Book of Common Prayer
A Hymn About God’s Power
97 The Lord is king. Let the earth rejoice.
Faraway lands should be glad.
2 Thick, dark clouds surround him.
His kingdom is built on what is right and fair.
3 A fire goes before him
and burns up his enemies all around.
4 His lightning flashes in the sky.
When the people see it, they tremble.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord.
He is Lord of all the earth.
6 The skies tell about his goodness.
And all the people see his glory.
7 Those who worship idols should be ashamed.
They brag about their false gods.
All the gods should worship the Lord.
8 When Jerusalem hears this, she is glad.
The towns of Judah rejoice.
They are happy because of your judgments, Lord.
9 You are the Lord Most High over all the earth.
You are supreme over all gods.
10 People who love the Lord should hate evil.
The Lord watches over those who follow him.
He frees them from the power of the wicked.
11 Light shines on those who do right.
Joy belongs to those who are honest.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, you who do right.
Praise his holy name.
God the Fair and Holy King
99 The Lord is king.
Let the nations shake with fear.
He sits between the gold creatures with wings.
Let the earth shake.
2 The Lord in Jerusalem is great.
He is supreme over all the nations.
3 Let them praise your name.
It is great, holy and to be feared.
4 The King is powerful and loves justice.
Lord, you made things fair.
You have done what is fair and right
for the people of Jacob.
5 Praise the Lord our God.
Worship at the Temple, his footstool.
He is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests.
And Samuel was among his worshipers.
They called to the Lord,
and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud.
They kept the rules and laws he gave them.
8 Lord our God, you answered them.
You showed them that you are a forgiving God.
But you punished them for their wrongs.
9 Praise the Lord our God.
Worship at his holy mountain.
The Lord our God is holy.
The One True God
115 It does not belong to us, Lord.
The praise belongs to you
because of your love and loyalty.
2 Why do the nations ask,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven.
He does what he wants.
4 Their idols are made of silver and gold.
They are made by human hands.
5 They have mouths, but they cannot speak.
They have eyes, but they cannot see.
6 They have ears, but they cannot hear.
They have noses, but they cannot smell.
7 They have hands, but they cannot feel.
They have feet, but they cannot walk.
And no sounds come from their throats.
8 The people who make idols and trust them
are all like them.
9 Family of Israel, trust the Lord.
He is your helper and your protection.
10 Family of Aaron, trust the Lord.
He is your helper and your protection.
11 You people who fear the Lord should trust him.
He is your helper and your protection.
12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us.
He will bless the family of Israel.
He will bless the family of Aaron.
13 The Lord will bless those who fear him,
from the smallest to the greatest.
14 May the Lord give you many children.
And may he give them children also.
15 May the Lord bless you.
He made heaven and earth.
16 Heaven belongs to the Lord.
But he gave the earth to people.
17 Dead people do not praise the Lord.
Those in the grave are silent.
18 But we will praise the Lord
now and forever.
Praise the Lord!
The Lord’s Kindness
7 Israel says, “I will look to the Lord for help.
I will wait for God to save me.
My God will hear me.
8 Enemy, don’t laugh at me.
I have fallen, but I will get up again.
I sit in the shadow of trouble now.
But the Lord will be a light for me.
9 I sinned against the Lord.
So he was angry with me.
But he will defend my case in court.
He will do what is right for me.
Then he will bring me out into the light.
I will see him set things right.
10 Then my enemies will see this,
and they will be ashamed.
My enemies said to me,
‘Where is the Lord your God?’
Now I will laugh at them.
They will fall down defeated, like the mud people walk on.”
The Jews to Return
11 The time will come when your walls will be built again.
At that time your country will grow.
12 Your people will come back to your land.
They will come from Assyria and the cities of Egypt.
They will come from the countries
between the river of Egypt and the Euphrates River.
They will come from the countries
between the Mediterranean Sea in the west and the mountains in the east.
13 The rest of the earth will be ruined.
This is because of what the people who lived in it did.
A Prayer to God
14 So shepherd your people with your stick.
Tend the flock of people who belong to you.
That flock now lives alone in the desert.
But there is fertile pasture nearby.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead
as they did long ago.
15 The Lord says, “I did many miracles when I brought you out of Egypt.
I will show you more miracles like that.”
Peter Heals a Crippled Man
3 One day Peter and John went to the Temple. It was three o’clock in the afternoon. This was the time for the daily prayer service. 2 There, at the Temple gate called Beautiful Gate, was a man who had been crippled all his life. Every day he was carried to this gate to beg. He would ask for money from the people going into the Temple. 3 The man saw Peter and John going into the Temple and asked them for money. 4 Peter and John looked straight at him and said, “Look at us!” 5 The man looked at them; he thought they were going to give him some money. 6 But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold, but I do have something else I can give you: By the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth—stand up and walk!” 7 Then Peter took the man’s right hand and lifted him up. Immediately the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk. He went into the Temple with them, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9-10 All the people recognized him. They knew he was the crippled man who always sat by the Beautiful Gate begging for money. Now they saw this same man walking and praising God. The people were amazed. They could not understand how this could happen.
Jesus Is Like a Vine
15 “I am the true vine; my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that does not produce fruit. And he trims and cleans every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the words I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can produce fruit alone. It must remain in the vine. It is the same with you. You cannot produce fruit alone. You must remain in me.
5 “I am the vine, and you are the branches. If a person remains in me and I remain in him, then he produces much fruit. But without me he can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, then he is like a branch that is thrown away. That branch dies. People pick up dead branches, throw them into the fire, and burn them. 7 Remain in me and follow my teachings. If you do this, then you can ask for anything you want, and it will be given to you. 8 You should produce much fruit and show that you are my followers. This brings glory to my Father. 9 I loved you as the Father loved me. Now remain in my love. 10 I have obeyed my Father’s commands, and I remain in his love. In the same way, if you obey my commands, you will remain in my love. 11 I have told you these things so that you can have the same joy I have. I want your joy to be the fullest joy.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.