Book of Common Prayer
The Word of God
119 Happy are the people who live pure lives.
They follow the Lord’s teachings.
2 Happy are the people who keep his rules.
They ask him for help with their whole heart.
3 They don’t do what is wrong.
They follow his ways.
4 Lord, you gave your orders
to be followed completely.
5 I wish I were more loyal
in meeting your demands.
6 Then I would not be ashamed
when I think of your commands.
7 When I learned that your laws are fair,
I praised you with an honest heart.
8 I will meet your demands.
So please don’t ever leave me.
9 How can a young person live a pure life?
He can do it by obeying your word.
10 With all my heart I try to obey you, God.
Don’t let me break your commands.
11 I have taken your words to heart
so I would not sin against you.
12 Lord, you should be praised.
Teach me your demands.
13 My lips will tell about
all the laws you have spoken.
14 I enjoy living by your rules
as people enjoy great riches.
15 I think about your orders
and study your ways.
16 I enjoy obeying your demands.
And I will not forget your word.
17 Do good to me, your servant, so I can live,
so I can obey your word.
18 Open my eyes to see the wonderful things
in your teachings.
19 I am a stranger on earth.
Do not hide your commands from me.
20 I want to study
your laws all the time.
21 You scold proud people.
Those who ignore your commands are cursed.
22 Don’t let me be insulted and hated
because I obey your rules.
23 Even if princes speak against me,
I, your servant, will think about your demands.
24 Your rules give me pleasure.
They give me good advice.
A Prayer Against Liars
For the director of music. By the sheminith. A song of David.
12 Save me, Lord, because the good people are all gone.
No true believers are left on earth.
2 Everyone lies to his neighbors.
They say one thing and mean another.
3 The Lord will stop those lying lips.
He will cut off those bragging tongues.
4 They say, “Our tongues will help us win.
We can say what we wish. No one is our master.”
5 But the Lord says,
“I will now rise up
because the poor are being hurt.
Because of the moans of the helpless,
I will give them the help they want.”
6 The Lord’s words are pure.
They are like silver purified by fire,
like silver purified seven times over.
7 Lord, keep us safe.
Always protect us from such people.
8 The wicked are all around us.
Everyone loves what is wrong.
A Prayer for God to Be Near
For the director of music. A song of David.
13 How long will you forget me, Lord?
How long will you hide from me? Forever?
2 How long must I worry?
How long must I feel sad in my heart?
How long will my enemy win over me?
3 Lord, look at me.
Answer me, my God.
Tell me, or I will die.
4 Otherwise my enemy will say, “I have won!”
Those against me will rejoice that I’ve been defeated.
5 I trust in your love.
My heart is happy because you saved me.
6 I sing to the Lord
because he has taken care of me.
The Unbelieving Fool
For the director of music. Of David.
14 A wicked fool says to himself,
“There is no God.”
Fools are evil. They do terrible things.
None of them does anything good.
2 The Lord looked down from heaven at all the people.
He looked to see if anyone was wise,
if anyone was looking to God for help.
3 But all have turned away.
Together, everyone has become evil.
None of them does anything good.
4 Don’t the wicked understand?
They destroy my people as if they were eating bread.
They do not ask the Lord for help.
5 But the wicked are filled with terror
because God is with those who do what is right.
6 The wicked upset the plans of the poor.
But the Lord will protect the poor.
7 I pray that victory will come to Israel from Mount Zion!
May the Lord give them back their riches.
Then the people of Jacob will rejoice.
And the people of Israel will be glad.
The Lord Will Help Israel
41 The Lord says, “Faraway countries, listen to me.
Let the nations become strong.
Come to me and speak.
We will meet together to decide who is right.
2 “Who caused the man to come from the east?
Who gives the man victories everywhere he goes?
The one who brought him gives nations over to him.
He defeats kings for him.
The man uses his sword, and the kings become like dust.
He uses his bow, and they are blown away like chaff.
3 He chases them and is never hurt.
He goes places where he has never been before.
4 Who caused this to happen?
Who has controlled history since the beginning?
I, the Lord, am the one. I was here at the beginning.
And I will be here when all things are finished.”
5 All you faraway places, look and be afraid.
All you places far away on the earth, shake with fear.
Come close and listen to me.
6 The workers help each other.
They say to each other, “Be strong!”
7 The man who carves wood encourages the man who works with gold.
The workman who smooths the metal with a hammer encourages the man who shapes the metal.
This last workman says, “This metal work is good.”
He nails the statue to a base so it can’t fall over.
Only the Lord Can Save Us
8 The Lord says, “People of Israel, you are my servants.
People of Jacob, I chose you.
You are from the family of my friend Abraham.
9 You were far away on the earth.
I called you from a faraway country.
I said, ‘You are my servants.’
I have chosen you, and I have not turned against you.
10 So don’t worry, because I am with you.
Don’t be afraid, because I am your God.
I will make you strong and will help you.
I will support you with my right hand that saves you.
11 “All those people who are angry with you
will be ashamed and disgraced.
Those who are against you
will disappear and be lost.
12 You will look for your enemies.
But you will not find them.
Those who fought against you
will vanish completely.
13 I am the Lord your God.
I am holding your right hand.
And I tell you, ‘Don’t be afraid.
I will help you.’
14 You few people of Israel who are left,
do not be afraid even though you are weak as a worm.
I myself will help you,” says the Lord.
“I am the one who saves you, the Holy One of Israel.
15 Look, I have made you like a threshing board.
You are new, with many sharp teeth.
So you will walk on mountains and crush them.
You will make the hills like chaff.
16 You will throw them into the air. And the wind will carry them away.
A windstorm will scatter them.
Then you will be happy in the Lord.
You will be proud of the Holy One of Israel.
From Death to Life
2 In the past your spiritual lives were dead because of your sins and the things you did wrong against God. 2 Yes, in the past you lived the way the world lives. You followed the ruler of the evil powers that are above the earth. That same spirit is now working in those who refuse to obey God. 3 In the past all of us lived like them. We lived trying to please our sinful selves. We did all the things our bodies and minds wanted. We should have suffered God’s anger because we were sinful by nature. We were the same as all other people.
4 But God’s mercy is great, and he loved us very much. 5 We were spiritually dead because of the things we did wrong against God. But God gave us new life with Christ. You have been saved by God’s grace. 6 And he raised us up with Christ and gave us a seat with him in the heavens. He did this for those of us who are in Christ Jesus. 7 He did this so that for all future time he could show the very great riches of his grace. He shows that grace by being kind to us in Christ Jesus. 8 I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believe. You did not save yourselves. It was a gift from God. 9 You cannot brag that you are saved by the work you have done. 10 God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would do good works. God had planned in advance those good works for us. He had planned for us to live our lives doing them.
Jesus Heals Many People
29 Jesus and his followers left the synagogue. They all went at once with James and John to the home of Simon[a] and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever. The people there told Jesus about her. 31 So Jesus went to her bed, took her hand, and helped her up. Immediately the fever left her, and she was healed. Then she began serving them.
32 That night, after the sun went down, the people brought to Jesus all who were sick. They also brought those who had demons in them. 33 The whole town gathered at the door of the house. 34 Jesus healed many who had different kinds of sicknesses. He also forced many demons to leave people. But he would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who he was.
35 Early the next morning, Jesus woke and left the house while it was still dark. He went to a place to be alone and pray. 36 Later, Simon and his friends went to look for Jesus. 37 They found him and said, “Everyone is looking for you!”
38 Jesus answered, “We should go somewhere else, to other towns around here. Then I can preach there too. That is the reason I came.” 39 So he traveled everywhere in Galilee. He preached in the synagogues and forced demons to leave people.
Jesus Heals a Sick Man
40 A man who had a harmful skin disease came to Jesus. The man fell to his knees and begged Jesus, “I know that you can heal me if you will.”
41 Jesus felt sorry for the man. So he touched him and said, “I want to heal you. Be healed!” 42 At once the disease left the man, and he was healed.
43 Jesus told the man to go at once. But Jesus warned him strongly, 44 “Don’t tell anyone about what I did for you. But go and show yourself to the priest. And offer a gift to God because you have been healed. Offer the gift that Moses commanded.[b] This will show the people that you are healed.” 45 The man left there, but he told everyone he saw that Jesus had healed him. So the news about Jesus spread. That is the reason Jesus could not enter a town if people saw him. He stayed in places where nobody lived. But people came from all the towns to wherever he was.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.