Book of Common Prayer
A Sad Complaint
A song of the sons of Korah. For the director of music. By the mahalath leannoth. A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
88 Lord, you are the God who saves me.
I cry out to you day and night.
2 Accept my prayer.
Listen to my cry.
3 My life is full of troubles.
I am nearly dead.
4 They think I am on the way to my grave.
I am like a man with no strength.
5 I have been left as dead,
like a body lying in a grave.
You don’t remember dead people.
They are cut off from your care.
6 You have brought me close to death.
I am almost in the dark place of the dead.
7 You have been very angry with me.
All your waves crush me. Selah
8 You have taken my friends away from me.
You have made them hate me.
I am trapped and cannot escape.
9 My eyes are weak from crying.
Lord, I have prayed to you every day.
I have lifted my hands in prayer to you.
10 Do you show your miracles for the dead?
Do their spirits rise up and praise you? Selah
11 Will your love be told in the grave?
Will your loyalty be told in the place of death?
12 Will your miracles be known in the dark grave?
Will your goodness be known in the land where the dead are forgotten?
13 But, Lord, I have called out to you for help.
Every morning I pray to you.
14 Lord, why do you reject me?
Why do you hide from me?
15 I have been weak and dying since I was young.
I suffer from your terrors, and I am helpless.
16 You have been angry with me.
Your terrors have destroyed me.
17 They surround me daily like a flood.
They are all around me.
18 You have taken away my loved ones and friends.
Darkness is my only friend.
Safe in the Lord
91 Those who go to God Most High for safety
will be protected by God All-Powerful.
2 I will say to the Lord, “You are my place of safety and protection.
You are my God, and I trust you.”
3 God will save you from hidden traps
and from deadly diseases.
4 He will protect you like a bird
spreading its wings over its young.
His truth will be like your armor and shield.
5 You will not fear any danger by night
or an arrow during the day.
6 You will not be afraid of diseases that come in the dark
or sickness that strikes at noon.
7 At your side 1,000 people may die,
or even 10,000 right beside you.
But you will not be hurt.
8 You will only watch what happens.
You will see the wicked punished.
9 The Lord is your protection.
You have made God Most High your place of safety.
10 Nothing bad will happen to you.
No disaster will come to your home.
11 He has put his angels in charge of you.
They will watch over you wherever you go.
12 They will catch you with their hands.
And you will not hit your foot on a rock.
13 You will walk on lions and cobras.
You will step on strong lions and snakes.
14 The Lord says, “If someone loves me, I will save him.
I will protect those who know me.
15 They will call to me, and I will answer them.
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue them and honor them.
16 I will give them a long, full life.
They will see how I can save.”
Thanksgiving for God’s Goodness
A song for the Sabbath day.
92 It is good to praise the Lord,
to sing praises to God Most High.
2 It is good to tell of your love in the morning
and of your loyalty at night.
3 It is good to praise you with the ten-stringed lyre
and with the soft-sounding harp.
4 Lord, you have made me happy by what you have done.
I will sing for joy about what your hands have done.
5 Lord, you have done such great things!
How deep are your thoughts!
6 Stupid people don’t know these things.
Fools don’t understand.
7 Wicked people grow like the grass.
Evil people seem to do well.
But they will be destroyed forever.
8 But, Lord, you will be honored forever.
9 Lord, surely your enemies,
surely your enemies will be destroyed.
All who do evil will be scattered.
10 But you have made me as strong as a wild ox.
You have poured fine oils on me.
11 When I looked, I saw my enemies.
I heard the cries of those who are against me.
12 But good people will grow like palm trees.
They will be tall like the cedar trees of Lebanon.
13 They will be like trees planted in the courtyards of the Lord.
They will grow strong in the courtyards of our God.
14 When they are old, they will still produce fruit.
They will be healthy and fresh.
15 They will say that the Lord is good.
He is my Rock, and there is no wrong in him.
God Calls Samuel
3 The boy Samuel served the Lord under Eli. In those days the Lord did not speak directly to people very often. There were very few visions.
2 Eli’s eyes were so weak he was almost blind. One night he was lying in bed. 3 Samuel was also in bed in the Lord’s Holy Tent. The Ark of the Covenant was in the Holy Tent. God’s lamp was still burning.
4 Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “I am here!” 5 He ran to Eli and said, “I am here. You called me.”
But Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.” So Samuel went back to bed.
6 The Lord called again, “Samuel!”
Samuel again went to Eli and said, “I am here. You called me.”
Again Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.”
7 Samuel did not yet know the Lord. The Lord had not spoken directly to him yet.
8 The Lord called Samuel for the third time. Samuel got up and went to Eli. He said, “I am here. You called me.”
Then Eli realized the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So he told Samuel, “Go to bed. If he calls you again, say, ‘Speak, Lord. I am your servant, and I am listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in bed.
10 The Lord came and stood there. He called as he had before. He said, “Samuel, Samuel!”
Samuel said, “Speak, Lord. I am your servant, and I am listening.”
11 The Lord said to Samuel, “See, I am going to do something in Israel. It will shock those who hear about it. 12 At that time I will do to Eli and his family everything I promised. I will not stop until I have finished. 13 I told Eli I would punish his family forever. I will do it because Eli knew his sons were evil. They spoke against me, but he did not control them. 14 So here is what I promised Eli’s family: ‘Your guilt will never be removed by sacrifice or offering.’”
15 Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the Tent of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli about the vision. 16 But Eli said to him, “Samuel, my son!”
Samuel answered, “I am here.”
17 Eli asked, “What did the Lord say to you? Don’t hide it from me. May God punish you terribly if you hide from me anything he said to you.” 18 So Samuel told Eli everything. He did not hide anything from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord. Let him do what he thinks is best.”
19 The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up. He did not let any of Samuel’s messages fail to come true. 20 Then all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba,[a] knew Samuel was a prophet of the Lord. 21 And the Lord continued to show himself to Samuel at Shiloh. He also showed himself to Samuel through his word.
37 When the people heard this, they were sick at heart. They asked Peter and the other apostles, “What shall we do?”
38 Peter said to them, “Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is for you. It is also for your children and for all who are far away. It is for everyone the Lord our God calls to himself.”
40 Peter warned them with many other words. He begged them, “Save yourselves from the evil of today’s people!” 41 Then those people who accepted what Peter said were baptized. About 3,000 people were added to the number of believers that day. 42 They spent their time learning the apostles’ teaching. And they continued to share, to break bread,[a] and to pray together.
The Believers Share
43 The apostles were doing many miracles and signs. And everyone felt great respect for God. 44 All the believers stayed together. They shared everything. 45 They sold their land and the things they owned. Then they divided the money and gave it to those people who needed it. 46 The believers met together in the Temple every day. They all had the same purpose. They broke bread in their homes, happy to share their food with joyful hearts. 47 They praised God, and all the people liked them. More and more people were being saved every day; the Lord was adding those people to the group of believers.
The Temple Will Be Destroyed
5 Some of the followers were talking about the Temple and how it was decorated with beautiful stones and gifts offered to God.
6 But Jesus said, “The time will come when all that you see here will be destroyed. Every stone will be thrown down to the ground. Not one stone will be left on another!”
7 Some followers asked Jesus, “Teacher, when will these things happen? What will show us that it is time for them to take place?”
8 Jesus said, “Be careful! Don’t be fooled. Many people will come using my name. They will say, ‘I am the Christ’ and, ‘The right time has come!’ But don’t follow them. 9 When you hear about wars and riots, don’t be afraid. These things must happen first. Then the end will come later.”
10 Then he said to them, “Nations will fight against other nations. Kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. 11 There will be great earthquakes, sicknesses, and other terrible things in many places. In some places there will be no food for the people to eat. Fearful events and great signs will come from heaven.
12 “But before all these things happen, people will arrest you and treat you cruelly. They will judge you in their synagogues and put you in jail. You will be forced to stand before kings and governors. They will do all these things to you because you follow me. 13 But this will give you an opportunity to tell about me. 14 Don’t worry about what you will say. 15 I will give you the wisdom to say things so that none of your enemies will be able to show that you are wrong. 16 Even your parents, brothers, relatives and friends will turn against you. They will kill some of you. 17 All people will hate you because you follow me. 18 But none of these things can really harm you. 19 You will save yourselves by continuing strong in your faith through all these things.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.