Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for Protection
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Of David.
61 God, hear my cry;
·listen [pay attention] to my prayer.
2 I call to you from the ends of the earth [C far from the Temple]
when ·I am afraid [L my heart grows faint].
·Carry [Lead] me away to ·a high mountain [L the rock that is higher than I am; C a place of refuge, perhaps referring to God as the rock; 18:2, 46; 19:14; 62:2].
3 You have been my ·protection [refuge],
like a strong tower against my enemies.
4 Let me ·live [sojourn] in your ·Holy Tent [L tent; C the sanctuary] forever.
Let me find ·safety [refuge] in the shelter of your wings [C an image of compassion, or perhaps referring to the cherubim whose wings cover the Ark of the Covenant; Ex. 25:20]. ·
5 God, you have heard my ·promises [vows].
You have given me what belongs to those who fear ·you [L your name].
6 ·Give the king a long life [L Add days to the days of the king];
let ·him live many years [L his years be forever and ever].
7 Let him ·rule [reign] in the presence of God forever.
Protect him with your ·love [loyalty] and ·truth [faithfulness].
8 Then I will ·praise [sing a psalm to] your name forever,
and every day I will ·keep my promises [fulfill my vows].
Trust Only in God
For the director of music. For Jeduthun [C a Levitical musician; 1 Chr. 16:41–42; 25:1, 6; 2 Chr. 5:12]. A psalm of David.
62 I ·find rest [wait quietly] in God;
only he can ·save me [give me victory].
2 He is my rock [61:2] and my ·salvation [victory].
He is my ·defender [fortress];
I will not be ·defeated [shaken].
3 How long will you ·attack [assault] someone?
Will all of you ·kill [murder] that person?
Who is like a leaning wall, like a fence ·ready to fall [that totters; C the wicked take advantage of the weak]?
4 They are planning to make that person ·fall [totter].
They enjoy telling lies.
With their mouths they bless,
but in their ·hearts [L innards] they curse. ·
5 I ·find rest [wait quietly] in God;
·only he gives me hope [L for my hope is in him].
6 He is my rock [61:2] and my ·salvation [victory].
He is my ·defender [fortress];
I will not be ·defeated [shaken].
7 My ·honor [glory] and ·salvation [victory] come from God.
He is my ·mighty [strong] rock and my ·protection [refuge].
8 People, ·trust [have confidence in] God all the time.
·Tell him all your problems [L Pour out your heart before him],
because God is our ·protection [refuge]. ·
9 The least of people are only a ·breath [vapor; bubble; vanity],
and even the greatest are just a ·lie [delusion].
On the scales, they ·weigh nothing [L go up];
together they are only a ·breath [vapor; bubble; vanity].
10 Do not ·trust [have confidence] in ·force [oppression; extortion].
Stealing is ·of no use [meaningless].
Even if you gain more riches,
don’t ·put your trust in [L set your heart on] them.
11 God has said this once,
and I have heard it ·over and over [L twice]:
God is strong.
12 The Lord is ·loving [loyal].
You ·reward [repay] people for what they have done [1 Pet. 1:17; Rev. 20:12–13; 22:12].
Honest People Are Blessed
112 Praise the Lord!
·Happy [Blessed] are those who ·respect [fear] the Lord [Prov. 1:7; 31:30],
who ·want [take great delight in] ·what he [L his] commands.
2 Their ·descendants [L seed] will be ·powerful [strong] in the land;
the ·children [generation] of ·honest [virtuous] people will be blessed.
3 Their houses will be full of wealth and riches,
and their ·goodness [righteousness] will ·continue [endure; L stand] forever.
4 A light shines in the dark for ·honest [virtuous] people,
for those who are ·merciful [gracious] and ·kind [compassionate] and ·good [merciful].
5 It is good to be ·merciful [gracious] and ·generous [to lend].
Those who ·are fair in their business [conduct their affairs justly]
6 will never be ·defeated [moved].
·Good [Righteous] people will always be remembered.
7 They ·won’t be afraid of [do not fear] ·bad news [to hear evil; Prov. 30:25];
their hearts are ·steady [steadfast; established; prepared] because they ·trust [have confidence in] the Lord.
8 They ·are confident [endure; are unshakeable; 111:8] and will not ·be afraid [fear];
they will look down on their ·enemies [foes].
9 They ·give freely [L distribute/scatter, they give] to the ·poor [needy].
·The things they do are right and [Their righteousness] will ·continue [endure] forever [2 Cor. 9:9].
·They will be given great honor [L Their horn is exalted in glory; C an animal’s horn symbolizes strength].
10 The wicked will see this and become angry;
they will ·grind [gnash] their teeth [C in anger] and then ·disappear [melt away].
The ·wishes [cravings; desires] of the wicked will ·come to nothing [perish].
The One True God
115 ·It does not belong [L Not to us, not] to us, Lord.
The glory belongs to ·you [L your name]
because of your ·love [loyalty] and ·loyalty [faithfulness].
2 Why do the nations ask,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven.
He does what he pleases.
4 Their idols are made of silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but they cannot speak.
They have eyes, but they cannot see.
6 They have ears, but they cannot hear.
They have noses, but they cannot smell.
7 They have hands, but they cannot feel.
They have feet, but they cannot walk.
No sounds come from their throats.
8 People who make ·idols [L them] ·will be [or are] like them,
and so will those who ·trust [have confidence in] them [135:15–18; Is. 44:9–20; 46:6–7; Jer. 10:1–9; Hab. 2:18–19].
9 ·Family of [L O] Israel, ·trust [have confidence in] the Lord;
he is your helper and your ·protection [L shield].
10 ·Family [L House] of Aaron [C the priests], ·trust [have confidence in] the Lord;
he is your helper and your ·protection [L shield].
11 You who ·respect [fear] the Lord [Prov. 1:7] should ·trust [have confidence in] him;
he is your helper and your ·protection [L shield].
12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us.
He will bless the ·family [L house] of Israel;
he will bless the ·family [L house] of Aaron [C the priests].
13 The Lord will bless those who ·respect [fear] him [Prov. 1:7],
from the ·smallest [or least] to the greatest.
14 May the Lord ·give you success [make you increase],
and may he give you and your children ·success [increase].
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
who made heaven and earth [Gen. 1].
16 Heaven belongs to the Lord,
but he gave the earth to people.
17 Dead people do not praise the Lord;
those ·in the grave are silent [L who go down in silence].
18 But we will praise the Lord
now and forever.
Praise the Lord!
The King of Peace Is Coming
11 A ·new branch [sprout; shoot; C the Messiah] will grow
from the stump of Jesse [C king David’s father; the Messiah will restore David’s royal line];
a branch will ·come [sprout; or bear fruit]
from his roots.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him [1 Sam. 16:13; Matt. 3:16].
The Spirit will give him wisdom and understanding, ·guidance [counsel] and power.
The Spirit ·will teach him to know [L of knowledge] and ·respect [the fear of] the Lord.
3 ·This king will be glad to [L He will gladly/with delight] ·obey [revere; fear] the Lord.
He will not judge by ·the way things look [appearances; L the vision of his eyes]
or decide by ·what he hears [L the hearing of his ears].
4 But he will judge the poor ·honestly [with justice/righteousness];
he will be ·fair [upright; just; fair] in his decisions for the ·poor [oppressed; meek] people of the ·land [or earth].
·At his command evil people will be punished [L He will strike the earth with the rod/scepter of his mouth],
and by ·his words the wicked will be put to death [L the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked].
5 ·Goodness [Righteousness; Justice] will be like a belt around his waist,
and ·fairness [faithfulness; integrity] like a belt around his ·hips [waist; T loins].
6 The wolf will ·live in peace [L live; dwell] with the lamb,
and the leopard will ·lie down to rest [L lie down] with the young goat [C peace within the animal kingdom symbolizes the restoration of creation; 65:25].
Calves, lions, and ·young bulls [or fattened calves; L fatling] will ·eat [or be] together,
and a little child will lead them.
7 Cows and bears will ·eat [graze] together in peace.
Their young will lie down to rest together.
Lions will eat ·hay [straw] as oxen do.
8 A ·baby [nursing infant] will ·be able to play [L play] near a cobra’s hole,
and a child will ·be able to put [L put] his hand into the nest of a ·poisonous snake [adder; viper].
9 They will not hurt or destroy each other
on all my holy mountain,
because the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord,
as the ·sea is full of water [L waters cover the sea].
The Thousand Years
20 I saw an angel coming down from heaven. He had the key to the ·bottomless pit [Abyss; 9:1] and a ·large [great] chain in his hand. 2 The angel ·grabbed [seized] the dragon, that ·old snake [ancient serpent] who is the devil and Satan [12:9; Gen. 3:15], and ·tied him up [bound him; Mark 3:27] for a thousand years. 3 Then he threw him into the ·bottomless pit [Abyss], ·closed [or locked] it, and ·locked it [L sealed it; or placed a seal on it] over him. The angel did this so he could not ·trick [deceive; lead astray] the ·people of the earth [nations] anymore until the thousand years were ·ended [finished; completed]. After ·a thousand years [L these things] he must be set free for a short time.
4 Then I saw some thrones and people sitting on them who had been given the power to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been ·killed [L beheaded] because ·they were faithful to the message [of their testimony/witness] of Jesus and [L because of] the ·message from [word of] God. They had not worshiped the beast or his ·idol [image], and they had not received the ·mark [brand; stamp] of the beast on their foreheads or on their hands. They came back to life and ·ruled [reigned] with Christ for a thousand years. 5 (The others that were dead did not live again until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first ·raising of the dead [resurrection]. 6 ·Blessed [Happy] and holy are those who ·share [have a part] in this first ·raising of the dead [resurrection]. The second death [C being cast in the lake of fire] has no ·power [authority] over them. They will be priests for God and for Christ and will ·rule [reign] with him for a thousand years.
7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be set free from his prison. 8 Then he will go out to ·trick [deceive; lead astray] the nations in ·all [L the four corners of] the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle [Ezek. 38—39]. ·There are so many people [L In number] they will be like ·sand on the seashore [or the sand of the sea]. 9 And ·Satan’s army [L they] marched across [L the breadth of; or the broad plain of] the earth and ·gathered around [surrounded] the camp of ·God’s people [T the saints] and the city God loves. But fire came down from heaven and ·burned them up [consumed/devoured them; 13:13; 1 Kin. 18:38; 2 Kin. 1:10, 12]. 10 And ·Satan [L the Devil], who ·tricked them [deceived them; led them astray], was thrown into the lake of ·burning sulfur [L fire and sulfur] with the beast and the false prophet. There they will be ·punished [tormented; tortured] day and night forever and ever.
Jesus Is God’s Son
30 “I can do nothing ·alone [by myself; on my own initiative]. I judge ·only the way I am told [L as I hear], so my judgment is ·fair [just; right; righteous]. I don’t ·try to please myself [L seek my own will/desire], but ·I try to please [L the will of] the One who sent me.
31 “If only I ·tell people [testify; witness] about myself, ·what I say [my testimony; witness] is not ·true [valid]. 32 But there is another who ·tells [testifies; witnesses] about me, and I know that ·the things he says [L the witness/testimony he witnesses/testifies] about me are ·true [valid].
33 “You have sent people to John, and he has ·told you [testified/witnessed to] the truth. 34 It is not that I ·need [accept; depend on] ·what humans say [human testimony/witness]; I tell you this so you can be saved. 35 John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were ·happy to enjoy [L willing to rejoice in] his light for a while.
36 “But I have a ·proof [testimony; witness] about myself that is ·greater [weightier] than that of John. [L For] The ·things [L works] I do, which are the ·things [L works] my Father gave me to ·do [complete; finish; C the signs and miracles which point to his saving work on the cross], ·prove [testify; witness] that the Father sent me. 37 And the Father himself who sent me has given ·proof [testimony; witness] ·about me [concerning me; on my behalf]. You have never heard his voice or seen ·what he looks like [his form; his outward appearance]. 38 His ·teaching [word; message] does not ·live [remain; abide] in you, because you don’t believe in the One the Father sent. 39 You ·carefully study [search; examine] the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. They do in fact ·tell [testify; witness] ·about me [concerning me; on my behalf], 40 but you ·refuse [do not want] to come to me to have that life.
41 “I don’t ·need [or accept; receive] ·praise [glory; honor] from people. 42 But I know you—I know that you don’t have God’s love in you. 43 I have come ·from my Father and speak for him [L in my Father’s name], ·but [or and] you don’t ·accept [receive] me. But when another person comes, ·speaking only for himself [L in his own name], you will ·accept [receive] him. 44 You try to ·get praise [receive glory/honor] from each other, but you do not try to ·get the praise [receive glory/honor] that comes from the only God. So how can you believe? 45 Don’t think that I will ·stand before the Father and say you are wrong [L accuse you before the Father]. The one who ·says you are wrong [L accuses you] is Moses, the one ·you hoped would save you [L in whom you hoped]. 46 [L For] If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because Moses wrote about me [C in the Torah, the first five books of the OT; for example, Deut. 18:15 quoted in Acts 3:22]. 47 But if you don’t believe what Moses wrote, how can you believe what I say?”
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