Book of Common Prayer
(A psalm by David for the music leader.)
A Prayer in Time of Sickness
1 You, Lord God, bless everyone
who cares for the poor,
and you rescue those people
in times of trouble.
2 You protect them
and keep them alive.
You make them happy here
in this land,
and you don't hand them over
to their enemies.
3 You always heal them
and restore their strength
when they are sick.
4 I prayed, “Have pity, Lord!
Heal me, though I have sinned
against you.”
5 My vicious enemies ask me,
“When will you die
and be forgotten?”
6 When visitors come,
all they ever bring
are worthless words,
and when they leave,
they spread gossip.
7 My enemies whisper about me.
They think the worst,
8 and they say,
“You have some fatal disease!
You'll never get well.”
9 (A) My most trusted friend
has turned against me,
though he ate at my table.
10 Have pity, Lord! Heal me,
so I can pay them back.
11 Then my enemies
won't defeat me,
and I will know
that you really care.
12 You have helped me
because I am innocent,
and you will always
be close to my side.
13 (B) You, the Lord God of Israel,
will be praised forever!
Amen and amen.
(A special psalm by David for the music leader. He wrote this when Doeg from Edom went to Saul and said, “David has gone to Ahimelech's house.”)
God Is in Control
1 (A) You people may be strong
and brag about your sins,
but God can be trusted
day after day.
2 You plan brutal crimes,
and your lying words cut
like a sharp razor.
3 You would rather do evil
than good, and tell lies
than speak the truth.
4 You love to say cruel things,
and your words are a trap.
5 God will destroy you forever!
He will grab you and drag you
from your homes.
You will be uprooted
and left to die.
6 When good people see
this fearsome sight,
they will laugh and say,
7 “Just look at them now!
Instead of trusting God,
they trusted their wealth
and their cruelty.”
8 But I am like an olive tree
growing in God's house,
and I can count on his love
forever and ever.
9 I will always thank God
for what he has done;
I will praise his good name
when his people meet.
(A special psalm by the clan of Korah and for the music leader.)
A Prayer for Help
1 Our God, our ancestors told us
what wonders you worked
and we listened carefully.
2 You chased off the nations
by causing them trouble
with your powerful arm.
Then you let our ancestors
take over their land.
3 Their strength and weapons
were not what won the land
and gave them victory!
You loved them and fought
with your powerful arm
and your shining glory.
4 You are my God and King,
and you give victory[a]
to the people of Jacob.
5 By your great power,
we knocked our enemies down
and trampled on them.
6 I don't depend on my arrows
or my sword to save me.
7 But you saved us
from our hateful enemies,
and you put them to shame.
8 We boast about you, our God,
and we are always grateful.
9 But now you have rejected us;
you don't lead us into battle,
and we look foolish.
10 You made us retreat,
and our enemies have taken
everything we own.
11 You let us be slaughtered
like sheep,
and you scattered us
among the nations.
12 You sold your people
for little or nothing,
and you earned no profit.
13 You made us look foolish
to our neighbors;
people who live nearby
insult us and sneer.
14 Foreigners joke about us
and shake their heads.
15 I am embarrassed every day,
and I blush with shame.
16 But others mock and sneer,
as they watch my enemies
take revenge on me.
17 All this happened to us,
though we didn't forget you
or break our agreement.
18 We always kept you in mind
and followed your teaching.
19 But you crushed us,
and you covered us
with deepest darkness
where wild animals live.
20 We did not forget you
or lift our hands in prayer
to foreign gods.
21 You would have known it
because you discover
every secret thought.
22 (A) We face death all day for you.
We are like sheep on their way
to be slaughtered.
23 Wake up! Do something, Lord!
Why are you sleeping?
Don't desert us forever.
24 Why do you keep looking away?
Don't forget our sufferings
and all our troubles.
25 We are flat on the ground,
holding on to the dust.
26 Do something! Help us!
Show how kind you are
and come to our rescue.
Elihu Is Upset with Job's Friends
32 Finally, these three men stopped arguing with Job, because he refused to admit he was guilty.
2 Elihu from Buz[a] was there, and he had become upset with Job for blaming God instead of himself. 3 He was also angry with Job's three friends for not being able to prove that Job was wrong. 4 Elihu was younger than these three, and he let them speak first. 5 But he became irritated when they could not answer Job, 6 and he said to them:
I am much younger than you,
so I have shown respect
by keeping silent.
7 I once believed age
was the source of wisdom;
8 now I truly realize
wisdom comes from God.
9 Age is no guarantee of wisdom
and understanding.
10 That's why I ask you
to listen to me.
I Eagerly Listened
*
19 I am like a swollen wineskin,
and I will burst[a]
20 if I don't speak.
* 21 I don't know how to be unfair
or to flatter anyone—
22 if I did, my Creator
would quickly destroy me!
Elihu Speaks
Job, Listen to Me!
33 Job, listen to me!
Pay close attention.
*
19 Sometimes we are punished
with a serious illness
and aching joints.
20 Merely the thought
of our favorite food
makes our stomachs sick,
21 and we become so skinny
that our bones stick out.
22 We feel death and the grave
taking us in their grip.
23 One of a thousand angels
then comes to our rescue
by saying we are innocent.
24 The angel shows kindness,
commanding death to release us,
because the price was paid.
25 Our health is restored,
we feel young again,
26 and we ask God to accept us.
Then we joyfully worship God,
and we are rewarded
because we are innocent.
27 When that happens,
we tell everyone,
“I sinned and did wrong,
but God forgave me
28 and rescued me from death!
Now I will see the light.”
44 The next Sabbath almost everyone in town came to hear the message about the Lord.[a] 45 When the Jewish people saw the crowds, they were very jealous. They insulted Paul and spoke against everything he said.
46 But Paul and Barnabas bravely said:
We had to tell God's message to you before we told it to anyone else. But you rejected the message! This proves that you don't deserve eternal life. Now we are going to the Gentiles. 47 (A) The Lord has given us this command,
“I have placed you here
as a light
for the Gentiles.
You are to take
the saving power of God
to people everywhere on earth.”
48 This message made the Gentiles glad, and they praised what they had heard about the Lord.[b] Everyone who had been chosen for eternal life then put their faith in the Lord.
49 The message about the Lord spread all over this region. 50 But the Jewish leaders went to some of the important men in the town and to some respected women who were religious. They turned them against Paul and Barnabas and started making trouble for them. They even chased them out of this part of the country.
51 (B) Paul and Barnabas shook the dust from that place off their feet[c] and went on to the city of Iconium.
52 But the Lord's followers in Antioch were very happy and were filled with the Holy Spirit.
19 The people took sides because of what Jesus had told them. 20 Many of them said, “He has a demon in him! He is crazy! Why listen to him?”
21 But others said, “How could anyone with a demon in him say these things? No one like this could give sight to a blind person!”
Jesus Is Rejected
22 (A) That winter, Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Temple Festival. 23 One day he was walking in the part of the temple known as Solomon's Porch,[a] 24 and the people gathered all around him. They said, “How long are you going to keep us guessing? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly!”
25 Jesus answered:
I have told you, and you refused to believe me. The things I do by my Father's authority show who I am. 26 But since you are not my sheep, you don't believe me. 27 My sheep know my voice, and I know them. They follow me, 28 and I give them eternal life, so that they will never be lost. No one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 (B) My Father gave them to me, and he is greater than all others.[b] No one can snatch them from his hands, 30 and I am one with the Father.
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