Book of Common Prayer
145 Lord, I call to you with all my heart.
Answer me,
and I will keep your demands.
146 I call to you. Save me
so I can obey your rules.
147 I wake up early in the morning and cry out.
I trust your word.
148 I stay awake all night
so I can think about your promises.
149 Listen to me because of your love.
Lord, give me life by your laws.
150 Those who love evil are near.
They are far from your teachings.
151 But, Lord, you are also near.
And all your commands are true.
152 Long ago I learned from your rules
that you made them to continue forever.
153 See my suffering and save me
because I have not forgotten your teachings.
154 Argue my case and save me.
Let me live by your promises.
155 Wicked people are far from being saved
because they do not want to obey your demands.
156 Lord, you are very kind.
Give me life by your laws.
157 Many enemies are after me.
But I have not rejected your rules.
158 I see those traitors, and I hate them
because they do not obey what you say.
159 See how I love your orders.
Lord, give me life by your love.
160 Your words are true from the start.
And all your laws will be fair forever.
161 Leaders attack me for no reason.
But I fear your law in my heart.
162 I am as happy over your promises
as if I had found a great treasure.
163 I hate and despise lies.
But I love your teachings.
164 Seven times a day I praise you
for your fair laws.
165 Those who love your teachings will find true peace.
Nothing will defeat them.
166 I am waiting for you to save me, Lord.
I will obey your commands.
167 I keep your rules.
I love them very much.
168 I keep your orders and rules.
You know everything I do.
Evil Plans Against Jeremiah
18 The Lord showed me that men were making plans against me. The Lord showed me what they were doing. So I knew they were against me. 19 Before this, I was like a gentle lamb waiting to be butchered. I did not know they had made plans against me. They said:
“Let us destroy the tree and its fruit!
Let’s kill him!
Then people will forget him!”
20 But, Lord of heaven’s armies, you are a fair judge.
You know how to test peoples’ hearts and minds.
I will tell you what I have against them.
And I will let you give them the punishment they should have!
21 So the Lord speaks about the men from Anathoth who were planning to kill Jeremiah. Those men say, “Don’t prophesy in the name of the Lord. If you do, we will kill you!” 22 So this is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “I will soon punish the men from Anathoth. Their young men will die in war. Their sons and daughters will die from hunger. 23 No one from the city of Anathoth will be left alive. I will cause a disaster to happen to them that year.”
Jesus Warns His Apostles
16 “Listen! I am sending you out, and you will be like sheep among wolves. So be as smart as snakes. But also be like doves and do nothing wrong. 17 Be careful of people. They will arrest you and take you to court. They will whip you in their synagogues. 18 Because of me you will be taken to stand before governors and kings. You will tell them and the non-Jewish people about me. 19 When you are arrested, don’t worry about what to say or how you should say it. At that time you will be given the things to say. 20 It will not really be you speaking. The Spirit of your Father will be speaking through you.
21 “Brothers will turn against their own brothers and give them over to be killed. Fathers will turn against their own children and give them to be killed. Children will fight against their own parents and have them killed. 22 All people will hate you because you follow me. But the person who continues strong until the end will be saved.
Honest People Are Blessed
112 Praise the Lord!
Happy is the person who fears the Lord.
He loves what the Lord commands.
2 His descendants will be powerful in the land.
The children of honest people will be blessed.
3 His house will be full of wealth and riches.
His goodness will continue forever.
4 A light shines in the dark for honest people.
It shines for those who are good and kind and merciful.
5 It is good to be kind and generous.
Whoever is fair in his business
6 will never be defeated.
A good person will be remembered from now on.
7 He won’t be afraid of bad news.
He is safe because he trusts the Lord.
8 That person is confident. He will not be afraid.
He will look down on his enemies.
9 He gives freely to the poor.
The things he does are right and will continue forever.
He will be given great honor.
10 The wicked will see this and become angry.
They will grind their teeth in anger and then disappear.
The wishes of the wicked will come to nothing.
God Protects Those Who Trust Him
A song for going up to worship.
125 Those who trust the Lord are like Mount Zion.
It sits unmoved forever.
2 The mountains surround Jerusalem.
And the Lord surrounds his people
now and forever.
3 The wicked will not rule
over those who do right.
If they did, the people who do right
might use their power to do evil.
4 Lord, be good to those who are good,
whose hearts are honest.
5 But, Lord, when you punish those who do evil,
also punish those who stop following you.
Let there be peace in Israel.
Be Careful How You Live
12 You have become weak. So make yourselves strong again. 13 Keep on the right path so the weak will not stumble but rather be strengthened.
14 Try to live in peace with all people. And try to live lives free from sin. If anyone’s life is not holy, he will never see the Lord. 15 Be careful that no one fails to get God’s grace. Be careful that no one becomes like a bitter weed growing among you. A person like that can ruin all of you. 16 Be careful that no one takes part in sexual sin. And be careful that no person is unholy like Esau. He sold all his rights as the oldest son for a single meal. 17 You remember that after Esau did this, he wanted to get his father’s blessing. He wanted this blessing so much that he cried. But his father refused to give him the blessing, because Esau could find no way to change what he had done.
18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire. You have not come to darkness, sadness and storms. 19 You have not come to the noise of a trumpet or to the sound of a voice. When the people of Israel heard the voice, they begged not to have to hear another word. 20 They did not want to hear the command: “If anything, even an animal, touches the mountain, it must be put to death with stones.”[a] 21 What they saw was so terrible that Moses said, “I am shaking with fear.”[b]
22 But you have not come to that kind of place. The new place you have come to is Mount Zion.[c] You have come to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands of angels gathered together with joy. 23 You have come to the meeting of God’s firstborn[d] children. Their names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all people. And you have come to the spirits of good people who have been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus, the One who brought the new agreement from God to his people. You have come to the sprinkled blood[e] that has a better message than the blood of Abel.[f]
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.