Book of Common Prayer

The Lord—Our Safe Place in Life and Covering in Death

16 Keep me, O God, for I am safe in You. ² I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord. All the good things I have come from You.” ³ As for those in the land who belong to You, they are the great ones in whom is all my joy. ⁴ Those who have traded for another god bring many troubles on themselves. I will not take part in their altar gifts of blood. And I will not take their names upon my lips.

⁵ The Lord is all that I am to receive, and my cup. My future is in Your hands. ⁶ The land given to me is good. Yes, my share is beautiful to me.

⁷ I will give honor and thanks to the Lord, Who has told me what to do. Yes, even at night my mind teaches me. ⁸ I have placed the Lord always in front of me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be moved. ⁹ And so my heart is glad. My soul is full of joy. My body also will rest without fear. ¹⁰ For You will not give me over to the grave. And You will not allow Your Holy One to return to dust. ¹¹ You will show me the way of life. Being with You is to be full of joy. In Your right hand there is happiness forever.

Prayer for Help in Time of Trouble

17 Hear what is right, O Lord. Listen to my cry. Hear my prayer, for it does not come from lying lips. ² May You decide in my favor. May Your eyes see what is right. ³ You have tested my heart. You have visited me during the night. You have tested me and have found nothing wrong. I have decided that my mouth will not sin. ⁴ As for the actions of men, by the word of Your lips, I have kept myself from the paths of those who want to hurt others. ⁵ My steps have followed Your paths. My feet have not turned from them.

⁶ I have called to You, O God, for You will answer me. Listen to me and hear my words. ⁷ Show Your great loving-kindness. You save by Your right hand the people that come to You for help from those who hate them. ⁸ Keep me safe as You would Your own eye. Hide me in the shadow of Your wings, ⁹ from the sinful who fight against me, those who would kill me and are all around me. ¹⁰ They have closed their fat hearts to pity. And their mouths speak with pride. ¹¹ They have followed our every step and are all around us. They are watching for a way to bring us down to the ground. ¹² He is like a hungry lion, like a young lion hiding and waiting.

¹³ Rise up, O Lord. Stand against him. Bring him down. Save me from the sinful with Your sword. ¹⁴ O Lord, save me by Your hand from such men. Their riches are in this life. Their stomach is filled with what you have stored for them. Their children are filled. Let them leave some for their babies. ¹⁵ As for me, I will see Your face in what is right and good. I will be happy to see You when I awake.

A Cry of Fear and a Song of Praise

22 My God, my God, why have You left me alone? Why are You so far from helping me, and from the words I cry inside myself? ² O my God, I cry during the day, but You do not answer. I cry during the night, but I find no rest. ³ Yet You are holy. The praises Israel gives You are Your throne. ⁴ Our fathers trusted in You, and You saved them. ⁵ They cried to You and were set free. They trusted in You and were not ashamed.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man. I am put to shame by men, and am hated by the people. ⁷ All who see me make fun of me. They open their mouths and shake their heads, and say, ⁸ “He trusts in the Lord. Let the Lord help him. Let the Lord take him out of trouble, because he is happy in Him.”

⁹ But You brought me out when I was born. You made me trust when I drank my mother’s milk. ¹⁰ I was in Your care from birth. Since my mother gave birth to me, You have been my God.

¹¹ Do not be far from me, for trouble is near. And there is no one to help. ¹² Many bulls have gathered all around me. Strong bulls of Bashan stand around me. ¹³ They open their mouths wide against me, like a loud, hungry lion. ¹⁴ I am poured out like water. And all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like a melted candle within me. ¹⁵ My strength is dried up like a piece of a broken clay pot. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. And You lay me in the dust of death. ¹⁶ For dogs have gathered around me. A group of sinful men stand around me. They have cut through my hands and feet. ¹⁷ I can tell how many bones I have. The people look at me with wide eyes. ¹⁸ They divide my clothes among them by drawing names to see who would get them.

¹⁹ But You, O Lord, be not far from me! O my Strength, hurry to help me! ²⁰ Take me away from the sword. Save my life from the power of the dog. ²¹ Save me from the lion’s mouth, and from the horns of the wild bulls You answer me.

²² I will make Your name known to my brothers. In the center of the meeting of worship I will praise You. ²³ You who fear the Lord, give Him praise. All you children of Jacob, honor Him. Fear Him, all you children of Israel. ²⁴ For He has not turned away from the suffering of the one in pain or trouble. He has not hidden His face from him. But He has heard his cry for help.

²⁵ My praise will be from You in the big meeting of worship. I will keep my promises to Him in front of those who fear Him. ²⁶ Those who suffer will eat and have enough. Those who look for the Lord will praise Him. May your heart live forever! ²⁷ All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord. All the families of the nations will worship before Him. ²⁸ For the holy nation is the Lord’s, and He rules over the nations. ²⁹ All the proud ones of the earth will eat and worship. All who go down to the dust will fall to their knees before Him, even he who cannot keep his soul alive. ³⁰ Future children will serve Him. They will tell of the Lord to their children. ³¹ They will come and tell about His saving power to a people yet to be born. For He has done it.

The Powerful Work of Paul

28 After we were safe on the island, we knew that it was Malta. ² The people on the island were very kind to us. It was raining and cold. They made a fire so we could get warm. ³ Paul had gathered some wood. As he laid it on the fire, a snake came out because of the heat. It held fast to Paul’s hand. ⁴ When the people of the island saw the snake holding to his hand, they said to each other, “This man is a killer. He was saved from the sea and yet it is not right for him to live.” ⁵ Paul shook off the snake into the fire. He was not hurt in any way. ⁶ The people waited. They thought his hand would get large and he would fall over dead. After watching for a long time, they saw nothing happen to him. Then they changed their minds and said that Paul was a god.

The Father of Publius Is Healed

⁷ Publius was the head man of the island. He owned land around there. For three days he took us in and gave us everything we needed. ⁸ The father of Publius was sick with a stomach sickness. Paul went to see him. He prayed and laid his hands on him and the man was healed. ⁹ Because of this, other people of the island who were sick came to Paul and were healed. ¹⁰ They had great respect for us. When we got into a ship to leave, they gave us everything we needed.

¹¹ We had stayed on the island three months. Then we left on a ship that had stayed there during the winter. It was from the city of Alexandria. This ship was called the Twin Brothers. ¹² We came to Syracuse and stayed there three days. ¹³ From there we went by ship around to the city of Rhegium. After a day a south wind started to blow. On the second day we came to the city of Puteoli. ¹⁴ We found some Christians there, and they asked us to stay with them. We were there seven days and then went on to the city of Rome.

¹⁵ When the Christians heard of our coming, they came to meet us. They came as far as the town of Appius and to a place to stay called the Three Stores. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.

Paul Tells Why and How He Has Come

¹⁶ When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live where he wanted to. But a soldier was always by his side to watch him.

A Look at What Jesus Will Be Like ^(A)

²⁸ About eight days after Jesus had said these things, He took Peter and James and John with Him. They went up on a mountain to pray. ²⁹ As Jesus prayed, He was changed in looks before them. His clothes became white and shining bright. ³⁰ Two men talked with Jesus. They were Moses and Elijah. ³¹ They looked like the shining-greatness of heaven as they talked about His death in Jerusalem which was soon to happen.

³² But Peter and those with him had gone to sleep. When they woke up, they saw His shining-greatness and the two men who stood with Him. ³³ As the two men went from Jesus, Peter said to Him, “Teacher, it is good for us to be here. Let us build three tents to worship in. One will be for You. One will be for Moses. One will be for Elijah.” He did not know what he was saying. ³⁴ While he was talking, a cloud came over them. They were afraid as the cloud came in around them.

³⁵ A voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, the One I have chosen. Listen to Him!” ³⁶ When the voice was gone, Jesus was standing there alone. From that time on, they kept these things to themselves. They told no one what they had seen.