Book of Common Prayer
Praise God Who Helps the Weak
146 Praise the Lord!
My whole being, praise the Lord.
2 I will praise the Lord all my life.
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your trust in princes
or other people, who cannot save you.
4 When people die, they are buried.
Then all of their plans come to an end.
5 Happy are those who are helped by the God of Jacob.
Their hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in it.
He remains loyal forever.
7 The Lord does what is fair for those who have been wronged.
He gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free.
8 The Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord lifts up people who are in trouble.
The Lord loves those who do right.
9 The Lord protects the foreigners.
He defends the orphans and widows.
But he overthrows the wicked.
10 The Lord will be King forever.
Jerusalem, your God is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!
Praise God Who Helps His People
147 Praise the Lord!
It is good to sing praises to our God.
It is good and pleasant to praise him.
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem.
He brings back the scattered Israelites who were taken captive.
3 He heals the brokenhearted.
He bandages their wounds.
4 He counts the stars
and names each one.
5 Our Lord is great and very powerful.
There is no limit to what he knows.
6 The Lord defends those who are not proud.
But he throws the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing praises to the Lord.
Praise our God with harps.
8 He fills the sky with clouds.
He sends rain to the earth.
He makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He gives food to cattle
and to the little birds that call.
10 He is not pleased by the strength of a horse
or the power of a man.
11 The Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
with those who trust his love.
12 Jerusalem, praise the Lord.
Jerusalem, praise your God.
13 He makes your city gates strong.
He blesses the people inside.
14 He brings peace to your country.
He fills you with the finest grain.
15 He gives a command to the earth,
and it quickly obeys him.
16 He spreads the snow like wool.
He scatters the frost like ashes.
17 He throws down hail like rocks.
No one can stand the cold he sends.
18 Then he gives a command, and it melts.
He sends the breezes, and the waters flow.
19 He gave his word to Jacob.
He gave his laws and demands to Israel.
20 He didn’t do this for any other nation.
They don’t know his laws.
Praise the Lord!
Praise for God’s Goodness
111 Praise the Lord!
I will thank the Lord with all my heart
in the meeting of his good people.
2 The Lord does great things.
Those people who love them think about them.
3 What he does is glorious and splendid.
His goodness continues forever.
4 His miracles are unforgettable.
The Lord is kind and merciful.
5 He gives food to those who fear him.
He remembers his agreement forever.
6 He has shown his people his power
when he gave them the lands of other nations.
7 Everything he does is good and fair.
All his orders can be trusted.
8 They will continue forever.
They were made true and right.
9 He sets his people free.
He made his agreement everlasting.
He is holy and wonderful.
10 Wisdom begins with respect for the Lord.
Those who obey his orders have good understanding.
He should be praised forever.
Honest People Are Blessed
112 Praise the Lord!
Happy is the person who fears the Lord.
He loves what the Lord commands.
2 His descendants will be powerful in the land.
The children of honest people will be blessed.
3 His house will be full of wealth and riches.
His goodness will continue forever.
4 A light shines in the dark for honest people.
It shines for those who are good and kind and merciful.
5 It is good to be kind and generous.
Whoever is fair in his business
6 will never be defeated.
A good person will be remembered from now on.
7 He won’t be afraid of bad news.
He is safe because he trusts the Lord.
8 That person is confident. He will not be afraid.
He will look down on his enemies.
9 He gives freely to the poor.
The things he does are right and will continue forever.
He will be given great honor.
10 The wicked will see this and become angry.
They will grind their teeth in anger and then disappear.
The wishes of the wicked will come to nothing.
Praise for God’s Kindness
113 Praise the Lord!
Praise him, you servants of the Lord.
Praise the name of the Lord.
2 The Lord’s name should be praised
now and forever.
3 The Lord’s name should be praised
from where the sun rises to where it sets.
4 The Lord is supreme over all the nations.
His glory reaches to the skies.
5 No one is like the Lord our God.
He rules from heaven.
6 He bends down to look
at the skies and the earth.
7 The Lord lifts the poor from the dirt.
He takes the helpless from the ashes.
8 And he seats them with princes,
the princes of his people.
9 He gives children to the woman who has none.
He makes her a happy mother.
Praise the Lord!
Being Wise or Foolish
9 Wisdom has built her house.
She has made its seven columns.
2 She has prepared her food and wine.
She has set her table.
3 She has sent out her servant girls.
She calls out from the highest place in the city.
4 She says to those who are not wise,
“Come in here, you foolish people!
5 Come and eat my food.
And drink the wine I have prepared.
6 Stop your foolish ways, and you will live.
Be a person of understanding.
7 “If you correct someone who makes fun of wisdom, you will get insulted.
If you correct an evil person, you will get hurt.
8 Do not correct someone who makes fun of wisdom, or he will hate you.
But correct a wise man, and he will love you.
9 Teach a wise man, and he will become even wiser.
Teach a good man, and he will learn even more.
10 “Wisdom begins with respect for the Lord.
And understanding begins with knowing God, the Holy One.
11 If you live wisely, you will live a long time.
Wisdom will add years to your life.
12 The wise person is rewarded by his wisdom.
But a person who makes fun of wisdom will suffer for it.”
6 Remember this: The person who plants a little will have a small harvest. But the person who plants a lot will have a big harvest. 7 Each one should give, then, what he has decided in his heart to give. He should not give if it makes him sad. And he should not give if he thinks he is forced to give. God loves the person who gives happily. 8 And God can give you more blessings than you need. Then you will always have plenty of everything. You will have enough to give to every good work. 9 It is written in the Scriptures:
“He gives freely to the poor.
The things he does are right and will continue forever.” Psalm 112:9
10 God is the One who gives seed to the farmer. And he gives bread for food. And God will give you all the seed you need and make it grow. He will make a great harvest from your goodness. 11 God will make you rich in every way so that you can always give freely. And your giving through us will cause many to give thanks to God. 12 This service that you do helps the needs of God’s people. It is also bringing more and more thanks to God. 13 This service you do is a proof of your faith. Many people will praise God because of it. They will praise God because you follow the Good News of Christ—the gospel you say you believe. They will praise God because you freely share with them and with all others. 14 And when they pray, they will wish they could be with you. They will feel this because of the great grace that God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his gift that is too wonderful to explain.
Jesus Heals a Blind Man
46 Then they came to the town of Jericho. As Jesus was leaving there with his followers and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting by the road. 47 He heard that Jesus from Nazareth was walking by. The blind man cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, please help me!”
48 Many people scolded the blind man and told him to be quiet. But he shouted more and more, “Son of David, please help me!”
49 Jesus stopped and said, “Tell the man to come here.”
So they called the blind man. They said, “Cheer up! Get to your feet. Jesus is calling you.” 50 The blind man stood up quickly. He left his coat there and went to Jesus.
51 Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man answered, “Teacher, I want to see again.”
52 Jesus said, “Go. You are healed because you believed.” At once the man was able to see again, and he followed Jesus on the road.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.