Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for Protection
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Of David.
61 God, hear my cry.
Listen to my prayer.
2 I call to you from the ends of the earth.
I am afraid.
Carry me away to a high mountain.
3 You have been my protection,
like a strong tower against my enemies.
4 Let me live in your Holy Tent forever.
Protect me as a bird protects its young under its wings. Selah
5 God, you have heard my promises.
You have given me the things that belong to those who fear you.
6 Give the king a long life.
Let him live many years.
7 Let him rule in the presence of God forever.
Protect him with your love and truth.
8 Then I will praise your name forever.
And every day I will keep my promises.
Trust Only in God
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A song of David.
62 I wait patiently for God.
Only he can save me.
2 He is my rock, who saves me.
He protects me like a strong, walled city.
I will not be defeated.
3 How long will you attack me?
Will all of you throw me down?
I am like a leaning wall, like a fence ready to fall.
4 You are planning to make me fall.
You enjoy telling lies about me.
With your mouth you bless me.
But in your heart you curse me. Selah
5 I wait patiently for God to save me.
Only he gives me hope.
6 He is my rock, who saves me.
He protects me like a strong, walled city.
I will not be defeated.
7 My honor and salvation come from God.
He is my mighty rock and my protection.
8 People, trust God all the time.
Tell him all your problems.
God is our protection. Selah
9 People are only a breath.
Even the greatest men are just a lie.
On the scales, they weigh nothing.
Together they are only a breath.
10 Do not trust in force.
Stealing is of no use.
Even if you gain more riches,
don’t put your trust in them.
11 God has said this,
and I have heard it over and over:
God, you are strong.
12 Lord, you are loving.
You reward a person for what he does.
Praise God Who Saved the Nation
For the director of music. A song of David.
68 Let God come and scatter his enemies.
Let those who hate him run away.
2 Blow them away as smoke
is driven away by the wind.
As wax melts before a fire,
let the wicked be destroyed before God.
3 But those who do right should be glad.
They should rejoice before God.
They should be happy and glad.
4 Sing to God. Sing praises to his name.
Prepare the way for him
who rides through the desert.
His name is the Lord.
Rejoice before him.
5 God is in his holy Temple.
He is a father to orphans.
He defends the widows.
6 God gives the lonely a home.
He leads prisoners out with joy.
But those who turn against God will live in a dry land.
7 God, you led your people out.
You marched through the desert. Selah
8 The ground shook,
and the sky poured down rain
before God, the God of Mount Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
9 God, you sent much rain.
You refreshed your tired land.
10 Your people settled there.
God, in your goodness
you took care of the poor.
11 The Lord gave the command.
And a great army told the news:
12 “Kings and their armies run away.
The women at home divide the wealth taken in war.”
13 Those who stayed behind by the sheepfold
will get the riches taken in battle.
14 God scattered kings
like snow on Mount Zalmon.
15 The mountains of Bashan are great mountains.
Mount Bashan has many peaks.
16 Why do you mountains with many peaks look down
on Mount Zion, which God chose for his home?
The Lord will live there forever.
17 God comes with millions of chariots.
The Lord comes from Mount Sinai to his holy place.
18 He went up to the heights.
He led a parade of captives.
He received the payment he demanded from the people,
even from those who turned against him.
And the Lord God will live there.
19 Praise the Lord, day by day.
God our Savior helps us. Selah
20 Our God is a God who saves us.
The Lord God saves us from death.
21 God will crush his enemies’ heads,
the hairy skulls of those who continue to sin.
22 The Lord said, “I will bring the enemy back from Bashan.
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea.
23 Then you can stick your feet in their blood.
And your dogs can lick their share.”
24 God, people have seen your victory march.
God my King marched into the holy place.
25 The singers are in front, and the instruments are behind.
In the middle are the girls with the tambourines.
26 Praise God in the meeting place.
Praise the Lord in the gathering of Israel.
27 There is the smallest tribe, Benjamin, leading them.
And there are the leaders of Judah with their group.
There also are the leaders of Zebulun and of Naphtali.
28 God, order up your power.
Show the mighty power you have used for us before.
29 Kings will bring their wealth to you,
to your Temple in Jerusalem.
30 Punish Egypt, the beast among the tall grass along the river.
Punish the leaders of nations, those bulls among the cows.
Then they will bring you their silver.
Scatter those nations that love war.
31 Messengers will come from Egypt with forced payment.
The people of Cush will pray to God.
32 Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.
Sing praises to the Lord. Selah
33 Sing to the one who rides through the skies, which are from long ago.
He speaks with a thundering voice.
34 Announce that God is powerful.
He rules over Israel.
His power is in the skies.
35 God, you are wonderful in your Temple.
The God of Israel gives his people strength and power.
Praise God!
40 The Lord said to Job:
41 “Can you catch Leviathan[a] on a fishhook?
Or can you tie his tongue down with a rope?
2 Can you put a cord through his nose
or put a hook in his jaw?
3 Will he keep begging you for mercy?
Will he speak to you with gentle words?
4 Will he make an agreement with you?
Will he let you take him as your slave for life?
5 Can you make a pet of Leviathan as you would a bird?
Or can you put him on a leash for your girls?
6 Will traders try to bargain with you for him?
Will they divide him up among the traders?
7 Can you stick him with darts until his skin is full of them?
Or can you fill his head with fishing spears?
8 If you put one hand on him,
you will never forget the battle.
And you will never do it again!
9 There is no hope of defeating him.
Just seeing him overwhelms people.
10 No one is brave enough to make him angry.
So who would be able to stand up against me?
11 No one has ever given me anything that I must pay back.
Everything under heaven belongs to me.
Paul Is Called Out of Asia
6 Paul and the men with him went through the areas of Phrygia and Galatia. The Holy Spirit did not let them preach the Good News in Asia. 7 When they came near the country of Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia. But the Spirit of Jesus did not let them. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went to Troas. 9 That night Paul had a vision. In the vision, a man from Macedonia came to him. The man stood there and begged, “Come over to Macedonia. Help us!” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we immediately prepared to leave for Macedonia. We understood that God had called us to tell the Good News to those people.
Lydia Becomes a Christian
11 We left Troas in a ship, and we sailed straight to the island of Samothrace. The next day we sailed to Neapolis.[a] 12 Then we went by land to Philippi, the leading city in that part of Macedonia. It is also a Roman colony.[b] We stayed there for several days.
13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the river. There we thought we would find a special place for prayer. Some women had gathered there, so we sat down and talked with them. 14 There was a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira. Her job was selling purple cloth. She worshiped the true God. The Lord opened her mind to pay attention to what Paul was saying. 15 She and all the people in her house were baptized. Then Lydia invited us to her home. She said, “If you think I am truly a believer in the Lord, then come stay in my house.” And she persuaded us to stay with her.
The Plot Against Lazarus
9 A large crowd of Jews heard that Jesus was in Bethany. So they went there to see not only Jesus but also Lazarus. Lazarus was the one Jesus raised from death. 10 So the leading priests made plans to kill Lazarus, too. 11 Because of Lazarus many Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus.
Jesus Enters Jerusalem
12 The next day a great crowd in Jerusalem heard that Jesus was coming there. These were the people who had come to the Passover Feast. 13 They took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Jesus. They shouted,
“Praise[a] God!
God bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord!
God bless the King of Israel!” Psalm 118:25-26
14 Jesus found a colt and sat on it. This was as the Scripture says,
15 “Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem!
Your king is coming.
He is sitting on the colt of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9
16 The followers of Jesus did not understand this at first. But after Jesus was raised to glory, they remembered that this had been written about him. And they remembered that they had done these things to him.
People Tell About Jesus
17 There had been many people with Jesus when he raised Lazarus from death and told him to come out of the tomb. Now they were telling others about what Jesus did. 18 Many people went out to meet Jesus, because they had heard about this miracle. 19 So the Pharisees said to each other, “You can see that nothing is going right for us. Look! The whole world is following him.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.