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.
21 “And I will show my greatness among the nations. All the nations will feel my power when I punish them. 22 From that day on the people of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God. 23 And the nations will know Israel was taken away captive because they turned against me. So I turned away from them. And I let their enemies defeat them. All of them died in war. 24 I punished them for their uncleanness and their sins. I turned away from them.
25 “So this is what the Lord God says: Now I will bring the people of Jacob back from captivity. I will have mercy on the whole nation of Israel. I will not let them dishonor me. 26 The people will forget their shame. And they will forget how they rejected me. They will live in safety on their own land. No one will make them afraid. 27 I will bring the people back from other lands. I will gather them from the lands of their enemies. That is how I will show that I am holy through my people. And many nations will see that I am holy. 28 Then my people will know that I am the Lord their God. This is because I sent them into captivity among the nations. But then I brought them back to their own land. And I didn’t leave any behind. 29 I will not turn away from them anymore. I will put my Spirit into the people of Israel, says the Lord God.”
Paul Thanks the Christians
10 I am very happy in the Lord that you have shown your care for me again. You continued to care about me, but there was no way for you to show it. 11 I am telling you this, but it is not because I need anything. I have learned to be satisfied with the things I have and with everything that happens. 12 I know how to live when I am poor. And I know how to live when I have plenty. I have learned the secret of being happy at any time in everything that happens. I have learned to be happy when I have enough to eat and when I do not have enough to eat. I have learned to be happy when I have all that I need and when I do not have the things I need. 13 I can do all things through Christ because he gives me strength.
14 But it was good that you helped me when I needed help. 15 You people in Philippi remember when I first preached the Good News there. When I left Macedonia, you were the only church that gave me help. 16 Several times you sent me things I needed when I was in Thessalonica. 17 Really, it is not that I want to receive gifts from you. But I want you to have the good that comes from giving. 18 And now I have everything, and more. I have all I need because Epaphroditus brought your gift to me. Your gift is like a sweet-smelling sacrifice offered to God. God accepts that sacrifice, and it pleases him. 19 My God will use his wonderful riches in Christ Jesus to give you everything you need. 20 Glory to our God and Father forever and ever! Amen.
20 “I pray for these men. But I am also praying for all people who will believe in me because of the teaching of these men. 21 Father, I pray that all people who believe in me can be one. You are in me and I am in you. I pray that these people can also be one in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. 22 I have given these people the glory that you gave me. I gave them this glory so that they can be one, the same as you and I are one. 23 I will be in them and you will be in me. So they will be completely one. Then the world will know that you sent me. And the world will know that you loved these people the same as you loved me.
24 “Father, I want these people that you have given me to be with me in every place I am. I want them to see my glory. This is the glory you gave me because you loved me before the world was made. 25 Father, you are the One who is good. The world does not know you, but I know you. And these people know that you sent me. 26 I showed them what you are like. And again I will show them what you are like. Then they will have the same love that you have for me. And I will live in them.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.