Book of Common Prayer

The Prayer of a Man in Trouble

102 Hear my prayer, O Lord! Let my cry for help come to You. ² Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble. Turn Your ear to me. Hurry to answer me in the day when I call. ³ For my days go up in smoke. And my bones are burned as with fire. ⁴ My heart is crushed and dried like grass. And I forget to eat my food. ⁵ I am nothing but skin and bones because of my loud cries. ⁶ I am like a pelican in the desert. I am like an owl of the waste places. ⁷ I lie awake. And I feel like a bird alone on the roof.

⁸ Those who hate me have made it hard for me all day long. Those who are angry with me curse my name. ⁹ For I have eaten ashes like bread and have mixed my drink with tears, ¹⁰ because of Your great anger. For You have lifted me up and thrown me away. ¹¹ My days are like the evening shadow. I dried up like grass.

¹² But You and Your name, O Lord, will always be forever and to all people for all time. ¹³ You will rise up and have loving-pity on Zion. For it is time to show favor to her. The set time has come. ¹⁴ For Your servants respect her stones and show pity for her dust. ¹⁵ The nations will fear the name of the Lord. All the kings of the earth will fear Your shining-greatness. ¹⁶ For the Lord has built up Zion. He will come in His shining-greatness. ¹⁷ He will answer the prayer of those in need. He will not turn from their prayer.

¹⁸ This will be written for the children-to-come. So a people not yet born may give thanks to the Lord. ¹⁹ For He looked down from His holy place. He watched the earth from heaven, ²⁰ to hear the loud cries of those in prison and to set free those who are being sent to death. ²¹ So the name of the Lord will be made known in Zion and His praise in Jerusalem, ²² when the people gather together and the nations gather to serve the Lord.

²³ He has taken away my strength. He has taken days from my life. ²⁴ I said, “O my God, do not take me away when my days are only half done. Your years go on to all people of all time. ²⁵ You made the earth in the beginning. You made the heavens with Your hands. ²⁶ They will be destroyed but You will always live. They will all become old as clothing becomes old. You will change them like a coat. And they will be changed, ²⁷ but You are always the same. Your years will never end. ²⁸ The children of those who work for You will live on. And their children will be set before You.”

God Helps Men in Trouble

107 Give thanks to the Lord for He is good! His loving-kindness lasts forever! ² Let the people who have been saved say so. He has bought them and set them free from the hand of those who hated them. ³ He gathered them from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.

⁴ Some traveled through the desert wastes. They did not find a way to a city where they could live. ⁵ They were hungry and thirsty. Their souls became weak within them. ⁶ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble. And He took them out of their suffering. ⁷ He led them by a straight path to a city where they could live. ⁸ Let them give thanks to the Lord for His loving-kindness and His great works to the children of men! ⁹ For He fills the thirsty soul. And He fills the hungry soul with good things.

¹⁰ Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death. They suffered in prison in iron chains. ¹¹ Because they had turned against the Words of God. They hated what the Most High told them to do. ¹² So He loaded them down with hard work. They fell and there was no one to help. ¹³ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble. And He saved them from their suffering. ¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death. And He broke their chains. ¹⁵ Let them give thanks to the Lord for His loving-kindness and His great works to the children of men! ¹⁶ For He has broken gates of brass and cut through walls of iron.

¹⁷ Some were fools because of their wrong-doing. They had troubles because of their sins. ¹⁸ They hated all kinds of food. And they came near the gates of death. ¹⁹ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble. And He saved them from their suffering. ²⁰ He sent His Word and healed them. And He saved them from the grave. ²¹ Let them give thanks to the Lord for His loving-kindness and His great works to the children of men! ²² Let them give Him gifts of thanks and tell of His works with songs of joy.

²³ Some went out to sea in ships to buy and sell on the great waters. ²⁴ They have seen what the Lord can do and His great works on the sea. ²⁵ For He spoke and raised up a storm that lifted up the waves of the sea. ²⁶ They went up to the heavens and down to the deep. Their strength of heart left them in their danger. ²⁷ They could not walk straight but went from side to side like a drunk man. They did not know what to do. ²⁸ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble. And He took them out of all their problems. ²⁹ He stopped the storm, and the waves of the sea became quiet. ³⁰ Then they were glad because the sea became quiet. And He led them to the safe place they wanted. ³¹ Let them give thanks to the Lord for His loving-kindness and His great works to the children of men! ³² Let them honor Him in the meeting of the people and praise Him in the meeting of the leaders.

Israel’s Sin

10 Israel is a spreading vine full of fruit. The more fruit he had, the more altars he made. As his land became richer, he made his pillars for worship better. ² Their heart is not faithful, and now they must suffer for their sins. The Lord will break down their altars and destroy their pillars for worship.

³ Then they will say, “We have no king because we do not fear the Lord. And what could a king do for us?” ⁴ They speak empty words and make false promises, so punishment grows like weeds of poison in a plowed field. ⁵ The people of Samaria will be afraid for the calf of Beth-aven. Its people will have sorrow for it. Its religious leaders who worship false gods will cry over it in a loud voice. They will cry because its greatness has gone. ⁶ The thing itself will be carried to Assyria and given to King Jareb. Ephraim will be put to shame, and Israel will be ashamed of its false god. ⁷ Samaria and its king will be lost like a piece of wood on the water. ⁸ The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed. Thorns and thistles will grow on their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!”

⁹ “You have sinned since the days of Gibeah, O Israel, and there you have stayed. Will not the sinners be destroyed in battle in Gibeah? ¹⁰ I will punish them when I please. And the nations will be gathered against them when they are punished for their many sins.

¹¹ “Ephraim is a well-taught young cow that loves to crush the grain. But I will put a load on her beautiful neck. I will drive Ephraim. Judah must plow. And Jacob must break up the ground. ¹² Plant what is right and good for yourselves. Gather the fruit of lasting love. Break up your ground that has not been plowed. For it is time to look for the Lord, until He comes and pours His saving power on you. ¹³ You have plowed wrong-doing and have gathered sin. You have eaten the fruit of lies. You have trusted in your own strength and in your many soldiers. ¹⁴ The noise of battle will rise up among your people. All your strong cities will be destroyed, as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle. Mothers were crushed in pieces with their children. ¹⁵ This will be done to you at Bethel because of your many sins. When the day begins, the king of Israel will be destroyed.

³⁷ Paul was brought into the soldiers’ building. He said to the captain, “May I say something to you?” The captain said, “Can you speak the Greek language? ³⁸ Are you not the man from the country of Egypt who made trouble against our country? That man led 4,000 fighting men into the desert.” ³⁹ Paul said, “No! I am a Jew and a citizen of a large city. I am from Tarsus in the country of Cilicia. I ask you to let me speak to the people.” ⁴⁰ The captain told Paul to speak. So Paul stood on the steps and held up his hand. When there was no more noise, he spoke to them in the language of the Jews.

Paul Tells of His Past Life

22 Paul said, “Brothers and fathers, listen to what I have to say to you.” ² When they heard him speak to them in their own language, they stopped making noise. Then he said,

³ “I am a Jew. I was born in the city of Tarsus in the country of Cilicia. When I was a young man, I lived here in Jerusalem. I went to Gamaliel’s school and learned all about the Law of our early fathers. I worked hard for God as you all do today.

⁴ “I worked hard and killed men and women who believed as I believe today. I put them in chains and sent them to prison. ⁵ The head religious leader and the leaders of the people can tell you this is true. I got letters from them to take to our Jewish brothers in the city of Damascus. I was going there to put the Christians in chains and bring them to Jerusalem where they would be beaten.

The Change in Paul’s Life on the Damascus Road

⁶ “I was near Damascus. All at once, about noon, I saw a bright light from heaven shining around me. ⁷ I fell to the ground. A voice said to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you work so hard against Me?’ ⁸ I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, the One you are working against.’ ⁹ Those who were with me saw the light. But they did not hear Him speaking to me. ¹⁰ I asked, ‘Lord, what should I do?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up! Go to Damascus. You will be told what to do there.’

¹¹ “I could not see because of the bright light. Those who were with me had to lead me by the hand until we came to Damascus. ¹² Ananias lived there. He obeyed the Law and was respected by all the Jews. ¹³ He came and stood near me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ At once I was able to see him. ¹⁴ Then Ananias said, ‘The God of our fathers chose you to know what He wants done. He chose you to see Jesus Christ, the One Right with God, and to hear His voice. ¹⁵ You are to tell all men what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ What are you waiting for? Get up! Be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on His name.’

Jesus Calls His Twelve Followers ^(A)

¹² One day Jesus went up on a mountain to pray. He prayed all night to God. ¹³ In the morning He called His followers to Him. He chose twelve of them and called them. ¹⁴ There were Simon, whom He also named Peter, and his brother Andrew. There were James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, ¹⁵ Matthew and Thomas. There were James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Canaanite. ¹⁶ There were Judas, who was the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot who would hand Jesus over to be killed.

Jesus Heals Many People ^(B)

¹⁷ Then Jesus came down and stood on a plain with many of His followers. Many people came from the country of Judea and from Jerusalem and from the cities of Tyre and Sidon. They came to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. ¹⁸ Those who were troubled with demons came and were healed. ¹⁹ All the people tried to put their hands on Jesus. Power came from Him and He healed them all.

Jesus Teaches on the Mountain ^(C)

²⁰ He looked at His followers and said, “Those of you who are poor are happy, because the holy nation of God is yours. ²¹ Those of you who are hungry now are happy, because you will be filled. Those of you who have sorrow now are happy, because you will laugh. ²² You are happy when men hate you and do not want you around and put shame on you because you trust in Me. ²³ Be glad in that day. Be full of joy for your reward is much in heaven. Their fathers did these things to the early preachers.

²⁴ “It is bad for you who are rich. You are receiving all that you will get. ²⁵ It is bad for you who are full. You will be hungry. It is bad for you who laugh now. You will have sorrow and you will cry. ²⁶ It is bad for you when everyone speaks well of you. In the same way, their fathers spoke well of the false teachers.