Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for Mercy in Troubled Times
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. By the sheminith. A song of David.
6 Lord, don’t correct me when you are angry.
Don’t punish me when you are very angry.
2 Lord, be kind to me because I am weak.
Heal me, Lord, because my bones ache.
3 I am very upset.
Lord, how long will it be?
4 Lord, return and save me.
Save me because of your kindness.
5 Dead people don’t remember you.
Those in the grave don’t praise you.
6 I am tired of crying to you.
Every night my bed is wet with tears.
My bed is soaked from my crying.
7 My eyes are weak from so much crying.
They are weak from crying about my enemies.
8 Get away from me, all you who do evil.
The Lord has heard my crying.
9 The Lord has heard my cry for help.
The Lord will answer my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be ashamed and troubled.
They will turn and suddenly leave in shame.
A Prayer Against Liars
For the director of music. By the sheminith. A song of David.
12 Save me, Lord, because the good people are all gone.
No true believers are left on earth.
2 Everyone lies to his neighbors.
They say one thing and mean another.
3 The Lord will stop those lying lips.
He will cut off those bragging tongues.
4 They say, “Our tongues will help us win.
We can say what we wish. No one is our master.”
5 But the Lord says,
“I will now rise up
because the poor are being hurt.
Because of the moans of the helpless,
I will give them the help they want.”
6 The Lord’s words are pure.
They are like silver purified by fire,
like silver purified seven times over.
7 Lord, keep us safe.
Always protect us from such people.
8 The wicked are all around us.
Everyone loves what is wrong.
God Will Pay Back His Enemies
94 The Lord is a God who gives people what they should get.
God, show your greatness and punish!
2 Rise up, Judge of the earth.
Give the proud what they should get.
3 How long will the wicked be happy?
How long, Lord?
4 They are full of proud words.
Those who do evil brag about what they have done.
5 Lord, they crush your people.
They make your children suffer.
6 They kill widows and foreigners.
They murder orphans.
7 They say, “The Lord doesn’t see.
The God of Jacob doesn’t notice.”
8 You stupid ones among the people, pay attention.
You fools, when will you understand?
9 Can’t the creator of ears hear?
Can’t the maker of eyes see?
10 Won’t the one who corrects nations punish you?
Doesn’t the teacher of men know everything?
11 The Lord knows what people think.
He knows they are just a puff of wind.
12 Lord, those you correct are happy.
You give them your teachings.
13 You give them rest from times of trouble
until a grave is dug for the wicked.
14 The Lord won’t leave his people.
He will not give up his children.
15 Judgment will again be fair.
And all who are honest will follow it.
16 Who will help me fight against the wicked?
Who will stand with me against those who do evil?
17 If the Lord had not helped me,
I would have died soon.
18 I said, “I am about to be overwhelmed.”
But, Lord, your love kept me safe.
19 I was very worried.
But you comforted me and made me happy.
20 Crooked leaders cannot be your friends.
They use the law to cause suffering.
21 They join forces against people who do right.
They sentence to death the innocent.
22 But the Lord protects me like a strong, walled city.
My God is the rock of my protection.
23 God will pay them back for their sins.
He will destroy them for their evil.
The Lord our God will destroy them.
Jeremiah’s Second Complaint
10 Mother, I am sorry that you gave birth to me.
I am the one who must accuse and criticize the whole land.
I have not loaned or borrowed anything.
But everyone curses me.
11 The Lord said,
“I will save you for a good reason.
I will make your enemies beg you
in times of disaster and trouble.
12 No one can smash a piece of iron or bronze.
I mean the kind of iron and bronze that comes from the north.
13 The people of Judah have wealth and treasures.
But I will freely give those riches to others.
This is because the people of Judah have sinned
throughout the country.
14 I will make you slaves to your enemies.
You will be slaves in a land that you have never known.
My anger is like a hot fire.
And it will burn against you.”
15 Lord, you understand.
Remember me and take care of me.
Punish for me the people who are hurting me.
Don’t destroy me while you remain patient with them.
Think about the pain I suffer for you, Lord.
16 Your words came to me, and I listened carefully to them.
Your words made me very happy.
I was happy because I am called by your name.
Your name is the Lord God of heaven’s armies.
17 I never sat with the crowd
as they laughed and had fun.
I sat by myself because you were there.
You filled me with anger at the evil around me.
18 I don’t understand why my pain has no end.
I don’t understand why my injury is not cured or healed!
Lord, will you be like a brook that goes dry?
Will you be like a spring whose water stops flowing?
19 So this is what the Lord says:
“If you change your heart and come back to me, I will take you back.
Then you may serve me.
You must speak things that have worth.
You must not speak useless words.
Then you may speak for me.
Let the people of Judah turn to you.
But you must not change and be like them.
20 I will make you as strong as a wall to this people.
You will be as strong as a wall of bronze.
They will fight against you.
But they will not defeat you.
This is because I am with you.
I will rescue you and save you,” says the Lord.
21 “I will save you from these evil people.
I will save you from these cruel people.”
15 All of us who have grown spiritually to be mature should think this way, too. And if there are things you do not agree with, God will make them clear to you. 16 But we should continue following the truth we already have.
17 Brothers, all of you should try to follow my example and to copy those who live the way we showed you. 18 Many people live like enemies of the cross of Christ. I have often told you about them, and it makes me cry to tell you about them now. 19 The way they live is leading them to destruction. Instead of serving God, they do whatever their bodies want. They do shameful things, and they are proud of it. They think only about earthly things. 20 But our homeland is in heaven, and we are waiting for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven. 21 He will change our humble bodies and make them like his own glorious body. Christ can do this by his power. With that power he is able to rule all things.
Jesus Talks About His Death
20 There were some Greek people, too, who came to Jerusalem to worship at the Passover Feast. 21 They went to Philip. (Philip was from Bethsaida, in Galilee.) They said, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip told Andrew. Then Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
23 Jesus said to them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to receive his glory. 24 I tell you the truth. A grain of wheat must fall to the ground and die. Then it makes many seeds. But if it never dies, it remains only a single seed. 25 The person who loves his life will give up true life. But the person who hates his life in this world will keep true life forever. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me. Then my servant will be with me everywhere I am. My Father will honor anyone who serves me.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.