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.
Dangers of Being Foolish
6 My child, be careful about giving a guarantee for somebody else.
Be careful about promising to pay what someone else owes.
2 You might get trapped by what you say.
You might be caught by your own words.
3 My child, you might do this and be under somebody’s control.
Then here is how to get free.
Go to your neighbor and don’t be proud.
Beg him to free you from your promise.
4 Don’t go to sleep.
Don’t even rest your eyes.
5 But free yourself like a deer running from a hunter.
Free yourself like a bird flying away from a trapper.
6 Go watch the ants, you lazy person.
Watch what they do and be wise.
7 Ants have no commander.
They have no leader or ruler.
8 But they store up food in the summer.
They gather their supplies at harvest.
9 How long will you lie there, you lazy person?
When will you get up from sleeping?
10 You sleep a little; you take a nap.
You fold your hands and rest.
11 So you will be as poor as if you had been robbed.
You will have as little as if you had been held up.
12 Some people are wicked and no good.
They go around telling lies.
13 They wink with their eyes and signal with their feet.
They make signs with their fingers.
14 They make evil plans in their hearts.
They are always causing trouble.
15 So trouble will strike them in an instant.
Suddenly they will be hurt beyond cure.
16 There are six things the Lord hates.
There are seven things he cannot stand:
17 a proud look,
a lying tongue,
hands that kill innocent people,
18 a mind that thinks up evil plans,
feet that are quick to do evil,
19 a witness who tells lies
and a man who causes trouble among brothers.
Faith in the Son of God
5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is God’s child. The person who loves the Father also loves the Father’s children. 2 How do we know that we love God’s children? We know because we love God and we obey his commands. 3 Loving God means obeying his commands. And God’s commands are not too hard for us. 4 Everyone who is a child of God has the power to win against the world. It is our faith that wins the victory against the world. 5 So the one who conquers the world is the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
6 Jesus Christ is the One who came with water[a] and with blood.[b] He did not come by water only. He came by both water and blood. And the Spirit says that this is true. The Spirit is the truth. 7 So there are three witnesses:[c] 8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood. These three witnesses agree. 9 We believe people when they say something is true. But what God says is more important. And he has told us the truth about his own Son. 10 Anyone who believes in the Son of God has the truth that God told us. Anyone who does not believe makes God a liar. He does not believe what God told us about his Son. 11 This is what God told us: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life. But the person who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
16 “What can I say about the people who live today? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace. One group calls to the other,
17 ‘We played music for you, but you did not dance;
we sang a sad song, but you did not cry.’
18 John came, and he did not eat like other people or drink wine. And people say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came, eating and drinking wine, and people say, ‘Look at him! He eats too much and drinks too much. He is a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.”’ But wisdom is proved to be right by the things it does.”
Jesus Warns Unbelievers
20 Then Jesus criticized the cities where he did most of his miracles. He criticized them because the people there did not change their lives and stop sinning. 21 Jesus said, “How terrible for you, Korazin! How terrible for you, Bethsaida! I did many miracles in you. If those same miracles had happened in Tyre and Sidon,[a] then the people there would have changed their lives a long time ago. They would have worn rough cloth and put ashes on themselves to show that they had changed. 22 But I tell you, on the Judgment Day it will be worse for you than for Tyre and Sidon. 23 And you, Capernaum,[b] will you be lifted up to heaven? No. You will be thrown down to the depths. I did many miracles in you. If those same miracles had happened in Sodom,[c] its people would have stopped sinning, and it would still be a city today. 24 But I tell you it will be worse for you on the Judgment Day than for Sodom.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.