Book of Common Prayer
The Lord Takes Care of His People
A miktam of David.
16 Protect me, God,
because I trust in you.
2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord.
Every good thing I have comes from you.”
3 There are godly people in the world.
I enjoy them.
4 But those who turn to idols will have much pain.
I will not offer blood to those idols.
I won’t even speak their names.
5 No, the Lord is all I need.
He takes care of me.
6 My share in life has been pleasant.
My part has been beautiful.
7 I praise the Lord because he guides me.
Even at night, I feel his leading.
8 I keep the Lord before me always.
Because he is close by my side
I will not be hurt.
9 So I rejoice, and I am glad.
Even my body has hope.
10 This is because you will not leave me in the grave.
You will not let your holy one rot.
11 You will teach me God’s way to live.
Being with you will fill me with joy.
At your right hand I will find pleasure forever.
A Prayer for Protection
A prayer of David.
17 Lord, hear me begging for fairness.
Listen to my cry for help.
Pay attention to my prayer.
I speak the truth.
2 You will judge that I am right.
Your eyes can see what is true.
3 You have examined my heart.
You have tested me all night.
You questioned me without finding anything wrong.
I did not plan any evil.
4 I have obeyed your commands.
I have not done what evil people do.
5 I have done what you told me to do.
I have not failed.
6 I call to you, God,
and you answer me.
Listen to me now.
Hear what I say.
7 Your love is wonderful.
By your power you save
from their enemies those who trust you.
8 Protect me as you would protect your own eye.
Protect me as a bird hides her young under her wings.
9 Keep me from the wicked who attack me.
Protect me from my enemies who surround me.
10 They are selfish.
They brag about themselves.
11 They have chased me.
Now they surround me.
They plan to throw me to the ground.
12 They are like lions ready to kill.
Like lions, they sit in hiding.
13 Lord, rise up and face the enemy.
Throw them down.
Save me from the wicked
with your sword.
14 Lord, save me from them by your power.
Their reward is in this life.
They have plenty of food.
They have many sons.
They leave money to their children.
15 Because I have lived right, I will see your face.
When I wake up, I will see your likeness and be satisfied.
Temple Guards, Praise the Lord
A song for going up to worship.
134 Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord.
You serve at night in the Temple of the Lord.
2 Raise your hands in the Temple
and praise the Lord.
3 May the Lord bless you from Mount Zion.
He made heaven and earth.
God Saves, Idols Do Not
135 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord.
Praise him, you servants of the Lord.
2 Praise him, you who stand in the Lord’s Temple
and in the Temple courtyards.
3 Praise the Lord, because he is good.
Sing praises to him, because it is pleasant.
4 The Lord has chosen the people of Jacob for himself.
He has chosen the people of Israel for his very own.
5 I know that the Lord is great.
Our Lord is greater than all the gods.
6 The Lord does what he wants,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and the deep oceans.
7 He brings the clouds from the ends of the earth.
He sends the lightning with the rain.
He brings out the wind from his storehouses.
8 He destroyed the firstborn sons in Egypt,
the firstborn of both men and animals.
9 He did many signs and miracles in Egypt.
He did amazing things to the king and his servants.
10 He defeated many nations
and killed powerful kings:
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan
and all the kings of Canaan.
12 Then he gave their land as a gift.
It was a gift to his people, the Israelites.
13 Lord, your name is everlasting.
Lord, you will be remembered from now on.
14 You defend your people.
You have mercy on your servants.
15 The idols of other nations are made of silver and gold.
They are made by human hands.
16 They have mouths, but they cannot speak.
They have eyes, but they cannot see.
17 They have ears, but they cannot hear.
They have no breath in their mouths.
18 The people who make idols and trust them
are all like them.
19 Family of Israel, praise the Lord.
Family of Aaron, praise the Lord.
20 Family of Levi, praise the Lord.
You people who fear the Lord should praise him.
21 You people of Jerusalem, praise the Lord on Mount Zion.
Praise the Lord!
23 Moses said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded. Tomorrow is the Sabbath, the Lord’s holy day of rest. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil today. But save the rest of the food until tomorrow morning.”
24 So the people saved it until the next morning, as Moses had commanded. And none of it began to stink or have worms in it. 25 Moses told the people, “Eat the food you gathered yesterday. Today is a Sabbath, the Lord’s day of rest. So you will not find any out in the field today. 26 You should gather the food for six days. But the seventh day is a Sabbath day. On that day there will not be any food on the ground.”
27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather food, but they couldn’t find any. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will all you people refuse to obey my commands and teachings? 29 Look, the Lord has made the Sabbath a day of rest for all of you. So on the sixth day he will give you enough food for two days. But on the Sabbath each of you must stay where you are. Do not leave your house.” 30 So the people rested on the Sabbath.
31 The people of Israel called the food manna. The manna was like small white seeds. It tasted like wafers made with honey.
32 Then Moses said, “The Lord said, ‘Save two quarts of this food for your descendants. Then they can see the food that I gave you to eat. I did this in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt.’”
33 Moses told Aaron, “Take a jar and fill it with two quarts of manna. And save this manna for your descendants.” 34 So Aaron did what the Lord had commanded Moses. Aaron put the jar of manna in front of the Ark of the Covenant. He did this so it could be kept. 35 The Israelites ate manna for 40 years. They ate it until they came to the land where they settled. They ate manna until they came to the edge of the land of Canaan. 36 The measure they used for the manna was two quarts. It was one-tenth of an ephah.[a]
13 If you are always trying to do good, no one can really hurt you. 14 But you may suffer for doing right. Even if that happens, you are blessed.
“Don’t be afraid of the things they fear.
Do not dread those things.
15 But respect Christ as the holy Lord in your hearts.” Isaiah 8:12-13
Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have. 16 But answer in a gentle way and with respect. Always feel that you are doing right. Then, those who speak evil of your good life in Christ will be made ashamed. 17 It is better to suffer for doing good than for doing wrong. Yes, it is better, if that is what God wants. 18 Christ himself died for you. And that one death paid for your sins. He was not guilty, but he died for those who are guilty. He did this to bring you all to God. His body was killed, but he was made alive in the spirit. 19 And in the spirit he went and preached to the spirits in prison. 20 These were the spirits who refused to obey God long ago in the time of Noah. God was waiting patiently for them while Noah was building the boat. Only a few people—eight in all—were saved by water. 21 That water is like baptism that now saves you—not the washing of dirt from the body, but the promise made to God from a good heart. And this is because Jesus Christ was raised from death. 22 Now Jesus has gone into heaven and is at God’s right side. He rules over angels, authorities, and powers.
Changed Lives
4 Christ suffered while he was in his body. So you should strengthen yourselves with the same way of thinking Christ had. The person who has suffered in his body is finished with sin. 2 Strengthen yourselves so that you will live your lives here on earth doing what God wants, not doing the evil things that people want. 3 In the past you wasted too much time doing what the non-believers like to do. You lived for the body and evil desires. You were getting drunk, you had wild and drunken parties, and you did wrong by worshiping idols. 4 Non-believers think it is strange that you do not do the many wild and wasteful things that they do. And so they insult you. 5 But they will have to explain about what they have done. They must explain to God who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 The Good News was preached to those who are now dead. By their dying, they were judged like all men. But the Good News was preached to them so that they could live in the spirit as God lives.
16 “I have told you these things to keep you from giving up. 2 People will put you out of their synagogues. Yes, the time is coming when whoever kills you will think that he is offering service to God. 3 They will do this because they have not known the Father and they have not known me. 4 I have told you these things now. So when the time comes, you will remember that I warned you.
The Work of the Holy Spirit
“I did not tell you these things at the beginning, because I was with you then. 5 Now I am going back to the One who sent me. But none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Your hearts are filled with sadness because I have told you these things. 7 But I tell you the truth. It is better for you that I go away. When I go away I will send the Helper[a] to you. If I do not go away, then the Helper will not come. 8 When the Helper comes, he will prove to the people of the world the truth about sin, about being right with God, and about judgment. 9 He will prove to them about sin, because they don’t believe in me. 10 He will prove to them that I am right with God, because I am going to the Father. You will not see me anymore. 11 And the Helper will prove to them the truth about judgment, because the ruler of this world is already judged.
12 “I have many more things to say to you, but they are too much for you now. 13 But when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you into all truth. He will not speak his own words. He will speak only what he hears and will tell you what is to come. 14 The Spirit of truth will bring glory to me. He will take what I have to say and tell it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will take what I have to say and tell it to you.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.