Book of Common Prayer
This is a song that David wrote.
It is for the music leader.
Please help me, Lord
140 Lord, please save me from evil people.
Keep me safe from people who like to attack others.
2 They think of evil ideas to hurt people.
They only want to cause trouble!
3 Their words hurt people,
like the tongue of a snake.
They bite with poison,
like a dangerous snake.
Selah
4 Lord, keep me safe from the power of wicked people.
Keep me safe from violent people who want to attack me.
5 Proud people have prepared a trap to catch me.
They have put their nets across my path.[a]
Selah.
6 Lord, I say to you, ‘You are my God.’
Lord, hear my prayer for help!
7 Lord, my Lord, you are my strong helper.
You keep me safe when I fight in a battle.
8 Lord, do not let wicked people do what they want to do.
Stop them when they prepare to attack.
Selah.
9 Give trouble to the people who come round me to attack!
Let the bad things that they say against me
happen to them instead![b]
10 Drop burning coals on them like rain!
Throw those people into the fire!
Let them fall into deep holes that they cannot get out of!
11 People who tell cruel lies should not live in our land.
Trouble will happen to people who like to fight.
Bad trouble will knock them down!
12 I know that the Lord helps poor people.
He makes sure that they receive justice.
13 Your righteous people will always praise you.
Good, honest people will live near to you.
This is a special song that David wrote.
He prayed this when he was in the cave.[a]
Please help me, Lord!
142 I am calling to the Lord to help me.
I ask him to be kind to me.
2 I tell him about all my problems.
I tell him about all my troubles.
3 When I do not feel brave,
you are still my guide, Lord.
In the path where I walk,
my enemies have prepared a trap to catch me.
4 Look at me!
I have no friend to help me.
There is no safe place where I can go.
Nobody thinks about me.
5 Yes Lord, I am calling to you to help me.
You are my safe place where I can hide.
You are all that I need in this world where I live.
6 Please listen to me as I cry to you.
I am very upset!
My enemies are trying to catch me.
Save me from their power!
They are stronger than I am.
7 Please take me out of this prison.[b]
Then I will praise your name.
Your own good people will see how you have helped me.
They will meet round me to praise you.
David wrote this song.
An evening prayer[a]
141 Lord, I am calling to you for help.
Come to me quickly!
Please listen to what I am saying.
2 I offer my prayer to you like incense.
Please accept it when I raise my hands to you.
Accept it like a gift that I offer to you in the evening.
3 Lord, keep my mouth safe,
so that I do not speak bad things.
4 Do not let my mind want evil things.
Do not let me join with wicked people,
to do the same bad things that they do.
I do not even want to eat their good food.
5 If a good man hits me because he loves me,
he is being kind to me.
If he shows me that I have done a wrong thing,
that it is like special oil on my head.[b]
I would not refuse it.
I continue to pray against what wicked people do.
6 They will throw their rulers down
from high rocks.
Then they will agree that my words were true.
7 It will be like a farmer who ploughs his field,
and breaks the earth into pieces.
Just like that, they will break the bones of wicked people.
They will throw their bones on the ground
at the entrance to Sheol.
8 But I look to you for help, Almighty Lord.
I need you to keep me safe.
Do not let wicked people kill me.
9 They have prepared traps to catch me.
Do not let me fall into the traps of those evil people.
10 May those bad people fall into their own traps!
Then I will be free from their power.
This is a song that David wrote.
Please help me, Lord![a]
143 Lord, I pray to you for help.
Please listen to me.
Answer me, because you do what is right,
and I know that I can trust you.
2 Do not judge me, your servant.
Nobody is righteous when they stand in front of you.
3 My enemies are chasing me.
They knock me down to the ground.
They make me live in dark places,
like people who have been dead for a long time.
4 My strength is leaving me,
and I feel very upset.
5 I remember what happened many years ago.
I think carefully about all the good things that you have done.
6 I raise my hands to pray to you.
I need you to help me,
like dry ground needs rain.
Selah
7 Please answer me soon, Lord.
I am losing my strength.
Do not turn away from me.
If you do, I will join those people who are going down
into the deep hole of death.
8 Every morning, help me to remember your faithful love,
because I am trusting in you.
Show me how I should live to please you,
because I know that I belong to you.
9 Lord, save me from my enemies.
I run to you to keep me safe.
10 Teach me to do what pleases you,
because you are my God.
Let your kind Spirit lead me,
so that I can walk in a safe place.
11 Your name is great, Lord,
so please keep my life safe.
You do what is right,
so bring me out of my troubles.
12 I am your servant and you always love me.
Please show how much you love me,
and destroy my enemies.
Yes, kill all those who want to kill me!
Satan attacks Job's health
2 Another time, the angels came again to meet with the Lord. Satan also came with them to meet the Lord. 2 The Lord said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’ Satan replied, ‘I have been travelling all over the earth. I have been watching the things that happen there.’
3 Then the Lord said to Satan, ‘You have seen Job, who is my servant. What do you think about him? There is no one on earth who is like him. He is a good and honest man. He is afraid to make me angry. He refuses to do evil things. Because of what you said, I allowed you to attack him. But he did not deserve that. He has continued to do what is right.’
4 Satan answered the Lord, ‘A man will always take care of his own body. He would do anything to save his own life. 5 So now cause Job to have great pain in his own body. Then he will certainly curse you very strongly.’
6 So the Lord said to Satan, ‘I agree to give you power over Job himself. But you must not cause his death.’
7 So Satan went away. He caused Job to have boils all over his body. They hurt him everywhere, from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head.
8 Job was very upset and he sat down among some ashes. He used a piece of a broken pot to remove the bad bits of skin.
9 His wife said to him, ‘You cannot continue to trust God! Instead, you should curse God and then die.’ 10 Job replied, ‘Do not talk like a fool! We take the good things that God gives us. So we should not be surprised if he sends us trouble as well.’
In all his trouble, Job never said any wrong things against God.
Job's friends come to help him
11 Three of Job's friends heard news about his trouble. One friend was called Eliphaz, who came from Teman. The second friend was called Bildad, who came from Shuah. The third friend was called Zophar, who came from Naamah. They came from their own homes to meet together. They wanted to show Job that they were sorry about his trouble. They went to visit him to comfort him.
12 When they could see Job from far away, they did not easily recognize him. They began to weep very loudly. They were so upset that they tore their clothes. They threw dust into the air and on their heads. 13 For a whole week, they sat on the ground near Job. They knew that his pain was very bad. So all that time, they did not say anything to him.
Jesus meets with Saul
9 All this time, Saul was still speaking strongly against the disciples of the Lord Jesus. He wanted to kill all the believers. So he went to see the most important priest in Jerusalem. 2 Saul asked him, ‘Please will you write some letters for me?[a] Then I can give one of these letters to the leader of each Jewish group in Damascus.[b] That will give me authority to take hold of any believers that I find there.’
Saul wanted to find anyone who agreed with the Way of the Lord Jesus.[c] Then he would tie them and bring them back to Jerusalem, whether they were men or they were women. 3 He travelled towards Damascus. He was very near the city when a bright light suddenly appeared. The light came from the sky, and it shone all around him. 4 Saul fell down onto the ground. He heard a voice which said to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you fight against me?’
5 Saul asked, ‘Lord, who are you?’ He said, ‘I am Jesus. And you are fighting against me. 6 Now you must get up and go into the city. Someone there will tell you what you must do.’
7 The men who were travelling with Saul stood still. They could not say anything. They could hear that someone was speaking. But they could not see anyone. 8 Saul stood up. He opened his eyes, but he could not see anything. So the men who were with Saul held his hand. They led him into Damascus. 9 For three days, Saul could not see anything. During that time, he did not eat any food or drink anything.
27 Do not work only for that kind of food. It soon becomes spoiled. Instead, work to get the food that continues for ever. That kind of food gives you life with God. The Son of Man will give this food to you. God, the Father, has given the Son authority to do this.’
28 Then the people asked him, ‘How can we do the work that God wants us to do?’ 29 Jesus answered, ‘You should believe in the one that God has sent to you. That is the work that God wants you to do.’ 30 So then the people asked him, ‘What miracle will you do? Do one that shows that God has sent you. If we see that, we will believe in you. What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate manna in the wilderness. We know that it says in the Bible, “God gave bread to them from heaven for them to eat.” ’[a]
32 Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you this: It was not Moses who gave bread to you from heaven. No. It is my Father who gives to you the true bread from heaven. 33 God's bread is the one who comes down from heaven. He is the one who gives life to people in the world.’ 34 So they said to him, ‘Sir, please give this bread to us now and always.’
35 Then Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread that gives life to people. Anyone who comes to me will never be hungry. Anyone who believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 You have seen me, but still you do not believe in me. I have told you that before. 37 Everyone that the Father gives to me will come to me. When anyone comes to me, I will never send that person away. 38 I have not come down from heaven to do what I myself choose to do. No, my Father has sent me. I have come to do what he wants me to do. 39 He has sent me. He does not want me to lose any of the people that he has given to me. Not even one of them. He wants me to raise all of them up to life on the last day. 40 These are the people who will have life for ever with God: everyone who sees the Son and believes in him. I will raise them all up on the last day. That is what my Father wants.’
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