Book of Common Prayer
A Hymn About God’s Power
97 The Lord is king. Let the earth rejoice.
Faraway lands should be glad.
2 Thick, dark clouds surround him.
His kingdom is built on what is right and fair.
3 A fire goes before him
and burns up his enemies all around.
4 His lightning flashes in the sky.
When the people see it, they tremble.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord.
He is Lord of all the earth.
6 The skies tell about his goodness.
And all the people see his glory.
7 Those who worship idols should be ashamed.
They brag about their false gods.
All the gods should worship the Lord.
8 When Jerusalem hears this, she is glad.
The towns of Judah rejoice.
They are happy because of your judgments, Lord.
9 You are the Lord Most High over all the earth.
You are supreme over all gods.
10 People who love the Lord should hate evil.
The Lord watches over those who follow him.
He frees them from the power of the wicked.
11 Light shines on those who do right.
Joy belongs to those who are honest.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, you who do right.
Praise his holy name.
God the Fair and Holy King
99 The Lord is king.
Let the nations shake with fear.
He sits between the gold creatures with wings.
Let the earth shake.
2 The Lord in Jerusalem is great.
He is supreme over all the nations.
3 Let them praise your name.
It is great, holy and to be feared.
4 The King is powerful and loves justice.
Lord, you made things fair.
You have done what is fair and right
for the people of Jacob.
5 Praise the Lord our God.
Worship at the Temple, his footstool.
He is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests.
And Samuel was among his worshipers.
They called to the Lord,
and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud.
They kept the rules and laws he gave them.
8 Lord our God, you answered them.
You showed them that you are a forgiving God.
But you punished them for their wrongs.
9 Praise the Lord our God.
Worship at his holy mountain.
The Lord our God is holy.
A Call to Praise God
A song of thanks.
100 Shout to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Serve the Lord with joy.
Come before him with singing.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
He made us, and we belong to him.
We are his people, the sheep he tends.
4 Come into his city with songs of thanksgiving.
Come into his courtyards with songs of praise.
Thank him, and praise his name.
5 The Lord is good. His love continues forever.
His loyalty continues from now on.
God Will Pay Back His Enemies
94 The Lord is a God who gives people what they should get.
God, show your greatness and punish!
2 Rise up, Judge of the earth.
Give the proud what they should get.
3 How long will the wicked be happy?
How long, Lord?
4 They are full of proud words.
Those who do evil brag about what they have done.
5 Lord, they crush your people.
They make your children suffer.
6 They kill widows and foreigners.
They murder orphans.
7 They say, “The Lord doesn’t see.
The God of Jacob doesn’t notice.”
8 You stupid ones among the people, pay attention.
You fools, when will you understand?
9 Can’t the creator of ears hear?
Can’t the maker of eyes see?
10 Won’t the one who corrects nations punish you?
Doesn’t the teacher of men know everything?
11 The Lord knows what people think.
He knows they are just a puff of wind.
12 Lord, those you correct are happy.
You give them your teachings.
13 You give them rest from times of trouble
until a grave is dug for the wicked.
14 The Lord won’t leave his people.
He will not give up his children.
15 Judgment will again be fair.
And all who are honest will follow it.
16 Who will help me fight against the wicked?
Who will stand with me against those who do evil?
17 If the Lord had not helped me,
I would have died soon.
18 I said, “I am about to be overwhelmed.”
But, Lord, your love kept me safe.
19 I was very worried.
But you comforted me and made me happy.
20 Crooked leaders cannot be your friends.
They use the law to cause suffering.
21 They join forces against people who do right.
They sentence to death the innocent.
22 But the Lord protects me like a strong, walled city.
My God is the rock of my protection.
23 God will pay them back for their sins.
He will destroy them for their evil.
The Lord our God will destroy them.
A Call to Praise and Obedience
95 Come, let’s sing for joy to the Lord.
Let’s shout praises to the Rock who saves us.
2 Let’s come to him with thanksgiving.
Let’s sing songs to him.
3 The Lord is the great God.
He is the great King over all gods.
4 The deepest places on earth are his.
And the highest mountains belong to him.
5 The sea is his because he made it.
He created the land with his own hands.
6 Come, let’s bow down and worship him.
Let’s kneel before the Lord who made us.
7 He is our God.
And we are the people he takes care of
and the sheep that he tends.
Today listen to what he says:
8 “Do not be stubborn, as your ancestors were at Meribah,
as they were that day at Massah in the desert.
9 There your ancestors tested me.
They put me to the test even though they saw what I did.
10 I was angry with those people for 40 years.
I said, ‘They are not loyal to me.
They have not understood my ways.’
11 I was angry and made a promise,
‘They will never enter my land of rest.’”
20 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 21 “Move away from these men. In a minute I will destroy them.”
22 But Moses and Aaron bowed facedown. They cried out, “God, you are the God over the spirits of all people. Please don’t be angry with this whole group. Only one man has really sinned.”
23 Then the Lord said to Moses, 24 “Tell everyone to move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.”
25 Moses stood and went to Dathan and Abiram. The elders of Israel followed him. 26 Moses warned the people, “Move away from the tents of these evil men! Don’t touch anything of theirs. If you do, you will be destroyed because of their sins.” 27 So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram were standing outside their tents with their wives, children and little babies.
28 Then Moses said, “Now you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things. It was not my idea. 29 If these men die a normal death—the way men usually die—then the Lord did not really send me. 30 But if the Lord does something new, you will know they have insulted the Lord. The earth will open and swallow them. Alive, they will go to where the dead are. And everything that belongs to them will go with them.”
31 When Moses finished saying these things, the ground under the men opened up. 32 The earth seemed to open its mouth and swallow them. All their families, all Korah’s men and everything they owned went down. 33 They were buried alive, going to where the dead are. And everything they owned went with them. Then the earth closed over them. They died and were gone from the community. 34 The people of Israel around them heard their screams. They ran away and said, “The earth will swallow us, too!”
35 Then a fire came down from the Lord. It destroyed the 250 men who had presented the incense.
The Example of Abraham
4 So what can we say about Abraham,[a] the father of our people? What did he learn about faith? 2 If Abraham was made right by the things he did, then he had a reason to brag. But he could not brag before God. 3 The Scripture says, “Abraham believed God. And that faith made him right with God.”[b]
4 When a person works, his pay is not given to him as a gift. He earns the pay he gets. 5 But a person cannot do any work that will make him right with God. So he must trust in God. Then God accepts his faith, and that makes him right with God. God is the One who can make even those who are evil right in his sight. 6 David said the same thing. He said that a person is truly blessed when God does not look at what he has done but accepts him as good:
7 “Happy are they
whose sins are forgiven,
whose wrongs are pardoned.
8 Happy is the person
whom the Lord does not consider guilty.” Psalm 32:1-2
9 Is this blessing only for those who are circumcised? Or is it also for those who are not circumcised? We have already said that God accepted Abraham’s faith, and that faith made him right with God. 10 So how did this happen? Did God accept Abraham before or after he was circumcised? God accepted him before his circumcision. 11 Abraham was circumcised later to show that God accepted him. His circumcision was proof that he was right with God through faith before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the father of all those who believe but are not circumcised. He is the father of all believers who are accepted as being right with God. 12 And Abraham is also the father of those who have been circumcised. But it is not their circumcision that makes him their father. He is their father only if they live following the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
23 Then Jesus said to his followers, “I tell you the truth. It will be very hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Yes, I tell you that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
25 When the followers heard this, they were very surprised. They asked, “Then who can be saved?”
26 Jesus looked at them and said, “For men this is impossible. But for God all things are possible.”
27 Peter said to Jesus, “We left everything we had and followed you. So what will we have?”
28 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth. When the new age comes, the Son of Man will sit on his great throne. And all of you who followed me will also sit on 12 thrones. And you will judge the 12 tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother,[a] children, or farms to follow me will get much more than he left. And he will have life forever. 30 Many who are first now will be last in the future. And many who are last now will be first in the future.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.