Book of Common Prayer
Childlike Trust in God
A song for going up to worship. Of David.
131 Lord, my heart is not proud.
I don’t look down on others.
I don’t do great things,
and I can’t do miracles.
2 But I am calm and quiet.
I am like a baby with its mother.
I am at peace, like a baby with its mother.
3 People of Israel, put your hope in the Lord
now and forever.
In Praise of the Temple
A song for going up to worship.
132 Lord, remember David and all his suffering.
2 He made a promise to the Lord.
He made a promise to the Mighty God of Jacob.
3 He said, “I will not go home to my house.
I will not lie down on my bed.
4 I will not close my eyes
or let myself sleep
5 until I find a place for the Lord.
I want to provide a home for the Mighty God of Jacob.”
6 We heard about the Ark of the Covenant in Bethlehem.
We found it at Kiriath Jearim.
7 Let’s go to the Lord’s house.
Let’s worship at his footstool.
8 Rise, Lord, and come to your resting place.
Come with the Ark of the Covenant that shows your strength.
9 May your priests do what is right.
May your people sing for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your appointed king.
11 The Lord made a promise to David.
It was a sure promise that he will not take back.
He promised, “I will make one of your descendants
rule as king after you.
12 But your sons must keep my agreement
and the rules that I teach them.
Then their sons after them will rule
on your throne forever and ever.”
13 The Lord has chosen Jerusalem.
He wants it for his home.
14 He says, “This is my resting place forever.
Here is where I want to stay.
15 I will bless her with plenty of food.
I will fill her poor with food.
16 I will let her priests receive salvation.
And those who worship me will really sing for joy.
17 “I will make a king come from the family of David.
I will provide my appointed one descendants to rule after him.
18 I will cover his enemies with shame.
But his crown will shine.”
The Love of God’s People
A song for going up to worship. Of David.
133 It is good and pleasant
when God’s people live together in peace!
2 It is like having perfumed oil poured on the priest’s head
and running down his beard.
It ran down Aaron’s beard
and on to the collar of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Mount Hermon
falling on the hills of Jerusalem.
There the Lord gives his blessing
of life forever.
Temple Guards, Praise the Lord
A song for going up to worship.
134 Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord.
You serve at night in the Temple of the Lord.
2 Raise your hands in the Temple
and praise the Lord.
3 May the Lord bless you from Mount Zion.
He made heaven and earth.
God Saves, Idols Do Not
135 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord.
Praise him, you servants of the Lord.
2 Praise him, you who stand in the Lord’s Temple
and in the Temple courtyards.
3 Praise the Lord, because he is good.
Sing praises to him, because it is pleasant.
4 The Lord has chosen the people of Jacob for himself.
He has chosen the people of Israel for his very own.
5 I know that the Lord is great.
Our Lord is greater than all the gods.
6 The Lord does what he wants,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and the deep oceans.
7 He brings the clouds from the ends of the earth.
He sends the lightning with the rain.
He brings out the wind from his storehouses.
8 He destroyed the firstborn sons in Egypt,
the firstborn of both men and animals.
9 He did many signs and miracles in Egypt.
He did amazing things to the king and his servants.
10 He defeated many nations
and killed powerful kings:
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan
and all the kings of Canaan.
12 Then he gave their land as a gift.
It was a gift to his people, the Israelites.
13 Lord, your name is everlasting.
Lord, you will be remembered from now on.
14 You defend your people.
You have mercy on your servants.
15 The idols of other nations are made of silver and gold.
They are made by human hands.
16 They have mouths, but they cannot speak.
They have eyes, but they cannot see.
17 They have ears, but they cannot hear.
They have no breath in their mouths.
18 The people who make idols and trust them
are all like them.
19 Family of Israel, praise the Lord.
Family of Aaron, praise the Lord.
20 Family of Levi, praise the Lord.
You people who fear the Lord should praise him.
21 You people of Jerusalem, praise the Lord on Mount Zion.
Praise the Lord!
The Leaders of Israel Are Guilty of Evil
3 Then I said,
“Listen, leaders of the people of Jacob.
Listen, you rulers of the nation of Israel.
You should know how to decide cases fairly.
2 But you hate good and love evil.
You skin my people alive.
You tear the flesh off their bones.
3 You are destroying my people.
You skin them and break their bones.
You chop them up in pieces
like meat to put in the pot.
4 Then you will pray to the Lord.
But he won’t answer you.
He will hide his face from you,
because you have done evil.”
5 The Lord says this about the prophets who teach his people the wrong way of living:
“If someone gives these prophets food to eat,
they shout, ‘Peace!’
But if he doesn’t give them food,
they prepare for war against him.
6 So it will become like night to the prophets.
They won’t have any visions from the Lord.
It will become dark for them.
They won’t be able to tell what will happen in the future.
The sun is about to set for the prophets.
Their days will become dark.
7 The seers will be ashamed.
The people who see the future will be embarrassed.
Yes, all of them will cover their mouths.
This is because there will be no answer from God.”
Micah Is an Honest Prophet of God
8 But the Lord’s Spirit has filled me
with power and strength to preach fairness.
I will tell the people of Jacob how they have turned against God.
I will tell the people of Israel how they have done wrong.
The Jews Accuse Paul
24 Five days later Ananias, the high priest, went to the city of Caesarea. With him were some of the Jewish elders and a lawyer named Tertullus. They had come to make charges against Paul before the governor. 2 Paul was called into the meeting, and Tertullus began to accuse him, saying: “Most Excellent Felix! Our people enjoy much peace because of you, and many wrong things in our country are being made right through your wise help. 3 We accept these things always and in every place. And we are thankful for them. 4 But I do not want to take any more of your time. I beg you to be kind and listen to our few words. 5 This man is a troublemaker. He makes trouble among the Jews everywhere in the world. He is a leader of the Nazarene group. 6 Also, he was trying to make the Temple unclean, but we stopped him. [And we wanted to judge him by our own law. 7 But the officer Lysias came and used much force to take him from us. And Lysias commanded his people to come to you to accuse us.][a] 8 You can decide if all these things are true. Ask him some questions yourself.” 9 The other Jews agreed and said that all of this was true.
10 The governor made a sign for Paul to speak. So Paul said, “Governor Felix, I know that you have been a judge over this nation for a long time. So I am happy to defend myself before you. 11 I went to worship in Jerusalem only 12 days ago. You can learn for yourself that this is true. 12 Those who are accusing me did not find me arguing with anyone in the Temple. I was not stirring up the people. And I was not making trouble in the Temple or in the synagogues or in the city. 13 They cannot prove the things they are saying against me now. 14 But I will tell you this: I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way of Jesus. The Jews say that the Way of Jesus is not the right way. But I believe everything that is taught in the law of Moses and that is written in the books of the Prophets. 15 I have the same hope in God that they have—the hope that all people, good and bad, will be raised from death. 16 This is why I always try to do what I believe is right before God and men.
17 “I was away from Jerusalem for several years. I went back there to bring money to my people and to offer sacrifices. 18 I was doing this when they found me in the Temple. I had finished the cleansing ceremony. I had not made any trouble; no people were gathering around me. 19 But some Jews from Asia were there. They should be here, standing before you. If I have really done anything wrong, they are the ones who should accuse me. 20 Or ask these Jews here if they found any wrong in me when I stood before the Jewish council in Jerusalem. 21 But I did say one thing when I stood before them: ‘You are judging me today because I believe that people will rise from death!’”
22 Felix already understood much about the Way of Jesus. He stopped the trial and said, “When commander Lysias comes here, I will decide about your case.” 23 Felix told the officer to keep Paul guarded. But he told the officer to give Paul some freedom and to let his friends bring what he needed.
Simon the Pharisee
36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him. Jesus went into the Pharisee’s house and sat at the table. 37 A sinful woman in the town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house. So she brought an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 She stood at Jesus’ feet, crying, and began to wash his feet with her tears. She dried his feet with her hair, kissed them many times and rubbed them with the perfume. 39 The Pharisee who asked Jesus to come to his house saw this. He thought to himself, “If Jesus were a prophet, he would know that the woman who is touching him is a sinner!”
40 Jesus said to the Pharisee, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”
Simon said, “Teacher, tell me.”
41 Jesus said, “There were two men. Both men owed money to the same banker. One man owed the banker 500 silver coins.[a] The other man owed the banker 50 silver coins. 42 The men had no money; so they could not pay what they owed. But the banker told the men that they did not have to pay him. Which one of the two men will love the banker more?”
43 Simon, the Pharisee, answered, “I think it would be the one who owed him the most money.”
Jesus said to Simon, “You are right.” 44 Then Jesus turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I came into your house, you gave me no water for my feet. But she washed my feet with her tears and dried my feet with her hair. 45 You did not kiss me, but she has been kissing my feet since I came in! 46 You did not rub my head with oil, but she rubbed my feet with perfume. 47 I tell you that her many sins are forgiven. This is clear because she showed great love. But the person who has only a little to be forgiven will feel only a little love.”
48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The people sitting at the table began to think to themselves, “Who is this man? How can he forgive sins?”
50 Jesus said to the woman, “Because you believed, you are saved from your sins. Go in peace.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.