Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer Against the Enemies
A song of Asaph.
83 God, do not keep quiet.
God, do not be silent or still.
2 Your enemies are making plans.
Those who hate you are getting ready to attack.
3 They are making plans against your people.
They plan to hurt those you love.
4 They say, “Come, let’s destroy them as a nation.
Then no one will remember the name ‘Israel’ anymore.”
5 They are united in their plan.
These have made an agreement against you:
6 the families of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
7 the people of Byblos, Ammon, Amalek,
Philistia and Tyre.
8 Even Assyria has joined them
to help Ammon and Moab, the descendants of Lot. Selah
9 God, do to them what you did to Midian.
Do what you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.
10 They died at Endor.
Their bodies rotted on the ground.
11 Do to their important leaders what you did to Oreb and Zeeb.
Do to their princes what you did to Zebah and Zalmunna.
12 They said, “Let’s take for ourselves
the pasturelands that belong to God.”
13 My God, make them like the tumbleweed,
like chaff blown away by the wind.
14 Be like a fire that burns a forest
or like flames that blaze through the hills.
15 Chase them with your storm.
Frighten them with your wind.
16 Cover them with shame.
Then people will look for you, Lord.
17 Make them afraid and ashamed forever.
Disgrace them and destroy them.
18 Then they will know that you are the Lord.
They will know that only you are God Most High over all the earth.
Praise God Who Helps the Weak
146 Praise the Lord!
My whole being, praise the Lord.
2 I will praise the Lord all my life.
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your trust in princes
or other people, who cannot save you.
4 When people die, they are buried.
Then all of their plans come to an end.
5 Happy are those who are helped by the God of Jacob.
Their hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in it.
He remains loyal forever.
7 The Lord does what is fair for those who have been wronged.
He gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free.
8 The Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord lifts up people who are in trouble.
The Lord loves those who do right.
9 The Lord protects the foreigners.
He defends the orphans and widows.
But he overthrows the wicked.
10 The Lord will be King forever.
Jerusalem, your God is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!
Praise God Who Helps His People
147 Praise the Lord!
It is good to sing praises to our God.
It is good and pleasant to praise him.
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem.
He brings back the scattered Israelites who were taken captive.
3 He heals the brokenhearted.
He bandages their wounds.
4 He counts the stars
and names each one.
5 Our Lord is great and very powerful.
There is no limit to what he knows.
6 The Lord defends those who are not proud.
But he throws the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing praises to the Lord.
Praise our God with harps.
8 He fills the sky with clouds.
He sends rain to the earth.
He makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He gives food to cattle
and to the little birds that call.
10 He is not pleased by the strength of a horse
or the power of a man.
11 The Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
with those who trust his love.
12 Jerusalem, praise the Lord.
Jerusalem, praise your God.
13 He makes your city gates strong.
He blesses the people inside.
14 He brings peace to your country.
He fills you with the finest grain.
15 He gives a command to the earth,
and it quickly obeys him.
16 He spreads the snow like wool.
He scatters the frost like ashes.
17 He throws down hail like rocks.
No one can stand the cold he sends.
18 Then he gives a command, and it melts.
He sends the breezes, and the waters flow.
19 He gave his word to Jacob.
He gave his laws and demands to Israel.
20 He didn’t do this for any other nation.
They don’t know his laws.
Praise the Lord!
A Prayer for the Nation
For the director of music. A song of the sons of Korah.
85 Lord, you have been kind to your land.
You gave the people of Jacob back their riches.
2 You forgave the guilt of the people.
You covered all their sins. Selah
3 You stopped all your anger.
You stopped your strong anger.
4 God our Savior, bring us back again.
Stop being angry with us.
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you stay angry from now on?
6 Won’t you give us life again?
Your people would rejoice in you.
7 Lord, show us your love.
Save us.
8 I will listen to God the Lord.
He has ordered peace for his people who worship him.
Don’t let them go back to foolishness.
9 God will soon save those who respect him.
And his greatness will be seen in our land.
10 Love and truth will belong to God’s people.
Goodness and peace will be theirs.
11 On earth people will be loyal to God.
And God’s goodness will shine down from heaven.
12 The Lord will give his goodness.
And the land will give its crops.
13 Goodness will go before God
and prepare the way for him.
A Cry for Help
A prayer of David.
86 Lord, listen to me and answer me.
I am poor and helpless.
2 Protect me, because I worship you.
My God, save me, your servant.
I trust in you.
3 Lord, be merciful to me.
I have called to you all day.
4 Give happiness to me, your servant.
Lord, I give my life to you.
5 Lord, you are kind and forgiving.
You have great love for those who call to you.
6 Lord, hear my prayer.
Listen when I ask for mercy.
7 I call to you in times of trouble.
You certainly will answer me.
8 Lord, there is no god like you.
There are no works like yours.
9 Lord, all the nations you have made
will come and worship you.
They will honor you.
10 You are great, and you do miracles.
Only you are God.
11 Lord, teach me what you want me to do.
And I will live by your truth.
Teach me to respect you completely.
12 Lord, my God, I will praise you with all my heart.
I will honor your name forever.
13 You have great love for me.
You have saved me from death.
14 God, proud men turn against me.
A gang of cruel men are trying to kill me.
They do not respect you.
15 But Lord, you are a God who shows mercy and is kind.
You don’t become angry quickly.
You have great love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and be merciful.
Give me, your servant, strength.
Save me, the son of your female servant.
17 Show me a sign of your goodness.
When my enemies look, they will be ashamed.
You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
Jehu Is Chosen King
9 Elisha called a man from the group of the prophets. Elisha said, “Tighten your clothes around you. And take this small bottle of olive oil in your hand. Go to Ramoth in Gilead. 2 When you arrive, find Jehu son of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat is the son of Nimshi. Go in and make Jehu get up from among his brothers. Take him to an inner room. 3 Take the bottle and pour the oil on Jehu’s head. Say, ‘This is what the Lord says: I have appointed you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and run away. Don’t wait!”
4 So the young man, the prophet, went to Ramoth in Gilead. 5 When he arrived, he saw the officers of the army sitting together. He said, “Commander, I have a message for you.”
Jehu asked, “For which one of us?”
The young man said, “For you, commander.”
6 Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the young prophet poured the olive oil on Jehu’s head. He said to Jehu, “This is what the Lord of Israel says: ‘I have appointed you king over the Lord’s people, Israel. 7 You must destroy the family of Ahab your master. I will punish Jezebel for the deaths of my servants the prophets. And I will punish her for all the Lord’s servants who were murdered. 8 So all Ahab’s family will die. I will not let any male child in Ahab’s family live in Israel. It does not matter if he is a slave or a free person. 9 I will make Ahab’s family like the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat. They will be like the family of Baasha son of Ahijah. 10 The dogs will eat Jezebel in the portion of land at Jezreel. And no one will bury her.’”
Then the young prophet opened the door and ran away.
11 Jehu went back to his master’s officers. One of them said to Jehu, “Is everything all right? Why did this crazy man come to you?”
Jehu answered, “You know the man and how he talks.”
12 They answered, “That’s not true! Tell us.”
Jehu said, “He said, ‘This is what the Lord says: I have appointed you to be king over Israel.’”
13 Then the officers hurried. Each man took off his own coat. They put them on the stairs for Jehu. Then they blew the trumpet. They said, “Jehu is king!”
Joram and Ahaziah Are Killed
14 So Jehu son of Jehoshaphat made plans against Joram. (Jehoshaphat was the son of Nimshi.) Now Joram and all Israel had been defending Ramoth in Gilead from Hazael king of Aram. 15 But King Joram had to return to Israel to heal from the injuries the Arameans had given him. He received these injuries when he fought against Hazael king of Aram.
Jehu said, “If you agree with this, don’t let anyone leave the city. They might tell the news in Jezreel.” 16 Then he got into his chariot and set out for Jezreel. Joram was resting there. And Ahaziah king of Judah had gone down to see him.
Use Your Bodies for God’s Glory
12 “I am allowed to do all things.” But not all things are good for me to do. “I am allowed to do all things.” But I must not do those things that will make me their slave. 13 “Food is for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” Yes. But God will destroy them both. The body is not for sexual immorality. The body is for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. 14 By God’s power God raised the Lord Jesus from death. And God will also raise us from death. 15 Surely you know that your bodies are parts of Christ himself. So I must never take parts of Christ and join them to a prostitute! 16 It is written in the Scriptures, “The two people will become one body.”[a] So you should know that a man who joins himself with a prostitute becomes one with her in body. 17 But the one who joins himself with the Lord is one with the Lord in spirit.
18 So run away from sexual immorality. Every other sin that a person does is outside the body. But those who are sexually immoral sin against their own bodies. 19 You should know that your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is in you. You have received the Holy Spirit from God. You do not own yourselves. 20 You were bought by God for a price. So honor God with your bodies.
Jesus Teaches About Giving
6 “Be careful! When you do good things, don’t do them in front of people to be seen by them. If you do that, then you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “When you give to the poor, don’t be like the hypocrites. They blow trumpets before they give so that people will see them. They do that in the synagogues and on the streets. They want other people to honor them. I tell you the truth. Those hypocrites already have their full reward. 3 So when you give to the poor, give very secretly. Don’t let anyone know what you are doing. 4 Your giving should be done in secret. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and he will reward you.
Jesus Teaches About Prayer
5 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites. They love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners and pray loudly. They want people to see them pray. I tell you the truth. They already have their full reward. 6 When you pray, you should go into your room and close the door. Then pray to your Father who cannot be seen. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and he will reward you.
Jesus Teaches About Worship
16 “When you give up eating,[a] don’t put on a sad face like the hypocrites. They make their faces look strange to show people that they are giving up eating. I tell you the truth, those hypocrites already have their full reward. 17 So when you give up eating, comb your hair and wash your face. 18 Then people will not know that you are giving up eating. But your Father, whom you cannot see, will see you. Your Father sees what is done in secret, and he will reward you.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.