Book of Common Prayer
Praise God Who Helps the Weak
146 Praise the Lord!
My whole being, praise the Lord.
2 I will praise the Lord all my life.
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your trust in princes
or other people, who cannot save you.
4 When people die, they are buried.
Then all of their plans come to an end.
5 Happy are those who are helped by the God of Jacob.
Their hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in it.
He remains loyal forever.
7 The Lord does what is fair for those who have been wronged.
He gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free.
8 The Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord lifts up people who are in trouble.
The Lord loves those who do right.
9 The Lord protects the foreigners.
He defends the orphans and widows.
But he overthrows the wicked.
10 The Lord will be King forever.
Jerusalem, your God is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!
Praise God Who Helps His People
147 Praise the Lord!
It is good to sing praises to our God.
It is good and pleasant to praise him.
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem.
He brings back the scattered Israelites who were taken captive.
3 He heals the brokenhearted.
He bandages their wounds.
4 He counts the stars
and names each one.
5 Our Lord is great and very powerful.
There is no limit to what he knows.
6 The Lord defends those who are not proud.
But he throws the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing praises to the Lord.
Praise our God with harps.
8 He fills the sky with clouds.
He sends rain to the earth.
He makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He gives food to cattle
and to the little birds that call.
10 He is not pleased by the strength of a horse
or the power of a man.
11 The Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
with those who trust his love.
12 Jerusalem, praise the Lord.
Jerusalem, praise your God.
13 He makes your city gates strong.
He blesses the people inside.
14 He brings peace to your country.
He fills you with the finest grain.
15 He gives a command to the earth,
and it quickly obeys him.
16 He spreads the snow like wool.
He scatters the frost like ashes.
17 He throws down hail like rocks.
No one can stand the cold he sends.
18 Then he gives a command, and it melts.
He sends the breezes, and the waters flow.
19 He gave his word to Jacob.
He gave his laws and demands to Israel.
20 He didn’t do this for any other nation.
They don’t know his laws.
Praise the Lord!
Praise for God’s Goodness
111 Praise the Lord!
I will thank the Lord with all my heart
in the meeting of his good people.
2 The Lord does great things.
Those people who love them think about them.
3 What he does is glorious and splendid.
His goodness continues forever.
4 His miracles are unforgettable.
The Lord is kind and merciful.
5 He gives food to those who fear him.
He remembers his agreement forever.
6 He has shown his people his power
when he gave them the lands of other nations.
7 Everything he does is good and fair.
All his orders can be trusted.
8 They will continue forever.
They were made true and right.
9 He sets his people free.
He made his agreement everlasting.
He is holy and wonderful.
10 Wisdom begins with respect for the Lord.
Those who obey his orders have good understanding.
He should be praised forever.
Honest People Are Blessed
112 Praise the Lord!
Happy is the person who fears the Lord.
He loves what the Lord commands.
2 His descendants will be powerful in the land.
The children of honest people will be blessed.
3 His house will be full of wealth and riches.
His goodness will continue forever.
4 A light shines in the dark for honest people.
It shines for those who are good and kind and merciful.
5 It is good to be kind and generous.
Whoever is fair in his business
6 will never be defeated.
A good person will be remembered from now on.
7 He won’t be afraid of bad news.
He is safe because he trusts the Lord.
8 That person is confident. He will not be afraid.
He will look down on his enemies.
9 He gives freely to the poor.
The things he does are right and will continue forever.
He will be given great honor.
10 The wicked will see this and become angry.
They will grind their teeth in anger and then disappear.
The wishes of the wicked will come to nothing.
Praise for God’s Kindness
113 Praise the Lord!
Praise him, you servants of the Lord.
Praise the name of the Lord.
2 The Lord’s name should be praised
now and forever.
3 The Lord’s name should be praised
from where the sun rises to where it sets.
4 The Lord is supreme over all the nations.
His glory reaches to the skies.
5 No one is like the Lord our God.
He rules from heaven.
6 He bends down to look
at the skies and the earth.
7 The Lord lifts the poor from the dirt.
He takes the helpless from the ashes.
8 And he seats them with princes,
the princes of his people.
9 He gives children to the woman who has none.
He makes her a happy mother.
Praise the Lord!
Eliphaz Speaks
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 “If someone tried to speak with you, would you be upset?
I cannot keep from speaking.
3 Think about how many people you have taught.
Think about how you have made weak hands strong.
4 Your words have comforted those who fell.
And you have given strength to those who could not stand.
5 But now trouble comes to you. And you are discouraged.
Trouble hits you, and you are terrified.
6 You should trust in your respect for God.
You should have hope because you are innocent.
12 “A word was brought to me in secret.
My ears heard a whisper of it.
13 It was during troublesome dreams in the night
when men are in deep sleep.
14 I was shaking with fear.
All my bones were shaking.
15 A spirit glided past my face.
The hair on my body stood up in fear.
16 The spirit stopped,
but I could not see what it was.
A shape stood before my eyes.
And I heard a quiet voice.
17 It said, ‘Can a man be holy in the presence of God?
Can a man be pure before the one who made him?
18 God does not trust his servants.
He even blames his angels for mistakes.
19 So he puts even more blame on people who live in clay houses.[a]
The foundations of these houses are made of dust.
They can be crushed more easily than a moth.
20 Between dawn and sunset they are broken to pieces.
They are not noticed. They die and are gone forever.
21 The ropes of their tents are pulled up.
And they die without wisdom.’
John Sees Heaven
4 After this I looked, and there before me was an open door in heaven. And I heard the same voice that spoke to me before. It was the voice that sounded like a trumpet. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” 2 Then the Spirit took control of me. There before me was a throne in heaven. Someone was sitting on the throne. 3 The One who sat on the throne looked like precious stones, like jasper and carnelian. All around the throne was a rainbow the color of an emerald. 4 Around the throne there were 24 other thrones. There were 24 elders[a] sitting on the 24 thrones. The elders were dressed in white, and they had golden crowns on their heads. 5 Lightning flashes and noises of thunder came from the throne. Before the throne there were seven lamps burning. These lamps are the seven spirits of God. 6 Also before the throne there was something that looked like a sea of glass. It was clear like crystal.
Around the throne, on each side, there were four living things. These living things had eyes all over them, in front and in back. 7 The first living thing was like a lion. The second was like a calf. The third had a face like a man. The fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of these four living things had six wings. The living things were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day and night they never stop saying:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God All-Powerful.
He was, he is, and he is coming.”
9 These living things give glory and honor and thanks to the One who sits on the throne. He is the One who lives forever and ever. And every time the living things do this, 10 the 24 elders bow down before the One who sits on the throne. The elders worship him who lives forever and ever. They put their crowns down before the throne and say:
11 “Our Lord and God! You are worthy
to receive glory and honor and power.
You made all things.
Everything existed and was made
because you wanted it.”
Jesus Goes to His Hometown
6 Jesus left there and went back to his hometown. His followers went with him. 2 On the Sabbath day he taught in the synagogue. Many people heard him and were amazed. They said, “Where did this man get these teachings? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? And where did he get the power to work miracles? 3 He is only the carpenter. His mother is Mary. He is the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters are here with us.” The people did not accept Jesus.
4 Jesus said to them, “Other people give honor to a prophet. But in his own town with his own people and in his own home, a prophet does not receive honor.” 5 Jesus was not able to work many miracles there. The only miracles he did were to heal some sick people by putting his hands on them. 6 Jesus was amazed that they had no faith.
Then Jesus went to other villages in that area and taught.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.