Book of Common Prayer
A Morning Prayer for Protection
For the director of music. For flutes. A psalm of David.
5 Lord, listen to my words.
Understand my sadness.
2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
because I pray to you.
3 Lord, every morning you hear my voice.
Every morning, I tell you what I need,
and I wait for your answer.
4 You are not a God who is pleased with the wicked;
you do not live with those who do evil.
5 Those people who make fun of you cannot stand before you.
You hate all those who do evil.
6 You destroy liars;
the Lord hates those who kill and trick others.
7 Because of your great love,
I can come into your Temple.
Because I fear and respect you,
I can worship in your holy Temple.
8 Lord, since I have many enemies,
show me the right thing to do.
Show me clearly how you want me to live.
9 My enemies’ mouths do not tell the truth;
in their hearts they want to destroy others.
Their throats are like open graves;
they use their tongues for telling lies.
10 God, declare them guilty!
Let them fall into their own traps.
Send them away because their sins are many;
they have turned against you.
11 But let everyone who trusts you be happy;
let them sing glad songs forever.
Protect those who love you
and who are happy because of you.
12 Lord, you bless those who do what is right;
you protect them like a soldier’s shield.
A Prayer for Mercy in Troubled Times
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Upon the sheminith. A psalm of David.
6 Lord, don’t correct me when you are angry;
don’t punish me when you are very angry.
2 Lord, have mercy on me because I am weak.
Heal me, Lord, because my bones ache.
3 I am very upset.
Lord, how long will it be?
4 Lord, return and save me;
save me because of your kindness.
5 Dead people don’t remember you;
those in the grave don’t praise you.
6 I am tired of crying to you.
Every night my bed is wet with tears;
my bed is soaked from my crying.
7 My eyes are weak from so much crying;
they are weak from crying about my enemies.
8 Get away from me, all you who do evil,
because the Lord has heard my crying.
9 The Lord has heard my cry for help;
the Lord will answer my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be ashamed and troubled.
They will turn and suddenly leave in shame.
A Complaint About Evil People
10 Lord, why are you so far away?
Why do you hide when there is trouble?
2 Proudly the wicked chase down those who suffer.
Let them be caught in their own traps.
3 They brag about the things they want.
They bless the greedy but hate the Lord.
4 The wicked people are too proud.
They do not look for God;
there is no room for God in their thoughts.
5 They always succeed.
They are far from keeping your laws;
they make fun of their enemies.
6 They say to themselves, “Nothing bad will ever happen to me;
I will never be ruined.”
7 Their mouths are full of curses, lies, and threats;
they use their tongues for sin and evil.
8 They hide near the villages.
They look for innocent people to kill;
they watch in secret for the helpless.
9 They wait in hiding like a lion.
They wait to catch poor people;
they catch the poor in nets.
10 The poor are thrown down and crushed;
they are defeated because the others are stronger.
11 The wicked think, “God has forgotten us.
He doesn’t see what is happening.”
12 Lord, rise up and punish the wicked.
Don’t forget those who need help.
13 Why do wicked people hate God?
They say to themselves, “God won’t punish us.”
14 Lord, surely you see these cruel and evil things;
look at them and do something.
People in trouble look to you for help.
You are the one who helps the orphans.
15 Break the power of wicked people.
Punish them for the evil they have done.
16 The Lord is King forever and ever.
Destroy from your land those nations that do not worship you.
17 Lord, you have heard what the poor people want.
Do what they ask, and listen to them.
18 Protect the orphans and put an end to suffering
so they will no longer be afraid of evil people.
Trust in the Lord
For the director of music. Of David.
11 I trust in the Lord for protection.
So why do you say to me,
“Fly like a bird to your mountain.
2 Like hunters, the wicked string their bows;
they set their arrows on the bowstrings.
They shoot from dark places
at those who are honest.
3 When the foundations for good collapse,
what can good people do?”
4 The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord sits on his throne in heaven.
He sees what people do;
he keeps his eye on them.
5 The Lord tests those who do right,
but he hates the wicked and those who love to hurt others.
6 He will send hot coals and burning sulfur on the wicked.
A whirlwind is what they will get.
7 The Lord does what is right, and he loves justice,
so honest people will see his face.
God Calls and Jonah Runs
1 The Lord spoke his word to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Get up, go to the great city of Nineveh, and preach against it, because I see the evil things they do.”
3 But Jonah got up to run away from the Lord by going to Tarshish. He went to the city of Joppa, where he found a ship that was going to the city of Tarshish. Jonah paid for the trip and went aboard, planning to go to Tarshish to run away from the Lord.
4 But the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, which made the sea so stormy that the ship was in danger of breaking apart. 5 The sailors were afraid, and each man cried to his own god. They began throwing the cargo from the ship into the sea to make the ship lighter.
But Jonah had gone down far inside the ship to lie down, and he fell fast asleep. 6 The captain of the ship came and said, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray to your god! Maybe your god will pay attention to us, and we won’t die!”
7 Then the men said to each other, “Let’s throw lots to see who caused these troubles to happen to us.”
When they threw lots, the lot showed that the trouble had happened because of Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us, who caused our trouble? What is your job? Where do you come from? What is your country? Who are your people?”
9 Then Jonah said to them, “I am a Hebrew. I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.”
10 The men were very afraid, and they asked Jonah, “What terrible thing did you do?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord because he had told them.)
11 Since the wind and the waves of the sea were becoming much stronger, they said to him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”
12 Jonah said to them, “Pick me up, and throw me into the sea, and then it will calm down. I know it is my fault that this great storm has come on you.”
13 Instead, the men tried to row the ship back to the land, but they could not, because the sea was becoming more stormy.
Jonah’s Punishment
14 So the men cried to the Lord, “Lord, please don’t let us die because of this man’s life; please don’t think we are guilty of killing an innocent person. Lord, you have caused all this to happen; you wanted it this way.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea became calm. 16 Then they began to fear the Lord very much; they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made promises to him.
17 The Lord caused a big fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.
Paul Tries to Persuade Agrippa
24 While Paul was saying these things to defend himself, Festus said loudly, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Too much study has driven you crazy!”
25 Paul said, “Most excellent Festus, I am not crazy. My words are true and sensible. 26 King Agrippa knows about these things, and I can speak freely to him. I know he has heard about all of these things, because they did not happen off in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe what the prophets wrote? I know you believe.”
28 King Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian in such a short time?”
29 Paul said, “Whether it is a short or a long time, I pray to God that not only you but every person listening to me today would be saved and be like me—except for these chains I have.”
30 Then King Agrippa, Governor Festus, Bernice, and all the people sitting with them stood up 31 and left the room. Talking to each other, they said, “There is no reason why this man should die or be put in jail.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “We could let this man go free, but he has asked Caesar to hear his case.”
Paul Sails for Rome
27 It was decided that we would sail for Italy. An officer named Julius, who served in the emperor’s[a] army, guarded Paul and some other prisoners. 2 We got on a ship that was from the city of Adramyttium and was about to sail to different ports in Asia. Aristarchus, a man from the city of Thessalonica in Macedonia, went with us. 3 The next day we came to Sidon. Julius was very good to Paul and gave him freedom to go visit his friends, who took care of his needs. 4 We left Sidon and sailed close to the island of Cyprus, because the wind was blowing against us. 5 We went across the sea by Cilicia and Pamphylia and landed at the city of Myra, in Lycia. 6 There the officer found a ship from Alexandria that was going to Italy, so he put us on it.
7 We sailed slowly for many days. We had a hard time reaching Cnidus because the wind was blowing against us, and we could not go any farther. So we sailed by the south side of the island of Crete near Salmone. 8 Sailing past it was hard. Then we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.
Jesus Gives Life to a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman
40 When Jesus got back to Galilee, a crowd welcomed him, because everyone was waiting for him. 41 A man named Jairus, a leader of the synagogue, came to Jesus and fell at his feet, begging him to come to his house. 42 Jairus’ only daughter, about twelve years old, was dying.
While Jesus was on his way to Jairus’ house, the people were crowding all around him. 43 A woman was in the crowd who had been bleeding for twelve years,[a] but no one was able to heal her. 44 She came up behind Jesus and touched the edge of his coat, and instantly her bleeding stopped. 45 Then Jesus said, “Who touched me?”
When all the people said they had not touched him, Peter said, “Master, the people are all around you and are pushing against you.”
46 But Jesus said, “Someone did touch me, because I felt power go out from me.” 47 When the woman saw she could not hide, she came forward, shaking, and fell down before Jesus. While all the people listened, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48 Jesus said to her, “Dear woman, you are made well because you believed. Go in peace.”
49 While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of the synagogue leader and said to him, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”
50 When Jesus heard this, he said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just believe, and your daughter will be well.”
51 When Jesus went to the house, he let only Peter, John, James, and the girl’s father and mother go inside with him. 52 All the people were crying and feeling sad because the girl was dead, but Jesus said, “Stop crying. She is not dead, only asleep.”
53 The people laughed at Jesus because they knew the girl was dead. 54 But Jesus took hold of her hand and called to her, “My child, stand up!” 55 Her spirit came back into her, and she stood up at once. Then Jesus ordered that she be given something to eat. 56 The girl’s parents were amazed, but Jesus told them not to tell anyone what had happened.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.