Book of Common Prayer
The Prayer of an Innocent Man
Of David.
26 Lord, defend me.
I have lived an innocent life.
I trusted the Lord and never doubted.
2 Lord, try me and test me.
Look closely into my heart and mind.
3 I see your love.
I live by your truth.
4 I do not spend time with liars.
I do not make friends with people who hide their sin.
5 I hate the company of evil people.
I won’t sit with the wicked.
6 I wash my hands to show I am innocent.
I come to your altar, Lord.
7 I raise my voice in praise.
I tell of all the miracles you have done.
8 Lord, I love the Temple where you live.
It is where your greatness is.
9 Do not kill me with those sinners.
Do not take my life with those murderers.
10 Evil is in their hands.
They do wrong for money.
11 But I have lived an innocent life.
So save me and be kind to me.
12 I stand in a safe place.
Lord, I praise you in the great meeting.
A Prayer in Troubled Times
Of David.
28 Lord, my Rock, I call out to you for help.
Do not be deaf to me.
If you are silent,
I will be like those in the grave.
2 Hear the sound of my prayer,
when I cry out to you for help.
I raise my hands
toward your Most Holy Place.
3 Don’t drag me away with the wicked,
with those who do evil.
They say, “Peace” to their neighbors.
But evil is in their hearts.
4 Pay them back for what they have done.
They have done evil.
Pay them back for what they have done.
Give them their reward.
5 They don’t understand what the Lord has done
or what he has made.
So he will knock them down
and not lift them up.
6 Praise the Lord.
He heard my prayer for help.
7 The Lord is my strength and shield.
I trust him, and he helps me.
I am very happy.
And I praise him with my song.
8 The Lord is powerful.
He gives power and victory to his chosen one.
9 Save your people.
Bless those who are your own.
Be their shepherd and carry them forever.
Wicked Men and a Good God
For the director of music. Of David, the servant of the Lord.
36 Sin speaks to the wicked man in his heart.
He has no fear of or respect for God.
2 He thinks too much of himself.
He doesn’t see his sin and hate it.
3 His words are wicked lies.
He is no longer wise or good.
4 At night he makes evil plans.
What he does leads to nothing good.
He doesn’t refuse things that are evil.
5 Lord, your love reaches to the heavens.
Your loyalty goes to the skies.
6 Your goodness is as high as the mountains.
Your justice is as deep as the great ocean.
Lord, you protect both men and animals.
7 God, your love is so precious!
You protect people as a bird protects her young under her wings.
8 They eat the rich food in your house.
You let them drink from your river of pleasure.
9 You are the giver of life.
Your light lets us enjoy life.
10 Continue to love those who know you.
And continue to do good to those who are good.
11 Don’t let proud people attack me.
Don’t let the wicked force me away.
12 Those who do evil have been defeated.
They are overwhelmed; they cannot do evil any longer.
Life Is Short
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A song of David.
39 I said, “I will be careful how I act.
I will not sin by what I say.
I will be careful what I say
around wicked people.”
2 So I kept very quiet.
I didn’t even say anything good.
But I became even more upset.
3 I became very angry inside.
And the more I thought about it, the angrier I became.
So I spoke:
4 “Lord, tell me when the end will come.
How long will I live?
Let me know how long I have.
5 You have given me only a short life.
My lifetime is like nothing to you.
Everyone’s life is only a breath. Selah
6 A person is like a shadow moving about.
All his work is for nothing.
He collects things, but he doesn’t know who will get them.
7 “So, Lord, what hope do I have?
You are my hope.
8 Save me from all my sins.
Don’t let wicked fools make fun of me.
9 I am quiet. I do not open my mouth.
You are the one who has done this.
10 Quit punishing me.
Your beating is about to kill me.
11 You correct and punish people for their sins.
Like a moth, you destroy what they love.
Everyone’s life is only a breath. Selah
12 “Lord, hear my prayer.
Listen to my cry.
Do not ignore my tears.
I am like a visitor with you.
Like my ancestors, I’m only here a short time.
13 Leave me alone so I can be happy.
Soon I will leave and be no more.”
Saul Plans to Kill David
19 Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Jonathan cared very much for David. 2 So he warned David, “My father Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Watch out in the morning. Hide in a secret place. 3 I will go out and stand with my father in the field where you are hiding. I’ll talk to him about you. Then I’ll let you know what I find out.”
4 Jonathan talked to Saul his father. He said good things about David. Jonathan said, “You are the king. Don’t do wrong to your servant David. He did nothing wrong to you. What he did has helped you greatly. 5 David risked his life when he killed Goliath the Philistine. The Lord won a great victory for all Israel. You saw it, and you were happy. Why would you do wrong against David? He’s innocent. There’s no reason to kill him!”
6 Saul listened to Jonathan. Then he made this promise: “As surely as the Lord lives, David won’t be put to death.”
7 So Jonathan called to David. He told David everything that had been said. And he brought David to Saul. So David was with Saul as before.
8 When war broke out again, David went out to fight the Philistines. He defeated them, and they ran away from him.
9 But once again an evil spirit from the Lord entered Saul. He was sitting in his house, and he had his spear in his hand. David was playing the harp. 10 Saul tried to pin David to the wall with his spear. But David moved away from him. So Saul’s spear went into the wall. And David ran away that night.
11 Saul sent men to David’s house. They watched it, wanting to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, warned him. She said, “Tonight you must run away to save your own life. If you don’t, you will be killed tomorrow morning.” 12 Then she let David down out of a window. So he ran away and escaped. 13 Then Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed. She covered it with clothes and put goats’ hair at its head.
14 Saul sent messengers to take David prisoner. But Michal said, “He is sick.”
15 The men went and told Saul, but he sent them back to see David. He told them, “Bring him to me on his bed so I can kill him.”
16 But when the messengers entered David’s house, they found it was just an idol on the bed. Its hair was goats’ hair.
17 Saul said to Michal, “Why did you trick me this way? You let my enemy go. He has run away!”
Michal answered Saul, “David told me if I did not help him escape, he would kill me.”
18 After David had escaped from Saul, he went to Samuel at Ramah. He told Samuel everything Saul had done to him. Then David and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there.
Herod Agrippa Hurts the Church
12 During that same time King Herod began to do terrible things to some who belonged to the church. 2 He ordered James, the brother of John, to be killed by the sword. 3 Herod saw that the Jews liked this, so he decided to arrest Peter, too. (This happened during the time of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.)
4 After Herod arrested Peter, he put him in jail and handed him over to be guarded by 16 soldiers. Herod planned to bring Peter before the people for trial after the Passover Feast. 5 So Peter was kept in jail. But the church kept on praying to God for him.
Peter Leaves the Jail
6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping. He was between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Other soldiers were guarding the door of the jail. 7 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord stood there. A light shined in the room. The angel touched Peter on the side and woke him up. The angel said, “Hurry! Get up!” And the chains fell off Peter’s hands. 8 The angel said to him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And so Peter did this. Then the angel said, “Put on your coat and follow me.” 9 So the angel went out, and Peter followed him. Peter did not know if what the angel was doing was real. He thought he might be seeing a vision. 10 They went past the first and the second guard. They came to the iron gate that separated them from the city. The gate opened itself for them. They went through the gate and walked down a street. And the angel suddenly left him.
11 Then Peter realized what had happened. He thought, “Now I know that the Lord really sent his angel to me. He rescued me from Herod and from all the things the Jewish people thought would happen.”
12 When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary. She was the mother of John. (John was also called Mark.) Many people were gathered there, praying. 13 Peter knocked on the outside door. A servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it. 14 She recognized Peter’s voice, and she was very happy. She even forgot to open the door. She ran inside and told the group, “Peter is at the door!”
15 They said to her, “You are crazy!” But she kept on saying that it was true. So they said, “It must be Peter’s angel.”
16 Peter continued to knock. When they opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. 17 Peter made a sign with his hand to tell them to be quiet. He explained how the Lord led him out of the jail. And he said, “Tell James and the other believers what happened.” Then he left to go to another place.
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man
2 A few days later, Jesus came back to Capernaum. The news spread that he was home. 2 So many people gathered to hear him preach that the house was full. There was no place to stand, not even outside the door. Jesus was teaching them. 3 Some people came, bringing a paralyzed man to Jesus. Four of them were carrying the paralyzed man. 4 But they could not get to Jesus because of the crowd. So they went to the roof above Jesus and made a hole in the roof. Then they lowered the mat with the paralyzed man on it. 5 Jesus saw that these men had great faith. So he said to the paralyzed man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Some of the teachers of the law were sitting there. They saw what Jesus did, and they said to themselves, 7 “Why does this man say things like that? He is saying things that are against God. Only God can forgive sins.”
8 At once Jesus knew what these teachers of the law were thinking. So he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to tell this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to tell him, ‘Stand up. Take your mat and walk’? 10 But I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So Jesus said to the paralyzed man, 11 “I tell you, stand up. Take your mat and go home.” 12 Immediately the paralyzed man stood up. He took his mat and walked out while everyone was watching him.
The people were amazed and praised God. They said, “We have never seen anything like this!”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.