Book of Common Prayer
A Call to Praise and Obedience
95 Come, let’s sing for joy to the Lord.
Let’s shout praises to the Rock who saves us.
2 Let’s come to him with thanksgiving.
Let’s sing songs to him.
3 The Lord is the great God.
He is the great King over all gods.
4 The deepest places on earth are his.
And the highest mountains belong to him.
5 The sea is his because he made it.
He created the land with his own hands.
6 Come, let’s bow down and worship him.
Let’s kneel before the Lord who made us.
7 He is our God.
And we are the people he takes care of
and the sheep that he tends.
Today listen to what he says:
8 “Do not be stubborn, as your ancestors were at Meribah,
as they were that day at Massah in the desert.
9 There your ancestors tested me.
They put me to the test even though they saw what I did.
10 I was angry with those people for 40 years.
I said, ‘They are not loyal to me.
They have not understood my ways.’
11 I was angry and made a promise,
‘They will never enter my land of rest.’”
Praise and Prayer for Help
For the director of music. A song of David.
40 I waited patiently for the Lord.
He turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the pit of destruction,
out of the sticky mud.
He stood me on a rock.
He made my feet steady.
3 He put a new song in my mouth.
It was a song of praise to our God.
Many people will see this and worship him.
Then they will trust the Lord.
4 Happy is the person
who trusts the Lord.
He doesn’t turn to those who are proud,
to those who worship false gods.
5 Lord our God, you have done many miracles.
Your plans for us are many.
If I tried to tell them all,
there would be too many to count.
6 You do not want sacrifices and offerings.
But you have made a hole in my ear
to show that my body and life are yours.
You do not ask for burnt offerings
and offerings to take away sins.
7 Then I said, “Look, I have come.
It is written about me in the book.
8 My God, I want to do what you want.
Your teachings are in my heart.”
9 I will tell about your goodness in the great meeting of your people.
Lord, you know my lips are not silent.
10 I do not hide your goodness in my heart.
I speak about your loyalty and salvation.
I do not hide your love and truth
from the people in the great meeting.
11 Lord, do not hold back your mercy from me.
Let your love and truth always protect me.
12 Troubles have gathered around me.
There are too many to count.
My sins have caught me.
I cannot see a way to escape.
I have more sins than hairs on my head.
I have lost my courage.
13 Please, Lord, save me.
Hurry, Lord, to help me.
14 People are trying to kill me.
Shame them and disgrace them.
People want to hurt me.
Let them run away in disgrace.
15 People are making fun of me.
Let them be shamed into silence.
16 But let those who follow you
be happy and glad.
They love you for saving them.
May they always say, “Praise the Lord!”
17 Lord, I am poor and helpless.
But please remember me.
You are my helper and savior.
My God, do not wait.
A Prayer for Help
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil of David when the Ziphites went to Saul and said, “We think David is hiding among our people.”
54 God, save me because of who you are.
By your strength show that I am innocent.
2 Hear my prayer, God.
Listen to what I say.
3 Strangers turn against me.
Cruel men want to kill me.
They do not care about God. Selah
4 See, God will help me.
The Lord will spare my life.
5 Let my enemies be punished with their own evil.
Destroy them because you are loyal to me.
6 I will offer a sacrifice as a special gift to you.
I will thank you, Lord, because you are good.
7 You have saved me from all my troubles.
I have seen my enemies defeated.
A Prayer for Forgiveness
For the director of music. A song of David when the prophet Nathan came to David after David’s sin with Bathsheba.
51 God, be merciful to me
because you are loving.
Because you are always ready to be merciful,
wipe out all my wrongs.
2 Wash away all my guilt
and make me clean again.
3 I know about my wrongs.
I can’t forget my sin.
4 You are the one I have sinned against.
I have done what you say is wrong.
So you are right when you speak.
You are fair when you judge me.
5 I was brought into this world in sin.
In sin my mother gave birth to me.
6 You want me to be completely truthful.
So teach me wisdom.
7 Take away my sin, and I will be clean.
Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Make me hear sounds of joy and gladness.
Let the bones you crushed be happy again.
9 Turn your face from my sins.
Wipe out all my guilt.
10 Create in me a pure heart, God.
Make my spirit right again.
11 Do not send me away from you.
Do not take your Holy Spirit away from me.
12 Give me back the joy that comes when you save me.
Keep me strong by giving me a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach your ways to those who do wrong.
And sinners will turn back to you.
14 God, save me from the guilt of murder.
God, you are the one who saves me.
I will sing about your goodness.
15 Lord, let me speak
so I may praise you.
16 You are not pleased by sacrifices.
Otherwise, I would give them.
You don’t want burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifice God wants is a willing spirit.
God, you will not reject
a heart that is broken and sorry for its sin.
18 Do whatever good you wish for Jerusalem.
Rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will be pleased with right sacrifices and whole burnt offerings.
And bulls will be offered on your altar.
What the Lord Wants You to Do
12 Now, Israel, this is what the Lord wants you to do. Respect the Lord your God. Do what he has told you to do. Love him. Serve the Lord your God with your whole being. 13 And obey the Lord’s commands and laws. I am giving them to you today for your own good.
14 The Lord owns the world and everything in it. The heavens, even the highest heavens, are his. 15 But the Lord cared for and loved your ancestors. And he chose you, their descendants. He chose you over all the other nations. And it is this way today. 16 Give yourselves to serving the Lord. Do not be stubborn any longer. 17 The Lord your God is God of all gods. He is the Lord of all lords. He is the great God. He is strong and wonderful. He does not take sides. And he will not be talked into doing evil. 18 He helps orphans and widows. He loves foreigners. He gives them food and clothes. 19 You also must love foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt. 20 Respect the Lord your God and serve him. Be loyal to him. Make your promises in his name. 21 You should praise him. He is your God. He has done great and wonderful things for you. You have seen them with your own eyes. 22 There were only 70 of your ancestors when they went down to Egypt. Now the Lord your God has made you as many as the stars in the sky.
11 So let us try as hard as we can to enter God’s rest. We must try hard so that no one will be lost by following the example of those who refused to obey.
12 God’s word is alive and working. It is sharper than a sword sharpened on both sides. It cuts all the way into us, where the soul and the spirit are joined. It cuts to the center of our joints and our bones. And God’s word judges the thoughts and feelings in our hearts. 13 Nothing in all the world can be hidden from God. Everything is clear and lies open before him. And to him we must explain the way we have lived.
Jesus Is Our High Priest
14 We have a great high priest who has gone into heaven. He is Jesus the Son of God. So let us hold on to the faith we have. 15 For our high priest is able to understand our weaknesses. He was tempted in every way that we are, but he did not sin. 16 Let us, then, feel free to come before God’s throne. Here there is grace. And we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it.
Jesus and John the Baptist
22 After this, Jesus and his followers went into the area of Judea. There Jesus stayed with his followers and baptized people. 23 John was also baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there. People were going there to be baptized. 24 (This was before John was put into prison.)
25 Some of John’s followers had an argument with a Jew about religious washing.[a] 26 So they came to John and said, “Teacher, remember the man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you spoke about? He is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
27 John answered, “A man can get only what God gives him. 28 You yourselves heard me say, ‘I am not the Christ. I am only the one God sent to prepare the way for him.’ 29 The bride belongs only to the bridegroom. The friend who helps the bridegroom waits and listens for him. He is glad when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That is the same pleasure I have. And my time of joy is now here. 30 He must become greater. And I must become less important.
The One Who Comes from Heaven
31 “The One who comes from above is greater than all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth and talks about things on the earth. But the One who comes from heaven is greater than all. 32 He tells what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts what he says. 33 The person who accepts what he says has proven that God is true. 34 God sent him, and he tells the things that God says. God gives him the Spirit fully. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given him power over everything. 36 He who believes in the Son has eternal life. But he who does not obey the Son will never have that life. God’s anger stays with him.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.