Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for the King
For the director of music. A song of David.
20 May the Lord answer you in times of trouble.
May the God of Jacob protect you.
2 May he send you help from his Temple.
May he support you from Mount Zion.
3 May he remember all your offerings.
May he accept all your sacrifices. Selah
4 May he give you what you want.
May all your plans succeed.
5 We will shout for joy when you succeed.
We will raise a flag in the name of our God.
May the Lord give you all that you ask for.
6 Now I know the Lord helps his appointed king.
He answers him from his holy heaven.
He saves him with his strong right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots, others in horses.
But we trust the Lord our God.
8 They are overwhelmed and defeated.
But we march forward and win.
9 Lord, save the king!
Answer us when we call for help.
Thanksgiving for the King
For the director of music. A song of David.
21 Lord, the king rejoices because of your strength.
He is so happy when you save him!
2 You gave the king what he wanted.
You did not refuse what he asked for. Selah
3 You put good things before him.
You placed a gold crown on his head.
4 He asked you for life.
And you gave it to him.
His years go on and on.
5 He has great glory because you gave him victories.
You gave him honor and praise.
6 You always gave him blessings.
You made him glad because you were with him.
7 The king truly trusts the Lord.
Because God Most High always loves him,
he will not be overwhelmed.
8 Your hand is against all your enemies.
Those who hate you will feel your power.
9 When you appear, you will burn them like wood in a furnace.
In your anger you will eat them up.
Your fire will burn them up.
10 You will destroy their families from the earth.
Their children will not live.
11 They made evil plans against you.
But their traps won’t work.
12 You will make them turn their backs
when you aim your arrows at them.
13 Be supreme, Lord, in your power.
We sing and praise your greatness.
The Lord Appoints a King
A song of David.
110 The Lord said to my Master,
“Sit by me at my right side
until I put your enemies under your control.”
2 The Lord will make you king in Jerusalem over all nations.
And you will rule your enemies in their own countries.
3 Your people will join you on the day you come to power.
You have been dressed in holiness from birth.
You have the freshness of a child.
4 The Lord has made a promise
and will not change his mind.
He said, “You are a priest forever,
a priest like Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is beside you to help you.
When he becomes angry, he will crush kings.
6 He will judge those nations, filling them with dead bodies.
He will defeat rulers all over the world.
7 The king will drink from the brook on the way.
Then he will be strengthened and win the battle.
Thanksgiving for Escaping Death
116 I love the Lord because he listens
to my prayers for help.
2 He paid attention to me.
So I will call to him for help as long as I live.
3 The ropes of death bound me.
The fear of death took hold of me.
I was troubled and sad.
4 Then I called out the name of the Lord.
I said, “Please, Lord, save me!”
5 The Lord is kind and does what is right.
Our God is merciful.
6 The Lord watches over the foolish.
When I was helpless, he saved me.
7 I said to myself, “Relax,
because the Lord takes care of you.”
8 Lord, you have saved me from death.
You have stopped my eyes from crying.
You have kept me from being defeated.
9 So I will walk with the Lord
in the land of the living.
10 I believed, so I said,
“I am completely ruined.”
11 In my distress I said,
“All people are liars.”
12 What can I give the Lord
for all the good things he has given to me?
13 I will give him a drink offering for saving me.
And I will pray to the Lord.
14 In front of all his people,
I will give the Lord what I promised.
15 The death of one that belongs to him
is precious to the Lord.
16 Lord, I am your servant.
I am your servant and the son of your female servant.
You have freed me from my chains.
17 I will give an offering to show thanks to you.
And I will worship the Lord.
18 In front of all his people,
I will give the Lord what I promised.
19 I will do this in the Temple courtyards
in Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
A Hymn of Praise
117 All you nations, praise the Lord.
All you people, praise him.
2 The Lord loves us very much.
His truth is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!
15 With patience you can convince a ruler.
And a gentle word can get through to the hard-headed.
16 If you find honey, don’t eat too much.
Too much of it will make you sick.
17 Don’t go to your neighbor’s house too often.
Too much of you will make him hate you.
18 Anyone who lies about his neighbor
hurts him as a club, a sword or a sharp arrow would.
19 Don’t trust unfaithful people when you are in trouble.
It’s like eating with a broken tooth or walking with a crippled foot.
20 Don’t sing songs to someone who is sad.
It’s like taking off a coat on a cold day
or pouring vinegar on soda.
21 If your enemy is hungry, feed him.
If he is thirsty, give him a drink.
22 Doing this will be like pouring burning coals on his head.
And the Lord will reward you.
23 The north wind brings rain.
In the same way, telling gossip brings angry looks.
24 It is better to live in a corner on the roof[a]
than inside the house with a quarreling wife.
25 Hearing good news from a faraway place
is like having a cool drink when you are tired.
26 A good person who gives in to evil
is like a muddy spring or a dirty well.
27 It is not good to eat too much honey.
In the same way, it is not good to brag about yourself.
28 A person who does not control himself
is like a city whose walls have been broken down.
Serve Others with Joy
1 From Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ.
To all of God’s holy people in Christ Jesus who live in Philippi. And to your overseers and deacons.
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul’s Prayer
3 I thank God every time I remember you. 4 And I always pray for all of you with joy. 5 I thank God for the help you gave me while I preached the Good News. You helped from the first day you believed until now. 6 God began doing a good work in you. And he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again. I am sure of that.
7 And I know that I am right to think like this about all of you. I am sure because I have you in my heart. All of you share in God’s grace with me. You share in God’s grace with me while I am in prison, while I am defending the Good News, and while I am proving the truth of the Good News. 8 God knows that I want to see you very much. I love all of you with the love of Christ Jesus.
9 This is my prayer for you: that your love will grow more and more; that you will have knowledge and understanding with your love; 10 that you will see the difference between good and bad and choose the good; that you will be pure and without wrong for the coming of Christ; 11 that you will be filled with the good things produced in your life by Christ to bring glory and praise to God.
Jesus Is Arrested
18 When Jesus finished praying, he left with his followers. They went across the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden of olive trees. Jesus and his followers went there.
2 Judas knew where this place was, because Jesus met there often with his followers. Judas was the one who turned against Jesus. 3 So Judas led a group of soldiers to the garden. Judas also brought some guards from the leading priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns, and weapons.
4 Jesus knew everything that would happen to him. Jesus went out and asked, “Who is it you are looking for?”
5 The men answered, “Jesus from Nazareth.”
Jesus said, “I am Jesus.” (Judas, the one who turned against Jesus, was standing there with them.) 6 When Jesus said, “I am Jesus,” the men moved back and fell to the ground.
7 Jesus asked them again, “Who is it you are looking for?”
They said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”
8 Jesus said, “I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, then let these other men go.” 9 This happened so that the words Jesus said before might come true: “I have not lost any of the men you gave me.”
10 Simon Peter had a sword. He took out the sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) 11 Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back. Shall I not drink of the cup[a] the Father has given me?”
Jesus Is Brought Before Annas
12 Then the soldiers with their commander and the Jewish guards arrested Jesus. They tied him 13 and led him first to Annas. Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14 Caiaphas was the one who had told the Jews that it would be better if one man died for all the people.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.