Book of Common Prayer
To the director: With flutes.[a] A song of David.
5 Lord, listen to me
and understand what I am trying to say.
2 My God and King,
listen to my prayer.
3 Every morning, Lord, I lay my gifts before you
and look to you for help.
And every morning you hear my prayers.
4 God, you don’t want evil people near you.
They cannot stay in your presence.[b]
5 Fools[c] cannot come near you.
You hate those who do evil.
6 You destroy those who tell lies.
Lord, you hate those who make secret plans to hurt others.
7 But by your great mercy, I can enter your house.
I can worship in your holy Temple with fear and respect for you.
8 Lord, show me your right way of living,
and make it easy for me to follow.
People are looking for my weaknesses,
so show me how you want me to live.
9 My enemies never tell the truth.
They only want to destroy people.
Their words come from mouths that are like open graves.
They use their lying tongues to deceive others.[d]
10 Punish them, God!
Let them be caught in their own traps.
They have turned against you,
so punish them for their many crimes.
11 But let those who trust in you be happy forever.
Protect and strengthen those who love your name.
12 Lord, when you bless good people,
you surround them with your love, like a large shield that protects them.
To the director: With stringed instruments, on the sheminith. A song of David.
6 Lord, don’t punish me.
Don’t correct me when you are so angry.
2 Lord, be kind to me.
I am sick and weak.
Heal me, Lord!
My bones are shaking.
3 I am trembling all over.
Lord, how long until you heal me?[e]
4 Lord, come back and make me strong again.
Save me because you are so loyal and kind.
5 If I am dead, I cannot sing about you.
Those in the grave don’t praise you.
6 Lord, I am so weak.
I cried to you all night.
My pillow is soaked;
my bed is dripping wet from my tears.
7 My enemies have caused me such sorrow
that my eyes are worn out from crying.
8 Go away, you wicked people,
because the Lord has heard my cries.
9 The Lord has heard my request for mercy.
The Lord has accepted my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be filled with fear and shame.
They will be sorry when disgrace suddenly comes upon them.
10 Lord, why do you stay so far away?
Why do you hide from people in times of trouble?
2 The wicked are proud and make evil plans to hurt the poor,
who are caught in their traps and made to suffer.
3 Those greedy people brag about the things they want to get.
They curse the Lord and show that they hate him.
4 The wicked are too proud to ask God for help.
He does not fit into their plans.
5 They succeed in everything they do.
They don’t understand how you can judge them.
They make fun of all their enemies.
6 They say to themselves, “Nothing bad will ever happen to us.
We will have our fun and never be punished.”
7 They are always cursing, lying,
and planning evil things to do.
8 They hide just outside the villages,
waiting to kill innocent people,
always looking for any helpless person they can hurt.
9 They are like lions hiding in the bushes
to catch weak and helpless animals.
They lay their traps for the poor,
who are caught in their nets.
10 Again and again they hurt people
who are already weak and suffering.
11 They say to themselves, “God has forgotten about us.
He is not watching.
He will never see what we are doing.”
12 Lord, get up and do something.
Punish those who are wicked, God.
Don’t forget those who are poor and helpless.
13 The wicked turn against God
because they think he will not punish them.
14 But, Lord, you do see the pain and suffering they cause.
You see it, so punish them.
Those who were left helpless put their trust in you.
After all, you are the one who cares for orphans.
15 Break the arms of those who are wicked and evil.
Punish them for the evil they have done,
and stop them from doing any more.
16 Lord, you are King forever and ever,
so I know you will remove the wicked nations from your land.
17 Lord, you have heard what the poor want.
Listen to their prayers, and do what they ask.
18 Protect the orphans and those who have been hurt.
Don’t let powerful people drive us from our land!
To the director: A song of David.
11 I trust in the Lord, so why did you tell me to run and hide?
Why did you say, “Fly like a bird to your mountain?”
2 Like hunters, the wicked hide in the dark.
They get their bows ready and aim their arrows.
They shoot at good, honest people.
3 What would good people do
if the wicked destroyed all that is good?[a]
4 The Lord is in his holy temple.
The Lord sits on his throne in heaven.
He sees everything that happens.
He watches people closely.
5 The Lord examines those who are good and those who are wicked;
he hates those who enjoy hurting others.
6 He will make hot coals and burning sulfur fall like rain on the wicked.
They will get nothing but a hot, burning wind.
7 The Lord always does what is right, and he loves seeing people do right.
Those who live good lives will be with him.[b]
Job Answers Eliphaz
6 Then Job answered:
2 “I wish my suffering could be weighed
and all my trouble be put on the scales.
3 They would be heavier than all the sand of the sea!
That is why my words are so crazy.
4 God All-Powerful has shot me with his arrows.
My spirit feels their poison!
God’s terrible weapons are lined up against me.
8 “I wish I could have what I ask for.
I wish God would give me what I want.
9 I wish he would crush me—
just go ahead and kill me!
10 Then I would be comforted by this one thing:
Even through all this pain,
I never refused to obey the commands of the Holy One.
11 “With my strength gone, I have no hope to go on living.
With nothing to look forward to, why should I be patient?
12 I am not strong like a rock.
My body is not made from bronze.
13 I don’t have the power to help myself,
because all hope of success has been taken away from me.
14 “Friends should be loyal to you in times of trouble,
even if you turn away from God All-Powerful.[a]
15 But I cannot depend on you, my brothers.
You are like a stream that has no water when the weather is dry
but is flooded when the rains come.
21 Now, you are like those streams.
You see my troubles and are afraid.
Peter in Lydda and Joppa
32 Peter was traveling through all the areas around Jerusalem, and he stopped to visit the believers[a] who lived in Lydda. 33 There he met a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had not been able to get out of bed for the past eight years. 34 Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed!” He stood up immediately. 35 All the people living in Lydda and on the plain of Sharon saw him, and they decided to follow the Lord.
36 In the city of Joppa there was a follower of Jesus named Tabitha. Her Greek name, Dorcas, means “a deer.” She was always doing good things for people and giving money to those in need. 37 While Peter was in Lydda, Tabitha became sick and died. They washed her body and put it in an upstairs room. 38 The followers in Joppa heard that Peter was in Lydda, which was not far away. So they sent two men, who begged him, “Hurry, please come quickly!”
39 Peter got ready and went with them. When he arrived, they took him to the upstairs room. All the widows stood around him. They were crying and showing him the coats and other clothes that Tabitha had made during her time with them. 40 Peter sent all the people out of the room. He knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to Tabitha’s body and said, “Tabitha, stand up!” She opened her eyes. When she saw Peter, she sat up. 41 He gave her his hand and helped her stand up. Then he called the believers and the widows into the room. He showed them Tabitha; she was alive!
42 People everywhere in Joppa learned about this, and many believed in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed in Joppa for many days at the home of a man named Simon, who was a leatherworker.
Many Followers Leave Jesus
60 When Jesus’ followers heard this, many of them said, “This teaching is hard. Who can accept it?”
61 Jesus already knew that his followers were complaining about this. So he said, “Is this teaching a problem for you? 62 Then what will you think when you see the Son of Man going up to where he came from? 63 It is the Spirit that gives life. The body is of no value for that. But the things I have told you are from the Spirit, so they give life. 64 But some of you don’t believe.” (Jesus knew the people who did not believe. He knew this from the beginning. And he knew the one who would hand him over to his enemies.) 65 Jesus said, “That is why I said, ‘Anyone the Father does not help to come to me cannot come.’”
66 After Jesus said these things, many of his followers left and stopped following him.
67 Jesus asked the twelve apostles, “Do you want to leave too?”
68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, where would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe in you. We know that you are the Holy One from God.”
70 Then Jesus answered, “I chose all twelve of you. But one of you is a devil.” 71 He was talking about Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Judas was one of the twelve apostles, but later he would hand Jesus over to his enemies.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International