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!
Moses Dies
34 Then Moses climbed up Mount Nebo. He went from the plains of Moab to the top of Mount Pisgah. It is across from Jericho. From there the Lord showed him all the land. He could see from Gilead to Dan. 2 He could see all of Naphtali and the lands of Ephraim and Manasseh. He could see all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea. 3 He could see the southern desert and the whole Valley of Jericho up to Zoar. Jericho is called the city of palm trees. 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “This is the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I said to them, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’ I have let you look at it, Moses. But you will not cross over there.”
5 Then Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in Moab. It was as the Lord had said. 6 The Lord buried Moses in Moab in the valley opposite Beth Peor. But even today no one knows where his grave is. 7 Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eyes were not weak. And he was still strong. 8 The Israelites cried for Moses for 30 days. They stayed in the plains of Moab until the time of sadness was over.
9 Joshua son of Nun was then filled with wisdom. Moses had put his hands on Joshua. So the Israelites listened to Joshua. And they did what the Lord had commanded Moses.
10 There has never been another prophet like Moses. The Lord knew Moses face to face. 11 The Lord sent Moses to do signs and miracles in Egypt. He did them to the king, to all his officers and to the whole land of Egypt. 12 Moses had great power. He did wonderful things for all the Israelites to see.
14 But before people can trust in the Lord for help, they must believe in him. And before they can believe in the Lord, they must hear about him. And for them to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them. 15 And before someone can go and tell them, he must be sent. It is written, “How beautiful is the person who comes to bring good news.”[a]
16 But not all the Jews accepted the good news. Isaiah said, “Lord, who believed what we told them?”[b] 17 So faith comes from hearing the Good News. And people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ.
18 But I ask: Didn’t people hear the Good News? Yes, they heard—as the Scripture says:
“Their message went out through all the world.
It goes everywhere on earth.” Psalm 19:4
19 Again I ask: Didn’t the people of Israel understand? Yes, they did understand. First, Moses says:
“I will use those who are not a nation to make you jealous.
I will use a nation that does not understand to make you angry.” Deuteronomy 32:21
20 Then Isaiah is bold enough to say:
“I was found by those who were not asking me for help.
I made myself known to people who were not looking for me.” Isaiah 65:1
21 But about Israel God says,
“All day long I stood ready to accept
people who disobey and are stubborn.” Isaiah 65:2
32 “The fig tree teaches us a lesson: When its branches become green and soft, and new leaves begin to grow, then you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time is near, ready to come. 34 I tell you the truth. All these things will happen while the people of this time are still living! 35 The whole world, earth and sky, will be destroyed, but the words I have said will never be destroyed!
When Will Jesus Come Again?
36 “No one knows when that day or time will be. Even the Son[a] and the angels in heaven don’t know. Only the Father knows. 37 When the Son of Man comes, it will be the same as what happened during Noah’s time. 38 In those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking. They were marrying and giving their children to be married. They were still doing those things until the day Noah entered the boat. 39 They knew nothing about what was happening. But then the flood came, and all those people were destroyed. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. 40 Two men will be working together in the field. One man will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding grain with a hand mill.[b] One woman will be taken and the other will be left.
42 “So always be ready. You don’t know the day your Lord will come. 43 Remember this: If the owner of the house knew what time a thief was coming, then the owner would be ready for him. The owner would watch and not let the thief enter his house. 44 So you also must be ready. The Son of Man will come at a time you don’t expect him.
45 “Who is the wise and trusted servant? The master trusts one servant to give the other servants their food at the right time. 46 When the master comes and finds the servant doing his work, the servant will be very happy. 47 I tell you the truth. The master will choose that servant to take care of everything the master owns. 48 But what will happen if the servant is evil and thinks his master will not come back soon? 49 Then that servant will begin to beat the other servants. He will feast and get drunk with others like him. 50 And the master will come when the servant is not ready and is not expecting him. 51 Then the master will punish that servant. He will send him away to be among the hypocrites. There people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.