Book of Common Prayer
Thanksgiving for Escaping Death
A song of David. A song for giving the Temple to the Lord.
30 I will praise you, Lord,
because you rescued me.
You did not let my enemies laugh at me.
2 Lord, my God, I prayed to you.
And you healed me.
3 You lifted me out of the grave.
You spared me from going down where the dead are.
4 Sing praises to the Lord, you who belong to him.
Praise his holy name.
5 His anger lasts only a moment.
But his kindness lasts for a lifetime.
Crying may last for a night.
But joy comes in the morning.
6 When I felt safe, I said,
“I will never fail.”
7 Lord, in your kindness you made my mountain safe.
But when you turned away, I was frightened.
8 I called to you, Lord.
I asked you to have mercy on me.
9 I said, “What good will it do if I die
or if I go down to the grave?
Dust cannot praise you.
It cannot speak about your truth.
10 Lord, hear me and be merciful to me.
Lord, help me.”
11 You changed my sorrow into dancing.
You took away my rough cloth, which shows sadness, and clothed me in happiness.
12 I will sing to you and not be silent.
Lord, my God, I will praise you forever.
It Is Better to Confess Sin
A maskil of David.
32 Happy is the person
whose sins are forgiven,
whose wrongs are pardoned.
2 Happy is the person
whom the Lord does not consider guilty.
In that person there is nothing false.
3 When I kept things to myself,
I felt weak deep inside me.
I moaned all day long.
4 Day and night
you punished me.
My strength was gone
as in the summer heat. Selah
5 Then I confessed my sins to you.
I didn’t hide my guilt.
I said, “I will confess my sins to the Lord.”
And you forgave my guilt. Selah
6 For this reason, all who obey you
should pray to you while they still can.
When troubles rise like a flood,
they will not reach them.
7 You are my hiding place.
You protect me from my troubles.
You fill me with songs of salvation. Selah
8 The Lord says, “I will make you wise. I will show you where to go.
I will guide you and watch over you.
9 So don’t be like a horse or donkey.
They don’t understand.
They must be led with bits and reins,
or they will not come near you.”
10 Wicked people have many troubles.
But the Lord’s love surrounds those who trust him.
11 Good people, rejoice and be happy in the Lord.
All you whose hearts are right, sing.
Book 2
Psalms 42—72
Wishing to Be Near God
For the director of music. A maskil of the sons of Korah.
42 A deer thirsts for a stream of water.
In the same way, I thirst for you, God.
2 I thirst for the living God.
When can I go to meet with him?
3 Day and night, my tears have been my food.
People are always saying,
“Where is your God?”
4 When I remember these things,
I speak with a broken heart.
I used to walk with the crowd.
I led the happy crowd to God’s Temple,
with songs of praise.
5 Why am I so sad?
Why am I so upset?
I should put my hope in God.
I should keep praising him,
My Savior and 6 my God.
I am very sad.
So I remember you while I am in the land where the Jordan River begins.
I will remember you while I am near the Hermon mountains
and on the mountain of Mizar.
7 Troubles have come again and again.
They sound like waterfalls.
Your waves are crashing
all around me.
8 The Lord shows his true love every day.
At night I have a song,
and I pray to my living God.
9 I say to God, my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why am I sad
and troubled by my enemies?”
10 My enemies’ insults make me feel
as if my bones were broken.
They are always saying,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why am I so sad?
Why am I so upset?
I should put my hope in God.
I should keep praising him,
my Savior and my God.
A Prayer for Protection
43 God, defend me.
Argue my case against those who don’t follow you.
Save me from liars and those who do evil.
2 God, you are my strength.
Why have you rejected me?
Why am I sad
and troubled by my enemies?
3 Send me your light and truth.
They will guide me.
Lead me to your holy mountain.
Lead me to where you live.
4 I will go to the altar of God,
to God who is my joy and happiness.
I will praise you with a harp,
God, my God.
5 Why am I so sad?
Why am I so upset?
I should put my hope in God.
I should keep praising him,
my Savior and my God.
9 After this, he traveled on toward southern Canaan.
Abram Goes to Egypt
10 At this time there was not much food in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live because there was so little food. 11 Just before they arrived in Egypt, Abram said to his wife Sarai, “I know you are a very beautiful woman. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This woman is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but let you live. 13 Tell them you are my sister. Then things will go well with me. And I may be allowed to live because of you.”
14 So Abram went into Egypt. The people of Egypt saw that Sarai was very beautiful. 15 Some of the Egyptian officers saw her also. They told the king of Egypt how beautiful she was. They took her to the king’s palace. 16 The king was kind to Abram because he thought Abram was Sarai’s brother. He gave Abram sheep, cattle and male and female donkeys. Abram also was given male and female servants and camels.
17 But the Lord sent terrible diseases on the king and all the people in his house. This was because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So the king sent for Abram. The king said, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me Sarai was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? I made her my wife. But now here is your wife. Take her and leave!” 20 Then the king commanded his men to make Abram leave Egypt. So Abram and his wife left with everything they owned.
Abram and Lot Separate
13 So Abram, his wife and Lot left Egypt. They took everything they owned and traveled to southern Canaan.
18 The old rule is now set aside because it was weak and useless. 19 The law of Moses could not make anything perfect. But now a better hope has been given to us. And with this hope we can come near to God.
20 Also, it is important that God made an oath when he made Jesus high priest. When the others became priests, there was no oath. 21 But Christ became a priest with God’s oath. God said:
“The Lord has made a promise
and will not change his mind.
‘You are a priest forever.’” Psalm 110:4
22 So this means that Jesus is the guarantee of a better agreement[a] from God to his people.
23 Also, when one of the other priests died, he could not continue being a priest. So there were many priests. 24 But Jesus lives forever. He will never stop serving as priest. 25 So he is always able to save those who come to God through him. He can do this, because he always lives, ready to help those who come before God.
26 So Jesus is the kind of high priest that we need. He is holy; he has no sin in him. He is pure and not influenced by sinners. And he is raised above the heavens. 27 He is not like the other priests. They had to offer sacrifices every day, first for their own sins, and then for the sins of the people. But Christ does not need to do that. He offered his sacrifice only once and for all time. Christ offered himself! 28 The law chooses high priests who are men with all their weaknesses. But the word of God’s oath came later than the law. It made God’s Son to be the high priest. And that Son has been made perfect forever.
27 Just then his followers came back from town. They were surprised because they saw Jesus talking with a woman. But none of them asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
28 Then the woman left her water jar and went back to town. She said to the people, 29 “A man told me everything I have ever done. Come see him. Maybe he is the Christ!” 30 So the people left the town and went to see Jesus.
31 While the woman was away, the followers were begging him, “Teacher, eat something!”
32 But Jesus answered, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
33 So the followers asked themselves, “Did somebody already bring Jesus some food?”
34 Jesus said, “My food is to do what the One who sent me wants me to do. My food is to finish the work that he gave me to do. 35 You say, ‘Four more months to wait before we gather the grain.’ But I tell you, open your eyes. Look at the fields that are ready for harvesting now. 36 Even now, the one who harvests the crop is being paid. He is gathering crops for eternal life. So now the one who plants can be happy along with the one who harvests. 37 It is true when we say, ‘One person plants, but another harvests the crop.’ 38 I sent you to harvest a crop that you did not work for. Others did the work, and you get the profit from their work.”[a]
39 Many of the Samaritans in that town believed in Jesus. They believed because of what the woman said: “He told me everything I have ever done.” 40 The Samaritans came to Jesus and begged him to stay with them. So he stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of the things he said.
42 They said to the woman, “First we believed in Jesus because of what you told us. But now we believe because we heard him ourselves. We know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.