we have seen it ourselves. But none of you will accept what we say. 12 (A) If you don't believe when I talk to you about things on earth, how can you possibly believe if I talk to you about things in heaven?
13 (B) No one has gone up to heaven except the Son of Man, who came down from there. 14 (C) And the Son of Man must be lifted up, just as the metal snake was lifted up by Moses in the desert.[c] 15 Then everyone who has faith in the Son of Man will have eternal life.
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