Book of Common Prayer
A Cry for God to Help Quickly
For the director of music. A song of David. To help people remember.
70 God, save me.
Lord, hurry to help me.
2 People are trying to kill me.
Shame them and disgrace them.
People want to hurt me.
Let them run away in disgrace.
3 People make fun of me.
Stop them and make them ashamed.
4 But let all the people who worship you
rejoice and be glad.
Let the people who love your salvation
always say, “Praise the greatness of God.”
5 I am poor and helpless.
God, hurry to me.
You help me and save me.
Lord, do not wait.
An Old Person’s Prayer
71 In you, Lord, is my protection.
Never let me be ashamed.
2 Because you do what is right, save and rescue me.
Listen to me and save me.
3 Be my place of safety
where I can always come.
Give the command to save me.
You are my rock and my strong, walled city.
4 My God, save me from the power of the wicked.
Save me from the hold of evil and cruel people.
5 Lord God, you are my hope.
I have trusted you since I was young.
6 I have depended on you since I was born.
You have been my help from the day I was born.
I will always praise you.
7 I am an example to many people.
You are my strong protection.
8 I am always praising you.
All day long I honor you.
9 Do not reject me when I am old.
Do not leave me when my strength is gone.
10 My enemies have made plans against me.
They meet together to kill me.
11 They say, “God has left him.
Go after him and take him.
No one will save him.”
12 God, don’t be far off.
My God, hurry to help me.
13 Let them be ashamed.
Destroy those who accuse me.
They are trying to hurt me.
Cover them with shame and disgrace.
14 But I will always have hope.
And I will praise you more and more.
15 I will tell about how you do what is right.
I will tell about your salvation all day long,
even though it is more than I can tell.
16 I will come and tell about your powerful works, Lord God.
I will tell only about you and how you do what is right.
17 God, you have taught me since I was young.
Even until today I tell about the miracles you do.
18 Even though I am old and gray,
do not leave me, God.
I will tell the children about your power.
I will tell those who will live after me about your might.
19 God, your justice reaches to the skies.
You have done great things.
God, there is no one like you.
20 You have given me many troubles and bad times.
But you will give me life again.
When I am almost dead,
you will keep me alive.
21 You will make me greater than ever.
And you will comfort me again.
22 I will praise you with the harp.
I trust you, my God.
I will sing to you with the lyre.
You are the Holy One of Israel.
23 I will shout for joy when I sing praises to you.
You have saved me.
24 I will tell about your justice all day long.
And those who want to hurt me
will be ashamed and disgraced.
A Nation in Trouble Prays
A maskil of Asaph.
74 God, why have you rejected us for so long?
Why are you angry with us, the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember the people you bought long ago.
You saved us. We are your very own.
You live on Mount Zion.
3 Make your way through these old ruins.
The enemy wrecked everything in the Temple.
4 Those who were against you shouted in your meeting place.
They raised their flags there.
5 They came with axes raised
as if to cut down a forest of trees.
6 They smashed the carved panels
with their axes and hatchets.
7 They burned your Temple to the ground.
They have made the place where you live unclean.
8 They thought, “We will completely crush them!”
They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land.
9 We do not see any signs.
There are no more prophets.
And no one knows how long this will last.
10 God, how much longer will the enemy make fun of you?
Will they insult you forever?
11 Why do you hold back your power?
Bring your power out in the open and destroy them!
12 God, you have been our king for a long time.
You have saved this country.
13 You split open the sea by your power.
You broke the heads of the sea monster.
14 You smashed the heads of the monster Leviathan.
You gave him to the desert creatures as food.
15 You opened up the springs and streams.
And you made the rivers run dry.
16 Both the day and the night are yours.
You made the sun and the moon.
17 You made all the limits on the earth.
You created summer and winter.
18 Lord, remember how the enemy insulted you.
Remember how those foolish people turned away from you.
19 Do not give us, your doves, to those wild animals.
Never forget your poor people.
20 Remember the agreement you made with us
because violence fills every dark corner of this land.
21 Do not let your suffering people be disgraced.
The poor and helpless people praise you.
22 God, come and defend yourself.
Remember the insults that come from those foolish people all day long.
23 Don’t forget what your enemies said.
Don’t forget their roar as they rise against you always.
28 “There are mines where people dig silver.
And there are places where gold is made pure.
2 Iron is taken out of the ground.
And copper is melted out of rocks.
3 Miners bring light into the mines.
They search even the deepest parts of the mines.
They look for metal in places of thick darkness.
4 Miners dig a tunnel far away from where people live.
They dig it where people never go.
They work far away from people, swinging and swaying from ropes.
5 Food grows on top of the earth.
But below ground things are changed as if by fire.
6 Sapphires are found in rocks.
And the dust of the earth contains gold.
7 No hawk knows the path.
The falcon has not seen it.
8 Proud animals have not walked on this path.
And no lions cross over it.
9 Men hit the rocks of flint.
They dig away at the bottom of the mountains.
10 Miners cut tunnels through the rock.
They see all the treasures there.
11 They search the places where rivers begin.
And they bring things hidden there out into the light.
12 “But where can wisdom be found.
Where does understanding live?
13 People do not understand the value of wisdom.
It cannot be found among living people.
14 The deep ocean says, ‘It’s not in me.’
The sea says, ‘It’s not in me.’
15 Wisdom cannot be bought with the best gold.
Its cost cannot be weighed in silver.
16 Wisdom cannot be bought with fine gold.
It cannot be bought with valuable onyx or sapphire gems.
17 Gold and crystal are not as valuable as wisdom.
And you cannot buy it with jewels of gold.
18 Coral and jasper are not even worth talking about.
The price of wisdom is much greater than rubies.
19 The topaz from Cush cannot compare to wisdom.
It cannot even be bought with the purest gold.
20 “So from where does wisdom come?
And where does understanding live?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing.
It is hidden even from the birds of the air.
22 The places of destruction and death say,
‘We have only heard reports about it.’
23 God understands the way to wisdom.
And he is the only one who knows where it lives.
24 This is because God sees to the farthest parts of the earth.
And he sees everything under the heavens.
25 Wisdom began when God gave power to the wind.
It was when he measured the water and put limits on it.
26 It was when God made rules for the rain.
And he set a path for a thunderstorm to follow.
27 Then God looked at wisdom and decided its worth.
He set wisdom up and tested it.
28 Then he said to man,
‘The fear of the Lord is wisdom,
and to stay away from evil is understanding.’”
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing songs to God. The other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly, there was a big earthquake. It was so strong that it shook the foundation of the jail. Then all the doors of the jail broke open. All the prisoners were freed from their chains. 27 The jailer woke up and saw that the jail doors were open. He thought that the prisoners had already escaped. So he got his sword and was about to kill himself.[a] 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t hurt yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer told someone to bring a light. Then he ran inside. Shaking with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them outside and said, “Men, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They said to him, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved—you and all the people in your house.” 32 So Paul and Silas told the message of the Lord to the jailer and all the people in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took Paul and Silas and washed their wounds. Then he and all his people were baptized immediately. 34 After this the jailer took Paul and Silas home and gave them food. He and his family were very happy because they now believed in God.
35 The next morning, the Roman officers sent the police to tell the jailer, “Let these men go free!”
36 The jailer said to Paul, “The officers have sent an order to let you go free. You can leave now. Go in peace.”
37 But Paul said to the police, “They beat us in public without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens.[b] And they threw us in jail. Now they want to make us go away quietly. No! Let them come themselves and bring us out!”
38 The police told the Roman officers what Paul said. When the officers heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were afraid. 39 So they came and told Paul and Silas they were sorry. They took Paul and Silas out of jail and asked them to leave the city. 40 So when they came out of the jail, they went to Lydia’s house. There they saw some of the believers and encouraged them. Then they left.
27 “Now I am very troubled. What should I say? Should I say, ‘Father, save me from this time’? No, I came to this time so that I could suffer. 28 Father, bring glory to your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have brought glory to it, and I will do it again.”
29 The crowd standing there heard the voice. They said it was thunder.
But others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
30 Jesus said, “That voice was for you, not for me. 31 Now is the time for the world to be judged. Now the ruler of this world will be thrown down. 32 I will be lifted up from the earth. And when this happens, I will draw all people toward me.” 33 Jesus said this to show how he would die.
34 The crowd said, “We have heard from the law that the Christ will live forever. So why do you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”
35 Then Jesus said, “The light will be with you for a little longer. So walk while you have the light. Then the darkness will not catch you. He who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 So believe in the light while you still have it. Then you will become sons of light.” When Jesus had said this, he left and hid himself from them.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.