Book of Common Prayer
A King's Promise[a]
101 My song is about loyalty and justice,
and I sing it to you, O Lord.
2 My conduct will be faultless.
When will you come to me?
I will live a pure life in my house
3 and will never tolerate evil.
I hate the actions of those who turn away from God;
I will have nothing to do with them.
4 I will not be dishonest[b]
and will have no dealings with evil.[c]
5 I will get rid of anyone
who whispers evil things about someone else;
I will not tolerate anyone
who is proud and arrogant.
6 I will approve of those who are faithful to God
and will let them live in my palace.
Those who are completely honest
will be allowed to serve me.
7 No liar will live in my palace;
no hypocrite will remain in my presence.
8 Day after day I will destroy
the wicked in our land;
I will expel all who are evil
from the city of the Lord.
The Complaint of Someone in Trouble[a]
109 I praise you, God; don't remain silent!
2 Wicked people and liars have attacked me.
They tell lies about me,
3 and they say evil things about me,
attacking me for no reason.
4 They oppose me, even though I love them
and have prayed for them.[b]
5 They pay me back evil for good
and hatred for love.
6 Choose some corrupt judge to try my enemy,
and let one of his own enemies accuse him.
7 May he be tried and found guilty;
may even his prayer be considered a crime!
8 (A)May his life soon be ended;
may someone else take his job!
9 May his children become orphans,
and his wife a widow!
10 May his children be homeless beggars;
may they be driven from[c] the ruins they live in!
11 May his creditors take away all his property,
and may strangers get everything he worked for.
12 May no one ever be kind to him
or care for the orphans he leaves behind.
13 May all his descendants die,
and may his name be forgotten in the next generation.
14 May the Lord remember the evil of his ancestors
and never forgive his mother's sins.
15 May the Lord always remember their sins,
but may they themselves be completely forgotten!
16 That man never thought of being kind;
he persecuted and killed
the poor, the needy, and the helpless.
17 He loved to curse—may he be cursed!
He hated to give blessings—may no one bless him!
18 He cursed as naturally as he dressed himself;
may his own curses soak into his body like water
and into his bones like oil!
19 May they cover him like clothes
and always be around him like a belt!
20 Lord, punish my enemies in that way—
those who say such evil things against me!
21 But my Sovereign Lord, help me as you have promised,
and rescue me because of the goodness of your love.
22 I am poor and needy;
I am hurt to the depths of my heart.
23 Like an evening shadow I am about to vanish;
I am blown away like an insect.
24 My knees are weak from lack of food;
I am nothing but skin and bones.
25 (B)When people see me, they laugh at me;
they shake their heads in scorn.
26 Help me, O Lord my God;
because of your constant love, save me!
27 Make my enemies know
that you are the one who saves me.
28 They may curse me, but you will bless me.
May my persecutors be defeated,[d]
and may I, your servant, be glad.
29 May my enemies be covered with disgrace;
may they wear their shame like a robe.
30 I will give loud thanks to the Lord;
I will praise him in the assembly of the people,
Obedience to the Law of the Lord
121 I have done what is right and good;
don't abandon me to my enemies!
122 Promise that you will help your servant;
don't let the arrogant oppress me!
123 My eyes are tired from watching for your saving help,
for the deliverance you promised.
124 Treat me according to your constant love,
and teach me your commands.
125 I am your servant; give me understanding,
so that I may know your teachings.
126 Lord, it is time for you to act,
because people are disobeying your law.
127 I love your commands more than gold,
more than the finest gold.
128 And so I follow all your instructions;[a]
I hate all wrong ways.
Desire to Obey the Law of the Lord
129 Your teachings are wonderful;
I obey them with all my heart.
130 The explanation of your teachings gives light
and brings wisdom to the ignorant.
131 In my desire for your commands
I pant with open mouth.
132 Turn to me and have mercy on me
as you do on all those who love you.
133 As you have promised, keep me from falling;
don't let me be overcome by evil.
134 Save me from those who oppress me,
so that I may obey your commands.
135 Bless me with your presence
and teach me your laws.
136 My tears pour down like a river,
because people do not obey your law.
The Justice of the Law of the Lord
137 You are righteous, Lord,
and your laws are just.
138 The rules that you have given
are completely fair and right.
139 My anger burns in me like a fire,
because my enemies disregard your commands.
140 How certain your promise is!
How I love it!
141 I am unimportant and despised,
but I do not neglect your teachings.
142 Your righteousness will last forever,
and your law is always true.
143 I am filled with trouble and anxiety,
but your commandments bring me joy.
144 Your instructions are always just;
give me understanding, and I shall live.
Jeremiah at the Potter's House
18 The Lord said to me, 2 “Go down to the potter's house, where I will give you my message.” 3 So I went there and saw the potter working at his wheel. 4 Whenever a piece of pottery turned out imperfect, he would take the clay and make it into something else.
5 Then the Lord said to me, 6 “Don't I have the right to do with you people of Israel what the potter did with the clay? You are in my hands just like clay in the potter's hands. 7 If at any time I say that I am going to uproot, break down, or destroy any nation or kingdom, 8 but then that nation turns from its evil, I will not do what I said I would. 9 On the other hand, if I say that I am going to plant or build up any nation or kingdom, 10 but then that nation disobeys me and does evil, I will not do what I said I would. 11 Now then, tell the people of Judah and of Jerusalem that I am making plans against them and getting ready to punish them. Tell them to stop living sinful lives—to change their ways and the things they are doing.
Life in the Spirit
8 There is no condemnation now for those who live in union with Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit, which brings us life in union with Christ Jesus, has set me[a] free from the law of sin and death. 3 What the Law could not do, because human nature was weak, God did. He condemned sin in human nature by sending his own Son, who came with a nature like our sinful nature, to do away with sin. 4 God did this so that the righteous demands of the Law might be fully satisfied in us who live according to the Spirit, and not according to human nature. 5 Those who live as their human nature tells them to, have their minds controlled by what human nature wants. Those who live as the Spirit tells them to, have their minds controlled by what the Spirit wants. 6 To be controlled by human nature results in death; to be controlled by the Spirit results in life and peace. 7 And so people become enemies of God when they are controlled by their human nature; for they do not obey God's law, and in fact they cannot obey it. 8 Those who obey their human nature cannot please God.
9 But you do not live as your human nature tells you to; instead, you live as the Spirit tells you to—if, in fact, God's Spirit lives in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ lives in you, the Spirit is life for you[b] because you have been put right with God, even though your bodies are going to die because of sin. 11 (A)If the Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from death, lives in you, then he who raised Christ from death will also give life to your mortal bodies by the presence of his Spirit in you.
27 (A)Do not work for food that spoils; instead, work for the food that lasts for eternal life. This is the food which the Son of Man will give you, because God, the Father, has put his mark of approval on him.”
28 So they asked him, “What can we do in order to do what God wants us to do?”
29 Jesus answered, “What God wants you to do is to believe in the one he sent.”
30 They replied, “What miracle will you perform so that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 (B)Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, just as the scripture says, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
32 “I am telling you the truth,” Jesus said. “What Moses gave you was not[a] the bread from heaven; it is my Father who gives you the real bread from heaven. 33 For the bread that God gives is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they asked him, “give us this bread always.”
35 “I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “Those who come to me will never be hungry; those who believe in me will never be thirsty. 36 Now, I told you that you have seen me but will not believe. 37 Everyone whom my Father gives me will come to me. I will never turn away anyone who comes to me, 38 because I have come down from heaven to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And it is the will of him who sent me that I should not lose any of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them all to life on the last day. 40 For what my Father wants is that all who see the Son and believe in him should have eternal life. And I will raise them to life on the last day.”
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.