Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer in Time of Sickness
For the director of music. A song of David.
41 Happy is the person who thinks about the poor.
When trouble comes, the Lord will save him.
2 The Lord will protect him and spare his life.
The Lord will bless him in the land.
The Lord will not let his enemies take him.
3 The Lord will give him strength when he is sick.
The Lord will make him well again.
4 I said, “Lord, be kind to me.
Heal me because I have sinned against you.”
5 My enemies are saying bad things about me.
They say, “When will he die and be forgotten?”
6 Some people come to see me.
But they lie.
They just come to get bad news.
Then they go and gossip.
7 All my enemies whisper about me.
They think the worst about me.
8 They say, “He has a terrible disease.
He will never get out of bed again.”
9 My best and truest friend ate at my table.
Now even he has turned against me.
10 Lord, have mercy on me.
Give me strength so I can pay them back.
11 My enemies do not defeat me.
That’s how I know you are pleased with me.
12 Because I am innocent, you support me.
You will let me be with you forever.
13 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel.
He has always been,
and he will always be.
Amen and amen.
God Will Punish the Proud
For the director of music. A maskil of David. When Doeg the Edomite came to Saul and said to him, “David is in Ahimelech’s house.”
52 Mighty warrior, why do you brag about the evil you do?
God’s love will continue forever.
2 You think up evil plans.
Your tongue is like a sharp razor,
making up lies.
3 You love wrong more than right
and lies more than truth. Selah
4 You love words that bite
and tongues that lie.
5 But God will ruin you forever.
He will grab you and throw you out of your tent.
He will tear you away from the land of the living. Selah
6 Those who do right will see this and fear God.
They will laugh at you and say,
7 “Look what happened to the man
who did not depend on God.
Instead, he depended on his money.
He grew strong by his evil plans.”
8 But I am like an olive tree
growing in God’s Temple.
I trust God’s love
forever and ever.
9 God, I will thank you forever for what you have done.
With those who worship you, I will trust you because you are good.
A Prayer for Help
For the director of music. A maskil of the sons of Korah.
44 God, we have heard about you.
Our ancestors told us
what you did in their days,
in days long ago.
2 With your power you forced the nations out of the land.
You placed our ancestors here.
You destroyed those other nations.
But you made our ancestors grow strong.
3 It wasn’t their swords that took the land.
It wasn’t their power that gave them victory.
But it was your great power and strength.
You were with them because you loved them.
4 My God, you are my King.
Your commands led Jacob’s people to victory.
5 With your help we pushed back our enemies.
In your name we walked on those who came against us.
6 I don’t trust my bow to help me.
My sword can’t save me.
7 You saved us from Egypt.
You made our enemies ashamed.
8 We will praise God every day.
We will praise your name forever. Selah
9 But you have rejected us and shamed us.
You don’t march with our armies anymore.
10 You let our enemies push us back.
Our enemies have taken our wealth.
11 You gave us away like sheep to be eaten.
You scattered us among the nations.
12 You sold your people for nothing.
You made no profit on the sale.
13 You made us a joke to our neighbors.
The community laughs and makes fun of us.
14 You made us a joke to the other nations.
People shake their heads.
15 I am always in disgrace.
I am covered with shame.
16 My enemy is getting even
with insults and curses.
17 All these things have happened to us,
but we have not forgotten you.
We have kept our agreement with you.
18 Our hearts haven’t turned away from you.
We haven’t stopped following you.
19 But you crushed us in this place where wild dogs live.
You covered us with deep darkness.
20 We did not forget our God.
We did not lift our hands in prayer to foreign gods.
21 God would have known if we had.
He knows what is in our hearts.
22 But for you we are in danger of death all the time.
People think we are worth no more than sheep to be killed.
23 Wake up, Lord! Why are you sleeping?
Get up! Don’t reject us forever.
24 Why are you hidden from us?
Have you forgotten our pain and troubles?
25 We have been pushed down into the dirt.
We are flat on the ground.
26 Get up and help us.
Because of your love, save us.
The People Make a Gold Calf
32 The people saw that a long time had passed. And Moses had not come down from the mountain. So they gathered around Aaron. They said to him, “Moses led us out of Egypt. But we don’t know what has happened to him. So make us gods who will lead us.”
2 Aaron said to the people, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, sons and daughters are wearing. Bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 Aaron took the gold from the people. Then he melted it and made a statue of a calf. He finished it with a tool. Then the people said, “Israel! These are your gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
5 Aaron saw all this, and he built an altar before the calf. Then he made an announcement. He said, “Tomorrow there will be a special feast to honor the Lord.” 6 The people got up early the next morning. They offered whole burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. First the people sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up and had wild parties.
7 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down from this mountain. Your people, the people you brought out of the land of Egypt, have done a terrible sin. 8 They have quickly turned away from the things I commanded them to do. They have made for themselves a calf of melted gold. They have worshiped that calf and offered sacrifices to it. The people have said, ‘Israel, these are your gods who brought you out of Egypt.’”
9 The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen these people. I know that they are very stubborn people. 10 So now do not stop me. I am so angry with them that I am going to destroy them. Then I will make you and your descendants a great nation.”
11 But Moses begged the Lord his God. Moses said, “Lord, don’t let your anger destroy your people. You brought these people out of Egypt with your great power and strength. 12 Don’t let the people of Egypt say, ‘The Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt. But he planned to kill them in the mountains and destroy them from the earth.’ So stop being angry. Don’t destroy your people. 13 Remember the men who served you—Abraham, Isaac and Israel. You promised with an oath to them. You said, ‘I will make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky. I will give your descendants all this land that I have promised them. It will be theirs forever.’” 14 So the Lord changed his mind. He did not destroy the people as he had said he might.
15 Then Moses went down the mountain. In his hands he had the two stone tablets with the agreement on them. The commands were written on both sides of each stone, front and back. 16 God himself had made the stones. And God himself had written the commands on the stones.
17 Then Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting. He said to Moses, “It sounds like war down in the camp.”
18 Moses answered:
“It is not an army’s shout of victory.
It is not an army’s cry of defeat.
It is the sound of singing that I hear.”
19 When Moses came close to the camp, he saw the gold calf and the dancing. He became very angry. He threw down the stone tablets which he was carrying. He broke them at the bottom of the mountain. 20 Then he took the calf that the people had made. He melted it in the fire. And he ground the gold until it became powder. He threw the powder into the water. And he forced the Israelites to drink that water.
Your New Life with Other People
18 Wives, be under the authority of your husbands. This is the right thing to do in the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives, and be gentle to them.
20 Children, obey your parents in all things. This pleases the Lord.
21 Fathers, do not nag your children. If you are too hard to please, they may want to stop trying.
22 Slaves, obey your masters in all things. Do not obey just when they are watching you, to gain their favor. But serve them honestly, because you respect the Lord. 23 In all the work you are doing, work the best you can. Work as if you were working for the Lord, not for men. 24 Remember that you will receive your reward from the Lord, which he promised to his people. You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 But remember that anyone who does wrong will be punished for that wrong. And the Lord treats everyone the same.
4 Masters, give the things that are good and fair to your slaves. Remember that you have a Master in heaven.
What the Christians Are to Do
2 Continue praying and keep alert. And when you pray, always thank God. 3 Also pray for us. Pray that God will give us an opportunity to tell people his message. Pray that we can preach the secret truth that God has made known about Christ. I am in prison because I preach this truth. 4 Pray that I can speak in a way that will make it clear as I should.
5 Be wise in the way you act with people who are not believers. Use your time in the best way you can. 6 When you talk, you should always be kind and wise. Then you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should.
News About the People with Paul
7 Tychicus is my dear brother in Christ. He is a faithful minister and servant with me in the Lord. He will tell you all the things that are happening to me. 8 That is why I am sending him. I want you to know how we are. I am sending him to encourage you. 9 I send him with Onesimus. Onesimus is a faithful and dear brother in Christ. He is one of your group. They will tell you all that has happened here.
10 Aristarchus greets you. He is a prisoner with me. And Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, also greets you. (I have already told you what to do about Mark. If he comes, welcome him.) 11 Jesus, who is called Justus, also greets you. These are the only Jewish believers who work with me for the kingdom of God. They have been a comfort to me.
12 Epaphras also greets you. He is a servant of Jesus Christ. And he is from your group. He always prays for you. He prays that you will grow to be spiritually mature and have everything that God wants for you. 13 I know that he has worked hard for you and the people in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. 14 Demas and our dear friend Luke, the doctor, greet you.
15 Greet the brothers in Laodicea. And greet Nympha and the church that meets in her house. 16 After this letter is read to you, be sure that it is also read to the church in Laodicea. And you read the letter that I wrote to Laodicea. 17 Tell Archippus, “Be sure to do the work the Lord gave you.”
18 I, Paul, greet you and write this with my own hand. Remember me in prison. God’s grace be with you.
Jesus Teaches the People
5 Jesus saw the crowds who were there. He went up on a hill and sat down. His followers came to him. 2 Jesus taught the people and said:
3 “Those people who know they have great spiritual needs are happy.
The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
4 Those who are sad now are happy.
God will comfort them.
5 Those who are humble are happy.
The earth will belong to them.
6 Those who want to do right more than anything else are happy.
God will fully satisfy them.
7 Those who give mercy to others are happy.
Mercy will be given to them.
8 Those who are pure in their thinking are happy.
They will be with God.
9 Those who work to bring peace are happy.
God will call them his sons.
10 Those who are treated badly for doing good are happy.
The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.