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.
Samuel Goes to Bethlehem
16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you continue to feel sorry for Saul? I have rejected him as king of Israel. Fill your container with olive oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse who lives in Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
2 But Samuel said, “If I go, Saul will hear the news. And he will try to kill me.”
The Lord said, “Take a young calf with you. Say, ‘I have come to offer a sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice. Then I will show you what to do. You must appoint the one I show you.”
4 Samuel did what the Lord told him to do. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of Bethlehem shook with fear. They met him and asked, “Are you coming in peace?”
5 Samuel answered, “Yes, I come in peace. I have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord. Make yourselves holy for the Lord and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he made Jesse and his sons holy for the Lord. And he invited them to come to the sacrifice.
6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab. Samuel thought, “Surely the Lord has appointed this person standing here before him.”
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t look at how handsome Eliab is. Don’t look at how tall he is. I have not chosen him. God does not see the same way people see. People look at the outside of a person, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and told him to pass by Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this man either.” 9 Then Jesse had Shammah pass by. But Samuel said, “No, the Lord has not chosen this one.” 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass by Samuel. But Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.”
11 Then he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”
Jesse answered, “I still have the youngest son. He is out taking care of the sheep.”
Samuel said, “Send for him. We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”
12 So Jesse sent and had his youngest son brought in. He was a fine boy, tanned and handsome.
The Lord said to Samuel, “Go! Appoint him. He is the one.”
13 So Samuel took the container of olive oil. Then he poured oil on Jesse’s youngest son to appoint him in front of his brothers. From that day on, the Lord’s Spirit entered David with power. Samuel then went back to Ramah.
Peter and Cornelius
10 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius. He was an officer in the Italian group of the Roman army. 2 Cornelius was a religious man. He and all the other people who lived in his house worshiped the true God. He gave much of his money to the poor and prayed to God often. 3 One afternoon about three o’clock, Cornelius saw a vision clearly. In the vision an angel of God came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
4 Cornelius stared at the angel. He became afraid and said, “What do you want, Lord?”
The angel said, “God has heard your prayers. He has seen what you give to the poor. And God remembers you. 5 Send some men now to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon. Simon is also called Peter. 6 Simon is staying with a man, also named Simon, who is a leatherworker. He has a house beside the sea.” 7 Then the angel who spoke to Cornelius left. Cornelius called two of his servants and a soldier. The soldier was a religious man who worked for Cornelius. 8 Cornelius explained everything to these three men and sent them to Joppa.
9 The next day as they came near Joppa, Peter was going up to the roof[a] to pray. It was about noon. 10 Peter was hungry and wanted to eat. But while the food was being prepared, he had a vision. 11 He saw heaven opened and something coming down. It looked like a big sheet being lowered to earth by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of animals, reptiles, and birds. 13 Then a voice said to Peter, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.”
14 But Peter said, “No, Lord! I have never eaten food that is unholy or unclean.”
15 But the voice said to him again, “God has made these things clean. Don’t call them ‘unholy’!” 16 This happened three times. Then the sheet was taken back to heaven.
12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. He looked in, but he saw only the cloth that Jesus’ body had been wrapped in. Peter went away to be alone, wondering about what had happened.
On the Road to Emmaus
13 That same day two of Jesus’ followers were going to a town named Emmaus. It is about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking about everything that had happened. 15 While they were discussing these things, Jesus himself came near and began walking with them. 16 (They were not allowed to recognize Jesus.) 17 Then he said, “What are these things you are talking about while you walk?”
The two followers stopped. Their faces were very sad. 18 The one named Cleopas answered, “You must be the only one in Jerusalem who does not know what just happened there.”
19 Jesus said to them, “What are you talking about?”
The followers said, “It is about Jesus of Nazareth. He was a prophet from God to all the people. He said and did many powerful things. 20 Our leaders and the leading priests gave him up to be judged and killed. They nailed him to a cross. 21 But we were hoping that he would free the Jews. It is now the third day since this happened. 22 And today some women among us told us some amazing things. Early this morning they went to the tomb, 23 but they did not find his body there. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels. The angels said that Jesus was alive! 24 So some of our group went to the tomb, too. They found it just as the women said, but they did not see Jesus.”
25 Then Jesus said to them, “You are foolish and slow to realize what is true. You should believe everything the prophets said. 26 They said that the Christ must suffer these things before he enters his glory.” 27 Then Jesus began to explain everything that had been written about himself in the Scriptures. He started with Moses, and then he talked about what all the prophets had said about him.
28 They came near the town of Emmaus, and Jesus acted as if he did not plan to stop there. 29 But they begged him, “Stay with us. It is late; it is almost night.” So he went in to stay with them.
30 Jesus sat down with them and took some bread. He gave thanks for the food and divided it. Then he gave it to them. 31 And then, they were allowed to recognize Jesus. But when they saw who he was, he disappeared. 32 They said to each other, “When Jesus talked to us on the road, it felt like a fire burning in us. It was exciting when he explained the true meaning of the Scriptures.”
33 So the two followers got up at once and went back to Jerusalem. There they found the 11 apostles and others gathered. 34 They were saying, “The Lord really has risen from death! He showed himself to Simon.”
35 Then the two followers told what had happened on the road. They talked about how they recognized Jesus when he divided the bread.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.