Book of Common Prayer
A Cry for Help
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” A song of David.
69 God, save me.
The water has risen to my neck.
2 I’m sinking down into the mud.
There is nothing to stand on.
I am in deep water.
The flood covers me.
3 I am tired from calling for help.
My throat is sore.
My eyes are tired from waiting
for God to help me.
4 There are more people who hate me for no reason
than hairs on my head.
Those who want to destroy me are powerful.
My enemies are liars.
They make me pay back
what I did not steal.
5 God, you know what I have done wrong.
I cannot hide my guilt from you.
6 Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies,
do not let those who hope in you be ashamed because of me.
God of Israel,
do not let your worshipers
be disgraced because of me.
7 For you, I carry this shame.
My face is covered with disgrace.
8 I am like a stranger to my brothers.
I am like a foreigner to my mother’s sons.
9 My strong love for your Temple completely controls me.
When people insult you, it hurts me.
10 When I cry and go without food,
they make fun of me.
11 When I wear rough cloth to show my sadness,
they joke about me.
12 They make fun of me in public places.
The drunkards make up songs about me.
13 But I pray to you, Lord.
I pray that you will accept me.
God, because of your great love, answer me.
You are truly able to save.
14 Pull me from the mud.
Do not let me sink.
Save me from those who hate me
and from the deep water.
15 Do not let the flood drown me.
Do not let the deep water swallow me.
Do not let the grave close its mouth over me.
16 Lord, answer me because your love is so good.
Because of your great kindness, turn to me.
17 Do not hide from me, your servant.
I am in trouble. Hurry to help me!
18 Come near and save me.
Rescue me from my enemies.
19 You see my shame and disgrace.
You know all my enemies and what they have said.
20 Insults have broken my heart.
I am weak.
I looked for sympathy, but there was none.
I found no one to comfort me.
21 They put poison in my food.
They gave me vinegar to drink.
22 Let their own feasts cause their ruin.
Let their feasts trap them and pay them back.
23 Let their eyes be closed so they cannot see.
Let their backs be forever weak from troubles.
24 Pour your anger out on them.
Show them how angry you are.
25 May their place be empty.
Leave no one to live in their tents.
26 They chase after those you have hurt.
They talk about the pain of those you have wounded.
27 Charge them with crime after crime.
Do not let them have anything good.
28 Wipe their names from the book of life.
Do not list them with those who do what is right.
29 I am sad and hurting.
God, save me and protect me.
30 I will praise God in a song.
I will honor him by giving thanks.
31 That will please the Lord more than offering him cattle.
It will please him more than the sacrifice of a bull with horns and hooves.
32 People who are not proud will see this and be glad.
Be encouraged, you who worship God.
33 The Lord listens to those in need.
He does not look down on captives.
34 Heaven and earth should praise him.
The seas and everything in them should also.
35 God will save Jerusalem.
He will rebuild the cities of Judah.
Then people will live there and own the land.
36 The descendants of his servants will inherit that land.
Those who love him will live there.
Book 3
Psalms 73—89
Should the Wicked Be Rich?
A song of Asaph.
73 God is truly good to Israel,
to those who have pure hearts.
2 But I had almost stopped believing this truth.
I had almost lost my faith
3 because I was jealous of proud people.
I saw wicked people doing well.
4 They are not suffering.
They are healthy and strong.
5 They don’t have troubles like the rest of us.
They don’t have problems like other people.
6 So they wear pride like a necklace.
They put on violence as their clothing.
7 They are looking for profits.
They do not control their selfish desires.
8 They make fun of others and speak evil.
Proudly they speak of hurting others.
9 They brag to the sky.
Their mouths gossip on the earth.
10 So their people turn to them
and give them whatever they want.
11 They say, “How can God know?
What does God Most High know?”
12 These people are wicked,
always at ease and getting richer.
13 So why have I kept my heart pure?
Why have I kept my hands from doing wrong?
14 I have suffered all day long.
I have been punished every morning.
15 God, if I had decided to talk about this,
I would have let your people down.
16 I tried to understand all this.
But it was too hard for me to see
17 until I went to the Temple of God.
Then I understood what will happen to them.
18 You have put them in danger.
You cause them to be destroyed.
19 They are destroyed in a moment.
They are swept away by terrors.
20 It will be like waking from a dream.
Lord, when you come, they will disappear.
21 When my heart was sad and
I was angry,
22 I was senseless and stupid.
I acted like an animal toward you.
23 But I am always with you.
You have held my hand.
24 You guide me with your advice.
And later you will receive me in honor.
25 I have no one in heaven but you.
I want nothing on earth besides you.
26 My mind and my body may become weak.
But God is my strength.
He is mine forever.
27 Those who are far from God will die.
You destroy those who are unfaithful.
28 But I am close to God, and that is good.
The Lord God is my protection.
I will tell all that you have done.
27 Praise the Lord, the God of our ancestors. He caused the king to want to honor the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. 28 The Lord has shown me, Ezra, his love. He did this before the king, those who advise the king and the royal officers. The Lord my God was helping me. So I had courage. I gathered the leaders of Israel to return with me.
21 There by the Ahava Canal, I announced we would all give up eating. We would make ourselves humble before our God. And we would ask God for a safe trip for ourselves, our children and all our possessions. 22 I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen. They could have protected us from enemies on the road. But we had said to the king, “Our God helps everyone who obeys him. But God is very angry with all who reject him.” 23 So we gave up eating and prayed to our God about our trip. He answered our prayers.
24 Then I chose 12 of the priests who were leaders. They were Sherebiah and Hashabiah and 10 of their relatives. 25 I weighed the offering of silver and gold. And I weighed the things given for the Temple of our God. I gave them to the 12 priests I had chosen. The king, the people who advised him, his officers and all the Israelites there with us had given these things for the Temple. 26 I weighed out and gave them about 50,000 pounds of silver, about 7,500 pounds of silver objects and about 7,500 pounds of gold. 27 I gave them 20 gold bowls that weighed about 19 pounds. And I gave them 2 fine pieces of polished bronze that were as valuable as gold.
28 Then I said to the priests, “You and these things belong to the Lord for his service. The silver and gold are gifts to the Lord, the God of your ancestors. 29 Guard these things carefully. In Jerusalem, weigh them in front of the leading priests, Levites and the leaders of the family groups of Israel. Do this in the rooms of the Temple of the Lord.” 30 So the priests and Levites took the silver, the gold and the special things that had been weighed out. They were to take them to the Temple of our God in Jerusalem.
31 On the twelfth day of the first month we left the Ahava Canal. We started toward Jerusalem. Our God helped us. He protected us from enemies and robbers along the way. 32 Then we arrived in Jerusalem. We rested there three days.
33 On the fourth day we weighed out the silver, the gold and the special things in the Temple of our God. We handed them to the priest Meremoth son of Uriah. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with Meremoth. Also the Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui were with them. 34 We checked everything by number and by weight. And the total weight was written down at that time.
35 Then the captives who returned made burnt offerings to the God of Israel. They sacrificed 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 male sheep and 77 male lambs. All these animals were burned as sacrifices to the Lord. For a sin offering to the Lord there were 12 male goats. 36 They took King Artaxerxes’ orders to the royal officers and to the governors west of the Euphrates. Then these men gave help to the people and the Temple of God.
The Last Troubles
15 Then I saw another wonder in heaven. It was great and amazing. There were seven angels bringing seven troubles. These are the last troubles, because after these troubles God’s anger is finished.
2 I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. All of those who had won the victory over the beast and his idol and over the number of his name were standing by the sea. They had harps that God had given them. 3 They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:
“You do great and wonderful things, Psalm 111:2
Lord God, the God of heaven’s armies. Amos 3:13
Everything the Lord does is right and true, Psalm 145:17
King of the nations.[a]
4 Everyone will respect you, Lord. Jeremiah 10:7
They will honor you.
Only you are holy.
All people will come
and worship you. Psalm 86:9-10
This is because he is a faithful God who does no wrong.
He is right and fair.” Deuteronomy 32:4
5 After this I saw the temple (the Tent of the Agreement) in heaven. The temple was opened. 6 And the seven angels bringing the seven troubles came out of the temple. They were dressed in clean, shining linen. They wore golden bands tied around their chests. 7 Then one of the four living things gave seven golden bowls to the seven angels. The bowls were filled with the anger of God, who lives forever and ever. 8 The temple was filled with smoke from the glory and the power of God. No one could enter the temple until the seven troubles of the seven angels were finished.
More Than 5,000 People Fed
13 When Jesus heard what happened to John, Jesus left in a boat. He went to a lonely place by himself. But when the crowds heard about it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus arrived, he saw a large crowd. He felt sorry for them and healed those who were sick.
15 Late that afternoon, his followers came to Jesus and said, “No one lives in this place. And it is already late. Send the people away so they can go to the towns and buy food for themselves.”
16 Jesus answered, “They don’t need to go away. You give them some food to eat.”
17 The followers answered, “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish.”
18 Jesus said, “Bring the bread and the fish to me.” 19 Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves of bread and the two fish. Then he looked to heaven and thanked God for the food. Jesus divided the loaves of bread. He gave them to his followers, and they gave the bread to the people. 20 All the people ate and were satisfied. After they finished eating, the followers filled 12 baskets with the pieces of food that were not eaten. 21 There were about 5,000 men there who ate, as well as women and children.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.