Book of Common Prayer
The Word of God
119 Happy are the people who live pure lives.
They follow the Lord’s teachings.
2 Happy are the people who keep his rules.
They ask him for help with their whole heart.
3 They don’t do what is wrong.
They follow his ways.
4 Lord, you gave your orders
to be followed completely.
5 I wish I were more loyal
in meeting your demands.
6 Then I would not be ashamed
when I think of your commands.
7 When I learned that your laws are fair,
I praised you with an honest heart.
8 I will meet your demands.
So please don’t ever leave me.
9 How can a young person live a pure life?
He can do it by obeying your word.
10 With all my heart I try to obey you, God.
Don’t let me break your commands.
11 I have taken your words to heart
so I would not sin against you.
12 Lord, you should be praised.
Teach me your demands.
13 My lips will tell about
all the laws you have spoken.
14 I enjoy living by your rules
as people enjoy great riches.
15 I think about your orders
and study your ways.
16 I enjoy obeying your demands.
And I will not forget your word.
17 Do good to me, your servant, so I can live,
so I can obey your word.
18 Open my eyes to see the wonderful things
in your teachings.
19 I am a stranger on earth.
Do not hide your commands from me.
20 I want to study
your laws all the time.
21 You scold proud people.
Those who ignore your commands are cursed.
22 Don’t let me be insulted and hated
because I obey your rules.
23 Even if princes speak against me,
I, your servant, will think about your demands.
24 Your rules give me pleasure.
They give me good advice.
A Prayer Against Liars
For the director of music. By the sheminith. A song of David.
12 Save me, Lord, because the good people are all gone.
No true believers are left on earth.
2 Everyone lies to his neighbors.
They say one thing and mean another.
3 The Lord will stop those lying lips.
He will cut off those bragging tongues.
4 They say, “Our tongues will help us win.
We can say what we wish. No one is our master.”
5 But the Lord says,
“I will now rise up
because the poor are being hurt.
Because of the moans of the helpless,
I will give them the help they want.”
6 The Lord’s words are pure.
They are like silver purified by fire,
like silver purified seven times over.
7 Lord, keep us safe.
Always protect us from such people.
8 The wicked are all around us.
Everyone loves what is wrong.
A Prayer for God to Be Near
For the director of music. A song of David.
13 How long will you forget me, Lord?
How long will you hide from me? Forever?
2 How long must I worry?
How long must I feel sad in my heart?
How long will my enemy win over me?
3 Lord, look at me.
Answer me, my God.
Tell me, or I will die.
4 Otherwise my enemy will say, “I have won!”
Those against me will rejoice that I’ve been defeated.
5 I trust in your love.
My heart is happy because you saved me.
6 I sing to the Lord
because he has taken care of me.
The Unbelieving Fool
For the director of music. Of David.
14 A wicked fool says to himself,
“There is no God.”
Fools are evil. They do terrible things.
None of them does anything good.
2 The Lord looked down from heaven at all the people.
He looked to see if anyone was wise,
if anyone was looking to God for help.
3 But all have turned away.
Together, everyone has become evil.
None of them does anything good.
4 Don’t the wicked understand?
They destroy my people as if they were eating bread.
They do not ask the Lord for help.
5 But the wicked are filled with terror
because God is with those who do what is right.
6 The wicked upset the plans of the poor.
But the Lord will protect the poor.
7 I pray that victory will come to Israel from Mount Zion!
May the Lord give them back their riches.
Then the people of Jacob will rejoice.
And the people of Israel will be glad.
17 And the Lord caused a very big fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.
2 While Jonah was in the stomach of the fish, he prayed to the Lord his God. Jonah said,
2 “I was in danger.
So I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
I was about to die.
So I cried to you,
and you heard my voice.
3 You threw me into the sea.
I went down, down into the deep sea.
The water was all around me.
Your powerful waves flowed over me.
4 I said, ‘I was driven out of your presence.
But I hope to see your Holy Temple again.’
5 The waters of the sea closed over me.
I was about to die.
The deep sea was all around me.
Seaweed wrapped around my head.
6 I went down to where the mountains of the sea start to rise.
I thought I was locked in this prison forever.
But you saved me from death,
Lord my God.
7 “When my life had almost gone,
I remembered the Lord.
Lord, I prayed to you.
And you heard my prayers in your Holy Temple.
8 “People who worship useless idols
give up their loyalty to you.
9 Lord, I will praise and thank you
while I give sacrifices to you.
I will make promises to you.
And I will do what I promise.
Salvation comes from the Lord!”
10 Then the Lord spoke to the fish. And the fish spit Jonah out of its stomach onto the dry land.
9 But we had lost much time. It was now dangerous to sail, because it was already after the Day of Cleansing.[a] So Paul warned them, 10 “Men, I can see there will be a lot of trouble on this trip. The ship and the things in the ship will be lost. Even our lives may be lost!” 11 But the captain and the owner of the ship did not agree with Paul. So the officer did not believe Paul. Instead, the officer believed what the captain and owner of the ship said. 12 And that harbor was not a good place for the ship to stay for the winter. So most of the men decided that the ship should leave. The men hoped we could go to Phoenix. The ship could stay there for the winter. (Phoenix was a city on the island of Crete. It had a harbor which faced southwest and northwest.)
The Storm
13 Then a good wind began to blow from the south. The men on the ship thought, “This is the wind we wanted, and now we have it!” So they pulled up the anchor. We sailed very close to the island of Crete. 14 But then a very strong wind named the “Northeaster” came from the island. 15 This wind took the ship and carried it away. The ship could not sail against it. So we stopped trying and let the wind blow us. 16 We went below a small island named Cauda. Then we were able to bring in the lifeboat, but it was very hard to do. 17 After the men took the lifeboat in, they tied ropes around the ship to hold it together. The men were afraid that the ship would hit the sandbanks of Syrtis.[b] So they lowered the sail and let the wind carry the ship. 18 The next day the storm was blowing us so hard that the men threw out some of the cargo. 19 A day later they threw out the ship’s equipment. 20 For many days we could not see the sun or the stars. The storm was very bad. We lost all hope of staying alive—we thought we would die.
21 The men had gone without food for a long time. Then one day Paul stood up before them and said, “Men, I told you not to leave Crete. You should have listened to me. Then you would not have all this trouble and loss. 22 But now I tell you to cheer up. None of you will die! But the ship will be lost. 23 Last night an angel from God came to me. This is the God I worship. I am his. 24 God’s angel said, ‘Paul, do not be afraid! You must stand before Caesar. And God has given you this promise: He will save the lives of all those men sailing with you.’ 25 So men, be cheerful! I trust in God. Everything will happen as his angel told me. 26 But we will crash on an island.”
Jesus Sends Out the Apostles
9 Jesus called the 12 apostles together. He gave them power to heal sicknesses and power over all demons. 2 Jesus sent the apostles out to tell about God’s kingdom and to heal the sick. 3 He said to them, “When you travel, don’t take a walking stick. Also, don’t carry a bag, or food, or money. Take for your trip only the clothes you are wearing. 4 When you go into a house, stay there until it is time to leave. 5 If the people in the town will not welcome you, go outside the town and shake the dust off of your feet.[a] This will be a warning to them.”
6 So the apostles went out. They traveled through all the towns. They told the Good News and healed people everywhere.
Herod Is Confused About Jesus
7 Herod, the governor, heard about all these things that were happening. He was confused because some people said, “John the Baptist is risen from death.” 8 Others said, “Elijah has come to us.” And still others said, “One of the prophets from long ago has risen from death.” 9 Herod said, “I cut off John’s head. So who is this man I hear these things about?” And Herod kept trying to see Jesus.
More Than 5,000 People Fed
10 When the apostles returned, they told Jesus all the things they had done on their trip. Then Jesus took them away to a town called Bethsaida. There, Jesus and his apostles could be alone together. 11 But the people learned where Jesus went and followed him. Jesus welcomed them and talked with them about God’s kingdom. He healed those who needed to be healed.
12 Late in the afternoon, the 12 apostles came to Jesus and said, “No one lives in this place. Send the people away. They need to find food and places to sleep in the towns and countryside around here.”
13 But Jesus said to them, “You give them something to eat.”
They said, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish. Do you want us to go buy food for all these people?” 14 (There were about 5,000 men there.)
Jesus said to his followers, “Tell the people to sit in groups of about 50 people.”
15 So the followers did this, and all the people sat down. 16 Then Jesus took the five loaves of bread and two fish. He looked up to heaven and thanked God for the food. Then Jesus divided the food and gave it to the followers to give to the people. 17 All the people ate and were satisfied. And there was much food left. Twelve baskets were filled with pieces of food that were not eaten.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.