Book of Common Prayer
God the Judge[a]
75 We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks to you!
We proclaim how great you are
and tell of[b] the wonderful things you have done.
2 “I have set a time for judgment,” says God,
“and I will judge with fairness.
3 Though every living creature tremble
and the earth itself be shaken,
I will keep its foundations firm.
4 I tell the wicked not to be arrogant;
5 I tell them to stop their boasting.”
6 Judgment does not come from the east or from the west,
from the north or from the south;[c]
7 it is God who is the judge,
condemning some and acquitting others.
8 The Lord holds a cup in his hand,
filled with the strong wine of his anger.
He pours it out, and all the wicked drink it;
they drink it down to the last drop.
9 But I will never stop speaking of the God of Jacob
or singing praises to him.
10 He will break the power of the wicked,
but the power of the righteous will be increased.
God the Victor[d]
76 God is known in Judah;
his name is honored in Israel.
2 He has his home in Jerusalem;
he lives on Mount Zion.
3 There he broke the arrows of the enemy,
their shields and swords, yes, all their weapons.
4 How glorious you are, O God!
How majestic, as you return from the mountains
where you defeated your foes.
5 Their brave soldiers have been stripped of all they had
and now are sleeping the sleep of death;
all their strength and skill was useless.
6 When you threatened them, O God of Jacob,
the horses and their riders fell dead.
7 But you, Lord, are feared by all.
No one can stand in your presence
when you are angry.
8 You made your judgment known from heaven;
the world was afraid and kept silent,
9 when you rose up to pronounce judgment,
to save all the oppressed on earth.
10 Human anger only results in more praise for you;
those who survive the wars will keep your festivals.[e]
11 Give the Lord your God what you promised him;
bring gifts to him, all you nearby nations.
God makes everyone fear him;
12 he humbles proud princes
and terrifies great kings.
The Lord Our Shepherd[a]
23 The Lord is my shepherd;
I have everything I need.
2 (A)He lets me rest in fields of green grass
and leads me to quiet pools of fresh water.
3 He gives me new strength.
He guides me in the right paths,
as he has promised.
4 Even if I go through the deepest darkness,
I will not be afraid, Lord,
for you are with me.
Your shepherd's rod and staff protect me.
5 You prepare a banquet for me,
where all my enemies can see me;
you welcome me as an honored guest
and fill my cup to the brim.
6 I know that your goodness and love will be with me all my life;
and your house will be my home as long as I live.
A Prayer of Praise[a]
27 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
I will fear no one.
The Lord protects me from all danger;
I will never be afraid.
2 When evil people attack me and try to kill me,
they stumble and fall.
3 Even if a whole army surrounds me,
I will not be afraid;
even if enemies attack me,
I will still trust God.[b]
4 I have asked the Lord for one thing;
one thing only do I want:
to live in the Lord's house all my life,
to marvel there at his goodness,
and to ask for his guidance.
5 In times of trouble he will shelter me;
he will keep me safe in his Temple
and make me secure on a high rock.
6 So I will triumph over my enemies around me.
With shouts of joy I will offer sacrifices in his Temple;
I will sing, I will praise the Lord.
7 Hear me, Lord, when I call to you!
Be merciful and answer me!
8 When you said, “Come worship me,”
I answered, “I will come, Lord.”
9 Don't hide yourself from me!
Don't be angry with me;
don't turn your servant away.
You have been my help;
don't leave me, don't abandon me,
O God, my savior.
10 My father and mother may abandon me,
but the Lord will take care of me.
11 Teach me, Lord, what you want me to do,
and lead me along a safe path,
because I have many enemies.
12 Don't abandon me to my enemies,
who attack me with lies and threats.
13 I know that I will live to see
the Lord's goodness in this present life.
14 Trust in the Lord.
Have faith, do not despair.
Trust in the Lord.
The New Year Festival(A)
23-24 On the first day of the seventh month observe a special day of rest, and come together for worship when the trumpets sound. 25 Present a food offering to the Lord and do none of your daily work.
The Day of Atonement(B)
26-27 (C)The tenth day of the seventh month is the day when the annual ritual is to be performed to take away the sins of the people. On that day do not eat anything at all; come together for worship, and present a food offering to the Lord. 28 Do no work on that day, because it is the day for performing the ritual to take away sin. 29 Any who eat anything on that day will no longer be considered God's people. 30 And if any do any work on that day, the Lord himself will put them to death. 31 This regulation applies to all your descendants, no matter where they live. 32 From sunset on the ninth day of the month to sunset on the tenth observe this day as a special day of rest, during which nothing may be eaten.
The Festival of Shelters(D)
33-34 (E)The Festival of Shelters begins on the fifteenth day of the seventh month and continues for seven days. 35 On the first of these days come together for worship and do none of your daily work. 36 Each day for seven days you shall present a food offering. On the eighth day come together again for worship and present a food offering. It is a day for worship, and you shall do no work.
(37 These are the religious festivals on which you honor the Lord by gathering together for worship and presenting food offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, sacrifices, and wine offerings, as required day by day. 38 These festivals are in addition to the regular Sabbaths, and these offerings are in addition to your regular gifts, your offerings as fulfillment of vows, and your freewill offerings that you give to the Lord.)
39 When you have harvested your fields, celebrate this festival for seven days, beginning on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. The first day shall be a special day of rest. 40 On that day take some of the best fruit from your trees, take palm branches and limbs from leafy trees, and begin a religious festival to honor the Lord your God. 41 Celebrate it for seven days. This regulation is to be kept by your descendants for all time to come. 42 All the people of Israel shall live in shelters for seven days, 43 so that your descendants may know that the Lord made the people of Israel live in simple shelters when he led them out of Egypt. He is the Lord your God.
44 So in this way Moses gave the people of Israel the regulations for observing the religious festivals to honor the Lord.
Pray for Us
3 Finally, our friends, pray for us that the Lord's message may continue to spread rapidly and be received with honor, just as it was among you. 2 Pray also that God will rescue us from wicked and evil people; for not everyone believes the message.
3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and keep you safe from the Evil One. 4 And the Lord gives us confidence in you, and we are sure that you are doing and will continue to do what we tell you.
5 May the Lord lead you into a greater understanding of God's love and the endurance that is given by Christ.
The Obligation to Work
6 Our friends, we command you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to keep away from all believers who are living a lazy life and who do not follow the instructions that we gave them. 7 You yourselves know very well that you should do just what we did. We were not lazy when we were with you. 8 We did not accept anyone's support without paying for it. Instead, we worked and toiled; we kept working day and night so as not to be an expense to any of you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to demand our support; we did it to be an example for you to follow. 10 While we were with you, we used to tell you, “Whoever refuses to work is not allowed to eat.”
11 We say this because we hear that there are some people among you who live lazy lives and who do nothing except meddle in other people's business. 12 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we command these people and warn them to lead orderly lives and work to earn their own living.
13 But you, friends, must not become tired of doing good. 14 It may be that some there will not obey the message we send you in this letter. If so, take note of them and have nothing to do with them, so that they will be ashamed. 15 But do not treat them as enemies; instead, warn them as believers.
Final Words
16 May the Lord himself, who is our source of peace, give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all.
17 With my own hand I write this: Greetings from Paul This is the way I sign every letter; this is how I write.
18 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
The Narrow Gate(A)
13 (B)“Go in through the narrow gate, because the gate to hell is wide and the road that leads to it is easy, and there are many who travel it. 14 But the gate to life is narrow and the way that leads to it is hard, and there are few people who find it.
A Tree and Its Fruit(C)
15 “Be on your guard against false prophets; they come to you looking like sheep on the outside, but on the inside they are really like wild wolves. 16 (D)You will know them by what they do. Thorn bushes do not bear grapes, and briers do not bear figs. 17 A healthy tree bears good fruit, but a poor tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a poor tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 (E)And any tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown in the fire. 20 (F)So then, you will know the false prophets by what they do.
I Never Knew You(G)
21 “Not everyone who calls me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only those who do what my Father in heaven wants them to do.
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.