Book of Common Prayer
A prayer for a time of suffering, when anyone feels weak and wants to tell their complaints to the Lord.
102 Lord, hear my prayer.
Listen to my cry for help.
2 Don’t turn away from me when I have troubles.
Listen to me, and answer me quickly when I cry for help.
3 My life is passing away like smoke.
My life is like a fire slowly burning out.
4 My strength is gone—
I am like dry, dying grass.
I even forget to eat.
5 Because of my sadness, I am losing so much weight
that my skin hangs from my bones.
6 I am lonely, like an owl living in the desert,
like an owl living among old ruined buildings.
7 I cannot sleep.
I am like a lonely bird on the roof.
8 My enemies insult me all the time.
They make fun of me and use me as an example in their curses.
9 My great sadness is my only food.
My tears fall into my drink.
10 You were angry with me,
so you picked me up and threw me away.
11 My life is almost finished, like the long shadows at the end of the day.
I am like dry and dying grass.
12 But you, Lord, will rule as king forever!
Your name will continue forever and ever!
13 You will rise up and comfort Zion.
The time has come for you to be kind to Zion.
14 Your servants love her stones.
They love even the dust of that city!
15 The nations will worship the Lord’s name.
All the kings on earth will honor you.
16 The Lord will rebuild Zion,
and people will again see her glory.
17 He will listen to the prayers of those in poverty.
He will not ignore them.
18 Write these things for future generations,
so that they will praise the Lord.
19 The Lord will look down from his Holy Place above.
He will look down at the earth from heaven.
20 And he will hear the prisoner’s prayers.
He will free those who were condemned to die.
21 Then people in Zion will tell about the Lord.
They will praise his name in Jerusalem
22 when nations gather together
and kingdoms come to serve the Lord.
23 My strength failed me.
My life is cut short.
24 So I said, “Don’t let me die while I am still young.
God, you will live forever and ever!
25 Long ago, you made the world.
You made the sky with your own hands!
26 The earth and sky will end,
but you will live forever!
They will wear out like clothes,
and like clothes, you will change them.
27 But you never change.
You will live forever!
28 We are your servants today.
Our children will live here,
and their descendants will come here to worship you.”
Book 5
(Psalms 107-150)
107 Praise the Lord, because he is good!
His faithful love will last forever!
2 Everyone the Lord has saved should repeat that word of thanks.
Praise him, all who have been rescued from the enemy.
3 He gathered his people together from many different countries.
He brought them from east and west, north and south.[a]
4 Some of them wandered in the dry desert.
They were looking for a place to live,
but they could not find a city.
5 They were hungry and thirsty
and growing weak.
6 Then they called to the Lord for help,
and he saved them from their troubles.
7 He led them straight to the city where they would live.
8 Thank the Lord for his faithful love
and for the amazing things he does for people.
9 He satisfies those who are thirsty.
He fills those who are hungry with good things.
10 Some of God’s people were prisoners,
locked behind bars in dark prisons.
11 That was because they had fought against what God said.
They refused to listen to the advice of God Most High.
12 God made life hard for those people
because of what they did.
They stumbled and fell,
and there was no one to help them.
13 They were in trouble, so they called to the Lord for help,
and he saved them from their troubles.
14 He took them out of their dark prisons.
He broke the ropes that held them.
15 Thank the Lord for his faithful love
and for the amazing things he does for people.
16 He breaks down their bronze gates.
He shatters their iron bars.
17 Some people became fools and turned against God,
and they suffered for the evil they did.
18 They became so sick that they refused to eat,
so they almost died.
19 They were in trouble, so they called to the Lord for help,
and he saved them from their troubles.
20 He gave the command and healed them,
so they were saved from the grave.
21 Thank the Lord for his faithful love
and for the amazing things he does for people.
22 Offer sacrifices of thanks to him.
Sing with joy about all that he has done.
23 Some sailed the sea in ships.
Their work carried them across the water.
24 They saw what the Lord can do.
They saw the amazing things he did at sea.
25 He gave the command, and a strong wind began to blow.
The waves became higher and higher.
26 The waves lifted them high into the sky
and dropped them into the deep sea.
The storm was so dangerous that the men lost their courage.
27 They were stumbling and falling like someone who is drunk.
Their skill as sailors was useless.
28 They were in trouble, so they called to the Lord for help,
and he saved them from their troubles.
29 He stopped the storm
and calmed the waves.
30 The sailors were happy that the sea became calm,
and he led them safely to where they wanted to go.
31 Thank the Lord for his faithful love
and for the amazing things he does for people.
32 Praise God in the great assembly.
Praise him when the older leaders meet together.
22 During the night, Jacob got up and began moving his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven sons across the Jabbok River at the crossing. 23 After he sent his family across the river, he sent across everything he had.
The Fight With God
24 Jacob was left alone, and a man came and wrestled with him. The man fought with him until the sun came up. 25 When the man saw that he could not defeat Jacob, he touched Jacob’s leg and put it out of joint.
26 Then the man said to Jacob, “Let me go. The sun is coming up.”
But Jacob said, “I will not let you go. You must bless me.”
27 And the man said to him, “What is your name?”
And Jacob said, “My name is Jacob.”
28 Then the man said, “Your name will not be Jacob. Your name will now be Israel.[a] I give you this name because you have fought with God and with men, and you have won.”
29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.”
But the man said, “Why do you ask my name?” Then the man blessed Jacob at that place.
30 So Jacob named that place Peniel.[b] He said, “At this place, I saw God face to face, but my life was spared.” 31 Then the sun came up as Jacob left Peniel. He was limping because of his leg. 32 So even today, the people of Israel don’t eat the muscle that is on the hip joint, because this is the muscle where Jacob was hurt.
Jacob Meets Esau
33 Jacob looked and saw Esau coming with 400 men. Jacob divided his family into four groups. Leah and her children were in one group, Rachel and Joseph were in one group, and the two maids and their children were in two groups. 2 Jacob put the maids with their children first. Then he put Leah and her children behind them, and he put Rachel and Joseph in the last place.
3 Jacob himself went out before them. While he was walking toward his brother Esau, he bowed down to the ground seven times.
4 When Esau saw Jacob, he ran to meet him. He put his arms around Jacob, hugged his neck, and kissed him. Then they both cried. 5 Esau looked up and saw the women and children. He said, “Who are all these people with you?”
Jacob answered, “These are the children that God gave me. God has been good to me.”
6 Then the two maids and the children with them went to Esau. They bowed down before him. 7 Then Leah and the children with her went to Esau and bowed down. And then Rachel and Joseph went to him and bowed down.
8 Esau said, “Who were all those people I saw while I was coming here? And what were all those animals for?”
Jacob answered, “These are my gifts to you so that you might accept me.”
9 But Esau said, “You don’t have to give me gifts, brother. I have enough for myself.”
10 Jacob said, “No, I beg you! If you really accept me, please accept the gifts I give you. I am very happy to see your face again. It is like seeing the face of God. I am very happy to see that you accept me. 11 So I beg you to also accept the gifts I give you. God has been very good to me. I have more than I need.” Because Jacob begged Esau to take the gifts, he accepted them.
12 Then Esau said, “Now you can continue your journey. I will go with you.”
13 But Jacob said to him, “You know that my children are weak. And I must be careful with my flocks and their young animals. If I force them to walk too far in one day, all the animals will die. 14 So you go on ahead. I will follow you slowly. I will go slowly enough for the cattle and other animals to be safe and so that my children will not get too tired. I will meet you in Seir.”
15 So Esau said, “Then I will leave some of my men to help you.”
But Jacob said, “That is very kind of you, but there is no need to do that.” 16 So that day Esau started on his trip back to Seir. 17 But Jacob went to Succoth.[c] There he built a house for himself and small barns for his cattle. That is why the place was named Succoth.
We Are God’s Children
3 The Father has loved us so much! This shows how much he loved us: We are called children of God. And we really are his children. But the people in the world don’t understand that we are God’s children, because they have not known him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God. We have not yet been shown what we will be in the future. But we know that when Christ comes again, we will be like him. We will see him just as he is. 3 He is pure, and everyone who has this hope in him keeps themselves pure like Christ.
4 Anyone who sins breaks God’s law. Yes, sinning is the same as living against God’s law. 5 You know that Christ came to take away people’s sins. There is no sin in Christ. 6 So whoever lives in Christ does not continue to sin. If they continue to sin, they have never really understood Christ and have never known him.
7 Dear children, don’t let anyone lead you into the wrong way. Christ always did what was right. So to be good like Christ, you must do what is right. 8 The devil has been sinning since the beginning. Anyone who continues to sin belongs to the devil. The Son of God came for this: to destroy the devil’s work.
9 Those who are God’s children do not continue to sin, because the new life God gave them[a] stays in them. They cannot keep sinning, because they have become children of God. 10 So we can see who God’s children are and who the devil’s children are. These are the ones who are not God’s children: those who don’t do what is right and those who do not love their brothers and sisters in God’s family.
31 Again the Jews there picked up stones to kill Jesus. 32 But he said to them, “The many wonderful things you have seen me do are from the Father. Which of these good things are you killing me for?”
33 They answered, “We are not killing you for any good thing you did. But you say things that insult God. You are only a man, but you say you are the same as God! That is why we are trying to kill you!”
34 Jesus answered, “It is written in your law that God said, ‘I said you are gods.’[a] 35 This Scripture called those people gods—the people who received God’s message. And Scripture is always true. 36 So why do you accuse me of insulting God for saying, ‘I am God’s Son’? I am the one God chose and sent into the world. 37 If I don’t do what my Father does, then don’t believe what I say. 38 But if I do what my Father does, you should believe in what I do. You might not believe in me, but you should believe in the things I do. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
39 They tried to get Jesus again, but he escaped from them.
40 Then he went back across the Jordan River to the place where John began his work of baptizing people. Jesus stayed there, 41 and many people came to him. They said, “John never did any miraculous signs, but everything John said about this man is true.” 42 And many people there believed in Jesus.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International