Book of Common Prayer
One of Asaph’s songs of praise.
83 God, don’t keep quiet!
Don’t close your ears!
Please say something, God.
2 Your enemies are getting ready to do something.
Those who hate you will soon attack.
3 They are making secret plans against your people.
Your enemies are discussing plans against the people you love.
4 They say, “Come, let us destroy them completely.
Then no one will ever again remember the name Israel.”
5 God, they have all joined together.
They have united against you.
6-7 Their army includes the Edomites, Ishmaelites, Moabites, and Hagar’s descendants,
the people of Byblos, Ammon, and Amalek,
the Philistines, and the people of Tyre.
8 Even the Assyrians have joined them.
They have made Lot’s descendants very powerful. Selah
9 God, defeat them just as you defeated Midian.
Do what you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.
10 You destroyed the enemy at Endor,
and their bodies rotted on the ground.
11 Punish their leaders as you did Oreb and Zeeb.
Do what you did to Zebah and Zalmunna.
12 They said, “Let’s make this land our own—
these fields of grass that belong to God!”
13 Make them like weeds blown by the wind.
Scatter them the way wind scatters straw.
14 Be like a fire that destroys a forest
or like a flame that sets the hills on fire.
15 Chase them away with your blasts of wind;
frighten them with your storms.
16 Lord, cover them with shame
until they come to you for help.
17 May they be forever ashamed and afraid.
Disgrace and defeat them.
18 Then they will know that your name is Yahweh—
that you alone are the Lord.
They will know that you are God Most High,
ruler over all the earth!
[a] A song of David when he pretended to be crazy so that Abimelech would send him away, which he did.
34 I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will never stop singing his praises.
2 Humble people, listen and be happy,
while I brag about the Lord.
3 Praise the Lord with me.
Let us honor his name.
4 I went to the Lord for help, and he listened.
He saved me from all that I fear.
5 If you look to him for help,
he will put a smile on your face.
You will have no need to be ashamed.
6 As a poor, helpless man I prayed to the Lord,
and he heard me.
He saved me from all my troubles.
7 The Lord’s angel builds a camp around his followers,
and he protects them.
8 Give the Lord a chance to show you[b] how good he is.
Great blessings belong to those who depend on him!
9 The Lord’s holy people should fear and respect him.
Those who respect him will always have what they need.
10 Even strong lions get weak and hungry,
but those who go to the Lord for help will have every good thing.
11 Children, come and listen to me;
I will teach you to respect the Lord.
12 Do you want to enjoy life?
Do you want to have many happy days?
13 Then avoid saying anything hurtful,
and never let a lie come out of your mouth.
14 Stop doing anything evil, and do good.
Look for peace, and do all you can to help people live peacefully.
15 The Lord watches over those who do what is right,
and he hears their prayers.
16 But the Lord is against those who do evil,
so they are forgotten soon after they die.
17 Pray to the Lord, and he will hear you.
He will save you from all your troubles.
18 The Lord is close to those who have suffered disappointment.
He saves those who are discouraged.
19 Good people might have many problems,
but the Lord will take them all away.
20 He will protect them completely.
Not one of their bones will be broken.
21 But troubles will kill the wicked.
The enemies of those who live right will all be punished.
22 The Lord saves his servants.
All who go to him for protection will escape punishment.
To the director: A song of praise from the Korah family.
85 Lord, you have been so kind to your land.
You have brought success again to the people of Jacob.
2 You have forgiven the bad things your people did.
You have taken away the guilt of their sins! Selah
3 You stopped being angry with them.
Your terrible anger has gone away.
4 Our God and Savior, accept us again.
Don’t be angry with us anymore.
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will your anger reach to our children and to their children?
6 Please, give us new life!
Make your people happy to be yours.
7 Lord, save us
and show us your love.
8 I heard what the Lord God said.
He said there would be peace for his people and his loyal followers.
So they must not go back to their foolish way of living.
9 He will soon save his faithful followers.
His glory will again live in our land.[a]
10 God’s love will come together with his faithful people.
Goodness and peace will greet them with a kiss.
11 People on earth will be loyal to God,
and God in heaven will be good to them.[b]
12 The Lord will give us many good things.
The ground will grow many good crops.
13 Goodness will go before the Lord
and prepare the way for him.
A prayer of David.
86 I am a poor, helpless man.
Lord, please listen to me and answer my prayer!
2 I am your follower, so please protect me.
I am your servant, and you are my God.
I trust in you, so save me.
3 My Lord, be kind to me.
I have been praying to you all day.
4 My Lord, I put my life in your hands.
I am your servant, so make me happy.
5 My Lord, you are good and merciful.
You love all those who call to you for help.
6 Lord, hear my prayer.
Listen to my cry for mercy.
7 I am praying to you in my time of trouble.
I know you will answer me.
8 My Lord, there is no God like you.
No one can do what you have done.
9 My Lord, you made everyone.
I wish they all would come worship you and honor your name.
10 You are great and do amazing things.
You and you alone are God.
11 Lord, teach me your ways,
and I will live and obey your truths.
Help me make worshiping your name
the most important thing in my life.
12 My Lord God, I praise you with all my heart.
I will honor your name forever!
13 You have such great love for me.
You save me from the place of death.
14 Proud people are attacking me, God.
A gang of cruel men is trying to kill me.
They don’t respect you.
15 My Lord, you are a kind and merciful God.
You are patient, loyal, and full of love.
16 Show that you hear me and be kind to me.
I am your servant, so give me strength.
I am your slave, as my mother was, so save me!
17 Lord, show me a sign that you care for me.
My enemies will see it and be disappointed,
because you helped and comforted me.
The Terrible Prophecy About Eli’s Family
27 A man of God came to Eli and said, “The Lord says, ‘I appeared to your ancestors[a] when they were slaves of Pharaoh. 28 From all the tribes of Israel, I chose your tribe to be my priests. I chose them to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and wear the ephod. I also let your tribe have the meat from the sacrifices that the Israelites give to me. 29 So why don’t you respect these gifts and sacrifices? You honor your sons more than me. You become fat eating the best parts of the meat that the Israelites bring to me.’
30 “The Lord, the God of Israel, promised that your father’s family would serve him forever. But now the Lord says, ‘That will never be! I will honor people who honor me, but bad things will happen to those who refuse to respect me. 31 The time is coming when I will destroy all your descendants. No one in your family will live to be an old man. 32 Good things will happen to Israel, but you will see bad things happening at home.[b] No one in your family will live to be an old man. 33 There is only one man I will save to serve as priest at my altar. He will live until his eyes wear out and his strength is gone. But all of your descendants will die by the sword.[c] 34 I will give you a sign to show that these things will come true. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will die on the same day. 35 I will choose a priest I can trust. This priest will listen to me and do what I want. I will make his family strong, and he will always serve before my chosen king.[d] 36 Then whoever is left in your family will come and bow down before this priest and beg for a little money or a piece of bread. They will say, “Please give me a job as priest so that I can have some food to eat.”’”
22 “My fellow Israelites, listen to these words: Jesus from Nazareth was a very special man. God clearly showed this to you. He proved it by the miracles, wonders, and miraculous signs he did through Jesus. You all saw these things, so you know this is true. 23 Jesus was handed over to you, and you killed him. With the help of evil men, you nailed him to a cross. But God knew all this would happen. It was his plan—a plan he made long ago. 24 Jesus suffered the pain of death, but God made him free. He raised him from death. There was no way for death to hold him. 25 David said this about him:
‘I saw the Lord before me always;
he is at my right side to keep me safe.
26 So my heart is happy,
and the words I speak are words of joy.
Yes, even my body will live with hope,
27 because you will not leave me in the place of death.[a]
You will not let the body of your Holy One rot in the grave.
28 You taught me how to live.
You will come close to me and give me great joy.’ (A)
29 “My brothers, I can tell you for sure about David, our great ancestor. He died, was buried, and his tomb is still here with us today. 30 He was a prophet and knew something that God had said. God had promised David that someone from his own family would sit on David’s throne as king.[b] 31 David knew this before it happened. That is why he said this about that future king:
‘He was not left in the place of death.
His body did not rot in the grave.’
David was talking about the Messiah rising from death. 32 So Jesus is the one God raised from death. We are all witnesses of this. We saw him. 33 Jesus was lifted up to heaven. Now he is with God, at God’s right side. The Father has given the Holy Spirit to him, as he promised. So Jesus has now poured out that Spirit. This is what you see and hear. 34 David was not the one who was lifted up to heaven. David himself said,
‘The Lord God said to my Lord:
Sit at my right side,
35 until I put your enemies under your power.[c]’ (B)
36 “So, all the people of Israel should know this for certain: God has made Jesus to be Lord and Messiah. He is the man you nailed to the cross!”
Is the Messiah David’s Son or David’s Lord?(A)
41 Then Jesus said, “Why do people say that the Messiah is the Son of David? 42 In the book of Psalms, David himself says,
‘The Lord God said to my Lord:
Sit by me at my right side,
43 and I will put your enemies under your power.[a]’ (B)
44 David calls the Messiah ‘Lord.’ So how can the Messiah also be David’s son?”
Warning Against the Teachers of the Law(C)
45 While all the people were listening to Jesus, he said to his followers, 46 “Be careful of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around wearing clothes that look important. And they love for people to show respect to them in the marketplaces. They love to have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 47 But they cheat widows and take their homes. Then they try to make themselves look good by saying long prayers. God will punish them very much.”
True Giving(D)
21 Jesus looked up and saw some rich people putting their gifts to God into the Temple collection box. 2 Then he saw a poor widow put two small copper coins into the box. 3 He said, “This poor widow gave only two small coins. But the truth is, she gave more than all those rich people. 4 They have plenty, and they gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had to live on.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International