Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for Protection[a]
61 Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer!
2 In despair and far from home
I call to you!
Take me to a safe refuge,
3 for you are my protector,
my strong defense against my enemies.
4 Let me live in your sanctuary all my life;
let me find safety under your wings.
5 You have heard my promises, O God,
and you have given me what belongs to those who honor you.
6 Add many years to the king's life;
let him live on and on!
7 May he rule forever in your presence, O God;
protect him with your constant love and faithfulness.
8 So I will always sing praises to you,
as I offer you daily what I have promised.
Confidence in God's Protection[b]
62 I wait patiently for God to save me;
I depend on him alone.
2 He alone protects and saves me;
he is my defender,
and I shall never be defeated.
3 How much longer will all of you attack someone
who is no stronger than a broken-down fence?
4 You only want to bring him down from his place of honor;
you take pleasure in lies.
You speak words of blessing,
but in your heart you curse him.
5 I depend on God alone;
I put my hope in him.
6 He alone protects and saves me;
he is my defender,
and I shall never be defeated.
7 My salvation and honor depend on God;
he is my strong protector;
he is my shelter.
8 Trust in God at all times, my people.
Tell him all your troubles,
for he is our refuge.
9 Human beings are all like a puff of breath;
great and small alike are worthless.
Put them on the scales, and they weigh nothing;
they are lighter than a mere breath.
10 Don't put your trust in violence;
don't hope to gain anything by robbery;
even if your riches increase,
don't depend on them.
11 More than once I have heard God say
that power belongs to him
12 (A)and that his love is constant.
You yourself, O Lord, reward everyone according to their deeds.
The Happiness of a Good Person
112 Praise the Lord!
Happy is the person who honors the Lord,
who takes pleasure in obeying his commands.
2 The good man's children will be powerful in the land;
his descendants will be blessed.
3 His family will be wealthy and rich,
and he will be prosperous forever.
4 Light shines in the darkness for good people,
for those who are merciful, kind, and just.
5 Happy is the person who is generous with his loans,
who runs his business honestly.
6 A good person will never fail;
he will always be remembered.
7 He is not afraid of receiving bad news;
his faith is strong, and he trusts in the Lord.
8 He is not worried or afraid;
he is certain to see his enemies defeated.
9 (A)He gives generously to the needy,
and his kindness never fails;
he will be powerful and respected.
10 The wicked see this and are angry;
they glare in hate and disappear;
their hopes are gone forever.
The One True God
115 To you alone, O Lord, to you alone,
and not to us, must glory be given
because of your constant love and faithfulness.
2 Why should the nations ask us,
“Where is your God?”
3 Our God is in heaven;
he does whatever he wishes.
4 (A)Their gods are made of silver and gold,
formed by human hands.
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
and eyes, but cannot see.
6 They have ears, but cannot hear,
and noses, but cannot smell.
7 They have hands, but cannot feel,
and feet, but cannot walk;
they cannot make a sound.
8 May all who made them and who trust in them
become[a] like the idols they have made.
9 Trust in the Lord, you people of Israel.
He helps you and protects you.
10 Trust in the Lord, you priests of God.
He helps you and protects you.
11 Trust in the Lord, all you that worship him.
He helps you and protects you.
12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us;
he will bless the people of Israel
and all the priests of God.
13 (B)He will bless everyone who honors him,
the great and the small alike.
14 May the Lord give you children—
you and your descendants!
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!
16 Heaven belongs to the Lord alone,
but he gave the earth to us humans.
17 The Lord is not praised by the dead,
by any who go down to the land of silence.[b]
18 But we, the living, will give thanks to him
now and forever.
Praise the Lord!
The Peaceful Kingdom
11 (A)The royal line of David is like a tree that has been cut down; but just as new branches sprout from a stump, so a new king will arise from among David's descendants.
2 The spirit of the Lord will give him wisdom
and the knowledge and skill to rule his people.
He will know the Lord's will and honor him,
3 and find pleasure in obeying him.
He will not judge by appearance or hearsay;
4 (B)he will judge the poor fairly
and defend the rights of the helpless.
At his command the people will be punished,
and evil persons will die.
5 (C)He will rule his people with justice and integrity.
6 (D)Wolves and sheep will live together in peace,
and leopards will lie down with young goats.
Calves and lion cubs will feed[a] together,
and little children will take care of them.
7 Cows and bears will eat together,
and their calves and cubs will lie down in peace.
Lions will eat straw as cattle do.
8 Even a baby will not be harmed
if it plays near a poisonous snake.
9 (E)On Zion, God's sacred hill,
there will be nothing harmful or evil.
The land will be as full of knowledge of the Lord
as the seas are full of water.
The Thousand Years
20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key of the abyss and a heavy chain. 2 (A)He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent—that is, the Devil, or Satan—and chained him up for a thousand years. 3 The angel threw him into the abyss, locked it, and sealed it, so that he could not deceive the nations any more until the thousand years were over. After that he must be set loose for a little while.
4 (B)Then I saw thrones, and those who sat on them were given the power to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been executed because they had proclaimed the truth that Jesus revealed and the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image, nor had they received the mark of the beast on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and ruled as kings with Christ for a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over.) This is the first raising of the dead. 6 Happy and greatly blessed are those who are included in this first raising of the dead. The second death has no power over them; they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they will rule with him for a thousand years.
The Defeat of Satan
7 After the thousand years are over, Satan will be set loose from his prison, 8 (C)and he will go out to deceive the nations scattered over the whole world, that is, Gog and Magog. Satan will bring them all together for battle, as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. 9 They spread out over the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people and the city that he loves. But fire came down from heaven and destroyed them. 10 Then the Devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Witnesses to Jesus
30 “I can do nothing on my own authority; I judge only as God tells me, so my judgment is right, because I am not trying to do what I want, but only what he who sent me wants.
31 “If I testify on my own behalf, what I say is not to be accepted as real proof. 32 But there is someone else who testifies on my behalf, and I know that what he says about me is true. 33 (A)John is the one to whom you sent your messengers, and he spoke on behalf of the truth. 34 It is not that I must have a human witness; I say this only in order that you may be saved. 35 (B)John was like a lamp, burning and shining, and you were willing for a while to enjoy his light. 36 But I have a witness on my behalf which is even greater than the witness that John gave: what I do, that is, the deeds my Father gave me to do, these speak on my behalf and show that the Father has sent me. 37 (C)And the Father, who sent me, also testifies on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his face, 38 and you do not keep his message in your hearts, for you do not believe in the one whom he sent. 39 (D)You study the Scriptures, because you think that in them you will find eternal life. And these very Scriptures speak about me! 40 Yet you are not willing to come to me in order to have life.
41 “I am not looking for human praise. 42 But I know what kind of people you are, and I know that you have no love for God in your hearts. 43 I have come with my Father's authority, but you have not received me; when, however, someone comes with his own authority, you will receive him. 44 You like to receive praise from one another, but you do not try to win praise from the one who alone is God; how, then, can you believe me? 45 Do not think, however, that I am the one who will accuse you to my Father. Moses, in whom you have put your hope, is the very one who will accuse you. 46 If you had really believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me. 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how can you believe what I say?”
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.