Book of Common Prayer
(A psalm and a song by David for the music leader.)
God Will Win the Battle
1 Do something, God!
Scatter your hateful enemies.
Make them turn and run.
2 Scatter them like smoke!
When you come near,
make them melt
like wax in a fire.
3 But let your people be happy
and celebrate because of you.
4 Our God, you are the one
who rides on the clouds,[a]
and we praise you.
Your name is the Lord,
and we celebrate
as we worship you.
5 Our God, from your sacred home
you take care of orphans
and protect widows.
6 You find families
for those who are lonely.
You set prisoners free
and let them prosper,[b]
but all who rebel will live
in a scorching desert.
7 You set your people free,
and you led them
through the desert.
8 (A) God of Israel,
the earth trembled,
and rain poured down.
You alone are the God
who rules from Mount Sinai.
9 When your land was thirsty,
you sent showers
to refresh it.
10 Your people settled there,
and you were generous
to everyone in need.
11 You gave the command, Lord,
and a chorus of women told
what had happened:
12 “Kings and their armies
retreated and ran,
and everything they left
is now being divided.
13 And for those who stayed back
to guard the sheep,
there are metal doves
with silver-coated wings
and shiny gold feathers.”
14 God All-Powerful, you scattered
the kings like snow falling
on Mount Zalmon.[c]
15 Our Lord and our God,
Bashan is a mighty mountain
covered with peaks.
16 Why is it jealous of Zion,
the mountain you chose
as your home forever?
17 When you, Lord God, appeared
to your people[d] at Sinai,
you came with thousands
of mighty chariots.
18 (B) When you climbed
the high mountain,
you took prisoners with you
and were given gifts.
Your enemies didn't want you
to live there,
but they gave you gifts.
19 We praise you, Lord God!
You treat us with kindness
day after day,
and you rescue us.
20 You always protect us
and save us from death.
21 Our Lord and our God,
your terrible enemies
are ready for war,[e]
but you will crush
their skulls.
22 You promised to bring them
from Bashan
and from the deepest sea.
23 Then we could wash our feet
in their blood,
and our dogs could chew
on their bones.
24 We have seen crowds marching
to your place of worship,
our God and King.
25 Singers come first,
and then the musicians,
surrounded by young women
playing tambourines.
26 They come shouting,
“People of Israel,
praise the Lord God!”
27 The small tribe of Benjamin
leads the way,
followed by the leaders
from Judah.
Then come the leaders
from Zebulun and Naphtali.
28 Our God, show your strength!
Show us once again.
29 Then kings will bring gifts
to your temple
in Jerusalem.[f]
30 Punish that animal
that lives in the swamp![g]
Punish that nation
whose leaders and people
are like wild bulls.
Make them come crawling
with gifts of silver.
Scatter those nations
that enjoy making war.[h]
31 Force the Egyptians to bring
gifts of bronze;
make the Ethiopians[i] hurry
to offer presents.[j]
32 Now sing praises to God!
Every kingdom on earth,
sing to the Lord!
33 Praise the one who rides
across the ancient skies;
listen as he speaks
with a mighty voice.
34 Tell about God's power!
He is honored in Israel,
and he rules the skies.
35 The God of Israel is fearsome
in his temple,
and he makes us strong.
Let's praise our God!
(By Solomon.)
A Prayer for God To Guide and Help the King
1 Please help the king
to be honest and fair
just like you, our God.
2 Let him be honest and fair
with all your people,
especially the poor.
3 Let peace and justice rule
every mountain and hill.
4 Let the king defend the poor,
rescue the homeless, and crush
everyone who hurts them.
5 Let the king live[a] forever
like the sun and the moon.
6 Let him be as helpful as rain
that refreshes the meadows
and the ground.
7 Let the king be fair
with everyone,
and let there be peace
until the moon
falls from the sky.
8 (A) Let his kingdom reach
from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River
across all the earth.
9 Force the desert tribes
to accept his rule,
and make his enemies
crawl in the dirt.
10 Force the rulers of Tarshish[b]
and of the islands
to pay taxes to him.
Make the kings of Sheba
and of Seba[c] bring gifts.
11 Make other rulers bow down
and all nations serve him.
12 Do this because the king
rescues the homeless
when they cry out,
and he helps everyone
who is poor and in need.
13 The king has pity
on the weak and the helpless
and protects those in need.
14 He cares when they hurt,
and he saves them from cruel
and violent deaths.
15 Long live the king!
Give him gold from Sheba.
Always pray for the king
and praise him each day.
16 Let cities overflow with food
and hills be covered with grain,
just like Mount Lebanon.
Let the people in the cities
prosper like wild flowers.
17 May the glory of the king
shine brightly forever
like the sun in the sky.
Let him make nations prosper
and learn to praise him.
18 Lord God of Israel,
we praise you.
Only you can work miracles.
19 We will always praise
your glorious name.
Let your glory be seen
everywhere on earth.
Amen and amen.
20 This ends the prayers
of David, the son of Jesse.
9 and he spent the night there in a cave.
The Lord Appears to Elijah
While Elijah was on Mount Sinai, the Lord asked, “Elijah, why are you here?”
10 (A) He answered, “Lord God All-Powerful, I've always done my best to obey you. But your people have broken their solemn promise to you. They have torn down your altars and killed all your prophets, except me. And now they are even trying to kill me!”
11 “Go out and stand on the mountain,” the Lord replied. “I want you to be there when I pass by.”
All at once, a strong wind shook the mountain and shattered the rocks. But the Lord was not in the wind. Next, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 Then there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.
Finally, there was a gentle breeze,[a] 13 and when Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his coat. He went out and stood at the entrance to the cave.
A voice asked, “Elijah, why are you here?”
14 Elijah answered, “Lord God All-Powerful, I've always done my best to obey you. But your people have broken their solemn promise to you. They have torn down your altars and killed all your prophets, except me. And now they are even trying to kill me!”
15 (B) The Lord said:
Elijah, you can go back to the desert near Damascus. And when you get there, appoint[b] Hazael to be king of Syria. 16 (C) Then appoint Jehu son of Nimshi to be king of Israel, and Elisha son of Shaphat[c] to take your place as my prophet.
17 Hazael will start killing the people who worship Baal. Jehu will kill those who escape from Hazael, and Elisha will kill those who escape from Jehu.
18 (D) But 7,000 Israelites have refused to worship Baal, and they will live.
The Old Life and the New Life
17 As a follower of the Lord, I order you to stop living like stupid, godless people. 18 Their minds are in the dark, and they are stubborn and ignorant and have missed out on the life that comes from God. They no longer have any feelings about what is right, 19 and they are so greedy they do all kinds of indecent things.
20-21 But this isn't what you were taught about Jesus Christ. He is the truth, and you heard about him and learned about him. 22 (A) You were told that your foolish desires will destroy you and that you must give up your old way of life with all its bad habits. 23 Let the Spirit change your way of thinking 24 (B) and make you into a new person. You were created to be like God, and so you must please him and be truly holy.
Rules for the New Life
25 (C) We are part of the same body. Stop lying and start telling each other the truth. 26 (D) Don't get so angry that you sin. Don't go to bed angry 27 and don't give the devil a chance.
28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Be honest and work hard, so you will have something to give to people in need.
29 Stop all your dirty talk. Say the right thing at the right time and help others by what you say.
30 Don't make God's Spirit sad. The Spirit makes you sure that someday you will be free from your sins.
31 Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don't yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude. 32 (E) Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.
15 Jesus realized that they would try to force him to be their king. So he went up on a mountain, where he could be alone.
Jesus Walks on the Water
(Matthew 14.22-27; Mark 6.45-52)
16 That evening, Jesus' disciples went down to the lake. 17 They got into a boat and started across for Capernaum. Later that evening Jesus had still not come to them, 18 and a strong wind was making the water rough.
19 When the disciples had rowed for five or six kilometers, they saw Jesus walking on the water. He kept coming closer to the boat, and they were terrified. 20 But he said, “I am Jesus![a] Don't be afraid!” 21 The disciples wanted to take him into the boat, but suddenly the boat reached the shore where they were headed.
The Bread That Gives Life
22 The people who had stayed on the east side of the lake knew that only one boat had been there. They also knew that Jesus had not left in it with his disciples. But the next day 23 some boats from Tiberias sailed near the place where the crowd had eaten the bread for which the Lord had given thanks. 24 They saw that Jesus and his disciples had left. Then they got into the boats and went to Capernaum to look for Jesus. 25 They found him on the west side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26 Jesus answered, “I tell you for certain that you are not looking for me because you saw the miracles,[b] but because you ate all the food you wanted. 27 (A) Don't work for food that spoils. Work for food that gives eternal life. The Son of Man will give you this food, because God the Father has given him the right to do so.”
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