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.”
The New Beginning
9 Then God blessed Noah and his sons. He said to them, “Have many children. Grow in number and fill the earth. 2 Every animal on earth and every bird in the sky will respect and fear you. So will every animal that crawls on the ground and every fish in the sea respect and fear you. I have given them to you.
3 “Everything that moves, everything that is alive, is yours for food. Earlier I gave you the green plants. And now I give you everything for food. 4 But you must not eat meat that still has blood in it, because blood gives life. 5 I will demand your blood for your lives. That is, I will demand the life of any animal that kills a person. And I will demand the life of anyone who takes another person’s life.
6 “Whoever kills a human being
will be killed by a human being.
This is because God made humans
in his own image.
7 “Noah, I want you and your family to have many children. Grow in number on the earth and become many.”
8 Then God said to Noah and his sons, 9 “Now I am making my agreement with you and your people who will live after you. 10 And I also make it with every living thing that is with you. It is with the birds, the tame animals and the wild animals. It is with all that came out of the boat with you. I make my agreement with every living thing on earth. 11 I make this agreement with you: I will never again destroy all living things by floodwaters. A flood will never again destroy the earth.”
12 And God said, “I am making an agreement between me and you and every living creature that is with you. It will continue from now on. This is the sign: 13 I am putting my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of the agreement between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth, a rainbow appears in the clouds. 15 Then I will remember my agreement. It is between me and you and every living thing. Floodwaters will never again destroy all life on the earth. 16 When the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it. Then I will remember the agreement that continues forever. It is between me and every living thing on the earth.”
17 So God said to Noah, “That rainbow is a sign. It is the sign of the agreement that I made with all living things on earth.”
7 While Jesus lived on earth, he prayed to God and asked God for help. He prayed with loud cries and tears to the One who could save him from death. And his prayer was heard because he left it all up to God. 8 Even though Jesus was the Son of God, he learned to obey by what he suffered. 9 And he became our perfect high priest. He gives eternal salvation to all who obey him. 10 And God made Jesus high priest, a priest like Melchizedek.
Warning Against Falling Away
11 We have much to say about this. But it is hard to explain because you are so slow to understand. 12 You have had enough time so that by now you should be teachers. But you need someone to teach you again the first lessons of God’s message. You still need the teaching that is like milk. You are not ready for solid food. 13 Anyone who lives on milk is still a baby. He knows nothing about right teaching. 14 But solid food is for those who are grown up. They are mature enough to know the difference between good and evil.
16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son. God gave his Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life. 17 God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him. 18 He who believes in God’s Son is not judged guilty. He who does not believe has already been judged guilty, because he has not believed in God’s only Son. 19 People are judged by this fact: I am the Light from God that has come into the world. But men did not want light. They wanted darkness because they were doing evil things. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light. He will not come to the light because it will show all the evil things he has done. 21 But he who follows the true way comes to the light. Then the light will show that the things he has done were done through God.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.