Book of Common Prayer
Book 1
Psalms 1—41
Two Ways to Live
1 Happy is the person who doesn’t listen to the wicked.
He doesn’t go where sinners go.
He doesn’t do what bad people do.
2 He loves the Lord’s teachings.
He thinks about those teachings day and night.
3 He is strong, like a tree planted by a river.
It produces fruit in season.
Its leaves don’t die.
Everything he does will succeed.
4 But wicked people are not like that.
They are like useless chaff
that the wind blows away.
5 So the wicked will not escape God’s punishment.
Sinners will not worship God with good people.
6 This is because the Lord protects good people.
But the wicked will be destroyed.
God’s Chosen King
2 Why are the nations so angry?
Why are the people making useless plans?
2 The kings of the earth prepare to fight.
Their leaders make plans together
against the Lord
and his appointed king.
3 “Let’s break the chains that hold us prisoners.
Let’s throw off the ropes that tie us,” the nations say.
4 But the Lord in heaven laughs.
He makes fun of them.
5 Then the Lord warns them.
He frightens them with his anger.
6 He says, “I have appointed my own king!
He will rule in Jerusalem on my holy mountain.”
7 Now I will tell you what the Lord has declared:
He said to me, “You are my son.
Today I have become your father.
8 If you ask me, I will give you the nations.
All the people on earth will be yours.
9 You will make them obey you by punishing them with an iron rod.
You will break them into pieces like pottery.”
10 So, kings, be wise.
Rulers, learn this lesson.
11 Obey the Lord with great fear.
Be happy, but tremble.
12 Show that you are loyal to his son.
Otherwise you will be destroyed.
He can quickly become angry.
But happy are those who trust him for protection.
A Morning Prayer
David sang this when he ran away from his son Absalom.
3 Lord, I have many enemies!
Many people have turned against me.
2 Many people are talking about me.
They say, “God won’t rescue him.” Selah
3 But, Lord, you are my shield.
You are my wonderful God who gives me courage.
4 I will pray to the Lord.
And he will answer me from his holy mountain. Selah
5 I can lie down and go to sleep.
And I will wake up again
because the Lord protects me.
6 Thousands of enemies may surround me.
But I am not afraid.
7 Lord, rise up!
My God, come save me!
You have hit my enemies on the cheek.
You have broken the teeth of the wicked.
8 The Lord can save his people.
Lord, bless your people. Selah
An Evening Prayer
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A song of David.
4 Answer me when I pray to you,
my God who does what is right.
Lift the load that I carry.
Be kind to me and hear my prayer.
2 People, how long will you turn my honor into shame?
You love what is false, and you look for new lies. Selah
3 You know that the Lord has chosen for himself those who are loyal to him.
The Lord listens when I pray to him.
4 When you are angry, do not sin.
Think about these things quietly
as you go to bed. Selah
5 Do what is right as a sacrifice to the Lord.
And trust the Lord.
6 Many people ask,
“Who will give us anything good?
Lord, be kind to us.”
7 But you have made me very happy.
I am happier than they are,
even with all their grain and wine.
8 I go to bed and sleep in peace.
Lord, only you keep me safe.
A Prayer for Fairness
A shiggaion of David which he sang to the Lord about Cush, from the tribe of Benjamin.
7 Lord my God, I trust in you for protection.
Save me and rescue me
from those who are chasing me.
2 Otherwise, they will tear me apart like a lion.
They will rip me to pieces, and no one can save me.
3 Lord my God, what have I done?
Have my hands done something wrong?
4 Have I done wrong to my friend?
Have I stolen from my enemy?
5 If I have, let my enemy chase me and capture me.
Let him trample me into the dust.
Let him bury me in the ground. Selah
6 Lord, rise up in your anger.
Stand up against my enemies’ anger.
Get up and demand fairness.
7 Gather the nations around you,
and rule them from above.
8 Lord, judge the people.
Lord, defend me.
Prove that I am right.
Show that I have done no wrong, God Most High.
9 God, you do what is right.
You know our thoughts and feelings.
Stop those wicked actions done by evil people.
And help those who do what is right.
10 God Most High protects me like a shield.
He saves those whose hearts are right.
11 God judges by what is right.
And God is always ready to punish the wicked.
12 If they do not change their lives,
God will sharpen his sword.
He will string his bow and take aim.
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons.
He has made his flaming arrows.
14 There are people who think up evil.
They plan trouble and tell lies.
15 They dig a hole to trap other people.
But they will fall into it themselves.
16 They themselves will get into trouble.
The violence they cause will hurt only themselves.
17 I praise the Lord because he does what is right.
I sing praises to the name of the Lord Most High.
Israel Is Punished
6 This is what the Lord says:
“For the many crimes Israel is doing,
I will punish them.
For silver they sell people who have done nothing wrong.
They sell poor people for the price of a pair of sandals.
7 They walk on poor people
as if they were dirt.
They refuse to be fair to those who are suffering.
Fathers and sons have physical relations with the same woman.
By doing this they ruin my holy name.
8 As they worship at their altars,
they lie down on clothes taken from poor people.
They make people pay money as punishment.
With that money they buy wine to drink in the house of their god.
9 “But it was I who destroyed the Amorites before them.
The Amorites were tall like cedar trees and as strong as oaks.
But I destroyed them completely.
10 It was I who brought you from the land of Egypt.
For 40 years I led you through the desert.
I led you so I could give you the land of the Amorites.
11 I made some of your sons to be prophets.
I made some of your young men to be Nazirites.
People of Israel, isn’t this true?” says the Lord.
12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine.
You told the prophets not to prophesy my message.
13 Now I will crush you
as a wagon loaded with grain crushes anything beneath it.
14 No one will escape, not even the fastest runner.
Strong men will not be strong enough.
Warriors will not be able to save themselves.
15 Soldiers with bows and arrows will not stand and fight.
Even soldiers who run quickly will not get away.
Soldiers on horses will not escape alive.
16 At that time even the bravest warriors
will run away without their armor,” says the Lord.
Correcting False Teachings
1 From Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ.
To you who have received a faith as valuable as ours. You received that faith because our God and Savior Jesus Christ is fair and does what is right.
2 Grace and peace be given to you more and more. You will have grace and peace because you truly know God and Jesus our Lord.
God Has Given Us Blessings
3 Jesus has the power of God. His power has given us everything we need to live and to serve God. We have these things because we know him. Jesus called us by his glory and goodness. 4 Through his glory and goodness, he gave us the very great and rich gifts he promised us. With those gifts you can share in God’s nature. And so the world will not ruin you with its evil desires.
5 Because you have these blessings, you should try as much as you can to add these things to your lives: to your faith, add goodness; and to your goodness, add knowledge; 6 and to your knowledge, add self-control; and to your self-control, add the ability to hold on; and to your ability to hold on, add service for God; 7 and to your service for God, add kindness for your brothers and sisters in Christ; and to this kindness, add love. 8 If all these things are in you and are growing, they will help you never to be useless. They will help your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ make your lives better. 9 But if anyone does not have these things, he cannot see clearly. He is blind. He has forgotten that he was made clean from his past sins.
10 My brothers, God called you and chose you to be his. Try hard to show that you really are God’s chosen people. If you do all these things, you will never fall. 11 And you will be given a very great welcome into the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That kingdom continues forever.
Jesus Enters Jerusalem as a King
21 Jesus and his followers were coming closer to Jerusalem. But first they stopped at Bethphage at the hill called the Mount of Olives. From there Jesus sent two of his followers into the town. 2 He said to them, “Go to the town you can see there. When you enter it, you will find a donkey tied there with its colt. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkeys, tell him, ‘The Master needs them. He will send them back soon.’” 4 This was to make clear the full meaning of what the prophet said:
5 “Tell the people of Jerusalem,
‘Your king is coming to you.
He is gentle and riding on a donkey.
He is on the colt of a donkey.’” Isaiah 62:11; Zechariah 9:9
6 The followers went and did what Jesus told them to do. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt to Jesus. They laid their coats on the donkeys, and Jesus sat on them. 8 Many people spread their coats on the road before Jesus. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Some of the people were walking ahead of Jesus. Others were walking behind him. All the people were shouting,
“Praise[a] to the Son of David!
God bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord! Psalm 118:26
Praise to God in heaven!”
10 Then Jesus went into Jerusalem. The city was filled with excitement. The people asked, “Who is this man?”
11 The crowd answered, “This man is Jesus. He is the prophet from the town of Nazareth in Galilee.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.