Book of Common Prayer
For the director of music. A psalm of David to be played on flutes.
5 Lord, listen to my words.
Pay attention when I mourn.
2 My King and my God,
hear me when I cry for help.
I pray to you.
3 Lord, in the morning you hear my voice.
In the morning I pray to you.
I wait for you in hope.
4 For you, God, aren’t happy with anything that is evil.
Those who do what is wrong can’t live where you are.
5 Those who are proud can’t stand in front of you.
You hate everyone who does what is evil.
6 You destroy those who tell lies.
Lord, you hate murderers and those who cheat others.
7 Because of your great love
I can come into your house.
With deep respect I bow down
toward your holy temple.
8 Lord, I have many enemies.
Lead me in your right path.
Make your way smooth and straight for me.
9 Not a word from their mouths can be trusted.
Their hearts are filled with a desire to hurt others.
Their throats are like open graves.
With their tongues they tell lies.
10 God, show that they are guilty.
Let their evil plans bring them down.
Send them away because of their many sins.
They have refused to obey you.
11 But let all those who go to you for safety be glad.
Let them always sing for joy.
Spread your cover over them and keep them safe.
Then those who love you will be glad because of you.
12 Surely, Lord, you bless those who do what is right.
Like a shield, your loving care keeps them safe.
For the director of music. According to sheminith. A psalm of David to be played on stringed instruments.
6 Lord, don’t correct me when you are angry.
Don’t punish me when you are very angry.
2 Lord, have mercy on me. I’m so weak.
Lord, heal me. My body is full of pain.
3 My soul is very troubled.
Lord, how long will it be until you save me?
4 Lord, turn to me and help me.
Save me. Your love never fails.
5 Dead people can’t call out your name.
How can they praise you when they are in the grave?
6 My groaning has worn me out.
All night long my tears flood my bed.
My bed is wet because of my crying.
7 I’m so sad I can’t see very well.
My eyesight gets worse because of all my enemies.
8 Get away from me, all you who do evil.
The Lord has heard my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my cry for his mercy.
The Lord accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be covered with shame and trouble.
They will turn back in shame. It will happen suddenly.
10 Lord, why are you so far away?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 An evil person is proud and hunts down those who are weak.
He catches weak people by making clever plans.
3 He brags about what his heart desires.
He speaks well of those who always want more.
He attacks the Lord with his words.
4 Because he is proud, that evil person doesn’t turn to the Lord.
There is no room for God in any of his thoughts.
5 Everything always goes well for him.
So he is proud.
He doesn’t want to have anything to do with God’s laws.
He makes fun of all his enemies.
6 He says to himself, “I will always be secure.”
He promises himself, “No one will ever harm me.”
7 His mouth is full of lies and warnings.
With his tongue he speaks evil and makes trouble.
8 Sinful people hide and wait near the villages.
From their hiding places they murder people who aren’t guilty.
They watch in secret for those they want to attack.
9 They hide and wait like a lion in the bushes.
From their hiding places they wait to catch those who are helpless.
They catch them and drag them off in their nets.
10 Those they have attacked are beaten up. They fall to the ground.
They fall because their attackers are too strong for them.
11 Sinful people say to themselves, “God will never notice.
He covers his face. He never sees us.”
12 Lord, rise up! God, show your power!
Don’t forget those who are helpless.
13 Why do sinful people attack you with their words?
Why do they say to themselves,
“He won’t hold us accountable”?
14 God, you see the problems of people in trouble.
You take note of their pain. You do something about it.
So those who are attacked place themselves in your care.
You help children whose fathers have died.
15 Take away the power of sinful people.
Hold them accountable for the evil things they do.
Uncover all the evil they have done.
16 The Lord is King for ever and ever.
The nations will disappear from his land.
17 Lord, you hear the desires of those who are hurting.
You cheer them up and give them hope.
You listen to their cries.
18 You stand up for those whose fathers have died
and for those who have been treated badly.
You do it so that mere human beings made of dust
may not terrify others anymore.
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
11 I run to the Lord for safety.
So how can you say to me,
“Fly away like a bird to your mountain.
2 Look! Evil people are bending their bows.
They are placing their arrows against the strings.
They are planning to shoot from the shadows
at those who have honest hearts.
3 When law and order are being destroyed,
what can godly people do?”
4 The Lord is in his holy temple.
The Lord is on his throne in heaven.
He watches everyone on earth.
His eyes study them.
5 The Lord watches over those who do what is right.
But he really hates sinful people and those who love to hurt others.
6 He will pour out flaming coals and burning sulfur
on those who do what is wrong.
A hot and dry wind will destroy them.
7 The Lord always does what is right.
So he loves it when people do what is fair.
Those who are honest will enjoy his blessing.
Jonah Runs Away From the Lord
1 A message from the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amittai. The Lord said, 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh. Preach against it. The sins of its people have come to my attention.”
3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord. He headed for Tarshish. So he went down to the port of Joppa. There he found a ship that was going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went on board. Then he sailed for Tarshish. He was running away from the Lord.
4 But the Lord sent a strong wind over the Mediterranean Sea. A wild storm came up. It was so wild that the ship was in danger of breaking apart. 5 All the sailors were afraid. Each one cried out to his own god for help. They threw the ship’s contents into the sea. They were trying to make the ship lighter.
But Jonah had gone below deck. There he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went down to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call out to your god for help! Maybe he’ll pay attention to what’s happening to us. Then we won’t die.”
7 Here is what the sailors said to one another. “Someone is to blame for getting us into all this trouble. Come. Let’s cast lots to find out who it is.” So they did. And Jonah was picked. 8 They asked him, “What terrible thing have you done to bring all this trouble on us? Tell us. What do you do for a living? Where do you come from? What is your country? What people do you belong to?”
9 He answered, “I’m a Hebrew. I worship the Lord. He is the God of heaven. He made the sea and the dry land.”
10 They found out he was running away from the Lord. That’s because he had told them. Then they became terrified. So they asked him, “How could you do a thing like that?”
11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down?”
12 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied. “Then it will become calm. I know it’s my fault that this terrible storm has come on you.”
13 But the men didn’t do what he said. Instead, they did their best to row back to land. But they couldn’t. The sea got even rougher than before. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord. They prayed, “Please, Lord, don’t let us die for taking this man’s life. After all, he might not be guilty of doing anything wrong. So don’t hold us responsible for killing him. Lord, you always do what you want to.” 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard. And the stormy sea became calm. 16 The men saw what had happened. Then they began to have great respect for the Lord. They offered a sacrifice to him. And they made promises to him.
Jonah Prays to the Lord
17 Now the Lord sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.
24 While Paul was still presenting his case, Festus interrupted. “You are out of your mind, Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning is driving you crazy!”
25 “I am not crazy, most excellent Festus,” Paul replied. “What I am saying is true and reasonable. 26 The king is familiar with these things. So I can speak openly to him. I am certain he knows everything that has been going on. After all, it was not done in secret. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”
28 Then Agrippa spoke to Paul. “Are you trying to talk me into becoming a Christian?” he said. “Do you think you can do that in such a short time?”
29 Paul replied, “I don’t care if it takes a short time or a long time. I pray to God for you and all who are listening to me today. I pray that you may become like me, except for these chains.”
30 The king stood up. The governor and Bernice and those sitting with them stood up too. 31 They left the room and began to talk with one another. “Why should this man die or be put in prison?” they said. “He has done nothing worthy of that!”
32 Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free. But he has made an appeal to Caesar.”
Paul Sails for Rome
27 It was decided that we would sail for Italy. Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a Roman commander named Julius. He belonged to the Imperial Guard. 2 We boarded a ship from Adramyttium. It was about to sail for ports along the coast of Asia Minor. We headed out to sea. Aristarchus was with us. He was a Macedonian from Thessalonica.
3 The next day we landed at Sidon. There Julius was kind to Paul. He let Paul visit his friends so they could give him what he needed. 4 From there we headed out to sea again. We passed the calmer side of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 5 We sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia. Then we landed at Myra in Lycia. 6 There the commander found a ship from Alexandria sailing for Italy. He put us on board. 7 We moved along slowly for many days. We had trouble getting to Cnidus. The wind did not let us stay on course. So we passed the calmer side of Crete, opposite Salmone. 8 It was not easy to sail along the coast. Then we came to a place called Fair Havens. It was near the town of Lasea.
Jesus Heals a Dead Girl and a Suffering Woman
40 When Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him. They were all expecting him. 41 Then a man named Jairus came. He was a synagogue leader. He fell at Jesus’ feet and begged Jesus to come to his house. 42 His only daughter was dying. She was about 12 years old. As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him.
43 A woman was there who had a sickness that made her bleed. Her sickness had lasted for 12 years. No one could heal her. 44 She came up behind Jesus and touched the edge of his clothes. Right away her bleeding stopped.
45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.
Everyone said they didn’t do it. Then Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pushing against you.”
46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me. I know that power has gone out from me.”
47 The woman realized that people would notice her. Shaking with fear, she came and fell at his feet. In front of everyone, she told why she had touched him. She also told how she had been healed in an instant. 48 Then he said to her, “Dear woman, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
49 While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus. Jairus was the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” the messenger said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”
50 Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just believe. She will be healed.”
51 When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let everyone go in with him. He took only Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. 52 During this time, all the people were crying and sobbing loudly over the child. “Stop crying!” Jesus said. “She is not dead. She is sleeping.”
53 They laughed at him. They knew she was dead. 54 But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” 55 Her spirit returned, and right away she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were amazed. But Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.
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