Book of Common Prayer
A Song of Praise and Thanksgiving[a]
66 Praise God with shouts of joy, all people!
2 Sing to the glory of his name;
offer him glorious praise!
3 Say to God, “How wonderful are the things you do!
Your power is so great
that your enemies bow down in fear before you.
4 Everyone on earth worships you;
they sing praises to you,
they sing praises to your name.”
5 Come and see what God has done,
his wonderful acts among people.
6 (A)He changed the sea into dry land;
our ancestors crossed the river on foot.
There we rejoiced because of what he did.
7 He rules forever by his might
and keeps his eyes on the nations.
Let no rebels rise against him.
8 Praise our God, all nations;
let your praise be heard.
9 He has kept us alive
and has not allowed us to fall.
10 You have put us to the test, God;
as silver is purified by fire,
so you have tested us.
11 You let us fall into a trap
and placed heavy burdens on our backs.
12 You let our enemies trample us;
we went through fire and flood,
but now you have brought us to a place of safety.[b]
13 I will bring burnt offerings to your house;
I will offer you what I promised.
14 I will give you what I said I would
when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer sheep to be burned on the altar;
I will sacrifice bulls and goats,
and the smoke will go up to the sky.
16 Come and listen, all who honor God,
and I will tell you what he has done for me.
17 I cried to him for help;
I praised him with songs.
18 If I had ignored my sins,
the Lord would not have listened to me.
19 But God has indeed heard me;
he has listened to my prayer.
20 I praise God,
because he did not reject my prayer
or keep back his constant love from me.
A Song of Thanksgiving[c]
67 God, be merciful to us and bless us;
look on us with kindness,
2 so that the whole world may know your will;
so that all nations may know your salvation.
3 May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
because you judge the peoples with justice
and guide every nation on earth.
5 May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
6 The land has produced its harvest;
God, our God, has blessed us.
7 God has blessed us;
may all people everywhere honor him.
God's Glory in Creation[a]
19 How clearly the sky reveals God's glory!
How plainly it shows what he has done!
2 Each day announces it to the following day;
each night repeats it to the next.
3 No speech or words are used,
no sound is heard;
4 (A)yet their message[b] goes out to all the world
and is heard to the ends of the earth.
God made a home in the sky for the sun;
5 it comes out in the morning like a happy bridegroom,
like an athlete eager to run a race.
6 It starts at one end of the sky
and goes across to the other.
Nothing can hide from its heat.
The Law of the Lord
7 The law of the Lord is perfect;
it gives new strength.
The commands of the Lord are trustworthy,
giving wisdom to those who lack it.
8 The laws of the Lord are right,
and those who obey them are happy.
The commands of the Lord are just
and give understanding to the mind.
9 Reverence for the Lord is good;
it will continue forever.
The judgments of the Lord are just;
they are always fair.
10 They are more desirable than the finest gold;
they are sweeter than the purest honey.
11 They give knowledge to me, your servant;
I am rewarded for obeying them.
12 None of us can see our own errors;
deliver me, Lord, from hidden faults!
13 Keep me safe, also, from willful sins;
don't let them rule over me.
Then I shall be perfect
and free from the evil of sin.
14 May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you,
O Lord, my refuge and my redeemer!
God Is with Us[a]
46 God is our shelter and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.
2 So we will not be afraid, even if the earth is shaken
and mountains fall into the ocean depths;
3 even if the seas roar and rage,
and the hills are shaken by the violence.
4 There is a river that brings joy to the city of God,
to the sacred house of the Most High.
5 God is in that city, and it will never be destroyed;
at early dawn he will come to its aid.
6 Nations are terrified, kingdoms are shaken;
God thunders, and the earth dissolves.
7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
8 Come and see what the Lord has done.
See what amazing things he has done on earth.
9 He stops wars all over the world;
he breaks bows, destroys spears,
and sets shields on fire.
10 “Stop fighting,” he says, “and know that I am God,
supreme among the nations,
supreme over the world.”
11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
6 On your walls, Jerusalem, I have placed sentries;
They must never be silent day or night.
They must remind the Lord of his promises
And never let him forget them.
7 They must give him no rest until he restores Jerusalem
And makes it a city the whole world praises.
8 The Lord has made a solemn promise,
And by his power he will carry it out:
“Your grain will no longer be food for your enemies,
And foreigners will no longer drink your wine.
9 But you that planted and harvested the grain
Will eat the bread and praise the Lord.
You that tended and gathered the grapes
Will drink the wine in the courts of my Temple.”
10 People of Jerusalem, go out of the city
And build a road for your returning people!
Prepare a highway; clear it of stones!
Put up a signal so that the nations can know
11 (A)That the Lord is announcing to all the earth:
“Tell the people of Jerusalem
That the Lord is coming to save you,
Bringing with him the people he has rescued.”
12 You will be called “God's Holy People,”
“The People the Lord Has Saved.”
Jerusalem will be called “The City That God Loves,”
“The City That God Did Not Forsake.”
3 If we obey God's commands, then we are sure that we know him. 4 If we say that we know him, but do not obey his commands, we are liars and there is no truth in us. 5 But if we obey his word, we are the ones whose love for God has really been made perfect. This is how we can be sure that we are in union with God: 6 if we say that we remain in union with God, we should live just as Jesus Christ did.
The New Command
7 (A)My dear friends, this command I am writing you is not new; it is the old command, the one you have had from the very beginning. The old command is the message you have already heard. 8 However, the command I now write you is new, because its truth is seen in Christ and also in you. For the darkness is passing away, and the real light is already shining.
9 If we say that we are in the light, yet hate others, we are in the darkness to this very hour. 10 If we love others, we live in the light, and so there is nothing in us that will cause someone else[a] to sin. 11 But if we hate others, we are in the darkness; we walk in it and do not know where we are going, because the darkness has made us blind.
Jesus the Light of the World
12 (A)Jesus spoke to the Pharisees again. “I am the light of the world,” he said. “Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness.”
13 (B)The Pharisees said to him, “Now you are testifying on your own behalf; what you say proves nothing.”
14 “No,” Jesus answered, “even though I do testify on my own behalf, what I say is true, because I know where I came from and where I am going. You do not know where I came from or where I am going. 15 You make judgments in a purely human way; I pass judgment on no one. 16 But if I were to do so, my judgment would be true, because I am not alone in this; the Father who sent me is with me. 17 (C)It is written in your Law that when two witnesses agree, what they say is true. 18 I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me also testifies on my behalf.”
19 “Where is your father?” they asked him.
“You know neither me nor my Father,” Jesus answered. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”
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.