Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for God to Guide
Of David.
25 Lord, I give myself to you.
2 My God, I trust you.
Do not let me be disgraced.
Do not let my enemies laugh at me.
3 No one who trusts you will be disgraced.
But those who sin without excuse will be disgraced.
4 Lord, tell me your ways.
Show me how to live.
5 Guide me in your truth.
Teach me, my God, my Savior.
I trust you all day long.
6 Lord, remember your mercy and love.
You have shown them since long ago.
7 Do not remember the sins
and wrong things I did when I was young.
But remember to love me always
because you are good, Lord.
8 The Lord is good and right.
He points sinners to the right way.
9 He shows those who are not proud how to do right.
He teaches them his ways.
10 All the Lord’s ways are loving and true
for those who follow the demands of his agreement.
11 For the sake of your name, Lord,
forgive my many sins.
12 Is there someone who worships the Lord?
The Lord will point him to the best way.
13 He will enjoy a good life.
His children will inherit the land.
14 The Lord tells his secrets to those who respect him.
He tells them about his agreement.
15 My eyes are always looking to the Lord for help.
He will keep me from any traps.
16 Turn to me and be kind to me.
I am lonely and hurting.
17 My troubles have grown larger.
Free me from my problems.
18 Look at my suffering and troubles.
Take away all my sins.
19 Look at how many enemies I have!
See how much they hate me!
20 Protect me and save me.
I trust you.
Do not let me be disgraced.
21 My hope is in you.
So may goodness and honesty guard me.
22 God, save Israel from all their troubles!
Thanksgiving for Victory
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A song of David.
9 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart.
I will tell all the miracles you have done.
2 I will be happy because of you.
God Most High, I will sing praises to your name.
3 My enemies turn back.
They are overwhelmed and die because of you.
4 You have heard what I complained to you about.
You sat on your throne and judged by what was right.
5 You spoke strongly against the foreign nations
and destroyed the wicked people.
You wiped out their names forever and ever.
6 The enemy is gone forever.
You destroyed their cities.
No one even remembers them.
7 But the Lord rules forever.
He sits on his throne to judge.
8 The Lord will judge the world by what is right.
He will decide what is fair for the nations.
9 The Lord defends those who suffer.
He protects them in times of trouble.
10 Those who know the Lord trust him.
He will not leave those who come to him.
11 Sing praises to the Lord who is king on Mount Zion.
Tell the nations what he has done.
12 He remembers who the murderers are.
He will not forget the cries of those who suffer.
13 Lord, be kind to me.
See how my enemies hurt me.
Do not let me go through the gates of death.
14 Then, at the gates of Jerusalem, I will praise you.
I will rejoice because you saved me.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they dug.
Their feet are caught in the nets they laid.
16 The Lord has made himself known by his fair decisions.
The wicked get trapped by what they do. Higgaion. Selah
17 Wicked people will go to the grave.
So will all those who forget God.
18 Those who have troubles will not be forgotten.
The hopes of the poor will not die.
19 Lord, rise up and judge the nations.
Don’t let humans think they are strong.
20 Teach them to fear you, Lord.
The nations must learn that they are only human. Selah
What God Demands
A song of David.
15 Lord, who may enter your Holy Tent?
Who may live on your holy mountain?
2 Only a person who is innocent
and who does what is right.
He must speak the truth from his heart.
3 He must not tell lies about others.
He must do no wrong to his neighbors.
He must not gossip.
4 He must not respect hateful people.
He must honor those who honor the Lord.
He must keep his promises to his neighbor,
even when it hurts.
5 He must not charge interest on money he lends.
And he must not take money to hurt innocent people.
Whoever does all these things will never be destroyed.
Job Answers Zophar
12 Then Job answered:
2 “You really think you are the only wise people.
You think when you die wisdom will die with you.
3 But my mind is as good as yours.
You are not better than I am.
Everyone knows all these things.
4 My friends all laugh at me
when I call on God and expect him to answer me.
They laugh at me even though I am right and innocent!
5 People who are comfortable don’t care that others have trouble.
They think that people who are in trouble should have more troubles.
6 The tents of robbers are not bothered.
Those who make God angry are safe.
They have their god in their pocket.
13 “But God has wisdom and power.
He has good advice and understanding.
14 What God tears down cannot be rebuilt.
The man God puts in prison cannot be let out.
15 If God holds back the waters, there is a time without rain.
But if he lets the waters go, they flood the land.
16 God is strong and victorious.
Both the person who fools others and the one who is fooled belong to him.
17 God leads wise men away as captives.
He turns wise judges into fools.
18 God takes the royal belt off of kings.
And he dresses them like prisoners with only a cloth around their waist.
19 He leads priests away as captives.
He destroys the power of those who have been powerful.
20 God makes trusted people be silent.
And he takes away the wisdom of elders.
21 God brings disgrace on important people.
And he takes away the weapons of the strong.
22 God uncovers the deep things of darkness.
He brings dark shadows into the light.
23 He makes nations great, and he destroys them.
He makes nations large, and he scatters them.
24 He takes understanding away from the leaders of the earth.
He makes them wander through a desert with no paths.
25 They feel around in darkness with no light.
God makes them stumble around like drunken people.
The Good News Comes to Antioch
19 Many of the believers were scattered by the terrible things that happened after Stephen was killed. Some of them went to places as far away as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. They were telling the message to others, but only to Jews. 20 Some of these believers were men from Cyprus and Cyrene. When they came to Antioch, they spoke also to Greeks,[a] telling them the Good News about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord was helping the believers. And a large group of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22 The church in Jerusalem heard about all of this, so they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23-24 Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith. When he reached Antioch and saw how God had blessed the people, he was glad. He encouraged all the believers in Antioch. He told them, “Never lose your faith. Always obey the Lord with all your hearts.” Many people became followers of the Lord.
25 Then Barnabas went to the city of Tarsus to look for Saul. 26 When he found Saul, he brought him to Antioch. And for a whole year Saul and Barnabas met with the church. They taught many people there. In Antioch the followers were called Christians for the first time.
27 About that time some prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them was named Agabus. He stood up and spoke with the help of the Holy Spirit. He said, “A very hard time is coming to the whole world. There will be no food for people to eat.” (This happened when Claudius ruled.) 29 The followers all decided to help their brothers who lived in Judea. Each one planned to send them as much as he could. 30 They gathered the money and gave it to Barnabas and Saul, who brought it to the elders in Judea.
The People Misunderstand Jesus
21 Again, Jesus said to the people, “I will leave you. You will look for me, but you will die in your sins. You cannot come where I am going.”
22 So the Jews asked, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he said, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?”
23 But Jesus said, “You people are from here below. But I am from above. You belong to this world, but I don’t belong to this world. 24 So I told you that you would die in your sins. Yes, you will die in your sins if you don’t believe that I am he.”
25 They asked, “Then who are you?”
Jesus answered, “I am what I have told you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say about you and to judge you for. But I tell people only the things I have heard from the One who sent me. And he speaks the truth.”
27 The people did not understand that Jesus was talking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “You will lift up the Son of Man. Then you will know that I am he. You will know that these things I do are not by my own authority. You will know that I say only what the Father has taught me. 29 The One who sent me is with me. I always do what is pleasing to him. So he has not left me alone.” 30 While Jesus was saying these things, many people believed in him.
Freedom from Sin
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, “If you continue to obey my teaching, you are truly my followers. 32 Then you will know the truth. And the truth will make you free.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.