Book of Common Prayer
To the director: A praise song of David.
140 Lord, save me from people who are evil.
Protect me from those who are cruel,
2 from those who plan to do evil
and always cause trouble.
3 Their words are as harmful as the fangs of a snake,
as deadly as its venom. Selah
4 Lord, save me from the wicked!
Protect me from these cruel people who plan to hurt me.
5 These proud people are trying to trap me.
They spread nets to catch me;
they set traps in my path. Selah
6 Lord, you are my God.
Lord, listen to my prayer.
7 My Lord God, you are the powerful one who saves me.
You protect my head in battle.
8 Lord, don’t let the wicked have what they want.
Don’t let their plans succeed. Selah
9 My enemies are planning trouble for me.
Lord, make that trouble fall on them.
10 Pour burning coals on their heads.
Throw them into the fire.
Throw them into pits they can never escape.
11 Don’t let those cruel liars enjoy success here.
Let disaster hunt them down.
12 I know the Lord will provide justice for the poor
and will defend the helpless.
13 Those who do what is right will praise your name;
those who are honest will live in your presence.
A maskil of David written when he was in the cave. A prayer.
142 I cry out to the Lord.
I beg the Lord to help me.
2 I tell him my problems;
I tell him about my troubles.
3 I am ready to give up.
But you, Lord, know the path I am on,
and you know that my enemies have set a trap for me.
4 I look around,
and I don’t see anyone I know.
I have no place to run.
There is no one to save me.
5 Lord, I cry out to you for help:
“You are my place of safety.
You are all I need in life.”
6 Listen to my prayer.
I am so weak.
Save me from those who are chasing me.
They are stronger than I am.
7 Help me escape this trap,[a]
so that I can praise your name.
Then good people will celebrate with me,
because you took care of me.
A praise song of David.
141 Lord, I call to you for help.
Listen to me as I pray.
Please hurry and help me!
2 Accept my prayer like a gift of burning incense,
the words I lift up like an evening sacrifice.
3 Lord, help me control what I say.
Don’t let me say anything bad.
4 Take away any desire to do evil.
Keep me from joining the wicked in doing wrong.
Help me stay away from their feasts.
5 If good people correct me,
I will consider it a good thing.
If they criticize me,
I will accept it like a warm welcome.[a]
But my prayer will always be against the wicked and the evil they do.
6 Let their judges be put to death.[b]
Then everyone will know that I told the truth.
7 Like rocks in a field that a farmer has plowed,
so our bones will be scattered in the grave.
8 My Lord God, I look to you for help.
I look to you for protection; don’t let me die.
9 Those evil people are trying to trap me.
Don’t let me fall into their traps.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own traps,
while I walk away unharmed.
A praise song of David.
143 Lord, hear my prayer.
Listen to my call for help and answer my prayer.
Show me how good and loyal you are.
2 Don’t judge me, your servant.
No one alive could be judged innocent by your standards.
3 My enemies are chasing me.
They have crushed me into the dirt.
They are pushing me into the dark grave,
like people who died long ago.
4 I am ready to give up.
I am losing my courage.
5 But I remember what happened long ago.
I am thinking about all you have done.
I am talking about what you made with your hands!
6 I lift my hands in prayer to you.
I am waiting for your help, like a dry land waiting for rain. Selah
7 Hurry and answer me, Lord!
I have lost my courage.
Don’t turn away from me.
Don’t let me die and become like the people lying in the grave.
8 Show me your faithful love this morning.
I trust in you.
Show me what I should do.
I put my life in your hands!
9 Lord, I come to you for protection.
Save me from my enemies.
10 Show me what you want me to do.
You are my God.
Let your good Spirit lead me over level ground.
11 Lord, let me live
so that people will praise your name.
Show me how good you are
and save me from my trouble.
12 Show me your love
and defeat my enemies.
Destroy those who are trying to kill me
because I am your servant.
The Threshing Floor
3 Then Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, maybe I should find a husband and a good home for you. That would be good for you. 2 Boaz is our close relative.[a] You worked with his women servants. Tonight he will be working at the threshing floor. 3 Go wash yourself and get dressed. Put on a nice dress, and go down to the threshing floor. But don’t let Boaz see you until he has finished eating his dinner. 4 After he eats, he will lie down to rest. Watch him so that you will know where he lies down. Go there and lift the cover off his feet.[b] Then lie down there with Boaz. He will tell you what you should do about marriage.”
5 Then Ruth answered, “I will do what you say.”
6 So Ruth went down to the threshing floor and did everything that her mother-in-law told her to do. 7 After eating and drinking, Boaz was very satisfied. He went to lie down near the pile of grain. Then Ruth went to him very quietly and lifted the cover from his feet and lay down by his feet.
8 About midnight, Boaz rolled over in his sleep and woke up. He was very surprised. There was a woman lying near his feet. 9 Boaz said, “Who are you?”
She said, “I am Ruth, your servant girl. Spread your cover over me.[c] You are my protector.”
10 Then Boaz said, “May the Lord bless you, young woman. You have been very kind to me. Your kindness to me is greater than the kindness you showed to Naomi in the beginning. You could have looked for a young man to marry, rich or poor. But you did not. 11 Now, young woman, don’t be afraid. I will do what you ask. All the people in our town know that you are a very good woman. 12 And it is true that I am a close relative. But there is a man who is a closer relative to you than I am. 13 Stay here tonight. In the morning we will see if he will help[d] you. If he decides to help you, that is fine. If he refuses to help, I promise, as surely as the Lord lives, I will marry you and buy back Elimelech’s land for you.[e] So lie here until morning.”
14 So Ruth lay near Boaz’s feet until morning. She got up while it was still dark, before it was light enough for people to recognize each other.
Boaz said to her, “We will keep it a secret that you came here to me last night.” 15 Then he said, “Bring me your coat. Now, hold it open.”
So Ruth held her coat open, and Boaz measured out about a bushel of barley[f] as a gift to Naomi, her mother-in-law. Boaz then wrapped it in Ruth’s coat, and put it on her back. Then he went to the city.
16 Ruth went to the home of her mother-in-law, Naomi. Naomi went to the door and asked, “Who’s there?”
Ruth went in telling Naomi everything that Boaz did for her. 17 She said, “Boaz gave me this barley as a gift for you. He said that I must not go home without bringing a gift for you.”
18 Naomi said, “Daughter, be patient until we hear what happens. Boaz will not rest until he has finished doing what he should do. We will know what will happen before the day is ended.”
Spiritual Treasure in Clay Jars
4 God, with his mercy, gave us this work to do, so we don’t give up. 2 But we have turned away from secret and shameful ways. We don’t use trickery, and we don’t change the teaching of God. We teach the truth plainly. This is how we show people who we are. And this is how they can know in their hearts what kind of people we are before God. 3 The Good News that we tell people may be hidden, but it is hidden only to those who are lost. 4 The ruler[a] of this world has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They cannot see the light of the Good News—the message about the divine greatness of Christ. Christ is the one who is exactly like God. 5 We don’t tell people about ourselves. But we tell people that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we tell them that we are your servants for Jesus. 6 God once said, “Let light shine out of the darkness!”[b] And this is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts to let us know that his own divine greatness is seen in the face of Christ.
7 We have this treasure from God, but we are only like clay jars that hold the treasure. This is to show that the amazing power we have is from God, not from us. 8 We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We often don’t know what to do, but we don’t give up. 9 We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed. 10 So we constantly experience the death of Jesus in our own bodies, but this is so that the life of Jesus can also be seen in our bodies. 11 We are alive, but for Jesus we are always in danger of death, so that the life of Jesus can be seen in our bodies that die. 12 So death is working in us, but the result is that life is working in you.
Jesus Teaches About Fighting Back(A)
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’[a] 39 But I tell you, don’t fight back against someone who wants to do harm to you. If they hit you on the right cheek, let them hit the other cheek too. 40 If anyone wants to sue you in court and take your shirt, let them have your coat too. 41 If a soldier forces you to walk with him one mile,[b] go with him two. 42 Give to anyone who asks you for something. Don’t refuse to give to anyone who wants to borrow from you.
Love Your Enemies(B)
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[c] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies. Pray for those who treat you badly. 45 If you do this, you will be children who are truly like your Father in heaven. He lets the sun rise for all people, whether they are good or bad. He sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong. 46 If you love only those who love you, why should you get a reward for that? Even the tax collectors do that. 47 And if you are nice only to your friends, you are no better than anyone else. Even the people who don’t know God are nice to their friends. 48 What I am saying is that you must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International