Book of Common Prayer
Praise God for Answering Prayers
For the director of music. A song of praise.
66 Everything on earth, shout with joy to God!
2 Sing about his glory!
Make his praise glorious!
3 Say to God, “Your works are amazing!
Your power is great.
Your enemies fall before you.
4 All the earth worships you.
They sing praises to you.
They sing praises to your name.” Selah
5 Come and see what God has done.
See what amazing things he has done for people.
6 He turned the sea into dry land.
The people crossed the river on foot.
So let us rejoice because of what he did.
7 He rules forever with his power.
He keeps his eye on the nations.
So people should not turn against him. Selah
8 You people, praise our God.
Loudly sing his praise.
9 He protects our lives
and does not let us be defeated.
10 God, you have tested us.
You have purified us like silver.
11 You let us be trapped.
You put a heavy load on us.
12 You let our enemies walk on our heads.
We went through fire and flood.
But you brought us to a place with good things.
13 I will come to your Temple with burnt offerings.
I will give you what I promised.
14 I promised to give you these things
when I was in trouble.
15 I will bring you offerings of fat animals.
And I will offer male sheep, bulls and goats. Selah
16 All of you who fear God, come and listen.
I will tell you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth.
I praised him with my tongue.
18 If I had known of any sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened to me.
19 But God has listened.
He has heard my prayer.
20 Praise God.
He did not ignore my prayer.
He did not hold back his love from me.
Everyone Should Praise God
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A song of praise.
67 God, have mercy on us and bless us.
Show your kindness to us. Selah
2 Then the world will learn your ways.
All nations will learn that you can save.
3 God, the people should praise you.
All people should praise you.
4 The nations should be glad and sing
because you judge people fairly.
You guide all the nations on earth. Selah
5 God, the people should praise you.
All people should praise you.
6 The land has given its crops.
God, our God, blesses us.
7 God blesses us
so people to the ends of the earth will fear him.
God’s Works and Word
For the director of music. A song of David.
19 The heavens tell the glory of God.
And the skies announce what his hands have made.
2 Day after day they tell the story.
Night after night they tell it again.
3 They have no speech or words.
They don’t make any sound to be heard.
4 But their message goes out through all the world.
It goes everywhere on earth.
The sky is like a home for the sun.
5 The sun comes out like a bridegroom from his bedroom.
It rejoices like an athlete eager to run a race.
6 The sun rises at one end of the sky,
and it follows its path to the other end.
Nothing hides from its heat.
7 The Lord’s teachings are perfect.
They give new strength.
The Lord’s rules can be trusted.
They make plain people wise.
8 The Lord’s orders are right.
They make people happy.
The Lord’s commands are pure.
They light up the way.
9 It is good to respect the Lord.
That respect will last forever.
The Lord’s judgments are true.
They are completely right.
10 They are worth more than gold,
even the purest gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
even the finest honey.
11 They tell your servant what to do.
Keeping them brings great reward.
12 No one can see all his own mistakes.
Forgive me for my secret sins.
13 Keep me from the sins that I want to do.
Don’t let them rule me.
Then I can be pure
and free from the greatest of sins.
14 I hope my words and thoughts please you.
Lord, you are my Rock, the one who saves me.
God Protects His People
For the director of music. By alamoth. A song of the sons of Korah.
46 God is our protection and our strength.
He always helps in times of trouble.
2 So we will not be afraid if the earth shakes,
or if the mountains fall into the sea.
3 We will not fear even if the oceans roar and foam,
or if the mountains shake at the raging sea. Selah
4 There is a river which brings joy to the city of God.
This is the holy place where God Most High lives.
5 God is in that city, and so it will not be shaken.
God will help her at dawn.
6 Nations tremble, and kingdoms shake.
God shouts, and the earth crumbles.
7 The Lord of heaven’s armies is with us.
The God of Jacob is our protection. Selah
8 Come and see what the Lord has done.
He has done amazing things on the earth.
9 He stops wars everywhere on the earth.
He breaks all bows and spears
and burns up the chariots with fire.
10 God says, “Be still and know that I am God.
I will be praised in all the nations.
I will be praised throughout the earth.”
11 The Lord of heaven’s armies is with us.
The God of Jacob is our protection. Selah
14 We found some believers there, and they asked us to stay with them for a week. Finally, we came to Rome. 15 The believers in Rome heard that we were there. They came out as far as the Market of Appius[a] and the Three Inns[b] to meet us. When Paul saw them, he was encouraged and thanked God.
Paul in Rome
16 Then we arrived at Rome. There, Paul was allowed to live alone. But a soldier stayed with him to guard him.
17 Three days later Paul sent for the Jewish leaders there. When they came together, he said, “Brothers, I have done nothing against our people. I have done nothing against the customs of our fathers. But I was arrested in Jerusalem and given to the Romans. 18 The Romans asked me many questions. But they could find no reason why I should be killed. They wanted to let me go free, 19 but the Jews there did not want that. So I had to ask to come to Rome to have my trial before Caesar. But I have no charge to bring against my own people. 20 That is why I wanted to see you and talk with you. I am bound with this chain because I believe in the hope of Israel.”
21 The Jews answered Paul, “We have received no letters from Judea about you. None of our Jewish brothers who have come from there brought news about you or told us anything bad about you. 22 We want to hear your ideas. We know that people everywhere are speaking against this religious group.”
23 Paul and the Jews chose a day for a meeting. On that day many more of the Jews met with Paul at the place he was staying. Paul spoke to them all day long, explaining the kingdom of God to them. He tried to persuade them to believe these things about Jesus. He used the law of Moses and the writings of the prophets to do this.
True Wealth
16 Jesus also said to his followers, “Once there was a rich man. He had a manager to take care of his business. Later, the rich man learned that his manager was cheating him. 2 So he called the manager in and said to him, ‘I have heard bad things about you. Give me a report of what you have done with my money. You can’t be my manager any longer!’ 3 Later, the manager thought to himself, ‘What will I do? My master is taking my job away from me! I am not strong enough to dig ditches. I am too proud to beg. 4 I know! I’ll do something so that when I lose my job, people will welcome me into their homes.’
5 “So the manager called in everyone who owed the master any money. He said to the first man, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 The man answered, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ The manager said to him, ‘Here is your bill; sit down quickly and make the bill less. Write 400 gallons.’ 7 Then the manager said to another man, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ The man answered, ‘I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat.’ Then the manager said to him, ‘Here is your bill; you can make it less. Write 800 bushels.’ 8 Later, the master praised the dishonest manager for being smart. Yes, worldly people are smarter with their own kind than spiritual people are.
9 “I tell you, make friends for yourselves using worldly riches. Then, when those things are gone, you will be welcomed in that home that continues forever. 10 Whoever can be trusted with small things can also be trusted with large things. Whoever is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in large things too. 11 If you cannot be trusted with worldly riches, then you will not be trusted with the true riches. 12 And if you cannot be trusted with the things that belong to someone else, then you will not be given things of your own.
13 “No servant can serve two masters. He will hate one master and love the other. Or he will follow one master and refuse to follow the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.