Book of Common Prayer
A Morning Prayer for Protection
For the director of music. For flutes. A song of David.
5 Lord, listen to my words.
Understand what I am thinking.
2 Listen to my cry for help.
My king and my God, I pray to you.
3 Lord, every morning you hear my voice.
Every morning, I tell you what I need.
And I wait for your answer.
4 You are not a God who is pleased with what is wicked.
You do not live with those who do evil.
5 Those people who make fun of you cannot stand before you.
You hate all those who do wrong.
6 You destroy liars.
The Lord hates those who kill and trick others.
7 Because of your great love,
I can come into your Temple.
Because I fear and respect you,
I can worship in your holy Temple.
8 Lord, since I have many enemies,
show me the right thing to do.
Show me clearly how you want me to live.
9 With their mouths my enemies do not tell the truth.
In their hearts they want to destroy people.
Their throats are like open graves.
They use their tongues for telling lies.
10 God, declare them guilty!
Let them fall into their own traps.
Send them away because their sins are many.
They have turned against you.
11 But let everyone who trusts you be happy.
Let them sing glad songs forever.
Protect those who love you.
They are happy because of you.
12 Lord, you bless those who do what is right.
You protect them like a soldier’s shield.
A Prayer for Mercy in Troubled Times
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. By the sheminith. A song of David.
6 Lord, don’t correct me when you are angry.
Don’t punish me when you are very angry.
2 Lord, be kind to me because I am weak.
Heal me, Lord, because my bones ache.
3 I am very upset.
Lord, how long will it be?
4 Lord, return and save me.
Save me because of your kindness.
5 Dead people don’t remember you.
Those in the grave don’t praise you.
6 I am tired of crying to you.
Every night my bed is wet with tears.
My bed is soaked from my crying.
7 My eyes are weak from so much crying.
They are weak from crying about my enemies.
8 Get away from me, all you who do evil.
The Lord has heard my crying.
9 The Lord has heard my cry for help.
The Lord will answer my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be ashamed and troubled.
They will turn and suddenly leave in shame.
A Complaint About Evil People
10 Lord, why are you so far away?
Why do you hide when there is trouble?
2 Proudly the wicked chase down those who suffer.
The wicked set traps to catch them.
3 They brag about the things they want.
They bless the greedy but hate the Lord.
4 The wicked people are too proud.
They do not look for God.
There is no room for God in their thoughts.
5 They always succeed.
They are far from keeping your laws.
They make fun of their enemies.
6 They say to themselves, “Nothing bad will ever happen to me.
I will never be ruined.”
7 Their mouths are full of curses, lies and threats.
They use their tongues for sin and evil.
8 They hide near the villages.
They look for innocent people to kill.
They watch in secret for the helpless.
9 They wait in hiding like a lion.
They wait to catch poor people.
They catch the poor in nets.
10 The poor are thrown down and crushed.
They are defeated because the others are stronger.
11 The wicked think,
“God has forgotten us.
He doesn’t see what is happening.”
12 Lord, rise up and punish the wicked.
Don’t forget those who need help.
13 Why do wicked people hate God?
They say to themselves, “God won’t punish us.”
14 Lord, surely you see these cruel and evil things.
Look at them and do something.
People in trouble look to you for help.
You are the one who helps the orphans.
15 Break the power of wicked men.
Punish them for the evil they have done.
16 The Lord is King forever and ever.
Remove from your land those nations that do not worship you.
17 Lord, you have heard what the poor people want.
Do what they ask. Listen to them.
18 Protect the orphans. Put an end to suffering.
Then they will no longer be afraid of evil people.
A Statement About Trust in God
For the director of music. Of David.
11 I trust in the Lord for protection.
So why do you say to me,
“Fly like a bird to your mountain.
2 Like hunters, the wicked string their bows.
They set their arrows on the bowstrings.
They shoot from dark places
at those who are honest.
3 When all that is good falls apart,
what can good people do?”
4 The Lord is in his holy temple.
The Lord sits on his throne in heaven.
And he sees what people do.
He keeps his eye on them.
5 The Lord tests those who do right.
But he hates the wicked and those who love to hurt others.
6 He will send hot coals on the wicked.
Burning sulfur and a whirlwind is what they will get.
7 The Lord does what is right, and he loves justice.
So honest people will see his face.
19 Naomi and Ruth went on until they came to the town of Bethlehem. When the two women entered Bethlehem, all the people became very excited. The women of the town said, “Is this Naomi?”
20 But Naomi told the people, “Don’t call me Naomi.[a] Call me Mara,[b] because God All-Powerful has made my life very sad. 21 When I left, I had all I wanted. But now, the Lord has brought me home with nothing. So why should you call me Naomi when the Lord has spoken against me? God All-Powerful has given me much trouble.”
22 So Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth, the woman from Moab, came back from Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Ruth Meets Boaz
2 Now there was a rich man living in Bethlehem whose name was Boaz. Boaz was one of Naomi’s close relatives from Elimelech’s family.
2 One day Ruth, the woman from Moab, said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields. Maybe someone will be kind and let me gather the grain he leaves in his field.”
Naomi said, “Go, my daughter.”
3 So Ruth went to the fields. She followed the workers who were cutting the grain. And she gathered the grain that they had left. It just so happened that the field belonged to Boaz. He was a close relative from Elimelech’s family.
4 When Boaz came from Bethlehem, he spoke to his workers: “The Lord be with you!”
And the workers answered, “May the Lord bless you!”
5 Then Boaz spoke to his servant who was in charge of the workers. He asked, “Whose girl is that?”
6 The servant answered, “She is the Moabite woman who came with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me follow the workers and gather the grain that they leave on the ground.’ She came and has remained here. From morning until just now, she has stopped only a few moments to rest in the shelter.”
8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Stay here in my field to gather grain for yourself. Do not go to any other person’s field. Continue following behind my women workers. 9 Watch to see which fields they go to and follow them. I have warned the young men not to bother you. When you are thirsty, you may go and drink. Take water from the water jugs that the servants have filled.”
10 Then Ruth bowed low with her face to the ground. She said to Boaz, “I am a stranger. Why have you been so kind to notice me?”
11 Boaz answered her, “I know about all the help you have given to Naomi, your mother-in-law. You helped her even after your husband died. You left your father and mother and your own country. You came to this nation where you did not know anyone. 12 The Lord will reward you for all you have done. You will be paid in full by the Lord, the God of Israel. You have come to him as a little bird finds shelter under the wings of its mother.”
13 Then Ruth said, “You are very kind to me, sir. You have said kind words to me, your servant. You have given me hope. And I am not even good enough to be one of your servants.”
18 Timothy, you are like a son to me. I am giving you a command that agrees with the prophecies that were given about you in the past. I tell you this so that you can follow those prophecies and fight the good fight of faith. 19 Continue to have faith and do what you know is right. Some people have not done this. Their faith has been destroyed. 20 Hymenaeus and Alexander are men who have done that. I have given them to Satan so that they will learn not to speak against God.
Some Rules for Men and Women
2 First, I tell you to pray for all people. Ask God for the things people need, and be thankful to him. 2 You should pray for kings and for all who have authority. Pray for the leaders so that we can have quiet and peaceful lives—lives full of worship and respect for God. 3 This is good, and it pleases God our Savior. 4 God wants all people to be saved. And he wants everyone to know the truth. 5 There is only one God. And there is only one way that people can reach God. That way is through Jesus Christ, who is also a man. 6 Jesus gave himself to pay for the sins of all people. Jesus is proof that God wants all people to be saved. And that proof came at the right time. 7 That is why I was chosen to tell the Good News and was chosen to be an apostle. (I am telling the truth. I am not lying.) I was chosen to teach the non-Jewish people to believe and to know the truth.
8 I want men everywhere to pray. These men who lift up their hands in prayer must be holy. They must not be men who become angry and have arguments.
Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
10 Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath day. 11 In the synagogue there was a woman who had an evil spirit in her. This spirit had made the woman a cripple for 18 years. Her back was always bent; she could not stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, your sickness has left you!” 13 Jesus put his hands on her. Immediately she was able to stand up straight and began praising God.
14 The synagogue leader was angry because Jesus healed on the Sabbath day. He said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come to be healed on one of those days. Don’t come for healing on the Sabbath day.”
15 The Lord answered, “You people are hypocrites! All of you untie your work animals and lead them to drink water every day—even on the Sabbath day! 16 This woman that I healed is our Jewish sister. But Satan has held her for 18 years. Surely it is not wrong for her to be freed from her sickness on a Sabbath day!” 17 When Jesus said this, all the men who were criticizing him were ashamed. And all the people were happy for the wonderful things Jesus was doing.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.