Book of Common Prayer
David wrote this prayer.
God will help me
16 Please keep me safe, God,
because I come to you for help.
2 I have said to the Lord,
‘You are my Lord.
All the good things that I have in my life
are gifts from you.’
3 When I think about your own people who live in this land,
it makes me happy!
They are truly great people!
4 But many troubles will come
to people who choose to worship other gods.
I will not join with them
to offer gifts of blood to their gods.
I will never use the names of their gods
to make promises.
5 You, Lord, are all that I need.
What you give to me is enough,
for me and for my descendants.
6 Yes, you have given to me a good way of life.
Your gifts are better than good fields
or valuable land.
7 I will praise the Lord,
who is my guide through life.
In the dark nights,
you help me to learn what is right.
8 I will always trust the Lord to be with me.
He is very near to me,
so I will not be upset.
9 I am truly happy and I thank God.
I know that my life is safe with God.
10 You, Lord, will not leave me
in the deep hole of death.
As one who belongs to you,
you will not leave my body to spoil in the grave.
11 You will lead me along the path of life.
Because you are with me,
I am very happy.
I know that I will be with you for ever,
and that makes me very happy!
David wrote this prayer.
A prayer for help
17 Lord, please listen to me.
I am asking you to do something that is right.
I am speaking what is true,
so please do what I ask you to do.
2 Say clearly that I am not guilty.
You can see for yourself that I am right.
3 You look deep into my mind.
You check my thoughts at night.
When you test me,
you find nothing that is wrong.
I have decided that I will never tell any lies.
4 I have watched people do bad things.
But I have obeyed your commands.
I have not joined with cruel people
to do what they do.
5 No, I carefully follow your ways.
I do not turn away from them.
6 I pray to you, God,
because you will answer me.
Please listen to me when I pray to you.
7 Do great things that show your faithful love!
You have the power to keep people safe from their enemies.
You help them when they trust you for help.
8 Please keep me safe,
in the same way that people take care of their eyes.
Keep me near to you,
in the way that birds protect their babies under their wings.
9 Keep me safe from the wicked men who attack me.
My enemies are all around me,
and they want to kill me!
10 They refuse to be kind to anyone.
They speak proud words.
11 Now they have found me. They are ready to attack!
They look for their chance
to knock me down to the ground.
12 They are like hungry lions.
They want to tear me into pieces.
They are hiding like young lions.
They are ready to jump out and catch me!
13 Lord, please do something!
Fight against them! Knock them down!
Take your sword and save me from those wicked men.
14 Lord, use your power to save me from them.
They only think about this world,
and they enjoy the good things that it gives them.
So give them all that you have ready for them.
Give them more than they want!
May their children also have plenty,
and enough left to give to their children too.
15 As for me, Lord, I am not guilty of sin.
So I will see your face.
When I wake up, I will see you clearly,
and I will be really happy!
The leader must use the music called ‘The Deer of the Dawn.’
This is a song that David wrote.
Please help me, God!
22 My God!
My God, why have you left me alone?
Why is my help far away?
I am crying out in great pain!
2 My God!
I call aloud to you for help every day,
all day and all night!
But you do not answer my prayers,
so I cannot sleep.
3 I know that you are the Holy God.
You sit on your throne as king,
and Israel's people praise you.
4 Our ancestors trusted in you.
When they trusted you, you saved them.
5 They called aloud to you and you saved them.
They trusted in you,
and you did not disappoint them.[a]
6 People insult me.
They think that I am worth nothing.
It seems that I am only a worm,
and I am not really a man.
7 Everyone that sees me laughs at me.
They laugh and they shake their heads.
8 They say, ‘He should trust in the Lord!
The Lord should save him.
If the Lord is really happy with him,
the Lord should rescue him.’
9 Lord, you brought me safely to birth.
You took care of me at my mother's breasts.
10 From the day that I was born,
I have always been in your care.
You have been my God since my mother gave birth to me.
11 So do not stay far from me now.
Trouble is near to me,
and there is nobody to help me.
12 There is danger all round me,
like the strong bulls of Bashan.[b]
I cannot move
because my enemies are very near, all around me.
13 They open their mouths like lions!
They are ready to eat me!
They are like lions that tear their food into pieces.
14 My strength has gone,
like water that is poured away.
My bones do not join together properly.
I feel weak inside
and hope has disappeared.
15 My mouth has become dry like a piece of a broken pot.
My tongue sticks to my mouth.
You have left me down in the dirt,
as good as dead!
16 Wicked people are everywhere around me.
They are ready to attack me,
like a group of wild dogs.
They tear apart my hands and my feet.
17 My body is so weak
I can count all my bones.
My enemies look at me and they laugh.
They are happy because I have pain.
18 They have taken my clothes,
and they choose what they want for themselves.
They throw dice to decide who receives each piece.
19 But Lord, please do not stay far away from me!
You can make me strong again.
Please hurry to help me!
20 Keep me safe!
My enemies want to kill me with their swords.
Save my life from those wild dogs!
21 Do not let those lions eat me!
Keep me safe from the horns of those wild bulls!
I know that you have answered my prayer!
22 I will tell my people how great you are.
I will praise you when we meet together.
23 Everyone who serves the Lord must praise him!
All Jacob's descendants must respect him!
Yes, all Israel's people must worship him!
24 God did not forget to help the man who was in pain.
He did not turn away from the one who suffered.
When he called to God for help,
God answered his prayer.[c]
25 Yes, I will praise you, God,
in the great meeting of your people.
I will give to you what I have promised to give.
Everyone who serves you, Lord, will see that.
26 Poor people will have plenty of food to eat.
Those who come to the Lord will praise him.
May God help you to live well for ever!
27 People everywhere in the world will respect the Lord.
They will turn to him for help.
Families from all nations will worship you.
28 The Lord rules as king over all the nations.
29 All the rich people on earth will bend down,
and they will worship God.
Everyone will die one day.
They must all bend down in front of God.
Nobody can keep himself alive.
30 Our children will also serve God.
And they will tell their children about our Lord.
31 They will speak about all the great things that God has done
to save his people.
People who have not yet been born
will learn about the things that God has done.[d]
Solomon prepares to build the temple
5 Hiram was the king of Tyre.[a] He heard that Solomon had become king of Israel after his father David. Hiram had always been a friend of King David, so he sent his men to say ‘hello’ to Solomon. 2 Solomon then sent this message to Hiram:
3 ‘You know that my father David could not build a temple for the Lord his God. This was because he had to fight battles against enemies that were all around Israel. He did that until the Lord helped him to win against all of them. 4 But now the Lord my God has made us safe from danger. No enemy tries to attack us on any of our borders. 5 So I have decided to build a temple to give honour to the Lord my God.[b] The Lord said to my father David, “I will put your son on your throne to rule as king after you. He will build a temple for people to give honour to my name.” 6 So please tell your men to cut down cedar trees in Lebanon for me. We ourselves do not have people who know how to cut wood from trees as well as your men from Sidon. So our men will help your men with the work. And I will pay your workers whatever you decide is right.’[c]
7 Hiram was very happy when he received Solomon's message. He said, ‘Praise the Lord today, because he gave David a wise son to rule over the great nation, Israel.’ 8 Then Hiram sent this message to Solomon:
‘I have received the message that you sent to me. I will give you the wood that you have asked for. I will send you cedar wood and pine wood, as much as you need. 9 My men will take the trees from the hills of Lebanon down to the sea. Then we will tie several trees together like a boat. We will take them on the sea to the place where you want them. There we will undo the ropes so that your men can carry the trees away. You will pay me with enough food to feed the people of my palace.’
10 So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the cedar trees and pine trees that Solomon asked for. 11 Then Solomon supplied Hiram with 2,000 tons of wheat as food for the people in his palace. He also supplied 450,000 litres of olive oil. Solomon sent this every year to Hiram.
12 The Lord gave wisdom to Solomon, as he had promised to do. King Hiram and King Solomon made an agreement that their nations would not fight against each other. So there was peace between them.
13 King Solomon commanded 30,000 men from everywhere in Israel to do the work. 14 He sent them to Lebanon in groups of 10,000 men each month. They worked in Lebanon for one month, then they lived at home for two months. Adoniram was the officer who had authority over them. 15 Solomon also had 80,000 men to cut stones in the hills. He had 70,000 men to carry the stones to Jerusalem. 16 He also had 3,300 officers who told the workers what they should do. 17 The king commanded the workers to cut large pieces of stone from the rocks. They cut the best stones into the right shape to build the foundation of the temple. 18 Solomon's men and Hiram's men worked together with men from Gebal.[d] They cut the stones and the wood and they prepared them to build the temple.
Solomon builds the temple[e]
6 Solomon began to build the Lord's temple 480 years after the Israelites had left Egypt. It was in the fourth year that he had ruled Israel as king. He started the work in the month called Ziv, the second month of the year.[f]
7 When they built the temple, they used stones that were the right shape. Workers had already cut the stones at the place where they came from. There was no sound of hammers, axes or any iron tools at the place of the temple.
Paul on the island of Malta
28 So then we were on the shore and we were all safe. We discovered that the island was called Malta. 2 The people who lived on the island were very kind to us. Rain was falling and the weather was cold. So the people lit a fire and they helped all of us. 3 Paul picked up some small branches to put on the fire. When he did this, a dangerous snake came out from among the sticks. It had felt the heat from the fire. The snake bit Paul's hand and it held on to it. 4 The people who lived on the island saw the snake. They saw that it was hanging from Paul's hand. So they said to each other, ‘We know now that this man murdered someone. He did not die in the sea but now the snake will kill him. The god who punishes people for the bad things that they do will not let him live.’ 5 Then Paul waved his hand about so that the snake fell off into the fire. The snake had not hurt Paul in any way. 6 So the people watched Paul carefully. They thought that his body would become very sick. They thought that he might die suddenly. They waited for a long time. But they did not see anything bad happen to Paul. So then they thought something different about Paul. They said, ‘This man is certainly a god!’
7 There was an important officer who ruled the island. He was called Publius. He had some fields near to the shore where we had made the fire. He was very kind to us. He asked us to stay in his house. We stayed there for three days. 8 Publius's father was lying in bed because he was ill. His body was hot and he was very sick. Paul went into his room to see him. Paul prayed for him and he put his hands on the man's head. As a result, the man became well again. 9 After Paul did this, the other sick people on the island came to him. He caused them also to become well again. 10 The people gave us many gifts. Later, we got ready to leave the island on another ship. They gave us the things that we needed for the journey.
11 When we left Malta, we had been there for three months. We got on a ship that was called ‘The Twin Gods’.[a] It had come from Alexandria and it had stayed in Malta during the winter.
12 We sailed across the sea and we arrived at the city of Syracuse. We stayed there for three days.[b]
13 We left Syracuse and we sailed to the city of Rhegium. The next day, the wind began to blow from the south, so we sailed more quickly. The day after that, we arrived at the town of Puteoli.[c]
14 We found some believers there. They asked us to stay with them for one week. After this we travelled to Rome. 15 The believers in Rome had heard about us. So they came out of the city to meet us at ‘The Market of Appius’ and ‘The Three Hotels’.[d] When Paul saw the believers, he thanked God for them. He was very happy that they had come to meet him.
16 When we arrived in Rome, the Roman officer said to Paul, ‘You may live in a house by yourself, but a soldier will guard you there.’
Jesus tells the disciples what will happen
27 Then Jesus said to the disciples, ‘All of you will turn away from me. It will happen as the Bible says:
God says, “I will kill the shepherd who leads the sheep.
Then the sheep will run away in different directions.” ’[a]
28 Jesus then said, ‘But after that happens, I will become alive again. Then I will go to Galilee, and you will meet me there.’
29 Peter said to Jesus, ‘Even if everyone else runs away, I will not leave you.’
30 Jesus replied, ‘I tell you this: Even tonight, you will say that you do not know me. You will say that three times before the cockerel sings for the second time in the morning.’
31 But Peter said very strongly, ‘I will die with you if I need to. But I will never say that I do not know you.’ All the other disciples said the same thing.
Jesus prays in the garden called Gethsemane
32 Then they arrived at a garden called Gethsemane. Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ 33 Jesus took Peter, James and John with him. He started to feel very sad and upset. 34 He said to them, ‘I am very sad. I feel as if I could die because I feel so sad. Wait here and stay awake.’
35 Jesus went a short way beyond them. He went down on the ground. He prayed that, if possible, God would save him from this time of trouble. 36 He said, ‘Abba, my Father, you can do all things. Please take this great pain away from me. But I do not ask you to do what I want. Do what you want to do.’
37 Jesus returned to his three disciples. Now they were sleeping. He said to Peter, ‘Simon, you are asleep! You could not stay awake for even one hour! 38 You must keep awake and you must pray. Then you will not want to do something wrong. You really want to do the right thing, but your body is weak.’
39 Jesus went away again and he prayed in the same words. 40 Then Jesus returned again to Peter, James and John. He saw that they were sleeping. They could not keep their eyes open. They did not know what to say to him.
41 Then Jesus returned a third time to the disciples. He said to them, ‘You should not still be sleeping and resting. That is enough! The moment has arrived. Look! Someone will now give me, the Son of Man, to my enemies. 42 Stand up, we will go now. Look! The man who will give me to my enemies is here.’
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