Book of Common Prayer
God Wants True Worship
A song of Asaph.
50 The God of gods, the Lord, speaks.
He calls the earth from the rising to the setting sun.
2 God shines from Jerusalem,
whose beauty is perfect.
3 Our God comes, and he will not be silent.
A fire burns in front of him,
and a storm surrounds him.
4 He calls to the sky and to the earth
to see him judge his people.
5 He says, “You who worship me, gather around.
You have made an agreement with me, using a sacrifice.”
6 God is the judge.
Even the skies say he is right. Selah
7 God says, “My people, listen to me.
Israel, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
8 I do not scold you for your sacrifices.
You always bring me your burnt offerings.
9 But I do not need the bulls from your stalls
or the goats from your pens.
10 Every animal of the forest is already mine.
The cattle on a thousand hills are mine.
11 I know every bird on the mountains.
Every living thing in the fields is mine.
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you.
The earth and everything on it are mine.
13 I don’t eat the meat of bulls
or drink the blood of goats.
14 Give an offering to show thanks to God.
Give God Most High what you have promised.
15 Call to me in times of trouble.
I will save you, and you will honor me.”
16 But God says to the wicked people,
“Why do you talk about my laws?
Why do you mention my agreement?
17 You hate my teachings.
You turn your back on what I say.
18 When you see a thief, you join him.
You take part in adultery.
19 You don’t stop your mouth from speaking evil.
Your tongue makes up lies.
20 You speak against your brother.
You lie about your mother’s son.
21 I have kept quiet while you did these things.
So you thought I was just like you.
But I will scold you.
I will accuse you to your face.
22 “Think about this, you people who forget God.
Otherwise, I will tear you apart,
and no one will save you.
23 Those people honor me
who give me offerings to show thanks.
And I, God, will save those who do that.”
A Prayer for Protection
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A miktam of David when Saul sent men to watch David’s house to kill him.
59 God, save me from my enemies.
Protect me from those who come against me.
2 Save me from those who do evil.
Save me from murderers.
3 Look, men are waiting to attack me.
Cruel men attack me.
But I have not sinned or done wrong, Lord.
4 I have done nothing wrong, but they are ready to attack me.
Wake up to help me and look.
5 You are the Lord God of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel.
Come and punish those people.
Do not give those traitors any mercy. Selah
6 They come back at night.
Like dogs they growl and roam around the city.
7 Notice what comes from their mouths.
Insults come from their lips.
They say, “Who’s listening?”
8 But, Lord, you laugh at them.
You make fun of all of them.
9 God, my strength, I wait for you.
God, you are my protection.
10 My God loves me, and he will be with me.
He will help me defeat my enemies.
11 Lord, our protector, do not kill them.
If you do, my people will forget.
With your power scatter them
and defeat them.
12 They sin by what they say.
They sin with their words.
They curse and tell lies.
So let their pride trap them.
13 Destroy them in your anger.
Destroy them completely!
Then they will know
that God rules over Israel
and to the ends of the earth. Selah
14 They come back at night.
Like dogs they growl
and roam around the city.
15 They wander about looking for food.
And they howl if they do not find enough.
16 But I will sing about your strength.
In the morning I will sing about your love.
You are my protection,
my place of safety in times of trouble.
17 God, my strength, I will sing praises to you.
God, my protection, you are the God who loves me.
A Prayer After a Defeat
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lily of the Agreement.” A miktam of David. For teaching. When David fought the Arameans of Northwest Mesopotamia and Zobah, and when Joab returned and defeated 12,000 Edomites at the Valley of Salt.
60 God, you have rejected us and scattered us.
You have been angry, but please come back to us.
2 You made the earth shake and crack.
Fix its breaks because it is shaking.
3 You have given your people trouble.
You made us unable to walk straight, like people drunk with wine.
4 You have raised a banner to gather those who fear you.
Now they can escape the enemy. Selah
5 Answer us and save us by your power.
Then the people you love will be rescued.
6 God has said from his Temple,
“When I win, I will divide Shechem
and cut up the Valley of Succoth.
7 Gilead and Manasseh are mine.
Ephraim is like my helmet.
Judah holds my royal scepter.
8 Moab is like my washbowl.
I throw my sandals at Edom.
I shout at Philistia.”
9 Who will bring me to the strong, walled city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 God, surely you have rejected us.
You do not go out with our armies.
11 Help us fight the enemy.
Human help is useless.
12 But we can win with God’s help.
He will defeat our enemies.
Praise God Who Creates and Saves
33 Sing to the Lord, you who do what is right.
Honest people should praise him.
2 Praise the Lord on the harp.
Make music for him on the ten-stringed lyre.
3 Sing a new song to him.
Play well and joyfully.
4 God’s word is true.
Everything he does is right.
5 He loves what is right and fair.
The Lord’s love fills the earth.
6 The sky was made at the Lord’s command.
By the breath from his mouth, he made all the stars.
7 He gathered the water in the sea into a heap.
He made the great ocean stay in its place.
8 All the earth should worship the Lord.
The whole world should fear him.
9 He spoke, and it happened.
He commanded, and it appeared.
10 The Lord upsets the plans of nations.
He ruins all their plans.
11 But the Lord’s plans will stand forever.
His ideas will last from now on.
12 Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord.
Happy are the people he chose for his very own.
13 The Lord looks down from heaven.
He sees every person.
14 From his throne he watches
everyone who lives on earth.
15 He made their hearts.
He understands everything they do.
16 No king is saved by his great army.
No warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 Horses can’t bring victory.
They can’t save by their strength.
18 But the Lord looks after those who fear him.
He watches over those who put their hope in his love.
19 He saves them from death.
He spares their lives in times of hunger.
20 So our hope is in the Lord.
He is our help, our shield to protect us.
21 We rejoice in him.
We trust his holy name.
22 Lord, show your love to us
as we put our hope in you.
7 Then there was a war in heaven. Michael[a] and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But the dragon was not strong enough. He and his angels lost their place in heaven. 9 He was thrown down out of heaven. (The giant dragon is that old snake called the devil or Satan. He leads the whole world the wrong way.) The dragon with his angels was thrown down to the earth.
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Christ have now come.
They have come because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown out.
He accused our brothers day and night before our God.
11 And our brothers defeated him
by the blood of the Lamb’s death
and by the truth they preached.
They did not love their lives so much
that they were afraid of death.
12 So be happy, you heavens
and all who live there!
But it will be terrible for the earth and the sea,
because the devil has come down to you!
He is filled with anger.
He knows that he does not have much time.”
13 The dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth. So he hunted down the woman who had given birth to the son. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of a great eagle. Then she could fly to the place that was prepared for her in the desert. There she would be taken care of for three and a half years. There she would be away from the snake. 15 Then the snake poured water out of its mouth like a river. He poured the water toward the woman, so that the flood would carry her away. 16 But the earth helped her. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that came from the mouth of the dragon. 17 Then the dragon was very angry at the woman. He went off to make war against all her other children. Her children are those who obey God’s commands and have the truth that Jesus taught.
53 When Jesus was leaving, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees began to give him trouble, asking him questions about many things. 54 They were trying to catch Jesus saying something wrong.
Don’t Be Like the Pharisees
12 Many thousands of people had gathered. There were so many people that they were stepping on each other. Before Jesus spoke to them, he said to his followers, “Be careful of the yeast of the Pharisees. They are hypocrites. 2 Everything that is hidden will be shown. Everything that is secret will be made known. 3 The things you say in the dark will be told in the light. The things you have whispered in an inner room will be shouted from the top of the house.”
Fear Only God
4 Then Jesus said to the people, “I tell you, my friends, don’t be afraid of people. People can kill the body, but after that they can do nothing more to hurt you. 5 I will show you the One to fear. You should fear him who has the power to kill you and also to throw you into hell. Yes, he is the One you should fear.
6 “When five sparrows are sold, they cost only two pennies. But God does not forget any of them. 7 Yes, God even knows how many hairs you have on your head. Don’t be afraid. You are worth much more than many sparrows.
Don’t Be Ashamed of Jesus
8 “I tell you, if anyone stands before others and says that he believes in me, then I will say that he belongs to me. I will say this before the angels of God. 9 But if anyone stands before others and says he does not believe in me, then I will say that he does not belong to me. I will say this before the angels of God.
10 “If a person says something against the Son of Man, he can be forgiven. But a person who says bad things against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
11 “When men bring you into the synagogues before the leaders and other important men, don’t worry about how to defend yourself or what to say. 12 At that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.