Book of Common Prayer
Prayer of a Sick Man about False Friends
41 Happy is the man who cares for the poor. The Lord will save him in times of trouble. 2 The Lord will keep him alive and safe. And he will be happy upon the earth. You will not give him over to the desire of those who hate him. 3 The Lord will give him strength on his bed of sickness. When he is sick, You will make him well again.
4 As for me, I said, “O Lord, have loving-kindness for me. Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.” 5 Those who hate me speak bad words against me, saying, “When will he die, and his name be forgotten?” 6 When one comes to see me, he speaks lies. His heart gathers up bad stories. Then he goes outside and tells them. 7 All who hate me speak in secret together against me. They make plans to hurt me, saying, 8 “A bad thing has come over him. When he lies down, he will not rise again.” 9 Even a friend of mine whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has turned against me.
10 Have loving-kindness for me, O Lord. Raise me up, so that I may pay them back. 11 Then I will know that You are pleased with me, because he who hates me does not win over me. 12 As for me, You hold me up in my honesty. And You set me beside You forever.
13 Honor be to the Lord, the God of Israel, forever and ever! Let it be so!
Trust in God’s Love
52 Why do you take pride in wrong-doing, O powerful man? The loving-kindness of God lasts all day long. 2 Your tongue makes plans to destroy like a sharp knife, you who lie. 3 You love what is bad more than what is good, and you speak lies more than you speak the truth. 4 You love all words that destroy, O lying tongue.
5 But God will destroy you forever. He will pick you up and pull you away from your tent. He will pull up your roots from the land of the living. 6 And those who are right will see and be afraid. They will laugh at him, saying, 7 “Look, the man who would not make God his safe place, but trusted in his many riches and was strong in his sinful desire.”
8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the loving-kindness of God forever and ever. 9 I will give You thanks forever because of what You have done. And I will hope in Your name, for it is good to be where those who belong to You are.
Prayer because of Troubles
44 O God, we have heard with our ears. Our fathers have told us what work You did in their days, in the days long ago. 2 With Your own hand You made the nations leave, and put our fathers in the land. You brought trouble upon the nations, and You spread them out. 3 It was not by their sword that they took the land. Their own arm did not save them. But it was Your right hand, and Your arm, and the light of Your face, for You favored them.
4 You are my King, O God. Jacob wins because You say it must be so. 5 Through You we will push away those who hate us. Through Your name we will walk over those who rise up against us. 6 For I will not trust my bow, and my sword will not save me. 7 But You have saved us from those who fight against us. You have put to shame those who hate us. 8 In God we have had our pride all day long. And we will give thanks to Your name forever.
9 But now You have turned from us and have put us to shame. You do not go out with our armies. 10 You made us turn away from those who fight against us. And those who hate us have robbed us. 11 You give us up to be eaten like sheep. You have spread us out among the nations. 12 You sell Your people for nothing, and become no richer from their price. 13 You have made us a shame to our neighbors. Those around us laugh and make fun of us. 14 You have made us hated among the nations. The people laugh at us. 15 All day long my shame is with me and has become too much for me. 16 Those who talk against me, and who hate me are around me and want to punish me.
17 All this has come upon us, but we have not forgotten You. We have not been false to Your agreement. 18 Our heart has not turned away. And our steps have not turned from Your way. 19 But You have crushed us in a place of wild dogs, and covered us with the shadow of death.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God, or put out our hands to a strange god, 21 would not God find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart. 22 But we are killed all day long because of You. We are thought of as sheep that are ready to be killed. 23 Awake, O Lord! Why do You sleep? Rise up! Do not turn away from us forever. 24 Why do You hide Your face? Why do You forget our troubles and our suffering? 25 For our soul is brought down to the dust. Our body holds on to the earth. 26 Rise up and help us! Save us because of Your loving-kindness.
Elihu Talks
32 Then these three men stopped answering Job, because he was right and good in his own eyes. 2 But Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry. He was angry at Job because he said he was right with God. 3 And he was angry at his three friends because they had found no answer, yet they had said that Job was wrong. 4 Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he. 5 And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, he was very angry. 6 So Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite said, “I am young, and you are old. So I did not feel that I should speak. I was afraid to tell you what I think. 7 I thought the older men should speak, and that the many years should teach wisdom. 8 But it is the spirit in a man and the breath of the All-powerful that gives him understanding. 9 The old may not be wise. They may not understand what is right and fair. 10 So I say, ‘Listen to me. I also will tell you what I think.’
19 See, my stomach is like wine that cannot get out. It is ready to break like new wine bottles made of skin. 20 Let me speak, that I may find comfort. Let me open my lips and answer. 21 I will not show favor to anyone, or praise any man in a false way. 22 For I do not know how to say sweet-sounding words that are not true, for then my Maker would soon take me away.
Elihu Keeps On Speaking
33 “But now, Job, hear what I say. Listen to all my words.
19 “Man is also punished with pain on his bed and has pain all the time in his bones. 20 So he hates bread, and has no desire for fine foods. 21 His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen. His bones which were not seen stick out. 22 His soul comes close to the grave, and his life to those who bring death.
23 “If there is an angel, one out of a thousand, to speak with God for him, and to show a man what is right for him, 24 then let him be kind to him, and say, ‘Save him from going down to the grave. I have found someone to pay the price to make him free. 25 Let his flesh become young again. Let him return to the days when he was young and strong.’ 26 Then he will pray to God, and God will be pleased with him. He will see His face with joy. And God will make man right with Him again. 27 He will sing to men and say, ‘I have sinned and have not done what is right, but He did not punish me. 28 He has kept my soul from going to the grave. And my life will see the light.’
Paul and Barnabas Go to the People Who Are Not Jews
44 Almost all of the people of the town came to hear the Word of God on the next Day of Rest. 45 The Jews were filled with jealousy when they saw so many people. They spoke against the things Paul said by saying he was wrong. They also spoke against God. 46 Paul and Barnabas said to the people in plain words, “We must preach the Word of God to you first. But because you put it aside, you are not good enough for life that lasts forever. So we will go to the people who are not Jews. 47 The Lord gave us a work to do. He said, ‘You are to be a light to the people who are not Jews. You are to preach so that men over all the earth can be saved from the punishment of their sins.’” (A)
48 The people who were not Jews were glad when they heard this. They were thankful for the Word of God. Those who were chosen for life that lasts forever believed. 49 The Word of God was preached over all that land.
50 The Jews worked on the feelings of the women who were religious and respected. They worked on the leading men of the city also. They worked against Paul and Barnabas and made them leave their city. 51 But Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off from their feet against them and went to the city of Iconium. 52 The missionaries were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
19 Because of what He said, the Jews did not agree in their thinking. 20 Many of them said, “He has a demon and is crazy. Why listen to Him?” 21 Others said, “A man who has a demon does not talk this way. Can a demon open the eyes of a blind man?”
Jesus Tells Who He Is
22 It was time for the religious gathering of remembering how the house of God was opened in Jerusalem. 23 It was winter and Jesus was there. He was walking in Solomon’s porch in the house of God. 24 The Jews gathered around Him. They said, “How long are You going to keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us.”
25 Jesus answered, “I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in My Father’s name speak of Me. 26 You do not believe because you are not My sheep. 27 My sheep hear My voice and I know them. They follow Me. 28 I give them life that lasts forever. They will never be punished. No one is able to take them out of My hand. 29 My Father Who gave them to Me is greater than all. No one is able to take them out of My Father’s hand. 30 My Father and I are one!”
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