Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer of Faith in Troubled Times
For the director of music. A song of David.
31 Lord, I trust in you.
Let me never be disgraced.
Save me because you do what is right.
2 Listen to me.
Save me quickly.
Be my rock of protection,
a strong city to save me.
3 You are my rock and my protection.
For the good of your name, lead me and guide me.
4 Set me free from the trap they set for me.
You are my protection.
5 I give you my life.
Save me, Lord, God of truth.
6 I hate those who worship false gods.
I trust only in the Lord.
7 I will be glad because of your love.
You saw my suffering.
You knew my troubles.
8 You have not let my enemies defeat me.
You have set me in a safe place.
9 Lord, have mercy. I am in misery.
My eyes are weak from so much crying.
My whole being is tired from grief.
10 My life is ending in sadness.
My years are spent in crying.
My troubles are using up my strength.
My bones are getting weaker.
11 Because of all my troubles, my enemies hate me.
Even my neighbors look down on me.
When my friends see me,
they are afraid and run.
12 I am like a piece of a broken pot.
I am forgotten as if I were dead.
13 I have heard many insults.
Terror is all around me.
They make plans against me.
They want to kill me.
14 Lord, I trust you.
I have said, “You are my God.”
15 My life is in your hands.
Save me from my enemies’ grasp.
Save me from those who are chasing me.
16 Show your kindness to me, your servant.
Save me because of your love.
17 Lord, I called to you.
So do not let me be disgraced.
Let the wicked be disgraced.
Let them lie silent in the grave.
18 With pride and hatred
they speak against the righteous.
So shut their lying lips.
19 How great is your goodness!
You have stored it up for those who fear you.
You do good things for those who trust you.
You do this for all to see.
20 You protect them by your presence
from what people plan against them.
You keep them safe in your shelter
from evil words.
21 Praise the Lord.
His love to me was wonderful
when my city was attacked.
22 In my distress, I said,
“God cannot see me!”
But you heard my prayer
when I cried out to you for help.
23 Love the Lord, all you who belong to him.
The Lord protects those who truly believe.
But he punishes the proud as much as they have sinned.
24 All you who put your hope in the Lord
be strong and brave.
A Prayer for Help
Of David.
35 Lord, battle with those who battle with me.
Fight against those who fight against me.
2 Pick up the shield and armor.
Rise up and help me.
3 Lift up your spears, both large and small,
against those who chase me.
Tell me, “I will save you.”
4 Make those who want to kill me
be ashamed and disgraced.
Make those who plan to harm me
turn back and run away.
5 Make them like chaff blown by the wind.
Let the angel of the Lord chase them away.
6 Let their road be dark and slippery
as the angel of the Lord chases them.
7 For no reason they spread out their net to trap me.
For no reason they dug a pit for me.
8 So let ruin strike them suddenly.
Let them be caught in their own nets.
Let them fall into the pit and die.
9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord.
I will be happy when he saves me.
10 Even my bones will say,
“Lord, who is like you?
You save the weak from the strong.
You save the weak and poor from robbers.”
11 Men without mercy stand up to testify.
They ask me things I do not know.
12 They repay me with evil for the good I have done.
They make me very sad.
13 Yet when they were sick, I put on rough cloth to show my sadness.
I showed my sorrow by going without food.
But my prayers were not answered.
14 I acted as if they were my friends or brothers.
I bowed in sadness as if I were crying for my mother.
15 But when I was in trouble, they gathered and laughed.
They gathered to attack before I knew it.
They insulted me without stopping.
16 They made fun of me and were cruel to me.
They ground their teeth at me in anger.
17 Lord, how long will you watch this happen?
Save my life from their attacks.
Save me from these people who are like lions.
18 I will praise you in the great meeting.
I will praise you among crowds of people.
19 Do not let my enemies laugh at me.
They hate me for no reason.
Do not let them make fun of me.
They have no reason to hate me.
20 Their words are not friendly.
They think up lies about peace-loving people.
21 They speak against me.
They say, “Aha! We saw what you did!”
22 Lord, you have been watching. Do not keep quiet.
Lord, do not leave me alone.
23 Wake up! Come and defend me!
My God and Lord, fight for me!
24 Lord my God, defend me with your justice.
Don’t let them laugh at me.
25 Don’t let them think, “Aha! We got what we wanted!”
Don’t let them say, “We destroyed him.”
26 Let them be ashamed and embarrassed.
They were happy when I hurt.
Cover them with shame and disgrace.
They thought they were better than I was.
27 May my friends sing and shout for joy.
May they always say, “Praise the greatness of the Lord.
He loves to see his servants do well.”
28 I will tell of your goodness.
I will praise you every day.
Immanuel—God Is with Us
10 Then the Lord spoke to Ahaz again. 11 The Lord said, “Ask for a sign to prove to yourself that these things are true. It may be a sign from as deep as the place where the dead are or as high as the heavens.”
12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask for a sign. I will not test the Lord.”
13 Then Isaiah said, “Ahaz, descendant of David, listen very carefully! Isn’t it bad enough that you wear out the patience of people? Do you have to wear out the patience of my God also? 14 But the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin[a] will be pregnant. She will have a son, and she will name him Immanuel.[b] 15 He will be eating milk curds and honey when he learns to reject what is evil and to choose what is good. 16 You are afraid of the kings of Israel and Aram now. But before the child learns what is good and what is evil, the lands of Israel and Aram will be empty. 17 The Lord will bring some troubled times to you. Those troubles will come to your people and to the people of your father’s family. The Lord will bring the king of Assyria to fight against you.
18 “At that time the Lord will whistle to call for the Egyptians. And they will come like flies from the streams of Egypt. The Lord will call for the Assyrians. And they will come like bees from the land of Assyria. 19 These enemies will camp in the deep ravines and in the cliffs. They will camp by the thornbushes and watering holes. 20 The Lord will use Assyria to punish Judah. Assyria will be hired and used like a razor. It will be as if the Lord is shaving the hair from Judah’s head and legs and is shaving off Judah’s beard.
21 “At that time a person will be able to keep only one young cow and two sheep alive. 22 There will be only enough milk for that person to eat milk curds. All who remain in the land will go back to eating only milk curds and honey. 23 In this land there are now vineyards that have 1,000 grapevines. These grapevines are worth about 25 pounds of silver. But these fields will become full of weeds and thorns. 24 The land will become wild and useful only as a hunting ground. 25 People once worked and grew food on these hills. But at that time people will not go there. The land will be filled with weeds and thorns. Only sheep and cattle will go to those places.”
You Are Chosen for Salvation
13 Brothers, the Lord loves you. God chose you from the beginning[a] to be saved. So we must always thank God for you. You are saved by the Spirit that makes you holy and by your faith in the truth. 14 God used the Good News that we preached to call you to be saved. He called you so that you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So, brothers, stand strong and continue to believe the teachings we gave you. We taught you those things in our speaking and in our letter to you.
16-17 We pray that the Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father will comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say. God loved us. Through his grace he gave us a good hope and comfort that continues forever.
Pray for Us
3 And now, brothers, pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s teaching will continue to spread quickly. And pray that people will give honor to that teaching, just as happened with you. 2 And pray that we will be protected from bad and evil people. (Not all people believe in the Lord.)
3 But the Lord is faithful. He will give you strength and protect you from the Evil One. 4 The Lord makes us feel sure that you are doing the things we told you. And we know that you will continue to do those things. 5 We pray that the Lord will lead your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s patience.
The Lord’s Supper
14 When the time came, Jesus and the apostles were sitting at the table. 15 He said to them, “I wanted very much to eat this Passover meal with you before I die. 16 I will never eat another Passover meal until it is given its true meaning in the kingdom of God.”
17 Then Jesus took a cup. He gave thanks to God for it and said, “Take this cup and give it to everyone here. 18 I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine[a] until God’s kingdom comes.”
19 Then Jesus took some bread. He thanked God for it, broke it, and gave it to the apostles. Then Jesus said, “This bread is my body[b] that I am giving for you. Do this to remember me.” 20 In the same way, after supper, Jesus took the cup and said, “This cup shows the new agreement that God makes with his people. This new agreement begins with my blood which is poured out for you.”
Who Will Turn Against Jesus?
21 Jesus said, “One of you will turn against me. His hand is by my hand on the table. 22 The Son of Man will do what God has planned. But how terrible it will be for that man who gives the Son of Man to be killed.”
23 Then the apostles asked each other, “Which one of us would do that to Jesus?”
Be Like a Servant
24 Then the apostles began to argue about which one of them was the most important. 25 But Jesus said to them, “The kings of the world rule over their people. Men who have authority over others are called ‘very important.’ 26 But you must not be like that. The greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the leader should be like the servant. 27 Who is more important: the one sitting at the table or the one serving him? You think the one at the table is more important. But I am like a servant among you!
28 “You men have stayed with me through many struggles. 29 My Father has given me the power to rule. I also give you authority to rule with me. 30 You will eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. You will sit on thrones and judge the 12 tribes of Israel.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.