Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer in Time of Sickness
A song of David to remember.
38 Lord, don’t correct me when you are angry.
Don’t punish me when you are very angry.
2 Your arrows have wounded me.
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.
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 leave me alone.
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 a deaf man; I cannot hear.
Like a mute, I cannot speak.
14 I am like a person who does not hear.
I have no answer to give.
15 I trust you, Lord.
You will answer, my God and Lord.
16 I said, “Don’t let them laugh at me.
Don’t let them brag when I am defeated.”
17 I am about to die.
I cannot forget my pain.
18 I confess my guilt.
I am troubled by my sin.
19 My enemies are strong and healthy.
Many people 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.
Be kind to me by helping me obey your teachings.
30 I have chosen to obey you.
I have obeyed your laws.
31 I hold on to your rules.
Lord, do not let me be disgraced.
32 I will obey your commands
because you have made me happy.
33 Lord, teach me your demands.
Then I will obey them until the end.
34 Help me understand, so I can obey your teachings.
I will obey them with all my heart.
35 Help me obey your commands
because that makes me happy.
36 Help me want to obey your rules
instead of selfishly wanting 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 feared.
39 Take away the shame I fear.
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.
Save me as you have promised.
42 Then I will have an answer for people who insult me.
I trust what you say.
43 Never keep me from speaking your truth.
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 I will not be ashamed.
47 I enjoy obeying your commands.
I love them.
48 I praise your commands, which I love.
And I think about your demands.
David and Jonathan
20 Then David ran away from Naioth in Ramah. He went to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my crime? How have I sinned against your father so that he’s trying to kill me?”
2 Jonathan answered, “No! You won’t die! See, my father doesn’t do anything without first telling me. It doesn’t matter if it is very important or just a small thing. Why would he refuse to tell me he wants to kill you? No, it’s not true!”
3 But David took an oath. He said, “Your father knows very well that I’m your friend. He has said to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know about it. If he knows, he will tell David.’ But as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I am very close to death!”
4 Jonathan said to David, “I’ll do anything you want me to do.”
5 So David said, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon festival. I am supposed to eat with the king. But let me hide in the field until the third evening. 6 Your father may notice I am gone. If he does, tell him, ‘David begged me to let him go to his hometown of Bethlehem. Every year at this time, his family group offers a sacrifice.’ 7 If your father says, ‘Fine,’ I am safe. But if he becomes angry, you can believe he wants to hurt me. 8 Jonathan, be kind to me, your servant. You have made an agreement with me before the Lord. If I am guilty, you may kill me yourself! Why hand me over to your father?”
9 Jonathan answered, “No, never! If I learn that my father plans to harm you, I will warn you!”
10 David asked, “Who will let me know if your father answers you unkindly?”
11 Then Jonathan said, “Come, let’s go out into the field.” So Jonathan and David went together into the field.
12 Jonathan said to David, “I promise this before the Lord, the God of Israel: At this same time day after tomorrow, I will find out how my father feels. If he feels good toward you, I’ll send word to you. I’ll let you know. 13 But my father may mean to hurt you. If so, I will let you know and send you away safely. May the Lord punish me terribly if I don’t do this. And may the Lord be with you as he has been with my father. 14 But show me the kindness of the Lord as long as I live. Do this so that I may not die. 15 You must not stop showing your kindness to my family. Don’t do this, even when the Lord has destroyed all your enemies from the earth.”
16 So Jonathan made an agreement with David. He said, “May the Lord punish David’s enemies.” 17 And Jonathan asked David to repeat his promise of love for him. He did this because he loved David as much as he loved himself.
18 Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon festival. Your seat will be empty. So my father will notice you’re gone. 19 On the third day go to the place where you hid when this trouble began. Wait by the rock Ezel. 20 On the third day I will shoot three arrows to the side of the rock. I will shoot as if I am shooting at a target. 21 Then I will send a boy and tell him to go find the arrows. I may say to him, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you. Bring them here.’ If so, you may come out of hiding. You may do this as surely as the Lord lives because you are safe. There is no danger. 22 But I may say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you.’ If I do, you must go, because the Lord has sent you away. 23 Remember what we talked about. The Lord is a witness between you and me forever.”
18 The next day the soldiers were very upset. They wondered what had happened to Peter. 19 Herod looked everywhere for Peter but could not find him. So he questioned the guards and ordered that they be killed.
The Death of Herod Agrippa
Later Herod moved from Judea and went to the city of Caesarea, where he stayed for a while. 20 Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. But the people of those cities all came in a group to Herod. They were able to get Blastus, the king’s personal servant, on their side. They asked Herod for peace because their country got its food from his country.
21 On a chosen day Herod put on his royal robes. He sat on his throne and made a speech to the people. 22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!” 23 Herod did not give the glory to God. So an angel of the Lord caused him to become sick. He was eaten by worms and died.
24 God’s message continued to spread and reach more and more people.
25 After Barnabas and Saul finished their task in Jerusalem, they returned to Antioch. John, also called Mark, was with them.
13 Jesus went to the lake again. A crowd followed him there, and he taught them. 14 While he was walking beside the lake, he saw a tax collector named Levi son of Alphaeus. Levi was sitting in the tax office. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” And Levi stood up and followed Jesus.
15 Later that day, Jesus ate at Levi’s house. There were many tax collectors and “sinners” eating there with Jesus and his followers. Many people like this followed Jesus. 16 The teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with the tax collectors and “sinners.” They asked his followers, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 Jesus heard this and said to them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor. It is the sick who need a doctor. I did not come to invite good people. I came to invite sinners.”
Jesus’ Followers Are Criticized
18 One day the followers of John[a] and the Pharisees were giving up eating.[b] Some people came to Jesus and said, “John’s followers and the followers of the Pharisees give up eating. But your followers don’t. Why?”
19 Jesus answered, “When there is a wedding, the friends of the bridegroom are not sad while he is with them. They do not give up eating while the bridegroom is still there. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will leave them. Then the friends will be sad and will give up eating.
21 “When a person sews a patch over a hole on an old coat, he never uses a piece of cloth that is not yet shrunk. If he does, the patch will shrink and pull away from the coat. Then the hole will be worse. 22 Also, no one ever pours new wine into old leather bags for holding wine. If he does, the new wine will break the bags, and the wine will be ruined along with the bags for the wine. People always put new wine into new leather bags.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.