Book of Common Prayer
106 Praise the Lord.
Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good.
His faithful love continues forever.
2 Who can speak enough about the mighty acts of the Lord?
Who can praise him as much as he should be praised?
3 Blessed are those who always do what is fair.
Blessed are those who keep doing what is right.
4 Lord, remember me when you bless your people.
Help me when you save them.
5 Then I will enjoy the good things you give your chosen ones.
I will be joyful together with your people.
I will join them when they praise you.
6 We have sinned, just as our people of long ago did.
We too have done what is evil and wrong.
7 When our people were in Egypt,
they forgot about the Lord’s miracles.
They didn’t remember his many kind acts.
At the Red Sea they refused to obey him.
8 But he saved them for the honor of his name.
He did it to make his mighty power known.
9 He ordered the Red Sea to dry up, and it did.
He led his people through it as if it were a desert.
10 He saved them from the power of their enemies.
He set them free from their control.
11 The waters covered their enemies.
Not one of them escaped alive.
12 Then his people believed his promises
and sang praise to him.
13 But they soon forgot what he had done.
They didn’t wait for what he had planned to happen.
14 In the desert they longed for food.
In that dry and empty land they tested God.
15 So he gave them what they asked for.
But he also sent a sickness that killed many of them.
16 In their camp some of them became jealous of Moses and Aaron.
Aaron had been set apart to serve the Lord.
17 The ground opened up and swallowed Dathan.
It buried Abiram and his followers.
18 Fire blazed among all of them.
Flames destroyed those evil people.
19 At Mount Horeb they made a metal statue of a bull calf.
They worshiped that statue of a god.
20 They traded their glorious God
for a statue of a bull that eats grass.
21 They forgot the God who saved them.
They forgot the God who had done great things in Egypt.
22 They forgot the miracles he did in the land of Ham.
They forgot the wonderful things he did by the Red Sea.
23 So he said he would destroy them.
But Moses, his chosen one,
stood up for them.
He kept God’s anger from destroying them.
24 Later on, they refused to enter the pleasant land of Canaan.
They didn’t believe God’s promise.
25 In their tents they told the Lord how unhappy they were.
They didn’t obey him.
26 So he lifted up his hand and promised
that he would make them die in the desert.
27 He promised he would scatter their children’s children among the nations.
He would make them die in other lands.
28 They joined in worshiping the Baal that was worshiped at Peor.
They ate food that had been offered to gods that aren’t even alive.
29 Their evil ways made the Lord angry.
So a plague broke out among them.
30 But Phinehas stood up and took action.
Then the plague stopped.
31 What Phinehas did made him right with the Lord.
It will be remembered for all time to come.
32 By the waters of Meribah the Lord’s people made him angry.
Moses got in trouble because of them.
33 They refused to obey the Spirit of God.
So Moses spoke without thinking.
34 They didn’t destroy the nations in Canaan
as the Lord had commanded them.
35 Instead, they mixed with those nations
and adopted their ways.
36 They worshiped statues of their gods.
That became a trap for them.
37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters
as offerings to false gods.
38 They killed those who weren’t guilty of doing anything wrong.
They killed their own sons and daughters.
They sacrificed them as offerings to statues of the gods of Canaan.
The land became “unclean” because of the blood of their children.
39 The people made themselves impure by what they had done.
They weren’t faithful to the Lord.
40 So the Lord became angry with his people.
He turned away from his own children.
41 He handed them over to the nations.
Their enemies ruled over them.
42 Their enemies treated them badly
and kept them under their power.
43 Many times the Lord saved them.
But they refused to obey him.
So he destroyed them because of their sins.
44 Yet he heard them when they cried out.
He paid special attention to their suffering.
45 Because they were his people, he remembered his covenant.
Because of his great love, he felt sorry for them.
46 He made all those who held them as prisoners
have mercy on them.
47 Lord our God, save us.
Bring us back from among the nations.
Then we will give thanks to you, because your name is holy.
We will celebrate by praising you.
48 Give praise to the Lord, the God of Israel,
for ever and ever.
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord.
Naomi Loses Her Husband and Sons
1 There was a time when Israel didn’t have kings to rule over them. But they had leaders to help them. This is a story about some things that happened during that time. There wasn’t enough food in the land of Judah. So a man went to live for a while in the country of Moab. He was from Bethlehem in Judah. His wife and two sons went with him. 2 The man’s name was Elimelek. His wife’s name was Naomi. The names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites whose home had been in Bethlehem in Judah. They went to Moab and lived there.
3 Naomi’s husband Elimelek died. So she was left with her two sons. 4 They married women from Moab. One was named Orpah. The other was named Ruth. Naomi’s family lived in Moab for about ten years. 5 Then Mahlon and Kilion also died. So Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
Naomi and Ruth Return to Bethlehem
6 While Naomi was in Moab, she heard that the Lord had helped his people. He had begun to provide food for them again. So Naomi and her two daughters-in-law prepared to go from Moab back to her home. 7 She left the place where she had been living. Her daughters-in-law went with her. They started out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
8 Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Both of you go back. Each of you go to your own mother’s home. You were kind to your husbands, who have died. You have also been kind to me. So may the Lord be just as kind to you. 9 May the Lord help each of you find rest in the home of another husband.”
Then she kissed them goodbye. They broke down and wept loudly. 10 They said to her, “We’ll go back to your people with you.”
11 But Naomi said, “Go home, my daughters. Why would you want to come with me? Am I going to have any more sons who could become your husbands? 12 Go home, my daughters. I’m too old to have another husband. Suppose I thought there was still some hope for me. Suppose I married a man tonight. And later I had sons by him. 13 Would you wait until they grew up? Would you stay single until you could marry them? No, my daughters. My life is more bitter than yours. The Lord’s power has turned against me!”
14 When they heard that, they broke down and wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye. But Ruth held on to her.
1 I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am an apostle of Christ Jesus just as God planned. Timothy our brother joins me in writing.
We are sending this letter to you, the members of God’s church in Corinth. It is also for all God’s holy people everywhere in Achaia.
2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Praise to the God Who Gives Comfort
3 Give praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He is the Father who gives tender love. All comfort comes from him. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles. Now we can comfort others when they are in trouble. We ourselves receive comfort from God. 5 We share very much in the sufferings of Christ. So we also share very much in his comfort. 6 If we are having trouble, it is so that you will be comforted and renewed. If we are comforted, it is so that you will be comforted. Then you will be able to put up with the same suffering we have gone through. 7 Our hope for you remains firm. We know that you suffer just as we do. In the same way, God comforts you just as he comforts us.
8 Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the hard times we had in Asia Minor. We were having a lot of trouble. It was far more than we could stand. We even thought we were going to die. 9 In fact, we felt as if we were under the sentence of death. But that happened so that we would not depend on ourselves but on God. He raises the dead to life. 10 God has saved us from deadly dangers. And he will continue to do it. We have put our hope in him. He will continue to save us. 11 You must help us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because of what will happen to us. They will thank God for his kindness to us in answer to the prayers of many.
Jesus Teaches the Disciples and Crowds
5 Jesus saw the crowds. So he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to teach them.
Jesus Gives Blessings
He said,
3 “Blessed are those who are spiritually needy.
The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
4 Blessed are those who are sad.
They will be comforted.
5 Blessed are those who are humble.
They will be given the earth.
6 Blessed are those who are hungry and thirsty for what is right.
They will be filled.
7 Blessed are those who show mercy.
They will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are those whose hearts are pure.
They will see God.
9 Blessed are those who make peace.
They will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who suffer for doing what is right.
The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
11 “Blessed are you when people make fun of you and hurt you because of me. You are also blessed when they tell all kinds of evil lies about you because of me. 12 Be joyful and glad. Your reward in heaven is great. In the same way, people hurt the prophets who lived long ago.
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