Book of Common Prayer
A song of David for the day of remembrance.[a]
38 Lord, don’t criticize me when you are angry.
Don’t discipline me in anger.
2 You have hurt me.
You punished me and hurt me deeply.
3 You punished me severely, so my whole body is sore.
I sinned, and now all my bones hurt.
4 My guilt is like a heavy burden.
I am sinking beneath its weight.
5 I did a foolish thing,
and now I have infected sores that stink.
6 I am bent and bowed down.
I am depressed all day long.
7 I am burning with fever,
and my whole body hurts.
8 I hurt so much I cannot feel anything.
My pounding heart makes me scream!
9 My Lord, you heard my groaning.
You can hear my sighs.
10 My heart is pounding.
My strength is gone, and I am going blind.[b]
11 Because of my sickness,
my friends and neighbors will not visit me;
my family will not come near me.
12 My enemies say bad things about me.
They are spreading lies and rumors.
They talk about me all the time.
13 But I am like a deaf man and cannot hear.
I am like someone who cannot speak.
14 I am like those who cannot hear what people are saying about them.
I cannot answer to prove my enemies wrong.
15 Lord, you must defend me.
Lord my God, you must speak for me.
16 That’s why I prayed, “Don’t let my enemies smile at my pain.
Full of pride, they will laugh if I stumble and fall.”
17 I know I am guilty of doing wrong.
I cannot forget my pain.
18 Lord, I told you about the evil I have done.
I am sorry for my sin.
19 But my enemies are alive and healthy,
and they have told many lies.
20 I did nothing but good,
and they paid me back with evil.
I try to do what is right,
but that only makes them turn against me.
21 Lord, don’t leave me.
My God, stay close to me.
22 Come quickly and help me.
My Lord, you are the one who saves me.
Daleth
25 I lie here like a dying man.
Say the word, and I will live again.[a]
26 I told you about my life, and you answered me.
Now, teach me your laws.
27 Help me understand your instructions,
and I will think about your wonderful teachings.[b]
28 I am sad and tired.
Say the word, and make me strong again.
29 Don’t let me live a lie.
Guide me with your teachings.
30 I have chosen to be loyal to you.
I respect your laws.
31 I follow your rules closely, Lord.
Don’t let me be put to shame.
32 I do my best to follow your commands,
because you are the one who gives me the desire.
He
33 Lord, teach me your laws,
and I will always follow them.
34 Help me understand your teachings,
and I will follow them.
Obeying them will be my greatest desire.
35 Help me follow your commands,
because that makes me happy.
36 Give me the desire to follow your rules,
not the desire to get rich.
37 Don’t let me look at worthless things.
Help me live your way.
38 Do what you promised me, your servant,
so that people will respect you.
39 Take away the shame I fear.
Your laws are good.
40 See how much I want to obey your instructions!
Be good to me, and let me live.
Waw
41 Lord, show me your faithful love.
Save me, as you promised.
42 Then I will have an answer for those who make fun of me
for trusting what you say.
43 Let me always say what is true.
I depend on your judgment to be fair.
44 I will follow your teachings forever and ever.
45 So I will live in freedom,
because I do my best to know your instructions.
46 I will discuss your rules with kings,
and no one will embarrass me.
47 What joy your commands give me!
How I love them!
48 Not only do I love your commands, but I also honor them.
I will study your laws.
25 “You will live in the country a long time. You will have children and grandchildren there. After all that time, be sure that you do not then ruin your lives by making any kind of idol! That is something the Lord your God considers evil, and it would make him very angry! 26 So I am warning you now. Heaven and earth are my witnesses! If you do such an evil thing, you will quickly be destroyed! You are crossing the Jordan River now to take that land. But if you make any idols, you will not live there very long. No, you will be destroyed completely! 27 The Lord will scatter you among the nations. And only a few of you will be left alive to go to the countries where the Lord will send you. 28 There you will serve gods made by men—things made of wood and stone that cannot see or hear or eat or smell! 29 But there in these other lands you will look for the Lord your God. And if you look for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him. 30 When you are in trouble—when all these things happen to you—then you will come back to the Lord your God and obey him. 31 The Lord your God is a merciful God! He will not leave you there or destroy you completely. He will not forget the agreement that he made with your ancestors.
23 I tell you this, and I ask God to be my witness that this is true: The reason I did not come back to Corinth was that I did not want to punish or hurt you. 24 I don’t mean that we are trying to control your faith. You are strong in faith. But we are workers with you for your own happiness.
2 So I decided that my next visit to you would not be another visit to make you sad. 2 If I make you sad, then who will make me happy? Only you can make me happy—you, the ones I made sad. 3 I wrote you a letter so that when I came to you I would not be made sad by those who should make me happy. I felt sure that all of you would share my joy. 4 When I wrote to you before, I was very troubled and my heart was full of sadness. I wrote with many tears. I did not write to make you sad, but to let you know how much I love you.
Forgive the Person Who Did Wrong
5 Someone in your group has caused sadness—not to me, but to all of you. I mean he has caused sadness to all in some way. (I don’t want to make it sound worse than it really is.) 6 The punishment that most of your group gave him is enough for him. 7 But now you should forgive him and encourage him. This will keep him from having too much sadness and giving up completely. 8 So I beg you to show him that you love him. 9 This is why I wrote to you. I wanted to test you and see if you obey in everything. 10 If you forgive someone, then I also forgive them. And what I have forgiven—if I had anything to forgive—I forgave it for you, and Christ was with me. 11 I did this so that Satan would not win anything from us. We know very well what his plans are.
God Gives Us Victory Over Troubles
12 I went to Troas to tell people the Good News of Christ. The Lord gave me a good opportunity there. 13 But I had no peace because I did not find my brother Titus. So I said goodbye and went to Macedonia.
14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in victory through Christ. God uses us to spread his knowledge everywhere like a sweet-smelling perfume. 15 Our offering to God is to be the perfume of Christ that goes out to those who are being saved and to those who are being lost. 16 To those who are being lost, this perfume smells like death, and it brings them death. But to those who are being saved, it has the sweet smell of life, and it brings them life. So who is good enough to do this work? 17 Certainly not those who are out there selling God’s message for a profit! But we don’t do that. With Christ’s help we speak God’s truth honestly, knowing that we must answer to him.
Story About Two Sons
11 Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger son said to his father, ‘Give me now the part of your property that I am supposed to receive someday.’ So the father divided his wealth between his two sons.
13 “A few days later the younger son gathered up all that he had and left. He traveled far away to another country, and there he wasted his money living like a fool. 14 After he spent everything he had, there was a terrible famine throughout the country. He was hungry and needed money. 15 So he went and got a job with one of the people who lived there. The man sent him into the fields to feed pigs. 16 He was so hungry that he wanted to eat the food the pigs were eating. But no one gave him anything.
17 “The son realized that he had been very foolish. He thought, ‘All my father’s hired workers have plenty of food. But here I am, almost dead because I have nothing to eat. 18 I will leave and go to my father. I will say to him: Father, I have sinned against God and have done wrong to you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But let me be like one of your hired workers.’ 20 So he left and went to his father.
The Younger Son Returns
“While the son was still a long way off, his father saw him coming and felt sorry for him. So he ran to him and hugged and kissed him. 21 The son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against God and have done wrong to you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Hurry! Bring the best clothes and put them on him. Also, put a ring on his finger and good sandals on his feet. 23 And bring our best calf and kill it so that we can celebrate with plenty to eat. 24 My son was dead, but now he is alive again! He was lost, but now he is found!’ So they began to have a party.
The Older Son Complains
25 “The older son had been out in the field. When he came near the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. 26 So he called to one of the servant boys and asked, ‘What does all this mean?’ 27 The boy said, ‘Your brother has come back, and your father killed the best calf to eat. He is happy because he has his son back safe and sound.’
28 “The older son was angry and would not go in to the party. So his father went out and begged him to come in. 29 But he said to his father, ‘Look, for all these years I have worked like a slave for you. I have always done what you told me to do, and you never gave me even a young goat for a party with my friends. 30 But then this son of yours comes home after wasting your money on prostitutes, and you kill the best calf for him!’
31 “His father said to him, ‘Oh, my son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But this was a day to be happy and celebrate. Your brother was dead, but now he is alive. He was lost, but now he is found.’”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International