Book of Common Prayer
The Lord Takes Care of His People
A miktam of David.
16 Protect me, God,
because I trust in you.
2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord.
Every good thing I have comes from you.”
3 There are godly people in the world.
I enjoy them.
4 But those who turn to idols will have much pain.
I will not offer blood to those idols.
I won’t even speak their names.
5 No, the Lord is all I need.
He takes care of me.
6 My share in life has been pleasant.
My part has been beautiful.
7 I praise the Lord because he guides me.
Even at night, I feel his leading.
8 I keep the Lord before me always.
Because he is close by my side
I will not be hurt.
9 So I rejoice, and I am glad.
Even my body has hope.
10 This is because you will not leave me in the grave.
You will not let your holy one rot.
11 You will teach me God’s way to live.
Being with you will fill me with joy.
At your right hand I will find pleasure forever.
A Prayer for Protection
A prayer of David.
17 Lord, hear me begging for fairness.
Listen to my cry for help.
Pay attention to my prayer.
I speak the truth.
2 You will judge that I am right.
Your eyes can see what is true.
3 You have examined my heart.
You have tested me all night.
You questioned me without finding anything wrong.
I did not plan any evil.
4 I have obeyed your commands.
I have not done what evil people do.
5 I have done what you told me to do.
I have not failed.
6 I call to you, God,
and you answer me.
Listen to me now.
Hear what I say.
7 Your love is wonderful.
By your power you save
from their enemies those who trust you.
8 Protect me as you would protect your own eye.
Protect me as a bird hides her young under her wings.
9 Keep me from the wicked who attack me.
Protect me from my enemies who surround me.
10 They are selfish.
They brag about themselves.
11 They have chased me.
Now they surround me.
They plan to throw me to the ground.
12 They are like lions ready to kill.
Like lions, they sit in hiding.
13 Lord, rise up and face the enemy.
Throw them down.
Save me from the wicked
with your sword.
14 Lord, save me from them by your power.
Their reward is in this life.
They have plenty of food.
They have many sons.
They leave money to their children.
15 Because I have lived right, I will see your face.
When I wake up, I will see your likeness and be satisfied.
Temple Guards, Praise the Lord
A song for going up to worship.
134 Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord.
You serve at night in the Temple of the Lord.
2 Raise your hands in the Temple
and praise the Lord.
3 May the Lord bless you from Mount Zion.
He made heaven and earth.
God Saves, Idols Do Not
135 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord.
Praise him, you servants of the Lord.
2 Praise him, you who stand in the Lord’s Temple
and in the Temple courtyards.
3 Praise the Lord, because he is good.
Sing praises to him, because it is pleasant.
4 The Lord has chosen the people of Jacob for himself.
He has chosen the people of Israel for his very own.
5 I know that the Lord is great.
Our Lord is greater than all the gods.
6 The Lord does what he wants,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and the deep oceans.
7 He brings the clouds from the ends of the earth.
He sends the lightning with the rain.
He brings out the wind from his storehouses.
8 He destroyed the firstborn sons in Egypt,
the firstborn of both men and animals.
9 He did many signs and miracles in Egypt.
He did amazing things to the king and his servants.
10 He defeated many nations
and killed powerful kings:
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan
and all the kings of Canaan.
12 Then he gave their land as a gift.
It was a gift to his people, the Israelites.
13 Lord, your name is everlasting.
Lord, you will be remembered from now on.
14 You defend your people.
You have mercy on your servants.
15 The idols of other nations are made of silver and gold.
They are made by human hands.
16 They have mouths, but they cannot speak.
They have eyes, but they cannot see.
17 They have ears, but they cannot hear.
They have no breath in their mouths.
18 The people who make idols and trust them
are all like them.
19 Family of Israel, praise the Lord.
Family of Aaron, praise the Lord.
20 Family of Levi, praise the Lord.
You people who fear the Lord should praise him.
21 You people of Jerusalem, praise the Lord on Mount Zion.
Praise the Lord!
The Gold Idol and Blazing Furnace
3 Now King Nebuchadnezzar had a gold statue made. That statue was 90 feet high and 9 feet wide. He set up the statue on the plain of Dura in the area of Babylon. 2 Then the king called the important leaders: the governors, assistant governors, captains of the soldiers, people who advised the king, keepers of the treasury, judges, rulers and all other officers in his kingdom. He wanted these men to come to the special service for the statue he had set up. 3 So they all came for the special service. And they stood in front of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 Then the man who made announcements for the king spoke in a loud voice. He said, “People, nations and men of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: 5 You will hear the sound of the horns, flutes, lyres, zithers,[a] harps, pipes and all the other musical instruments. When this happens, you must bow down and worship the gold statue. This is the one King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 Everyone must bow down and worship this gold statue. Anyone who doesn’t will be quickly thrown into a blazing furnace.”
7 Now people, nations and men who spoke every language were there. And they heard the sound of the horns, flutes, lyres, zithers, pipes and all the other musical instruments. So they bowed down and worshiped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
8 Then some Babylonians came up to the king. They began speaking against the men of Judah. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “Our king, live forever! 10 Our king, you gave a command. You said that everyone would hear the horns, lyres, zithers, harps, pipes and all the other musical instruments. Then they would have to bow down and worship the gold statue. 11 Anyone who wouldn’t do this was to be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 Our king, there are some men of Judah who did not pay attention to your order. You made them important officers in the area of Babylon. Their names are Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They do not serve your gods. And they do not worship the gold statue you have set up.”
13 Nebuchadnezzar became very angry. He called for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So those men were brought to the king. 14 And Nebuchadnezzar said, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, is it true that you do not serve my gods? And is it true that you did not worship the gold statue I have set up? 15 Now, you will hear the sound of the horns, flutes, lyres, zithers, harps, pipes and all the other musical instruments. And you must be ready to bow down and worship the statue I made. That will be good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown quickly into the blazing furnace. Then no god will be able to save you from my power!”
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered the king. They said, “Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves to you. 17 You can throw us into the blazing furnace. The God we serve is able to save us from the furnace and your power. If he does this, it is good. 18 But even if God does not save us, we want you, our king, to know this: We will not serve your gods. We will not worship the gold statue you have set up.”
We Are God’s Children
3 The Father has loved us so much! He loved us so much that we are called children of God. And we really are his children. But the people in the world do not understand that we are God’s children, because they have not known him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God. We have not yet been shown what we will be in the future. But we know that when Christ comes again, we will be like him. We will see him as he really is. 3 Christ is pure. And every person who has this hope in Christ keeps himself pure like Christ.
4 When a person sins, he breaks God’s law. Yes, sinning is the same as living against God’s law. 5 You know that Christ came to take away sins. There is no sin in Christ. 6 So the person who lives in Christ does not go on sinning. If he goes on sinning, he has never really understood Christ and has never known him.
7 Dear children, do not let any person lead you the wrong way. Christ is righteous. To be like Christ, a person must do what is right. 8 The devil has been sinning since the beginning. Anyone who continues to sin belongs to the devil. The Son of God came for this purpose: to destroy the devil’s work.
9 When God makes someone his child, that person does not go on sinning. The new life God gave that person stays in him. So he is not able to go on sinning, because he has become a child of God. 10 So we can see who God’s children are and who the devil’s children are. Those who do not do what is right are not children of God. And anyone who does not love his brother is not a child of God.
15 All the people were hoping for the Christ to come, and they wondered about John. They thought, “Maybe he is the Christ.”
16 John answered everyone, “I baptize you with water, but there is one coming later who can do more than I can. I am not good enough to untie his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 He will come ready to clean the grain. He will separate the good grain from the chaff. He will put the good part of the grain into his barn. Then he will burn the chaff with a fire that cannot be put out.”[a] 18 And John continued to preach the Good News, saying many other things to encourage the people.
19 But John spoke against Herod, the governor, because of his sin with Herodias, the wife of Herod’s brother. John also criticized Herod for the many other evil things Herod did. 20 So Herod did another evil thing: He put John in prison.
Jesus Is Baptized by John
21 When all the people were being baptized by John, Jesus also was baptized. While Jesus was praying, heaven opened and 22 the Holy Spirit came down on him. The Spirit was in the form of a dove. Then a voice came from heaven and said, “You are my Son and I love you. I am very pleased with you.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.