Book of Common Prayer
Trusting God for Help
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Dove in the Distant Oak.” A miktam of David when the Philistines captured him in Gath.
56 God, be merciful to me because people are chasing me.
The battle has pressed me all day long.
2 My enemies have chased me all day.
There are many of them fighting me.
3 When I am afraid,
I will trust you.
4 I praise God for his word.
I trust God. So I am not afraid.
What can human beings do to me?
5 All day long they twist my words.
All their evil plans are against me.
6 They wait. They hide.
They watch my steps.
They hope to kill me.
7 God, do not let them escape.
Punish the foreign nations in your anger.
8 You have recorded my troubles.
You have kept a list of my tears.
Aren’t they in your records?
9 On the day I call for help, my enemies will be defeated.
I know that God is on my side.
10 I praise God for his word to me.
I praise the Lord for his word.
11 I trust in God. I will not be afraid.
What can people do to me?
12 God, I must keep my promises to you.
I will give you my offerings to thank you.
13 You have saved me from death.
You have kept me from being defeated.
So I will walk with God
in light among the living.
A Prayer in Troubled Times
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A miktam of David when he escaped from Saul in a cave.
57 Be merciful to me, God. Be merciful to me
because I come to you for protection.
I will come to you as a bird comes for protection under its mother’s wings
until the trouble has passed.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
to the God who does everything for me.
3 He sends help from heaven and saves me.
He punishes those who attack me. Selah
God sends me his love and truth.
4 Enemies are like lions all around me.
I must lie down among them.
Their teeth are like spears and arrows.
Their tongues are as sharp as swords.
5 God is supreme over the skies.
His greatness covers the earth.
6 They set a trap for me.
I am very worried.
They dug a pit in my path.
But they fell into it themselves. Selah
7 My heart is right, God. My heart is right.
I will sing and praise you.
8 Wake up, my soul.
Wake up, harp and lyre!
I will wake up the dawn.
9 Lord, I will praise you among the nations.
I will sing songs of praise about you to all the nations.
10 Your love is so great it reaches to the skies.
Your truth reaches to the clouds.
11 God, you are supreme over the skies.
Let your glory be over all the earth.
Unfair Judges
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A miktam of David.
58 Do you rulers really say what is right?
Do you judge people fairly?
2 No, in your heart you plan evil.
You think up violent crimes in the land.
3 From birth evil men start doing bad things.
They tell lies and do wrong as soon as they are born.
4 They are like poisonous snakes,
like deaf cobras that can’t hear.
5 They cannot hear the music of the snake charmer
no matter how well he plays for them.
6 God, break the teeth out of their mouths!
Tear out the fangs of those lions, Lord!
7 Let them disappear like water that flows away.
Let them be cut short like a broken arrow.
8 Let them be like snails that melt as they move.
Let them be like a child born dead who never saw the sun.
9 His anger will blow them away alive.
It will happen faster than burning thorns can heat a pot.
10 Good people will be glad when they see him get even.
They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then people will say,
“There really are rewards for doing what is right.
There really is a God who judges the world.”
A Prayer Against Enemies
For the director of music. A song of David.
64 God, listen to my complaint.
I am afraid of my enemies.
Protect my life from them.
2 Hide me from those wicked people,
from that gang who does evil.
3 They sharpen their tongues like swords.
They shoot bitter words like arrows.
4 They hide and shoot at innocent people.
They shoot suddenly and are not afraid.
5 They encourage each other to do wrong.
They talk about setting traps.
They think no one will see them.
6 They plan wicked things and say,
“We have a perfect plan.”
The mind of man is hard to understand.
7 But God will shoot them with arrows.
They will suddenly be struck down.
8 Their own words will be used against them.
All who see them will shake their heads.
9 Then everyone will fear God.
They will tell what God has done.
They will learn from what he has done.
10 Good people will be happy in the Lord.
They will find protection in him.
Let everyone who is honest praise the Lord.
A Hymn of Thanksgiving
For the director of music. A song of David.
65 God, you will be praised in Jerusalem.
We will keep our promises to you.
2 You hear our prayers.
All people will come to you.
3 Our guilt overwhelms us.
But you forgive our sins.
4 Happy are the people you choose.
You have them stay in your courtyards.
We are filled with good things in your house,
your holy Temple.
5 You answer us in amazing ways,
God our Savior.
People everywhere on the earth
and beyond the sea trust you.
6 You made the mountains by your strength.
You have great power.
7 You stopped the roaring seas,
the roaring waves and the uproar of the nations.
8 Even those people at the ends of the earth fear your miracles.
You are praised from where the sun rises to where it sets.
9 You take care of the land and water it.
You make it very fertile.
The rivers of God are full of water.
Grain grows because you make it grow.
10 You cause rain to fall on the plowed fields.
You soak them with water.
You soften the ground with rain.
And then you bless it.
11 You give the year a good harvest.
You load the wagons with many crops.
12 The desert is covered with grass.
The hills are covered with happiness.
13 The pastures are full of sheep.
The valleys are covered with grain.
Everything shouts and sings for joy.
The Song of the Saved
14 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb. He was standing on Mount Zion.[a] There were 144,000 people with him. They all had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the noise of flooding water and like the sound of loud thunder. The sound I heard was like people playing harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living things and the elders.[b] The only ones who could learn the new song were the 144,000 who had been saved from the earth. No one else could learn the song. 4 These 144,000 are the ones who did not do sinful things with women. They kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb every place he goes. These 144,000 were saved from among the people of the earth. They are the first people to be offered to God and the Lamb. 5 They were not guilty of telling lies. They are without fault.
The Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel flying high in the air. The angel had the eternal Good News to preach to those who live on earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. 7 The angel said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him praise. The time has come for God to judge all people. Worship God. He made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the springs of water.”
8 Then the second angel followed the first angel and said, “She is destroyed! The great city of Babylon is destroyed! She made all the nations drink the wine of her adultery and of God’s anger.”
9 A third angel followed the first two angels. This third angel said in a loud voice: “It will be bad for the person who worships the beast and his idol and gets the beast’s mark on the forehead or on the hand. 10 He will drink the wine of God’s anger. This wine is prepared with all its strength in the cup of God’s anger. He will be put in pain with burning sulfur before the holy angels and the Lamb. 11 And the smoke from their burning pain will rise forever and ever. There will be no rest, day or night, for those who worship the beast and his idol or who get the mark of his name.” 12 This means that God’s holy people must be patient. They must obey God’s commands and keep their faith in Jesus.
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven. It said, “Write this: From now on, the dead who were in the Lord when they died are happy.”
The Spirit says, “Yes, that is true. They will rest from their hard work. The reward of all they have done stays with them.”
Jesus Causes Division
49 Jesus continued speaking, “I came to set fire to the world. I wish it were already burning! 50 I must be baptized with a different kind of baptism.[a] I feel very troubled until it is over. 51 Do you think that I came to give peace to the world? No! I came to divide the world! 52 From now on, a family with five people will be divided, three against two, and two against three. 53 A father and son will be divided: The son will be against his father. The father will be against his son. A mother and her daughter will be divided: The daughter will be against her mother. The mother will be against her daughter. A mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law will be divided: The daughter-in-law will be against her mother-in-law. The mother-in-law will be against her daughter-in-law.”
Understanding the Times
54 Then Jesus said to the people, “When you see clouds coming up in the west, you say, ‘It’s going to rain.’ And soon it begins to rain. 55 When you feel the wind begin to blow from the south, you say, ‘It will be a hot day.’ And you are right. 56 Hypocrites! You can understand the weather. Why don’t you understand what is happening now?
Settle Your Problems
57 “Why can’t you decide for yourselves what is right? 58 When someone is suing you, and you are going with him to court, try hard to settle it on the way. If you don’t settle it, he may take you to the judge. The judge might turn you over to the officer. And the officer might throw you into jail. 59 You will not get out of there until they have taken everything you have.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.