Book of Common Prayer
This is a song that David wrote.
It is for the music leader.
Please help me, Lord
140 Lord, please save me from evil people.
Keep me safe from people who like to attack others.
2 They think of evil ideas to hurt people.
They only want to cause trouble!
3 Their words hurt people,
like the tongue of a snake.
They bite with poison,
like a dangerous snake.
Selah
4 Lord, keep me safe from the power of wicked people.
Keep me safe from violent people who want to attack me.
5 Proud people have prepared a trap to catch me.
They have put their nets across my path.[a]
Selah.
6 Lord, I say to you, ‘You are my God.’
Lord, hear my prayer for help!
7 Lord, my Lord, you are my strong helper.
You keep me safe when I fight in a battle.
8 Lord, do not let wicked people do what they want to do.
Stop them when they prepare to attack.
Selah.
9 Give trouble to the people who come round me to attack!
Let the bad things that they say against me
happen to them instead![b]
10 Drop burning coals on them like rain!
Throw those people into the fire!
Let them fall into deep holes that they cannot get out of!
11 People who tell cruel lies should not live in our land.
Trouble will happen to people who like to fight.
Bad trouble will knock them down!
12 I know that the Lord helps poor people.
He makes sure that they receive justice.
13 Your righteous people will always praise you.
Good, honest people will live near to you.
This is a special song that David wrote.
He prayed this when he was in the cave.[a]
Please help me, Lord!
142 I am calling to the Lord to help me.
I ask him to be kind to me.
2 I tell him about all my problems.
I tell him about all my troubles.
3 When I do not feel brave,
you are still my guide, Lord.
In the path where I walk,
my enemies have prepared a trap to catch me.
4 Look at me!
I have no friend to help me.
There is no safe place where I can go.
Nobody thinks about me.
5 Yes Lord, I am calling to you to help me.
You are my safe place where I can hide.
You are all that I need in this world where I live.
6 Please listen to me as I cry to you.
I am very upset!
My enemies are trying to catch me.
Save me from their power!
They are stronger than I am.
7 Please take me out of this prison.[b]
Then I will praise your name.
Your own good people will see how you have helped me.
They will meet round me to praise you.
David wrote this song.
An evening prayer[a]
141 Lord, I am calling to you for help.
Come to me quickly!
Please listen to what I am saying.
2 I offer my prayer to you like incense.
Please accept it when I raise my hands to you.
Accept it like a gift that I offer to you in the evening.
3 Lord, keep my mouth safe,
so that I do not speak bad things.
4 Do not let my mind want evil things.
Do not let me join with wicked people,
to do the same bad things that they do.
I do not even want to eat their good food.
5 If a good man hits me because he loves me,
he is being kind to me.
If he shows me that I have done a wrong thing,
that it is like special oil on my head.[b]
I would not refuse it.
I continue to pray against what wicked people do.
6 They will throw their rulers down
from high rocks.
Then they will agree that my words were true.
7 It will be like a farmer who ploughs his field,
and breaks the earth into pieces.
Just like that, they will break the bones of wicked people.
They will throw their bones on the ground
at the entrance to Sheol.
8 But I look to you for help, Almighty Lord.
I need you to keep me safe.
Do not let wicked people kill me.
9 They have prepared traps to catch me.
Do not let me fall into the traps of those evil people.
10 May those bad people fall into their own traps!
Then I will be free from their power.
This is a song that David wrote.
Please help me, Lord![a]
143 Lord, I pray to you for help.
Please listen to me.
Answer me, because you do what is right,
and I know that I can trust you.
2 Do not judge me, your servant.
Nobody is righteous when they stand in front of you.
3 My enemies are chasing me.
They knock me down to the ground.
They make me live in dark places,
like people who have been dead for a long time.
4 My strength is leaving me,
and I feel very upset.
5 I remember what happened many years ago.
I think carefully about all the good things that you have done.
6 I raise my hands to pray to you.
I need you to help me,
like dry ground needs rain.
Selah
7 Please answer me soon, Lord.
I am losing my strength.
Do not turn away from me.
If you do, I will join those people who are going down
into the deep hole of death.
8 Every morning, help me to remember your faithful love,
because I am trusting in you.
Show me how I should live to please you,
because I know that I belong to you.
9 Lord, save me from my enemies.
I run to you to keep me safe.
10 Teach me to do what pleases you,
because you are my God.
Let your kind Spirit lead me,
so that I can walk in a safe place.
11 Your name is great, Lord,
so please keep my life safe.
You do what is right,
so bring me out of my troubles.
12 I am your servant and you always love me.
Please show how much you love me,
and destroy my enemies.
Yes, kill all those who want to kill me!
Ruth and Boaz
3 One day, Naomi said to Ruth, ‘My daughter, I must find a home for you. There you will have everything that you need. 2 You have worked with Boaz's women workers, and he is our relative. Tonight, he will be at the threshing floor where he prepares the barley seeds.[a] 3 So wash yourself carefully. Put some perfume on yourself. Put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor. Do not let Boaz know that you are there. Wait quietly until he has finished his food and drink. 4 After that, he will lie down to sleep. Then you will see where he is lying. Go and lift the cloth from over his feet. Lie down there. Then he will tell you what you should do.’
5 Ruth said, ‘I will do what you have said to me.’ 6 So she went down to the threshing floor. She did everything that Naomi had told her to do.
7 Boaz felt very happy when he had finished his food and drink. He lay down next to the heap of barley seeds. Ruth went to him very quietly. She lifted the cloth that covered his feet. Then she lay down there. 8 In the middle of the night, something caused Boaz to wake up suddenly. When he turned over, he saw a woman who was lying there at his feet!
9 He asked, ‘Who are you?’ Ruth replied, ‘I am your servant, Ruth. You are our family-redeemer, so please cover me with the corner of your cloth.’[b]
10 Boaz replied, ‘Young woman, I pray that the Lord will bless you. You have already been very kind to Naomi. Now you have been even more kind to me. You have not tried to marry a man who is younger than me, whether he is rich or poor. 11 So, young woman, do not be afraid. All the people in this town know that you are a good woman. I will do everything for you that you have asked me to do. 12 It is true that I am a family-redeemer for your family. But there is another relative who is nearer to your family than I am. 13 Stay here for this night. In the morning, we will see what to do. If this relative wants to take care of you, let him do it. If he does not agree, then I will do it. As surely as the Lord lives, I will do it. So just lie here until the morning.’
14 So Ruth lay beside Boaz's feet until morning arrived. Then she got up before anyone could see her. Boaz said to her, ‘Nobody must know that a woman came here to the threshing floor.’
15 He said to Ruth, ‘Bring me the coat that you are wearing.’ She brought the coat to him. Then Boaz poured six bowls of barley seeds onto it. He tied it together and put it on her shoulder. Later, he returned to the town.
16 When Ruth returned home to Naomi, Naomi asked her, ‘My daughter, what happened last night?’ Then Ruth told her everything that Boaz had done for her. 17 She said to Naomi, ‘He also gave me all this barley. He said, “Do not return to Naomi with nothing to give to her.” ’
18 Naomi said, ‘My daughter, you must be patient. We must wait to see what will happen. Boaz will surely do what he needs to do today.’
God's good news brings light
4 God has given us this work to speak his message. Because he has been so kind to us, we are not afraid to continue. 2 We refuse to do anything secretly that we might be ashamed of. We do not tell lies. We do not change God's message to deceive people. No. We tell God's true message clearly. God himself sees that we teach people in an honest way. Everyone should understand that we only do what is right. 3 Some people may not understand the good news that we speak. They are only the people who are losing their lives with God. 4 Those people do not accept God's good news. The god of this world has confused their minds. They cannot see the light that the good news brings. That message teaches about the great power of Christ, who shows us exactly what God is like.
5 We do not speak a message about ourselves. We tell people that Jesus Christ is our Lord. Because we belong to Jesus, we have become your servants, not your masters. 6 God is the one who said, ‘Let light shine in the dark.’ And he is the one who has caused his light to shine deep inside us. Because of that, we know how great and powerful God is. We see that his power shines brightly in Christ's face.[a]
7 God has given to us the gift to speak his message. But we ourselves are very weak. It is like we are keeping his valuable gift in clay pots. So it is clear that the great power of God's message comes from God himself. It does not come from us. 8 We receive trouble all the time, but that does not stop us. We do not always know what to do, but we are not afraid to continue. 9 We have many enemies, but we always have friends. People hurt us, but they never destroy us. 10 As we serve Jesus, we know that we may die as he died. Because of that, our lives show that we live because he is alive. 11 Yes, as we live our lives, death is always very near, because we serve Jesus. As a result, people can see in our weak, human bodies that Jesus is alive. 12 So death is near to us, even as we live. But as a result, we are bringing God's life to you.
Jesus teaches how to love people
38 Jesus then said, ‘You also know that God's Law says: “If somebody destroys your eye, then you should destroy that person's eye. If somebody destroys your tooth, then you should destroy that person's tooth.” 39 But what I tell you is this. If somebody does something bad to you, do not do anything against him.[a] Somebody may slap you on one side of your face. Then you should also let him slap the other side of your face.
40 Maybe somebody wants to take you to the judge. He says that you should give him your shirt. Give the man your shirt, and give him your coat too. 41 Or a soldier may tell you, “Carry my luggage for one kilometre.” You should do that. Even agree to carry it for two kilometres. 42 When people ask you for something, you should give it to them. If they ask you to lend them something, then you should not refuse.
43 You have heard people say, “Love the people who are your friends. But hate those who want to hurt you.” 44 What I tell you is this: You should love the people who want to hurt you. If people want to give you pain, pray for them. Pray that God would help them. 45 If you live like this, you will show that you really are children of your Father above. God is kind to everyone. He causes the sun to shine on everyone, both good people and bad people. He also causes the rain to fall on everyone, people who obey him and people who do not obey him. 46 Do you only love people who love you? God will not give you good things just for doing that. Even the men who take taxes love their friends![b]
47 If you are only kind to your friends, then you are not doing anything special. Even people who do not believe in God do that. 48 So you must be good in every way, as your Father above is good in every way.’
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