Book of Common Prayer

Prayer for Help

5 Hear my words, O Lord. Think about my crying. ² Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God. For I pray to you. ³ In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice. In the morning I will lay my prayers before You and will look up.

⁴ You are not a God Who is pleased with what is bad. The sinful cannot be with You. ⁵ The proud cannot stand before You. You hate all who do wrong. ⁶ You destroy those who tell lies. The Lord hates liars and men who kill other people.

⁷ But as for me, by Your great loving-kindness, I will come into Your house. At Your holy house I will put my face to the ground before You in love and fear. ⁸ O Lord, lead me in what is right and good, because of the ones who hate me. Make Your way straight in front of me.

⁹ For in their talk there is no truth. Their hearts destroy. Their mouths are like an open grave. With their tongues, they say sweet-sounding words that are not true. ¹⁰ Hold them guilty, O God! Let them fall by their own plans. Throw them out because of their many sins. For they have fought against You. ¹¹ But let all who put their trust in You be glad. Let them sing with joy forever. You make a covering for them, that all who love Your name may be glad in You. ¹² For You will make those happy who do what is right, O Lord. You will cover them all around with Your favor.

Prayer for Help in Time of Trouble

6 O Lord, do not speak sharp words to me in Your anger, or punish me when You are angry. ² Be kind to me, O Lord, for I am weak. O Lord, heal me for my bones are shaken. ³ My soul is in great suffering. But You, O Lord, how long? ⁴ Return, O Lord. Set my soul free. Save me because of Your loving-kindness. ⁵ No one remembers You when he is dead. Who gives You praise from the grave? ⁶ I am tired of crying inside myself. All night long my pillow is wet with tears. I flood my bed with them. ⁷ My eye has grown weak with sorrow. It has grown old because of all who hate me. ⁸ Go away from me, all you who sin. For the Lord has heard the sound of my crying. ⁹ The Lord has heard my cry for help. The Lord receives my prayer. ¹⁰ All those who hate me will be ashamed and worried. They will turn away. They will be put to shame right away.

Prayer for God to Destroy the Sinful

10 Why do You stand far away, O Lord? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble? ² The sinful, in their pride, try to catch the weak. Let them be caught in the plans they have made. ³ The sinful man is proud of the desires of his heart. He praises those who want everything but he speaks against the Lord. ⁴ The sinful man in his pride does not look for God. All his thoughts are that there is no God. ⁵ His ways always go well for him. Your laws are too high for him to see. He laughs at those who hate him. ⁶ He says to himself, “I will not be moved. For all time, I will never have trouble.” ⁷ With his mouth he swears and lies. He makes it hard for other people. Trouble and sin are under his tongue. ⁸ He lies hidden in the towns, waiting to kill those who are not guilty. His eyes are always watching for the weak. ⁹ He lies in wait like a hidden lion. He lies in wait to catch the weak, and they become caught in his net. ¹⁰ The weak are hurt and they fall. They cannot stand under his strength. ¹¹ He says to himself, “God has forgotten. He has hidden His face and will never see it.”

¹² Rise up, O Lord! Lift up Your hand, O God. Do not forget the weak. ¹³ Why does the sinful man turn away from God? He has said to himself, “You will not ask it of me.” ¹⁴ But You have seen it. You look upon trouble and suffering, to take it into Your hands. The suffering man gives himself to You. You are the Helper of the one who has no father. ¹⁵ Break the arm of the bad and sinful man. Find out all his sins until You find no more. ¹⁶ The Lord is King forever and ever. Those who worship false gods will be taken from the land.

¹⁷ O Lord, You have heard the prayers of those who have no pride. You will give strength to their heart, and You will listen to them. ¹⁸ In this way, You will do the right thing for those without a father and those who suffer, so that man who is of the earth will no longer make them afraid.

The Lord—a Safe Place

11 In the Lord I am safe. How can you say to me, “Fly away as a bird to your mountain? ² For look, the sinful raise their bow. They make their arrow ready on the string to shoot in the dark against the pure in heart. ³ If the base of the building is destroyed, what can those who are right with God do?”

⁴ The Lord is in His holy house. The Lord’s throne is in heaven. His eyes see as He tests the sons of men. ⁵ The Lord tests and proves those who are right and good and those who are sinful. And His soul hates the one who loves to hurt others. ⁶ He will send down fire upon the sinful. Fire and sulphur and burning wind will be the cup they will drink. ⁷ For the Lord is right and good. He loves what is right and good. And those who are right with Him will see His face.

A Father’s Teaching

4 O sons, hear the teaching of a father. Listen so you may get understanding. ² For I give you good teaching. Do not turn away from it. ³ When I was a much loved and only son of my mother and father, ⁴ he taught me, saying, “Hold my words close to your heart. Keep my teachings and live. ⁵ Get wisdom and understanding. Do not forget or turn away from the words of my mouth. ⁶ Do not leave her alone, and she will keep you safe. Love her, and she will watch over you. ⁷ The beginning of wisdom is: Get wisdom! And with all you have gotten, get understanding. ⁸ Honor her and she will honor you. She will honor you if you hold her to your heart. ⁹ She will put on your head a crown of loving-favor and beauty.”

¹⁰ Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, and the years of your life will be many. ¹¹ I have taught you in the way of wisdom. I have led you on the right paths. ¹² When you walk, your steps will not be stopped. If you run, you will not trip. ¹³ Take hold of teaching. Do not let go. Watch over her, for she is your life. ¹⁴ Do not go on the path of the sinful. Do not walk in the way of bad men. ¹⁵ Stay away from it. Do not pass by it. Turn from it, and pass on. ¹⁶ For they cannot sleep unless they do wrong. They are robbed of sleep unless they make someone fall. ¹⁷ For they eat the bread of sin, and drink the wine of wrong-doing. ¹⁸ But the way of those who are right is like the early morning light. It shines brighter and brighter until the perfect day. ¹⁹ The way of the sinful is like darkness. They do not know what they trip over.

²⁰ My son, listen to my words. Turn your ear to my sayings. ²¹ Do not let them leave your eyes. Keep them in the center of your heart. ²² For they are life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. ²³ Keep your heart pure for out of it are the important things of life. ²⁴ Put false speaking away from you. Put bad talk far from you. ²⁵ Let your eyes look straight in front of you, and keep looking at what is in front of you. ²⁶ Watch the path of your feet, and all your ways will be sure. ²⁷ Do not turn to the right or to the left. Turn your foot away from sin.

Loving God Makes Us Love Our Christian Brothers

⁷ Dear friends, let us love each other, because love comes from God. Those who love are God’s children and they know God. ⁸ Those who do not love do not know God because God is love. ⁹ God has shown His love to us by sending His only Son into the world. God did this so we might have life through Christ. ¹⁰ This is love! It is not that we loved God but that He loved us. For God sent His Son to pay for our sins with His own blood.

¹¹ Dear friends, if God loved us that much, then we should love each other. ¹² No person has ever seen God at any time. If we love each other, God lives in us. His love is made perfect in us. ¹³ He has given us His Spirit. This is how we live by His help and He lives in us.

Love Gives Us More Faith in Christ

¹⁴ We have seen and are able to say that the Father sent His Son to save the world from the punishment of sin. ¹⁵ The person who tells of Him in front of men and says that Jesus is the Son of God, God is living in that one and that one is living by the help of God. ¹⁶ We have come to know and believe the love God has for us. God is love. If you live in love, you live by the help of God and God lives in you.

The Love of God Has Power Over Fear and Hate

¹⁷ Love is made perfect in us when we are not ashamed as we stand before Him on the day He judges. For we know that our life in this world is His life lived in us. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. Perfect love puts fear out of our hearts. People have fear when they are afraid of being punished. The man who is afraid does not have perfect love. ¹⁹ We love Him because He loved us first. ²⁰ If a person says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. If a person does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God Whom he has not seen? ²¹ We have these words from Him. If you love God, love your brother also.

Jesus Tells about John the Baptist ^(A)

⁷ As the followers of John the Baptist went away, Jesus began to tell the people about John. He said, “What did you go out to see in the desert? A small tree shaking in the wind? ⁸ But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in good clothes? Those who are dressed in good clothes are in the houses of kings. ⁹ What did you go out to see? One who speaks for God? Yes, I tell you, he is more than one who speaks for God. ¹⁰ This is the man the Holy Writings spoke of when they said, ‘See! I will send My helper to carry news ahead of You. He will make Your way ready for You!’ ^{(B) 11} For sure, I tell you, of those born of women, there is no one greater than John the Baptist. The least in the holy nation of heaven is greater than he. ¹² From the days of John the Baptist until now, the holy nation of heaven has suffered very much. Fighting men try to take it. ¹³ All the early preachers and the Law told about it until the time of John. ¹⁴ And if you will believe it, he is Elijah who was to come. ^{(C) 15} You have ears, then listen!