Book of Common Prayer
Childlike Trust in God
A song for going up to worship. Of David.
131 Lord, my heart is not proud.
I don’t look down on others.
I don’t do great things,
and I can’t do miracles.
2 But I am calm and quiet.
I am like a baby with its mother.
I am at peace, like a baby with its mother.
3 People of Israel, put your hope in the Lord
now and forever.
In Praise of the Temple
A song for going up to worship.
132 Lord, remember David and all his suffering.
2 He made a promise to the Lord.
He made a promise to the Mighty God of Jacob.
3 He said, “I will not go home to my house.
I will not lie down on my bed.
4 I will not close my eyes
or let myself sleep
5 until I find a place for the Lord.
I want to provide a home for the Mighty God of Jacob.”
6 We heard about the Ark of the Covenant in Bethlehem.
We found it at Kiriath Jearim.
7 Let’s go to the Lord’s house.
Let’s worship at his footstool.
8 Rise, Lord, and come to your resting place.
Come with the Ark of the Covenant that shows your strength.
9 May your priests do what is right.
May your people sing for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your appointed king.
11 The Lord made a promise to David.
It was a sure promise that he will not take back.
He promised, “I will make one of your descendants
rule as king after you.
12 But your sons must keep my agreement
and the rules that I teach them.
Then their sons after them will rule
on your throne forever and ever.”
13 The Lord has chosen Jerusalem.
He wants it for his home.
14 He says, “This is my resting place forever.
Here is where I want to stay.
15 I will bless her with plenty of food.
I will fill her poor with food.
16 I will let her priests receive salvation.
And those who worship me will really sing for joy.
17 “I will make a king come from the family of David.
I will provide my appointed one descendants to rule after him.
18 I will cover his enemies with shame.
But his crown will shine.”
The Love of God’s People
A song for going up to worship. Of David.
133 It is good and pleasant
when God’s people live together in peace!
2 It is like having perfumed oil poured on the priest’s head
and running down his beard.
It ran down Aaron’s beard
and on to the collar of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Mount Hermon
falling on the hills of Jerusalem.
There the Lord gives his blessing
of life forever.
A Prayer for Protection
For the director of music. A song of David.
140 Lord, rescue me from evil people.
Save me from cruel men.
2 They make evil plans.
They always start fights.
3 They make their tongues sharp as a snake’s.
Their words are like snake poison. Selah
4 Lord, guard me from the power of wicked people.
Save me from cruel men
who plan to trip me up.
5 Proud men have hidden a trap for me.
They have spread out a net beside the road.
They have set traps for me. Selah
6 I said to the Lord, “You are my God.”
Lord, listen to my prayer for help.
7 Lord God, my mighty savior,
you protect me in battle.
8 Lord, do not give the wicked what they want.
Don’t let their plans succeed,
or they will become proud. Selah
9 Those around me have planned trouble.
Now let it come to them.
10 Let burning coals fall on them.
Throw them into the fire
or into pits from which they cannot escape.
11 Don’t let liars settle in the land.
Let evil quickly hunt down cruel men.
12 I know the Lord will get justice for the poor.
He will defend the needy in court.
13 Good people will praise his name.
Honest people will live in his presence.
A Prayer for Safety
A maskil of David when he was in the cave. A prayer.
142 I cry out to the Lord.
I pray to the Lord for mercy.
2 I pour out my problems to him.
I tell him my troubles.
3 When I am afraid,
you, Lord, know the way out.
In the path where I walk,
a trap is hidden for me.
4 Look around me and see.
No one cares about me.
I have no place of safety.
No one cares if I live.
5 Lord, I cry out to you.
I say, “You are my protection.
You are all I want in this life.”
6 Listen to my cry
because I am helpless.
Save me from those who are chasing me.
They are too strong for me.
7 Free me from my prison.
Then I will praise your name.
Then the good people will surround me
because you have taken care of me.
The Frogs
25 Seven days passed after the Lord changed the Nile River.
8 Then the Lord told Moses, “Go to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go to worship me. 2 If you refuse, then I will punish Egypt with frogs. 3 The Nile River will be filled with frogs. They will come from the river and enter your palace. They will be in your bedroom and your bed. The frogs will enter the houses of your officers and your people. They will enter your ovens and your baking pans. 4 The frogs will jump up all over you, your people and your officers.’”
5 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron to hold his walking stick in his hand over the rivers, canals and ponds. Make frogs come up out of the water onto the land of Egypt.”
6 So Aaron held his hand over all the waters of Egypt. The frogs came up out of the water and covered the land of Egypt. 7 The magicians used their tricks to do the same thing. So even more frogs came up onto the land of Egypt.
8 So the king called for Moses and Aaron. He said, “Pray to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people. I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”
9 Moses said to the king, “Please set the time that I should pray for you, your people and your officers. Then the frogs will leave you and your houses. They will remain only in the Nile.”
10 The king answered, “Tomorrow.”
Moses said, “What you want will happen. By this you will know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 The frogs will leave you, your houses, your officers and your people. They will remain only in the Nile.”
12 Moses and Aaron left the king. Moses asked the Lord about the frogs he had sent to the king. 13 And the Lord did as Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, in the yards and in the fields. 14 The Egyptians put them in piles. The whole country began to stink. 15 When the king saw that they were free of the frogs, he became stubborn again. He did not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.
The Gnats
16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron to raise his walking stick and strike the dust on the ground. Then everywhere in Egypt the dust will change into gnats.” 17 They did this. Aaron raised the walking stick that was in his hand and struck the dust on the ground. Then everywhere in Egypt the dust changed into gnats. The gnats got on the people and animals. 18 Using their tricks, the magicians tried to do the same thing. But they could not make the dust change into gnats. The gnats remained on the people and animals. 19 So the magicians told the king that the power of God had done this. But the king was stubborn and refused to listen to them. This happened just as the Lord had said.
7 The law that brought death was written in words on stone. It came with God’s glory. Moses’ face was so bright with glory that the people of Israel could not continue to look at his face. And that glory later disappeared. 8 So surely the new way that brings the Spirit has even more glory. 9 That law judged people guilty of sin, but it had glory. So surely the new way that makes people right with God has much greater glory. 10 That old law had glory. But it really loses its glory when it is compared to the much greater glory of this new way. 11 If that law which disappeared came with glory, then this new way which continues forever has much greater glory.
12 We have this hope, so we are very brave. 13 We are not like Moses. He put a covering over his face so that the people of Israel would not see it. The glory was disappearing, and Moses did not want them to see it end. 14 But their minds were closed. Even today that same covering hides the meaning when they read the old agreement. That covering is taken away only through Christ. 15 But even today, when they read the law of Moses, there is a covering over their minds. 16 But when a person changes and follows the Lord, that covering is taken away. 17 The Lord is the Spirit. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 Our faces, then, are not covered. We all show the Lord’s glory, and we are being changed to be like him. This change in us brings more and more glory. And it comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
A Rich Young Man’s Question
17 Jesus started to leave, but a man ran to him and fell on his knees before Jesus. The man asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to get the life that never ends?”
18 Jesus answered, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commands: ‘You must not murder anyone. You must not be guilty of adultery. You must not steal. You must not tell lies about your neighbor in court. You must not cheat. Honor your father and mother.’”[a]
20 The man said, “Teacher, I have obeyed all these commands since I was a boy.”
21 Jesus looked straight at the man and loved him. Jesus said, “There is still one more thing you need to do. Go and sell everything you have, and give the money to the poor. You will have a reward in heaven. Then come and follow me.”
22 He was very sad to hear Jesus say this, and he left. The man was sad because he was very rich.
23 Then Jesus looked at his followers and said, “How hard it will be for those who are rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
24 The followers were amazed at what Jesus said. But he said again, “My children, it is very hard[b] to enter the kingdom of God! 25 And it will be very hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. It would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle!”
26 The followers were even more amazed and said to each other, “Then who can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked straight at them and said, “For people this is impossible. But for God all things are possible.”
28 Peter said to Jesus, “We left everything to follow you!”
29 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth. Everyone who has left his home, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or fields for me and for the Good News 30 will get a hundred times more than he left. Here in this world he will have more homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields. And with those things, he will also suffer for his belief. But in the age that is coming he will have life forever. 31 Many who are first now will be last in the future. And those who are last now will be first in the future.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.