Book of Common Prayer
מ Mem
97 How I love Your instruction!(A)
It is my meditation all day long.(B)
98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,(C)
for they are always with me.
99 I have more insight than all my teachers
because Your decrees are my meditation.(D)
100 I understand more than the elders(E)
because I obey Your precepts.(F)
101 I have kept my feet from every evil path(G)
to follow Your word.
102 I have not turned from Your judgments,(H)
for You Yourself have instructed me.
103 How sweet Your word is(I) to my taste—
sweeter than honey in my mouth.
104 I gain understanding from Your precepts;(J)
therefore I hate every false way.(K)
נ Nun
105 Your word is a lamp for my feet(L)
and a light on my path.
106 I have solemnly sworn(M)
to keep Your righteous judgments.
107 I am severely afflicted;
Lord, give me life through Your word.(N)
108 Lord, please accept my willing offerings of praise,(O)
and teach me Your judgments.(P)
109 My life is constantly in danger,[a]
yet I do not forget Your instruction.(Q)
110 The wicked have set a trap for me,(R)
but I have not wandered from Your precepts.(S)
111 I have Your decrees as a heritage forever;
indeed, they are the joy of my heart.(T)
112 I am resolved to obey Your statutes
to the very end.[b](U)
ס Samek
113 I hate those who are double-minded,(V)
but I love Your instruction.(W)
114 You are my shelter and my shield;(X)
I put my hope in Your word.(Y)
115 Depart from me,(Z) you evil ones,
so that I may obey my God’s commands.(AA)
116 Sustain me as You promised,(AB) and I will live;
do not let me be ashamed of my hope.(AC)
117 Sustain me so that I can be safe(AD)
and always be concerned about Your statutes.(AE)
118 You reject all who stray from Your statutes,(AF)
for their deceit is a lie.
119 You remove all the wicked on earth
as if they were[c] dross;(AG)
therefore, I love Your decrees.(AH)
120 I tremble[d] in awe of You;(AI)
I fear Your judgments.
Psalm 81
A Call to Obedience
For the choir director: on the Gittith. Of Asaph.(A)
1 Sing for joy to God our strength;
shout in triumph to the God of Jacob.(B)
2 Lift up a song—play the tambourine,
the melodious lyre, and the harp.(C)
3 Blow the horn on the day of our feasts[a][b]
during the new moon(D)
and during the full moon.
4 For this is a statute for Israel,
a judgment of the God of Jacob.(E)
5 He set it up as an ordinance for Joseph
when He went throughout[c] the land of Egypt.(F)
I heard an unfamiliar language:
6 “I relieved his shoulder from the burden;
his hands were freed from carrying the basket.(G)
7 You called out in distress, and I rescued you;
I answered you from the thundercloud.(H)
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.(I)
8 Listen, My people, and I will admonish you.
Israel, if you would only listen to Me!(J)
9 There must not be a strange god among you;
you must not bow down to a foreign god.(K)
10 I am Yahweh your God,
who brought you up from the land of Egypt.(L)
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.(M)
11 “But My people did not listen to Me;
Israel did not obey Me.(N)
12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts
to follow their own plans.(O)
13 If only My people would listen to Me
and Israel would follow My ways,(P)
14 I would quickly subdue their enemies
and turn My hand against their foes.”(Q)
15 Those who hate the Lord
would pretend submission to Him;(R)
their doom would last forever.(S)
16 But He would feed Israel[d] with the best wheat.
“I would satisfy you with honey from the rock.”(T)
Psalm 82
A Plea for Righteous Judgment
A psalm of Asaph.(U)
1 God has taken His place in the divine assembly;
He judges among the gods:[e](V)
2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked?(W)
3 Provide justice for the needy and the fatherless;
uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.(X)
4 Rescue the poor and needy;
save them from the power of the wicked.”(Y)
5 They do not know or understand;
they wander in darkness.(Z)
All the foundations of the earth are shaken.(AA)
6 I said, “You are gods;(AB)
you are all sons of the Most High.(AC)
7 However, you will die like men
and fall like any other ruler.”(AD)
8 Rise up, God, judge the earth,
for all the nations belong to You.(AE)
God’s Call for Repentance
12 Even now—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
turn to Me with all your heart,(A)
with fasting, weeping, and mourning.(B)
13 Tear your hearts,(C)
not just your clothes,(D)
and return to the Lord your God.
For He is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger, rich in faithful love,
and He relents from sending disaster.(E)
14 Who knows? He may turn and relent(F)
and leave a blessing behind Him,(G)
so you can offer grain and wine
to the Lord your God.(H)
15 Blow the horn in Zion!(I)
Announce a sacred fast;(J)
proclaim an assembly.
16 Gather the people;
sanctify the congregation;(K)
assemble the aged;[a](L)
gather the children,
even those nursing at the breast.
Let the groom leave his bedroom,(M)
and the bride her honeymoon chamber.
17 Let the priests,(N) the Lord’s ministers,
weep between the portico and the altar.(O)
Let them say:
“Have pity on Your people, Lord,(P)
and do not make Your inheritance a disgrace,(Q)
an object of scorn among the nations.
Why should it be said among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”(R)
God’s Response to His People
18 Then the Lord became jealous for His land(S) and spared His people.(T) 19 The Lord answered His people:
The Rider on a White Horse
11 Then I saw heaven opened,(A) and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True,(B) and He judges and makes war in righteousness.(C) 12 His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns[a] were on His head. He had a name written that no one knows except Himself.(D) 13 He wore a robe stained with blood,[b](E) and His name is the Word of God.(F) 14 The armies that were in heaven followed Him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. 15 A sharp[c] sword(G) came from His mouth, so that He might strike the nations with it.(H) He will shepherd[d] them with an iron scepter.(I) He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God,(J) the Almighty. 16 And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh:
KING OF KINGS
AND LORD OF LORDS.(K)
The Beast and His Armies Defeated
17 Then I saw an angel standing on[e] the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice, saying to all the birds flying high overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of commanders, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of their riders, and the flesh of everyone, both free and slave, small and great.”(L)
19 Then I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies(M) gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and against His army. 20 But the beast was taken prisoner, and along with him the false prophet, who had performed the signs in his presence. He deceived those who accepted the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image with these signs.(N) Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.(O) 21 The rest were killed with the sword that came from the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
15 All(A) the tax collectors(B) and sinners were approaching to listen to Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners(C) and eats with them!”
3 So He told them this parable:(D) 4 “What man among you, who has 100 sheep and loses one of them,(E) does not leave the 99 in the open field[a] and go after the lost one until he finds it? 5 When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, 6 and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ 7 I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven(F) over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who don’t need repentance.
The Parable of the Lost Coin
8 “Or what woman who has 10 silver coins,[b] if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 When she finds it, she calls her women friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the silver coin I lost!’ 10 I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels(G) over one sinner who repents.”
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