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.’”
A Cry for Help
A prayer of a person who is suffering when he is discouraged and tells the Lord his complaints.
102 Lord, listen to my prayer.
Let my cry for help come to you.
2 Do not hide from me
in my time of trouble.
Pay attention to me.
When I cry for help, answer me quickly.
3 My life is passing away like smoke.
My bones are burned up with fire.
4 My heart is like grass
that has been cut and dried.
I forget to eat.
5 Because of my grief,
my skin hangs on my bones.
6 I am like a desert owl.
I am like an owl living among the ruins.
7 I lie awake.
I am like a lonely bird on a housetop.
8 All day long enemies insult me.
Those who make fun of me use my name as a curse.
9 I eat ashes as my food.
My tears fall into my drinks.
10 Because of your great anger,
you have picked me up and thrown me away.
11 My days are like a passing shadow.
I am like dried grass.
12 But, Lord, you rule forever.
Your fame continues from now on.
13 You will come and have mercy on Jerusalem.
The time has now come to be kind to her.
14 Your servants love even her stones.
They even care about her dust.
15 Nations will fear the name of the Lord.
All the kings on earth will honor him.
16 The Lord will rebuild Jerusalem.
There his glory will be seen.
17 He will answer the prayers of the needy.
He will not reject their prayers.
18 Write these things for the future.
Then people who are not yet born will praise the Lord.
19 The Lord looked down from his holy place above.
From heaven he looked down at the earth.
20 He heard the moans of the prisoners.
And he freed those sentenced to die.
21 The name of the Lord will be heard in Jerusalem.
His praise will be heard in Jerusalem.
22 People will come together.
Kingdoms will serve the Lord.
23 God has made me tired of living.
He has cut short my life.
24 So I said, “My God, do not take me in the middle of my life.
Your years go on and on.
25 In the beginning you made the earth.
And your hands made the skies.
26 They will be destroyed, but you will remain.
They will all wear out like clothes.
And, like clothes, you will change them.
And they will be thrown away.
27 But you never change.
And your life will never end.
28 Our children will live in your presence.
And their children will remain with you.”
Book 5
Psalms 107—150
God Saves from Many Dangers
107 Thank the Lord because he is good.
His love continues forever.
2 That is what the people the Lord has saved should say.
They are the ones he has saved from the enemy.
3 He has gathered them from other lands,
from east and west, north and south.
4 Some people had wandered in the desert lands.
They found no city to live in.
5 They were hungry and thirsty.
They were discouraged.
6 In their misery they cried out to the Lord.
And he saved them from their troubles.
7 He led them on a straight road
to a city where they could live.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his love
and for the miracles he does for people.
9 He satisfies the thirsty.
He fills up the hungry.
10 Some sat in gloom and darkness.
They were prisoners suffering in chains.
11 They had turned against the words of God.
They had refused the advice of God Most High.
12 So he broke their pride by hard work.
They stumbled, and no one helped.
13 In their misery they cried out to the Lord.
And he saved them from their troubles.
14 He brought them out of their gloom and darkness.
He broke their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his love
and for the miracles he does for people.
16 He breaks down bronze gates.
And he cuts apart iron bars.
17 Some became fools who turned against God.
They suffered for the evil they did.
18 They refused to eat anything.
So they almost died.
19 In their misery they cried out to the Lord.
And he saved them from their troubles.
20 God gave the command and healed them.
So they were saved from dying.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his love
and for the miracles he does for people.
22 Let them offer sacrifices to thank him.
With joy they should tell what he has done.
23 Others went out to sea in ships.
They did business on the great oceans.
24 They saw what the Lord could do.
They saw the miracles he did.
25 He spoke, and a storm came up.
It blew up high waves.
26 The ships tossed as high as the sky and fell low in the waves.
The storm was so bad the men lost their courage.
27 They stumbled and fell like men who were drunk.
They did not know what to do.
28 In their misery they cried out to the Lord.
And he saved them from their troubles.
29 He made the storm be still.
He calmed the waves.
30 They were happy that it was quiet.
And God guided them to the port they wanted.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his love
and for the miracles he does for people.
32 Let them praise his greatness in the meeting of the people.
They should praise him in the meeting of the elders.
The Evil Leaders
23 “How terrible it will be for the leaders of Judah. They are destroying my people. They are making them run in all directions,” says the Lord.
2 They are responsible for the people. And the Lord, the God of Israel, says to them: “You have made my people run away in all directions. You have forced them away. And you have not taken care of them. So I will punish you for the evil things you have done,” says the Lord. 3 “I sent my people to other countries. But I will gather my people who are left alive. And I will bring them back to their own country. When they are back in their own land, they will have many children. And they will grow in number. 4 I will place new leaders over my people. They will take care of my people. And my people will not be afraid or terrified. None of them will be lost,” says the Lord.
The Good Descendant
5 “The days are coming,” says the Lord,
“when I will raise up a good descendant in David’s family.
This descendant will be a king who will rule in a wise way.
And he will do what is fair and right in the land.
6 In his time Judah will be saved.
Israel will live in safety.
This will be his name:
The Lord Does What Is Right.
7 “So the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when people will not say: ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought Israel out of Egypt . . .’ 8 But people will say something new: ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where he had sent them away . . .’ Then the people of Israel will live in their own land.”
28 We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him.[a] They are the people God called, because that was his plan. 29 God knew them before he made the world. And God chose them to be like his Son. Then Jesus would be the firstborn[b] of many brothers. 30 God planned for them to be like his Son. And those he planned to be like his Son, he also called. And those he called, he also made right with him. And those he made right, he also glorified.
God’s Love in Christ Jesus
31 So what should we say about this? If God is for us, then no one can defeat us. 32 God let even his own Son suffer for us. God gave his Son for us all. So with Jesus, God will surely give us all things. 33 Who can accuse the people that God has chosen? No one! God is the One who makes them right. 34 Who can say that God’s people are guilty? No one! Christ Jesus died, but that is not all. He was also raised from death. And now he is on God’s right side and is begging God for us. 35 Can anything separate us from the love Christ has for us? Can troubles or problems or sufferings? If we have no food or clothes, if we are in danger, or even if death comes—can any of these things separate us from Christ’s love? 36 As it is written in the Scriptures:
“For you we are in danger of death all the time.
People think we are worth no more than sheep to be killed.” Psalm 44:22
37 But in all these things we have full victory through God who showed his love for us. 38-39 Yes, I am sure that nothing can separate us from the love God has for us. Not death, not life, not angels, not ruling spirits, nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us, nothing below us, or anything else in the whole world will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
52 Then the Jews began to argue among themselves. They said, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth. You must eat the flesh of the Son of Man. And you must drink his blood. If you don’t do this, then you won’t have real life in you. 54 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. I will raise him up on the last day. 55 My flesh is true food. My blood is true drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I live in him. 57 The Father sent me. The Father lives, and I live because of the Father. So he who eats me will live because of me. 58 I am not like the bread our ancestors ate. They ate that bread, but still they died. I am the bread that came down from heaven. He who eats this bread will live forever.” 59 Jesus said all these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.