Book of Common Prayer
David's Song of Victory[a] (A)
18 How I love you, Lord!
You are my defender.
2 The Lord is my protector;
he is my strong fortress.
My God is my protection,
and with him I am safe.
He protects me like a shield;
he defends me and keeps me safe.
3 I call to the Lord,
and he saves me from my enemies.
Praise the Lord!
4 The danger of death was all around me;
the waves of destruction rolled over me.
5 The danger of death was around me,
and the grave set its trap for me.
6 In my trouble I called to the Lord;
I called to my God for help.
In his temple he heard my voice;
he listened to my cry for help.
7 Then the earth trembled and shook;
the foundations of the mountains rocked and quivered,
because God was angry.
8 Smoke poured out of his nostrils,
a consuming flame and burning coals from his mouth.
9 He tore the sky open and came down
with a dark cloud under his feet.
10 He flew swiftly on his winged creature;[b]
he traveled on the wings of the wind.
11 He covered himself with darkness;
thick clouds, full of water, surrounded him.
12 Hailstones and flashes of fire
came from the lightning before him
and broke through the dark clouds.
13 Then the Lord thundered from the sky;
and the voice of the Most High was heard.[c]
14 He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies;
with flashes of lightning he sent them running.
15 The floor of the ocean was laid bare,
and the foundations of the earth were uncovered,
when you rebuked your enemies, Lord,
and roared at them in anger.
16 The Lord reached down from above and took hold of me;
he pulled me out of the deep waters.
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemies
and from all those who hate me—
they were too strong for me.
18 When I was in trouble, they attacked me,
but the Lord protected me.
19 He helped me out of danger;
he saved me because he was pleased with me.
20 The Lord rewards me because I do what is right;
he blesses me because I am innocent.
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.
Hymn of Thanksgiving
12 A day is coming when people will sing,
“I praise you, Lord! You were angry with me,
but now you comfort me and are angry no longer.
2 (A)God is my savior;
I will trust him and not be afraid.
The Lord gives me power and strength;
he is my savior.
3 As fresh water brings joy to the thirsty,
so God's people rejoice when he saves them.”
4 A day is coming when people will sing,
“Give thanks to the Lord! Call for him to help you!
Tell all the nations what he has done!
Tell them how great he is!
5 Sing to the Lord because of the great things he has done.
Let the whole world hear the news.
6 Let everyone who lives in Zion shout and sing!
Israel's holy God is great,
and he lives among his people.”
1 This book is the record of the events that Jesus Christ revealed. God gave him this revelation in order to show to his servants what must happen very soon. Christ made these things known to his servant John by sending his angel to him, 2 and John has told all that he has seen. This is his report concerning the message from God and the truth revealed by Jesus Christ. 3 Happy is the one who reads this book, and happy are those who listen to the words of this prophetic message and obey what is written in this book! For the time is near when all these things will happen.
Greetings to the Seven Churches
4 (A)From John to the seven churches in the province of Asia:
Grace and peace be yours from God, who is, who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits in front of his throne, 5 (B)and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first to be raised from death and who is also the ruler of the kings of the world.
He loves us, and by his sacrificial death he has freed us from our sins 6 (C)and made us a kingdom of priests to serve his God and Father. To Jesus Christ be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen.
7 (D)Look, he is coming on the clouds! Everyone will see him, including those who pierced him. All peoples on earth will mourn over him. So shall it be!
8 (E)“I am the first and the last,” says the Lord God Almighty, who is, who was, and who is to come.
Streams of Life-Giving Water
37 (A)On the last and most important day of the festival Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, “Whoever is thirsty should come to me, and 38 (B)whoever believes in me should drink. As the scripture says, ‘Streams of life-giving water will pour out from his side.’”[a] 39 Jesus said this about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were going to receive. At that time the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not been raised to glory.
Division among the People
40 Some of the people in the crowd heard him say this and said, “This man is really the Prophet!”[b]
41 Others said, “He is the Messiah!”
But others said, “The Messiah will not come from Galilee! 42 (C)The scripture says that the Messiah will be a descendant of King David and will be born in Bethlehem, the town where David lived.” 43 So there was a division in the crowd because of Jesus. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.
The Unbelief of the Jewish Authorities
45 When the guards went back, the chief priests and Pharisees asked them, “Why did you not bring him?”
46 The guards answered, “Nobody has ever talked the way this man does!”
47 “Did he fool you, too?” the Pharisees asked them. 48 “Have you ever known one of the authorities or one Pharisee to believe in him? 49 This crowd does not know the Law of Moses, so they are under God's curse!”
50 (D)One of the Pharisees there was Nicodemus, the man who had gone to see Jesus before. He said to the others, 51 “According to our Law we cannot condemn people before hearing them and finding out what they have done.”
52 “Well,” they answered, “are you also from Galilee? Study the Scriptures and you will learn that no prophet ever comes
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.