Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for the King
For the director of music. A song of David.
20 May the Lord answer you in times of trouble.
May the God of Jacob protect you.
2 May he send you help from his Temple.
May he support you from Mount Zion.
3 May he remember all your offerings.
May he accept all your sacrifices. Selah
4 May he give you what you want.
May all your plans succeed.
5 We will shout for joy when you succeed.
We will raise a flag in the name of our God.
May the Lord give you all that you ask for.
6 Now I know the Lord helps his appointed king.
He answers him from his holy heaven.
He saves him with his strong right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots, others in horses.
But we trust the Lord our God.
8 They are overwhelmed and defeated.
But we march forward and win.
9 Lord, save the king!
Answer us when we call for help.
Thanksgiving for the King
For the director of music. A song of David.
21 Lord, the king rejoices because of your strength.
He is so happy when you save him!
2 You gave the king what he wanted.
You did not refuse what he asked for. Selah
3 You put good things before him.
You placed a gold crown on his head.
4 He asked you for life.
And you gave it to him.
His years go on and on.
5 He has great glory because you gave him victories.
You gave him honor and praise.
6 You always gave him blessings.
You made him glad because you were with him.
7 The king truly trusts the Lord.
Because God Most High always loves him,
he will not be overwhelmed.
8 Your hand is against all your enemies.
Those who hate you will feel your power.
9 When you appear, you will burn them like wood in a furnace.
In your anger you will eat them up.
Your fire will burn them up.
10 You will destroy their families from the earth.
Their children will not live.
11 They made evil plans against you.
But their traps won’t work.
12 You will make them turn their backs
when you aim your arrows at them.
13 Be supreme, Lord, in your power.
We sing and praise your greatness.
The Lord Appoints a King
A song of David.
110 The Lord said to my Master,
“Sit by me at my right side
until I put your enemies under your control.”
2 The Lord will make you king in Jerusalem over all nations.
And you will rule your enemies in their own countries.
3 Your people will join you on the day you come to power.
You have been dressed in holiness from birth.
You have the freshness of a child.
4 The Lord has made a promise
and will not change his mind.
He said, “You are a priest forever,
a priest like Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is beside you to help you.
When he becomes angry, he will crush kings.
6 He will judge those nations, filling them with dead bodies.
He will defeat rulers all over the world.
7 The king will drink from the brook on the way.
Then he will be strengthened and win the battle.
Thanksgiving for Escaping Death
116 I love the Lord because he listens
to my prayers for help.
2 He paid attention to me.
So I will call to him for help as long as I live.
3 The ropes of death bound me.
The fear of death took hold of me.
I was troubled and sad.
4 Then I called out the name of the Lord.
I said, “Please, Lord, save me!”
5 The Lord is kind and does what is right.
Our God is merciful.
6 The Lord watches over the foolish.
When I was helpless, he saved me.
7 I said to myself, “Relax,
because the Lord takes care of you.”
8 Lord, you have saved me from death.
You have stopped my eyes from crying.
You have kept me from being defeated.
9 So I will walk with the Lord
in the land of the living.
10 I believed, so I said,
“I am completely ruined.”
11 In my distress I said,
“All people are liars.”
12 What can I give the Lord
for all the good things he has given to me?
13 I will give him a drink offering for saving me.
And I will pray to the Lord.
14 In front of all his people,
I will give the Lord what I promised.
15 The death of one that belongs to him
is precious to the Lord.
16 Lord, I am your servant.
I am your servant and the son of your female servant.
You have freed me from my chains.
17 I will give an offering to show thanks to you.
And I will worship the Lord.
18 In front of all his people,
I will give the Lord what I promised.
19 I will do this in the Temple courtyards
in Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
A Hymn of Praise
117 All you nations, praise the Lord.
All you people, praise him.
2 The Lord loves us very much.
His truth is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!
Water from a Rock
17 The whole Israelite community left the Desert of Sin. They traveled from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim. But there was no water there for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses. They said, “Give us water to drink.”
But Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why are you testing the Lord?”
3 But the people were very thirsty for water. So they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Was it to kill us, our children and our farm animals with thirst?”
4 So Moses cried to the Lord, “What can I do with these people? They are almost ready to kill me with stones.”
5 The Lord said to Moses, “Go ahead of the people of Israel. And take some of the elders of Israel with you. Carry with you the walking stick that you used to strike the Nile River. Now go! 6 I will stand in front of you on a rock at Mount Sinai. Hit that rock with the stick, and water will come out of it. Then the people can drink.” Moses did these things as the elders of Israel watched. 7 Moses named that place Massah[a] because the Israelites tested the Lord. They asked, “Is the Lord with us or not?” He also named it Meribah[b] because they quarreled.
The Amalekites Fight Israel
8 At Rephidim the Amalekites came and fought the Israelites. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some men and go and fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill. I will hold the stick God gave me to carry.”
10 Joshua obeyed Moses and went to fight the Amalekites. At the same time Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held his hands up, the Israelites would win the fight. But when Moses put his hands down, the Amalekites would win. 12 Later, Moses’ arms became tired. So the men put a large rock under Moses, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ hands. Aaron was on one side of Moses, and Hur was on the other side. They held his hands up like this until the sun went down. 13 So Joshua defeated the Amalekites in this battle.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write about this battle in a book so people will remember. And be sure to tell Joshua. Tell him because I will completely destroy the Amalekites from the earth.”
15 Then Moses built an altar. He named it The Lord is my Banner. 16 Moses said, “I lifted my hands toward the Lord’s throne. The Lord will fight against the Amalekites forever.”
Use God’s Gifts Wisely
7 The time is near when all things will end. So keep your minds clear, and control yourselves. Then you will be able to pray. 8 Most importantly, love each other deeply. Love has a way of not looking at others’ sins. 9 Open your homes to each other, without complaining. 10 Each of you received a spiritual gift. God has shown you his grace in giving you different gifts. And you are like servants who are responsible for using God’s gifts. So be good servants and use your gifts to serve each other. 11 Anyone who speaks should speak words from God. The person who serves should serve with the strength that God gives. You should do these things so that in everything God will be praised through Jesus Christ. Power and glory belong to him forever and ever. Amen.
Suffering As a Christian
12 My friends, do not be surprised at the painful things you are now suffering. These things are testing your faith. So do not think that something strange is happening to you. 13 But you should be happy that you are sharing in Christ’s sufferings. You will be happy and full of joy when Christ comes again in glory. 14 When people insult you because you follow Christ, then you are blessed. You are blessed because the glorious Spirit, the Spirit of God, is with you. 15 Do not suffer for murder, theft, or any other crime, nor because you trouble other people. 16 But if you suffer because you are a Christian, then do not be ashamed. You should praise God because you wear that name. 17 It is time for judgment to begin, and it will begin with God’s family. If that judging begins with us, what will happen to those people who do not obey the Good News of God?
18 “It is very hard for a good person to be saved.
Then the wicked person and
the sinner will surely be lost!”[a]
19 So then those who suffer as God wants them to should trust their souls to him. God is the One who made them, and they can trust him. So they should continue to do what is right.
Sadness Will Become Happiness
16 “After a little while you will not see me. And then after a little while you will see me again.”
17 Some of the followers said to each other, “What does Jesus mean when he says, ‘After a little while you will not see me, and then after a little while you will see me again’? And what does he mean when he says, ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They also asked, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
19 Jesus saw that the followers wanted to ask him about this. So Jesus said to the followers, “Are you asking each other what I meant when I said, ‘After a little while you will not see me. And then after a little while you will see me again’? 20 I tell you the truth. You will cry and be sad, but the world will be happy. You will be sad, but your sadness will become joy. 21 When a woman gives birth to a baby, she has pain, because her time has come. But when her baby is born, she forgets the pain. She forgets because she is so happy that a child has been born into the world. 22 It is the same with you. Now you are sad. But I will see you again and you will be happy. And no one will take away your joy. 23 In that day you will not ask me for anything. I tell you the truth. My Father will give you anything you ask for in my name. 24 You have never asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive. And your joy will be the fullest joy.
Victory over the World
25 “I have told you these things, using words that hide the meaning. But the time will come when I will not use words like that to tell you things. I will speak to you in plain words about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask the Father for things in my name. I am saying that I will not need to ask the Father for you. 27 No! The Father himself loves you. He loves you because you have loved me. And he loves you because you have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
29 Then the followers of Jesus said, “You are speaking clearly to us now. You are not using words that are hard to understand. 30 We can see now that you know all things. You can answer a person’s question even before he asks it. This makes us believe that you came from God.”
31 Jesus answered, “So now you believe? 32 Listen to me. A time is coming when you will be scattered. Each of you will be scattered to your own home. That time is now here. You will leave me. I will be alone. But I am never really alone. Why? Because the Father is with me.
33 “I told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world you will have trouble. But be brave! I have defeated the world!”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.