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.
12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates. The water in the river was dried up. This prepared the way for the kings from the east to come. 13 Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs. They came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 These evil spirits are the spirits of demons. They have power to do miracles. They go out to the kings of the whole world. They go out to gather the kings for battle on the great day of God All-Powerful.
15 “Listen! I will come as a thief comes! Happy is the person who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him. Then he will not have to go without clothes and be ashamed because he is naked.”
16 Then the evil spirits gathered the kings together to the place that is called Armageddon[a] in the Hebrew language.
17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. Then a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne. The voice said, “It is finished!” 18 Then there were flashes of lightning, noises, thunder, and a big earthquake. This was the worst earthquake that has ever happened since people have been on earth. 19 The great city split into three parts. The cities of the nations were destroyed. And God did not forget to punish Babylon the Great. He gave that city the cup filled with the wine of his terrible anger. 20 Every island disappeared, and there were no more mountains. 21 Giant hailstones fell on people from the sky. The hailstones weighed about 100 pounds each. People cursed God because of the hail. This trouble was a terrible thing.
Stories of Mustard Seed and Yeast
18 Then Jesus said, “What is God’s kingdom like? What can I compare it with? 19 God’s kingdom is like the seed of the mustard plant.[a] A man plants this seed in his garden. The seed grows and becomes a tree. The wild birds build nests on its branches.”
20 Jesus said again, “What can I compare God’s kingdom with? 21 It is like yeast that a woman mixes into a big bowl of flour. The yeast makes all the dough rise.”
The Narrow Door
22 Jesus was teaching in every town and village. He continued to travel toward Jerusalem. 23 Someone said to Jesus, “Lord, how many people will be saved? Only a few?”
Jesus said, 24 “Try hard to enter through the narrow door that opens the way to heaven! Many people will try to enter there, but they will not be able. 25 A man gets up and closes the door of his house. You can stand outside and knock on the door. You can say, ‘Sir, open the door for us!’ But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you! Where did you come from?’ 26 Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you. You taught in the streets of our town.’ 27 But he will say to you, ‘I don’t know you! Where did you come from? Go away from me! All of you do evil!’ 28 You will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in God’s kingdom. But you will be thrown outside. Then you will cry and grind your teeth with pain. 29 People will come from the east, west, north, and south. They will sit down at the table in the kingdom of God. 30 Those who are last now will be first in the future. And those who are first now will be last in the future.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.