Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer in Time of Sickness
A song of David to remember.
38 Lord, don’t correct me when you are angry.
Don’t punish me when you are very angry.
2 Your arrows have wounded me.
Your hand has come down on me.
3 My body is sick from your punishment.
Even my bones are not healthy because of my sin.
4 My guilt has overwhelmed me.
Like a load it weighs me down.
5 My sores stink and become infected
because I was foolish.
6 I am bent over and bowed down.
I am sad all day long.
7 I am burning with fever.
My whole body is sore.
8 I am weak and faint.
I moan from the pain I feel.
9 Lord, you know everything I want.
My cries are not hidden from you.
10 My heart pounds, and my strength is gone.
I am losing my sight.
11 Because of my wounds, my friends and neighbors leave me alone.
My relatives stay far away.
12 Some people set traps to kill me.
Those who want to hurt me plan trouble.
All day long they think up lies.
13 I am like a deaf man; I cannot hear.
Like a mute, I cannot speak.
14 I am like a person who does not hear.
I have no answer to give.
15 I trust you, Lord.
You will answer, my God and Lord.
16 I said, “Don’t let them laugh at me.
Don’t let them brag when I am defeated.”
17 I am about to die.
I cannot forget my pain.
18 I confess my guilt.
I am troubled by my sin.
19 My enemies are strong and healthy.
Many people hate me for no reason.
20 They repay me with evil for the good I did.
They lie about me because I try to do good.
21 Lord, don’t leave me.
My God, don’t go away.
22 Quickly come and help me,
my Lord and Savior.
25 I am about to die.
Give me life, as you have promised.
26 I told you about my life, and you answered me.
Teach me your demands.
27 Help me understand your orders.
Then I will think about your miracles.
28 I am sad and tired.
Make me strong again as you have promised.
29 Don’t let me be dishonest.
Be kind to me by helping me obey your teachings.
30 I have chosen to obey you.
I have obeyed your laws.
31 I hold on to your rules.
Lord, do not let me be disgraced.
32 I will obey your commands
because you have made me happy.
33 Lord, teach me your demands.
Then I will obey them until the end.
34 Help me understand, so I can obey your teachings.
I will obey them with all my heart.
35 Help me obey your commands
because that makes me happy.
36 Help me want to obey your rules
instead of selfishly wanting riches.
37 Keep me from looking at worthless things.
Let me live by your word.
38 Keep your promise to me, your servant,
so you will be feared.
39 Take away the shame I fear.
Your laws are good.
40 How I want to follow your orders.
Give me life because of your goodness.
41 Lord, show me your love.
Save me as you have promised.
42 Then I will have an answer for people who insult me.
I trust what you say.
43 Never keep me from speaking your truth.
I depend on your fair laws.
44 I will obey your teachings
forever and ever.
45 So I will live in freedom
because I want to follow your orders.
46 I will discuss your rules with kings.
And I will not be ashamed.
47 I enjoy obeying your commands.
I love them.
48 I praise your commands, which I love.
And I think about your demands.
17 It is better to eat a dry crust of bread in peace
than to have a feast where there is quarreling.
2 A wise servant will rule over his master’s disgraceful son.
And he will even inherit a share of what the master leaves his sons.
3 A hot furnace tests silver and gold.
In the same way, the Lord tests a person’s heart.
4 An evil person listens to evil words.
A liar pays attention to cruel words.
5 If you make fun of the poor,
you insult God, who made them.
If you laugh at someone’s trouble,
you will be punished.
6 Grandchildren are the reward of old people.
And children are proud of their parents.
7 Foolish people should not be proud.
And rulers should not be liars!
8 A person might think he can pay people and they will do anything he asks.
He thinks it will succeed every time.
9 Whoever forgives someone’s sin makes a friend.
But the one who tells about the sin breaks up friendships.
10 A wise man will learn more from a warning
than a foolish person will learn from 100 lashings.
11 A disobedient person is only looking for trouble.
So a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
12 It is better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs
than to meet a foolish person doing foolish things.
13 If a person gives evil in return for good,
his house will always be full of trouble.
14 Starting a quarrel is like a leak in a dam.
So stop the quarrel before a fight breaks out.
15 The Lord hates both these things:
letting guilty people go free and punishing those who are not guilty.
16 It won’t do a fool any good to try to buy wisdom.
He doesn’t really want to be wise.
17 A friend loves you all the time.
A brother is always there to help you.
18 It is not wise to promise
to pay what your neighbor owes.
19 Whoever loves to quarrel loves to sin.
Whoever is proud is asking for trouble.
20 A person with an evil heart will find no success.
And the person whose words are evil will get into trouble.
Leaders in the Church
3 What I say is true: If anyone wants to become an overseer, he is wanting a good work. 2 An overseer must be so good that people cannot rightly criticize him. He must have only one wife. He must have self-control and be wise. He must be respected by other people and must be ready to help people by accepting them into his home. He must be a good teacher. 3 He must not drink too much wine, and he must not be a man who likes to fight. He must be gentle and peaceful. He must not love money. 4 He must be a good leader of his own family so that his children obey him with full respect. 5 (If a man does not know how to be a leader over his own family, he will not be able to take care of God’s church.) 6 But an elder must not be a new believer. A new believer might be too proud of himself. Then he would be judged guilty for his pride just as the devil was. 7 An elder must also have the respect of people who are not in the church. Then he will not be criticized by others and caught in the devil’s trap.
Helpers in the Church
8 In the same way, deacons must be men that people can respect. They must not say things they do not mean. They must not use their time drinking too much wine, and they must not be men who are always trying to get rich by cheating others. 9 They must follow the faith that God made known to us and always do what they know is right. 10 You should test those men first. If you find nothing wrong in them, then they can serve as deacons. 11 In the same way, the women[a] must have the respect of other people. They must not be women who repeat evil gossip about other people. They must have self-control and be women who can be trusted in everything. 12 Deacons must have only one wife. They must be good leaders of their children and their own families. 13 Those who serve well as deacons are making an honorable place for themselves. And they will feel very sure of their faith in Christ Jesus.
The Secret of Our Life
14 I hope I can come to you soon. But I am writing these things to you now. 15 Then, even if I cannot come soon, you will know about the things that people must do in the family of God. That family is the church of the living God, the support and foundation of the truth. 16 Without doubt, the secret of our life of worship is great:
He[b] was shown to us in a human body,
proved right by the Spirit,
and seen by angels.
He was preached to the nations,
believed in by the world,
and taken to heaven in glory.
People Today Are Full of Evil
43 “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it travels through dry places looking for a place to rest. But it finds no place to rest. 44 So the spirit says, ‘I will go back to the home I left.’ When the spirit comes back to the man, the spirit finds the home still empty. The home is swept clean and made neat. 45 Then the evil spirit goes out and brings seven other spirits even more evil than it is. Then all the spirits go into the man and live there. And that man has even more trouble than he had before. It is the same way with the evil people who live today.”
Jesus’ True Family
46 While Jesus was talking to the people, his mother and brothers stood outside. They wanted to talk to him. 47 Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and brothers are waiting for you outside. They want to talk to you.”[a]
48 He answered, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 49 Then he pointed to his followers and said, “See! These people are my mother and my brothers. 50 My true brothers and sisters and mother are those who do the things that my Father in heaven wants.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.