Book of Common Prayer
A Call to Praise and Obedience
95 Come, let’s sing for joy to the Lord.
Let’s shout praises to the Rock who saves us.
2 Let’s come to him with thanksgiving.
Let’s sing songs to him.
3 The Lord is the great God.
He is the great King over all gods.
4 The deepest places on earth are his.
And the highest mountains belong to him.
5 The sea is his because he made it.
He created the land with his own hands.
6 Come, let’s bow down and worship him.
Let’s kneel before the Lord who made us.
7 He is our God.
And we are the people he takes care of
and the sheep that he tends.
Today listen to what he says:
8 “Do not be stubborn, as your ancestors were at Meribah,
as they were that day at Massah in the desert.
9 There your ancestors tested me.
They put me to the test even though they saw what I did.
10 I was angry with those people for 40 years.
I said, ‘They are not loyal to me.
They have not understood my ways.’
11 I was angry and made a promise,
‘They will never enter my land of rest.’”
A Sad Complaint
A song of the sons of Korah. For the director of music. By the mahalath leannoth. A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
88 Lord, you are the God who saves me.
I cry out to you day and night.
2 Accept my prayer.
Listen to my cry.
3 My life is full of troubles.
I am nearly dead.
4 They think I am on the way to my grave.
I am like a man with no strength.
5 I have been left as dead,
like a body lying in a grave.
You don’t remember dead people.
They are cut off from your care.
6 You have brought me close to death.
I am almost in the dark place of the dead.
7 You have been very angry with me.
All your waves crush me. Selah
8 You have taken my friends away from me.
You have made them hate me.
I am trapped and cannot escape.
9 My eyes are weak from crying.
Lord, I have prayed to you every day.
I have lifted my hands in prayer to you.
10 Do you show your miracles for the dead?
Do their spirits rise up and praise you? Selah
11 Will your love be told in the grave?
Will your loyalty be told in the place of death?
12 Will your miracles be known in the dark grave?
Will your goodness be known in the land where the dead are forgotten?
13 But, Lord, I have called out to you for help.
Every morning I pray to you.
14 Lord, why do you reject me?
Why do you hide from me?
15 I have been weak and dying since I was young.
I suffer from your terrors, and I am helpless.
16 You have been angry with me.
Your terrors have destroyed me.
17 They surround me daily like a flood.
They are all around me.
18 You have taken away my loved ones and friends.
Darkness is my only friend.
Safe in the Lord
91 Those who go to God Most High for safety
will be protected by God All-Powerful.
2 I will say to the Lord, “You are my place of safety and protection.
You are my God, and I trust you.”
3 God will save you from hidden traps
and from deadly diseases.
4 He will protect you like a bird
spreading its wings over its young.
His truth will be like your armor and shield.
5 You will not fear any danger by night
or an arrow during the day.
6 You will not be afraid of diseases that come in the dark
or sickness that strikes at noon.
7 At your side 1,000 people may die,
or even 10,000 right beside you.
But you will not be hurt.
8 You will only watch what happens.
You will see the wicked punished.
9 The Lord is your protection.
You have made God Most High your place of safety.
10 Nothing bad will happen to you.
No disaster will come to your home.
11 He has put his angels in charge of you.
They will watch over you wherever you go.
12 They will catch you with their hands.
And you will not hit your foot on a rock.
13 You will walk on lions and cobras.
You will step on strong lions and snakes.
14 The Lord says, “If someone loves me, I will save him.
I will protect those who know me.
15 They will call to me, and I will answer them.
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue them and honor them.
16 I will give them a long, full life.
They will see how I can save.”
Thanksgiving for God’s Goodness
A song for the Sabbath day.
92 It is good to praise the Lord,
to sing praises to God Most High.
2 It is good to tell of your love in the morning
and of your loyalty at night.
3 It is good to praise you with the ten-stringed lyre
and with the soft-sounding harp.
4 Lord, you have made me happy by what you have done.
I will sing for joy about what your hands have done.
5 Lord, you have done such great things!
How deep are your thoughts!
6 Stupid people don’t know these things.
Fools don’t understand.
7 Wicked people grow like the grass.
Evil people seem to do well.
But they will be destroyed forever.
8 But, Lord, you will be honored forever.
9 Lord, surely your enemies,
surely your enemies will be destroyed.
All who do evil will be scattered.
10 But you have made me as strong as a wild ox.
You have poured fine oils on me.
11 When I looked, I saw my enemies.
I heard the cries of those who are against me.
12 But good people will grow like palm trees.
They will be tall like the cedar trees of Lebanon.
13 They will be like trees planted in the courtyards of the Lord.
They will grow strong in the courtyards of our God.
14 When they are old, they will still produce fruit.
They will be healthy and fresh.
15 They will say that the Lord is good.
He is my Rock, and there is no wrong in him.
Jacob Settles in Goshen
47 Joseph went in to the king and said, “My father and my brothers have arrived from Canaan. They have their flocks and herds and everything they own with them. They are now in the land of Goshen.” 2 Joseph chose five of his brothers to introduce to the king.
3 The king said to the brothers, “What work do you do?”
And they said to him, “We, your servants, are shepherds. Our ancestors were also shepherds.” 4 They said to the king, “We have come to live in this land. There is no grass in the land of Canaan for our animals to eat. The hunger is very terrible there. So please allow us to live in the land of Goshen.”
5 Then the king said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 You may choose any place in Egypt for them to live. Give your father and your brothers the best land. Let them live in the land of Goshen. And if any of them are skilled shepherds, put them in charge of my sheep and cattle.”
7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and introduced him to the king. And Jacob blessed the king.
8 Then the king said to Jacob, “How old are you?”
9 Jacob said to him, “My life has been spent wandering from place to place. It has been short, filled with trouble. I have lived only 130 years. My ancestors lived much longer than I.” 10 Then Jacob blessed the king and left.
11 Joseph obeyed the king. He gave his father and brothers the best land in Egypt. It was near the city of Rameses. 12 And Joseph gave his father, his brothers and everyone who lived with them the food they needed.
Joseph Buys Land for the King
13 The hunger became worse, and there was no food anywhere in the land. The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan became very poor because of this. 14 Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan. People paid him this money for the grain they were buying. He brought that money to the king’s palace. 15 After some time, the people in Egypt and Canaan had no money left. So they went to Joseph and said, “Please give us food. Our money is gone. If we don’t eat, we will die here in front of you.”
16 Joseph answered, “Since you have no money, give me your farm animals. I will give you food in return.” 17 So people brought their farm animals to Joseph. And he gave them food in exchange for their horses, sheep, cattle and donkeys. So he kept them alive by trading food for their farm animals that year.
18 The next year the people came to Joseph and said, “You know we have no money left. And all our animals belong to you. We have nothing left except our bodies and our land. 19 Surely both we and our land will die here in front of you. Buy us and our land in exchange for food. And we will be slaves to the king, together with our land. Give us seed to plant. Then we will live and not die. And the land will not become a desert.”
20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for the king. Every Egyptian sold Joseph his field, because the hunger was very great. So the land became the king’s. 21 And Joseph made the people slaves from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 The only land he did not buy was the land the priests owned. They did not need to sell their land because the king paid them for their work. So they had money to buy food.
23 Joseph said to the people, “Now I have bought you and your land for the king. So I will give you seed. And you can plant your fields. 24 At harvest time you must give one-fifth to the king. You may keep four-fifths for yourselves. Use it as seed for the field and as food for yourselves, your families and your children.”
25 The people said, “You have saved our lives. If you like, we will become slaves of the king.”
26 So Joseph made a law in Egypt, which continues today: One-fifth of everything from the land belongs to the king. The only land the king did not get was the priests’ land.
16 Telling the Good News is not my reason for bragging. Telling the Good News is my duty—something I must do. And how bad it will be for me if I do not tell the Good News. 17 If I preach because it is my own choice, I should get a reward. But I have no choice. I must tell the Good News. I am only doing the duty that was given to me. 18 So what reward do I get? This is my reward: that when I tell the Good News I can offer it freely. In this way I do not use my right to be paid in my work for the Good News.
19 I am free. I belong to no man. But I make myself a slave to all people. I do this to help save as many people as I can. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew. I did this to help save the Jews. I myself am not ruled by the law. But to those who are ruled by the law I became like a person who is ruled by the law. I did this to help save those who are ruled by the law. 21 To those who are without the law I became like a person who is without the law. I did this to help save those people who are without the law. (But really, I am not without God’s law—I am ruled by Christ’s law.) 22 To those who are weak, I became weak so that I could help save them. I have become all things to all people. I did this so that I could save some of them in any way possible. 23 I do all this because of the Good News. I do it so that I can share in the blessings of the Good News.
24 You know that in a race all the runners run. But only one gets the prize. So run like that. Run to win! 25 All those who compete in the games use strict training. They do this so that they can win a crown. That crown is an earthly thing that lasts only a short time. But our crown will continue forever. 26 So I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something—not just the air. 27 It is my own body that I hit. I make it my slave. I do this so that I myself will not be rejected after I have preached to others.
47 That night, the boat was in the middle of the lake. Jesus was alone on the land. 48 He saw the followers working hard to row the boat because the wind was blowing against them. At some time between three and six o’clock in the morning, Jesus came to them, walking on the water. He continued walking until he was almost past the boat. 49 But when his followers saw him walking on the water, they thought he was a ghost and cried out. 50 They all saw him and were terrified. But Jesus spoke to them and said, “Have courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.” 51 Then he got into the boat with them. And the wind became calm. The followers were greatly amazed. 52 They had seen Jesus make more bread from the five loaves. But they did not understand what it meant. Their minds were closed.
53 When they had crossed the lake, they came to shore at Gennesaret. They tied the boat there. 54 When they got out of the boat, the people saw Jesus and immediately recognized him. 55 They ran to tell others everywhere in that area that Jesus was there. They brought sick people on mats to every place Jesus went. 56 Jesus went into towns and cities and farms around that area. And everywhere he went, the people brought the sick to the marketplaces. They begged him to let them just touch the edge of his coat. And all who touched him were healed.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.