Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for the King
For the director of music. A song of David.
20 May the Lord answer you in times of trouble.
May the God of Jacob protect you.
2 May he send you help from his Temple.
May he support you from Mount Zion.
3 May he remember all your offerings.
May he accept all your sacrifices. Selah
4 May he give you what you want.
May all your plans succeed.
5 We will shout for joy when you succeed.
We will raise a flag in the name of our God.
May the Lord give you all that you ask for.
6 Now I know the Lord helps his appointed king.
He answers him from his holy heaven.
He saves him with his strong right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots, others in horses.
But we trust the Lord our God.
8 They are overwhelmed and defeated.
But we march forward and win.
9 Lord, save the king!
Answer us when we call for help.
Thanksgiving for the King
For the director of music. A song of David.
21 Lord, the king rejoices because of your strength.
He is so happy when you save him!
2 You gave the king what he wanted.
You did not refuse what he asked for. Selah
3 You put good things before him.
You placed a gold crown on his head.
4 He asked you for life.
And you gave it to him.
His years go on and on.
5 He has great glory because you gave him victories.
You gave him honor and praise.
6 You always gave him blessings.
You made him glad because you were with him.
7 The king truly trusts the Lord.
Because God Most High always loves him,
he will not be overwhelmed.
8 Your hand is against all your enemies.
Those who hate you will feel your power.
9 When you appear, you will burn them like wood in a furnace.
In your anger you will eat them up.
Your fire will burn them up.
10 You will destroy their families from the earth.
Their children will not live.
11 They made evil plans against you.
But their traps won’t work.
12 You will make them turn their backs
when you aim your arrows at them.
13 Be supreme, Lord, in your power.
We sing and praise your greatness.
The Lord Appoints a King
A song of David.
110 The Lord said to my Master,
“Sit by me at my right side
until I put your enemies under your control.”
2 The Lord will make you king in Jerusalem over all nations.
And you will rule your enemies in their own countries.
3 Your people will join you on the day you come to power.
You have been dressed in holiness from birth.
You have the freshness of a child.
4 The Lord has made a promise
and will not change his mind.
He said, “You are a priest forever,
a priest like Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is beside you to help you.
When he becomes angry, he will crush kings.
6 He will judge those nations, filling them with dead bodies.
He will defeat rulers all over the world.
7 The king will drink from the brook on the way.
Then he will be strengthened and win the battle.
Thanksgiving for Escaping Death
116 I love the Lord because he listens
to my prayers for help.
2 He paid attention to me.
So I will call to him for help as long as I live.
3 The ropes of death bound me.
The fear of death took hold of me.
I was troubled and sad.
4 Then I called out the name of the Lord.
I said, “Please, Lord, save me!”
5 The Lord is kind and does what is right.
Our God is merciful.
6 The Lord watches over the foolish.
When I was helpless, he saved me.
7 I said to myself, “Relax,
because the Lord takes care of you.”
8 Lord, you have saved me from death.
You have stopped my eyes from crying.
You have kept me from being defeated.
9 So I will walk with the Lord
in the land of the living.
10 I believed, so I said,
“I am completely ruined.”
11 In my distress I said,
“All people are liars.”
12 What can I give the Lord
for all the good things he has given to me?
13 I will give him a drink offering for saving me.
And I will pray to the Lord.
14 In front of all his people,
I will give the Lord what I promised.
15 The death of one that belongs to him
is precious to the Lord.
16 Lord, I am your servant.
I am your servant and the son of your female servant.
You have freed me from my chains.
17 I will give an offering to show thanks to you.
And I will worship the Lord.
18 In front of all his people,
I will give the Lord what I promised.
19 I will do this in the Temple courtyards
in Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
A Hymn of Praise
117 All you nations, praise the Lord.
All you people, praise him.
2 The Lord loves us very much.
His truth is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual. 20 Then he commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The king told the soldiers to throw them into the blazing furnace.
21 So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were tied up and thrown into the blazing furnace. They were still wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes. 22 The king was very angry when he gave the command. And the furnace was made very hot. The fire was so hot that the flames killed the strong soldiers who took Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego there. 23 Firmly tied, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego fell into the blazing furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was very surprised and jumped to his feet. He asked the men who advised him, “Didn’t we tie up only three men? Didn’t we throw them into the fire?”
They answered, “Yes, our king.”
25 The king said, “Look! I see four men. They are walking around in the fire. They are not tied up, and they are not burned. The fourth man looks like a son of the gods.”
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar went to the opening of the blazing furnace. He shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, come out! Servants of the Most High God, come here!”
So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire. 27 When they came out, the princes, assistant governors, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies. Their hair was not burned. Their robes were not burned. And they didn’t even smell like smoke.
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Their God has sent his angel and saved his servants from the fire! These three men trusted their God. They refused to obey my command. And they were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god other than their own. 29 So I now make this law: The people of any nation or language must not say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Anyone who does will be torn apart. And his house will be turned into a pile of stones. No other god can save his people like this.” 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the area of Babylon.
We Must Love Each Other
11 This is the teaching you have heard from the beginning: We must love each other. 12 Do not be like Cain who belonged to the Evil One. Cain killed his brother. He killed his brother because the things Cain did were evil, and the things his brother did were good.
13 Brothers, do not be surprised when the people of this world hate you. 14 We know that we have left death and have come into life. We know this because we love our brothers in Christ. Whoever does not love is still in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer.[a] And you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. 16 This is how we know what real love is: Jesus gave his life for us. So we should give our lives for our brothers. 17 Suppose a believer is rich enough to have all that he needs. He sees his brother in Christ who is poor and does not have what he needs. What if the believer does not help the poor brother? Then the believer does not have God’s love in his heart. 18 My children, our love should not be only words and talk. Our love must be true love. And we should show that love by what we do.
Jesus Is Tempted by the Devil
4 Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. The Spirit led Jesus into the desert 2 where the devil tempted Jesus for 40 days. Jesus ate nothing during that time. When those days were ended, he was very hungry.
3 The devil said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, tell this rock to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written in the Scriptures: ‘A person does not live only by eating bread.’”[a]
5 Then the devil took Jesus and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 The devil said to Jesus, “I will give you all these kingdoms and all their power and glory. It has all been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish. 7 If you worship me, all will be yours.”
8 Jesus answered, “It is written in the Scriptures: ‘You must worship the Lord your God. Serve only him!’”[b]
9 Then the devil led Jesus to Jerusalem and put him on a high place of the Temple. He said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! 10 It is written in the Scriptures:
‘He has put his angels in charge of you.
They will watch over you.’ Psalm 91:11
11 ‘They will catch you with their hands.
And you will not hit your foot on a rock.’” Psalm 91:12
12 Jesus answered, “But it also says in the Scriptures: ‘Do not test the Lord your God.’”[c]
13 After the devil had tempted Jesus in every way, he went away to wait until a better time.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.