Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer in Time of Sickness
A psalm of David to remember.
38 Lord, don’t correct me when you are angry.
Don’t punish me when you are furious.
2 Your arrows have wounded me,
and your hand has come down on me.
3 My body is sick from your punishment.
Even my bones are not healthy because of my sin.
4 My guilt has overwhelmed me;
like a load it weighs me down.
5 My sores stink and become infected
because I was foolish.
6 I am bent over and bowed down;
I am sad all day long.
7 I am burning with fever,
and my whole body is sore.
8 I am weak and faint.
I moan from the pain I feel.
9 Lord, you know everything I want;
my cries are not hidden from you.
10 My heart pounds, and my strength is gone.
I am losing my sight.
11 Because of my wounds, my friends and neighbors avoid me,
and my relatives stay far away.
12 Some people set traps to kill me.
Those who want to hurt me plan trouble;
all day long they think up lies.
13 I am like the deaf; I cannot hear.
Like the mute, I cannot speak.
14 I am like those who do not hear,
who have no answer to give.
15 I trust you, Lord.
You will answer, my Lord and God.
16 I said, “Don’t let them laugh at me
or brag when I am defeated.”
17 I am about to die,
and I cannot forget my pain.
18 I confess my guilt;
I am troubled by my sin.
19 My enemies are strong and healthy,
and many hate me for no reason.
20 They repay me with evil for the good I did.
They lie about me because I try to do good.
21 Lord, don’t leave me;
my God, don’t go away.
22 Quickly come and help me,
my Lord and Savior.
25 I am about to die.
Give me life, as you have promised.
26 I told you about my life, and you answered me.
Teach me your demands.
27 Help me understand your orders.
Then I will think about your miracles.
28 I am sad and tired.
Make me strong again as you have promised.
29 Don’t let me be dishonest;
have mercy on me by helping me obey your teachings.
30 I have chosen the way of truth;
I have obeyed your laws.
31 I hold on to your rules.
Lord, do not let me be disgraced.
32 I will quickly obey your commands,
because you have made me happy.
33 Lord, teach me your demands,
and I will keep them until the end.
34 Help me understand, so I can keep your teachings,
obeying them with all my heart.
35 Lead me in the path of your commands,
because that makes me happy.
36 Make me want to keep your rules
instead of wishing for riches.
37 Keep me from looking at worthless things.
Let me live by your word.
38 Keep your promise to me, your servant,
so you will be respected.
39 Take away the shame I fear,
because your laws are good.
40 How I want to follow your orders.
Give me life because of your goodness.
41 Lord, show me your love,
and save me as you have promised.
42 I have an answer for people who insult me,
because I trust what you say.
43 Never keep me from speaking your truth,
because I depend on your fair laws.
44 I will obey your teachings
forever and ever.
45 So I will live in freedom,
because I want to follow your orders.
46 I will discuss your rules with kings
and will not be ashamed.
47 I enjoy obeying your commands,
which I love.
48 I praise your commands, which I love,
and I think about your demands.
25 Even after you have lived in the land a long time and have had children and grandchildren, don’t do evil things. Don’t make any kind of idol, and don’t do what the Lord your God says is evil, because that will make him angry. 26 If you do, I ask heaven and earth to speak against you this day that you will quickly be removed from this land that you are crossing the Jordan River to take. You will not live there long after that, but you will be completely destroyed. 27 The Lord will scatter you among the other nations. Only a few of you will be left alive, and those few will be in other nations where the Lord will send you. 28 There you will worship gods made by people, gods made of wood and stone, that cannot see, hear, eat, or smell. 29 But even there you can look for the Lord your God, and you will find him if you look for him with your whole being. 30 It will be hard when all these things happen to you. But after that you will come back to the Lord your God and obey him, 31 because the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you. He will not forget the Agreement with your ancestors, which he swore to them.
23 I tell you this, and I ask God to be my witness that this is true: The reason I did not come back to Corinth was to keep you from being punished or hurt. 24 We are not trying to control your faith. You are strong in faith. But we are workers with you for your own joy.
2 So I decided that my next visit to you would not be another one to make you sad. 2 If I make you sad, who will make me glad? Only you can make me glad—particularly the person whom I made sad. 3 I wrote you a letter for this reason: that when I came to you I would not be made sad by the people who should make me happy. I felt sure of all of you, that you would share my joy. 4 When I wrote to you before, I was very troubled and unhappy in my heart, and I wrote with many tears. I did not write to make you sad, but to let you know how much I love you.
Forgive the Sinner
5 Someone there among you has caused sadness, not to me, but to all of you. I mean he caused sadness to all in some way. (I do not want to make it sound worse than it really is.) 6 The punishment that most of you gave him is enough for him. 7 But now you should forgive him and comfort him to keep him from having too much sadness and giving up completely. 8 So I beg you to show that you love him. 9 I wrote you to test you and to see if you obey in everything. 10 If you forgive someone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if I had anything to forgive—I forgave it for you, as if Christ were with me. 11 I did this so that Satan would not win anything from us, because we know very well what Satan’s plans are.
Paul’s Concern in Troas
12 When I came to Troas to preach the Good News of Christ, the Lord gave me a good opportunity there. 13 But I had no peace, because I did not find my brother Titus. So I said good-bye to them at Troas and went to Macedonia.
Victory Through Christ
14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s victory parade. God uses us to spread his knowledge everywhere like a sweet-smelling perfume. 15 Our offering to God is this: We are the sweet smell of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are being lost. 16 To those who are lost, we are the smell of death that brings death, but to those who are being saved, we are the smell of life that brings life. So who is able to do this work? 17 We do not sell the word of God for a profit as many other people do. But in Christ we speak the truth before God, as messengers of God.
A Lost Sheep, a Lost Coin
15 The tax collectors and sinners all came to listen to Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to complain: “Look, this man welcomes sinners and even eats with them.”
The Son Who Left Home
11 Then Jesus said, “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son said to his father, ‘Give me my share of the property.’ So the father divided the property between his two sons. 13 Then the younger son gathered up all that was his and traveled far away to another country. There he wasted his money in foolish living. 14 After he had spent everything, a time came when there was no food anywhere in the country, and the son was poor and hungry. 15 So he got a job with one of the citizens there who sent the son into the fields to feed pigs. 16 The son was so hungry that he wanted to eat the pods the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 When he realized what he was doing, he thought, ‘All of my father’s servants have plenty of food. But I am here, almost dying with hunger. 18 I will leave and return to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against God and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son, but let me be like one of your servants.”’ 20 So the son left and went to his father.
“While the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt sorry for his son. So the father ran to him and hugged and kissed him. 21 The son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against God and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’[a] 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Hurry! Bring the best clothes and put them on him. Also, put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 And get our fat calf and kill it so we can have a feast and celebrate. 24 My son was dead, but now he is alive again! He was lost, but now he is found!’ So they began to celebrate.
25 “The older son was in the field, and as he came closer to the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. 26 So he called to one of the servants and asked what all this meant. 27 The servant said, ‘Your brother has come back, and your father killed the fat calf, because your brother came home safely.’ 28 The older son was angry and would not go in to the feast. So his father went out and begged him to come in. 29 But the older son said to his father, ‘I have served you like a slave for many years and have always obeyed your commands. But you never gave me even a young goat to have at a feast with my friends. 30 But your other son, who wasted all your money on prostitutes, comes home, and you kill the fat calf for him!’ 31 The father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate and be happy because your brother was dead, but now he is alive. He was lost, but now he is found.’”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.