Book of Common Prayer
Worship and Obey the Lord
1 Sing joyful songs to the Lord!
Praise the mighty rock[a]
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 (A)(B) 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 (C) Don't be stubborn and rebel
as your ancestors did
at Meribah and Massah[b]
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 (D) In his anger, God told them,
“You people will never enter
my place of rest.”
(A song and a psalm by the clan of Korah for the music leader. To the tune “Mahalath Leannoth.”[a] A special psalm by Heman the Ezrahite.)
A Prayer When You Can't Find the Way
1 You keep me safe, Lord God.
So when I pray at night,
2 please listen carefully
to each of my concerns.
3 I am deeply troubled
and close to death;
4 I am as good as dead
and completely helpless.
5 I am no better off
than those in the grave,
those you have forgotten
and no longer help.
6 You have put me in the deepest
and darkest grave;
7 your anger rolls over me
like ocean waves.
8 You have made my friends turn
in horror from me.
I am a prisoner
who cannot escape,
9 and I am almost blind
because of my sorrow.
Each day I lift my hands
in prayer to you, Lord.
10 Do you work miracles
for the dead?
Do they stand up
and praise you?
11 Are your love and loyalty
announced in the world
of the dead?
12 Do they know of your miracles
or your saving power
in the dark world below
where all is forgotten?
13 Each morning I pray
to you, Lord.
14 Why do you reject me?
Why do you turn from me?
15 Ever since I was a child,
I have been sick
and close to death.
You have terrified me
and made me helpless.[b]
16 Your anger is like a flood!
And I am shattered
by your furious attacks
17 that strike each day
and from every side.
18 My friends and neighbors
have turned against me
because of you,
and now darkness
is my only companion.
The Lord Is My Fortress
1 Live under the protection
of God Most High
and stay in the shadow
of God All-Powerful.
2 Then you will say to the Lord,
“You are my fortress,
my place of safety;
you are my God,
and I trust you.”
3 The Lord will keep you safe
from secret traps
and deadly diseases.
4 He will spread his wings
over you
and keep you secure.
His faithfulness is like
a shield or a city wall.[a]
5 You won't need to worry
about dangers at night
or arrows during the day.
6 And you won't fear diseases
that strike in the dark
or sudden disaster at noon.
7 You will not be harmed,
though thousands fall
all around you.
8 And with your own eyes
you will see the punishment
of the wicked.
9 The Lord Most High
is your fortress.
Run to him for safety,
10 and no terrible disasters
will strike you
or your home.
11 (A) God will command his angels
to protect you
wherever you go.
12 (B) They will carry you
in their arms,
and you won't hurt your feet
on the stones.
13 (C) You will overpower
the strongest lions
and the most deadly snakes.
14 The Lord says, “If you love me
and truly know who I am,
I will rescue you
and keep you safe.
15 When you are in trouble,
call out to me.
I will answer and be there
to protect and honor you.
16 You will live a long life
and see my saving power.”
(A psalm and a song for the Sabbath.)
Sing Praises to the Lord
1 It is wonderful to be grateful
and to sing your praises,
Lord Most High!
2 It is wonderful each morning
to tell about your love
and at night to announce
how faithful you are.
3 I enjoy praising your name
to the music of harps,
4 because everything you do
makes me happy,
and I sing joyful songs.
5 You do great things, Lord.
Your thoughts are too deep
6 (D) for an ignorant fool
to know or understand.
7 Though the wicked sprout
and spread like grass,
they will be pulled up
by their roots.
8 But you will rule
over all of us forever,
9 and your hateful enemies
will be scattered
and then destroyed.
10 You have given me
the strength of a wild ox,
and you have chosen me
to be your very own.
11 My eyes have seen,
and my ears have heard
the doom and destruction
of my evil enemies.
12 Good people will prosper
like palm trees,
and they will grow strong
like the cedars of Lebanon.
13 They will take root
in your house, Lord God,
and they will do well.
14 They will be like trees
that stay healthy and fruitful,
even when they are old.
15 And they will say about you,
“The Lord always does right!
God is our mighty rock.”[b]
Judah Has Broken the Lord's Agreement
11 1-3 The Lord God told me to say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:
I, the Lord, am warning you that I will put a curse on anyone who doesn't keep the agreement I made with Israel. So pay attention to what it says. 4 My commands haven't changed since I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, a nation that seemed like a blazing furnace where iron ore is melted. I told your ancestors that if they obeyed my commands, I would be their God, and they would be my people. 5 Then I did what I had promised and gave them this wonderful land, where you now live.
“Yes, Lord,” I replied, “that's true.”
6 Then the Lord told me to say to everyone on the streets of Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah:
Pay attention to the commands in my agreement with you. 7 Ever since I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, I have been telling your people to obey me. But you and your ancestors 8 have always been stubborn. You have refused to listen, and instead you have done whatever your sinful hearts have desired.
You have not kept the agreement we made, so I will make you suffer every curse that goes with it.
14 Jeremiah, don't pray for these people or beg me to rescue them. If you do, I won't listen, and I certainly won't listen if they pray!
15 Then the Lord told me to say to the people of Judah:
You are my chosen people,
but you have no right
to be here in my temple,
doing such evil things.
The sacrifices you offer me
won't protect you from disaster,
so stop celebrating.[a]
16 Once you were like an olive tree
covered with fruit.
But soon I will send a noisy mob
to break off your branches
and set you on fire.
17 I am the Lord All-Powerful. You people of Judah were like a tree that I had planted, but you have made me angry by offering sacrifices to Baal, just as the northern kingdom did. And now I'm going to pull you up by the roots.
The Plot To Kill Jeremiah
* 18 Some people plotted to kill me.
And like a lamb
being led to the butcher,
I knew nothing
about their plans.
19 But then the Lord told me
that they had planned
to chop me down like a tree—
fruit and all—
so that no one would ever
remember me again.
20 (A) I prayed, “Lord All-Powerful,
you always do what is right,
and you know every thought.
So I trust you to help me
and to take revenge.”
Dead to Sin but Alive because of Christ
6 What should we say? Should we keep on sinning, so that God's gift of undeserved grace will show up even better? 2 No, we should not! If we are dead to sin, how can we go on sinning? 3 Don't you know that all who share in Christ Jesus by being baptized also share in his death? 4 (A) When we were baptized, we died and were buried with Christ. We were baptized, so we would live a new life, as Christ was raised to life by the glory of God the Father.
5 If we shared in Jesus' death by being baptized, we will be raised to life with him. 6 We know that the persons we used to be were nailed to the cross with Jesus. This was done, so our sinful bodies would no longer be the slaves of sin. 7 We know sin doesn't have power over dead people.
8 As surely as we died with Christ, we believe we will also live with him. 9 We know that death no longer has any power over Christ. He died and was raised to life, never again to die. 10 When Christ died, he died for sin once and for all. But now he is alive, and he lives only for God. 11 In the same way, you must think of yourselves as dead to the power of sin. But Christ Jesus has given life to you, and you live for God.
33 (A) They answered, “We are Abraham's children! We have never been anyone's slaves. How can you say we will be set free?”
34 Jesus replied:
I tell you for certain that anyone who sins is a slave of sin! 35 And slaves don't stay in the family forever, though the Son will always remain in the family. 36 If the Son gives you freedom, you are free! 37 I know that you are from Abraham's family. Yet you want to kill me, because my message isn't really in your hearts. 38 I am telling you what my Father has shown me, just as you are doing what your father has taught you.
Your Father Is the Devil
39 The people said to Jesus, “Abraham is our father!”
Jesus replied, “If you were Abraham's children, you would do what Abraham did. 40 Instead, you want to kill me for telling you the truth that God gave me. Abraham never did anything like that. 41 But you are doing exactly what your father does.”
“Don't accuse us of having someone else as our father!” they said. “We just have one father, and he is God.”
42 Jesus answered:
If God were your Father, you would love me, because I came from God and now I am here. He sent me. I did not come on my own. 43 Why can't you understand what I am talking about? Can't you stand to hear what I am saying? 44 (B) Your father is the devil, and you do exactly what he wants. He has always been a murderer and a liar. There is nothing truthful about him. He speaks on his own, and everything he says is a lie. Not only is he a liar himself, but he is also the father of all lies.
45 Everything I have told you is true, and you still refuse to have faith in me. 46 Can any of you accuse me of sin? If you cannot, why won't you have faith in me? After all, I am telling you the truth. 47 Anyone who belongs to God will listen to his message. But you refuse to listen, because you don't belong to God.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.