Book of Common Prayer
For the director of music. A psalm of David to be played on stringed instruments.
61 God, hear my cry for help.
Listen to my prayer.
2 From a place far away I call out to you.
I call out as my heart gets weaker.
Lead me to the safety of a rock that is high above me.
3 You have always kept me safe from my enemies.
You are like a strong tower to me.
4 I long to live in your holy tent forever.
There I find safety in the shadow of your wings.
5 God, you have heard my promises.
You have given me what belongs to those who worship you.
6 Add many days to the king’s life.
Let him live on and on for many years.
7 May he always enjoy your blessing as he rules.
Let your love and truth keep him safe.
8 Then I will always sing praise to you.
I will keep my promises day after day.
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
62 It is surely true that I find my rest in God.
He is the God who saves me.
2 It is surely true that he is my rock. He is the God who saves me.
He is like a fort to me. I will always be secure.
3 How long will you enemies attack me?
Will all of you throw me down?
I’m like a leaning wall.
I’m like a fence about to fall.
4 Surely my enemies only want to pull me down
from my place of honor.
They take delight in telling lies.
They bless me with what they say.
But in their hearts they ask for bad things to happen to me.
5 Yes, I must find my rest in God.
He is the God who gives me hope.
6 It is surely true that he is my rock and the God who saves me.
He is like a fort to me, so I will always be secure.
7 I depend on God to save me and to honor me.
He is my mighty rock and my place of safety.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people.
Tell him all your troubles.
God is our place of safety.
9 Surely ordinary people are only a breath.
Important people are not what they seem to be.
If they were weighed on a scale, they wouldn’t amount to anything.
Together they are only a breath.
10 Don’t trust in money you have taken from others.
Don’t put false hope in things you have stolen.
Even if your riches grow,
don’t put your trust in them.
11 God, I have heard you say two things.
One is that power belongs to you, God.
12 The other is that your love, Lord, never ends.
You will reward everyone
in keeping with what they have done.
112 Praise the Lord.
Blessed are those who have respect for the Lord.
They find great delight when they obey God’s commands.
2 Their children will be powerful in the land.
Because they are honest, their children will be blessed.
3 Their family will have wealth and riches.
They will always be blessed for doing what is right.
4 Even in the darkness light shines on honest people.
It shines on those who are kind and tender and godly.
5 Good things will come to those who are willing to lend freely.
Good things will come to those who are fair in everything they do.
6 Those who do what is right will always be secure.
They will be remembered forever.
7 They aren’t afraid when bad news comes.
They stand firm because they trust in the Lord.
8 Their hearts are secure. They aren’t afraid.
In the end they will see their enemies destroyed.
9 They have spread their gifts around to poor people.
Their good works continue forever.
They will be powerful and honored.
10 Evil people will see it and be upset.
They will grind their teeth and become weaker and weaker.
What evil people long to do can’t succeed.
115 Lord, may glory be given to you, not to us.
You are loving and faithful.
2 Why do the nations ask,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven.
He does anything he wants to do.
4 But the statues of their gods are made out of silver and gold.
They are made by human hands.
5 They have mouths but can’t speak.
They have eyes but can’t see.
6 They have ears but can’t hear.
They have noses but can’t smell.
7 They have hands but can’t feel.
They have feet but can’t walk.
They have throats but can’t say anything.
8 Those who make statues of gods will be like them.
So will all those who trust in them.
9 All you Israelites, trust in the Lord.
He helps you like a shield that keeps you safe.
10 Priests of Aaron, trust in the Lord.
He helps you like a shield that keeps you safe.
11 You who have respect for the Lord, trust in him.
He helps you like a shield that keeps you safe.
12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us.
He will bless Israel, his people.
He will bless the priests of Aaron.
13 The Lord will bless those who have respect for him.
He will bless important and unimportant people alike.
14 May the Lord give you many children.
May he give them to you and to your children after you.
15 May the Lord bless you.
He is the Maker of heaven and earth.
16 The highest heavens belong to the Lord.
But he has given the earth to human beings.
17 Dead people don’t praise the Lord.
Those who lie quietly in the grave don’t praise him.
18 But we who are alive praise the Lord,
both now and forever.
Praise the Lord.
A Branch Will Come From Jesse’s Family Line
11 Jesse’s family is like a tree that has been cut down.
A new little tree will grow from its stump.
From its roots a Branch will grow and produce fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on that Branch.
The Spirit will help him to be wise and understanding.
The Spirit will help him make wise plans and carry them out.
The Spirit will help him know the Lord and have respect for him.
3 The Branch will take delight
in respecting the Lord.
He will not judge things only by the way they look.
He won’t make decisions based simply on what people say.
4 He will always do what is right
when he judges those who are in need.
He’ll be completely fair
when he makes decisions about poor people.
When he commands that people be punished,
it will happen.
When he orders that evil people be put to death,
it will take place.
5 He will put on godliness as if it were his belt.
He’ll wear faithfulness around his waist.
6 Wolves will live with lambs.
Leopards will lie down with goats.
Calves and lions will eat together.
And little children will lead them around.
7 Cows will eat with bears.
Their little ones will lie down together.
And lions will eat straw like oxen.
8 A baby will play near a hole where cobras live.
A young child will put its hand into a nest
where poisonous snakes live.
9 None of those animals will harm or destroy anything or anyone
on my holy mountain of Zion.
The oceans are full of water.
In the same way, the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of the Lord.
The Thousand Years
20 I saw an angel coming down out of heaven. He had the key to the Abyss. In his hand he held a heavy chain. 2 He grabbed the dragon, that old serpent. The serpent is also called the devil, or Satan. The angel put him in chains for 1,000 years. 3 Then he threw him into the Abyss. He locked it and sealed him in. This was to keep Satan from causing the nations to believe his lies anymore. Satan will be locked away until the 1,000 years are ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
4 I saw thrones. Those who had been given authority to judge were sitting on them. I also saw the souls of those whose heads had been cut off. They had been killed because they had spoken what was true about Jesus. They had also been killed because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its statue. They had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. They came to life and ruled with Christ for 1,000 years. 5 This is the first resurrection. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the 1,000 years were ended. 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them. They will be priests of God and of Christ. They will rule with him for 1,000 years.
Satan Is Judged
7 When the 1,000 years are over, Satan will be set free from his prison. 8 He will go out to cause the nations to believe lies. He will gather them from the four corners of the earth. He will bring Gog and Magog together for battle. Their troops are as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the whole earth. They surrounded the place where God’s holy people were camped. It was the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and burned them up. 10 The devil had caused them to believe lies. He was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur. That is where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will all suffer day and night for ever and ever.
30 I can do nothing by myself. I judge only as I hear. And my judging is fair. I do not try to please myself. I try to please the one who sent me.
Being a Witness About Jesus
31 “If I am a witness about myself, what I say is not true. 32 There is someone else who is a witness in my favor. And I know that what he says about me is true.
33 “You have sent people to John the Baptist. He has been a witness to the truth. 34 I do not accept what a person says. I only talk about what John says so that you can be saved. 35 John was like a lamp that burned and gave light. For a while you chose to enjoy his light.
36 “What I say about myself is more important than what John says about me. I am doing the works the Father gave me to finish. These works are a witness that the Father has sent me. 37 The Father who sent me is himself a witness about me. You have never heard his voice. You have never seen what he really looks like. 38 And his word does not live in you. That’s because you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You study the Scriptures carefully. You study them because you think they will give you eternal life. The Scriptures you study are a witness about me. 40 But you refuse to come to me and receive life.
41 “I do not accept praise from human beings. 42 But I know you. I know that you do not have love for God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me. But if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 You accept praise from one another. But you do not seek the praise that comes from the only God. So how can you believe?
45 “Do not think I will bring charges against you in front of the Father. Moses is the one who does that. And he is the one you build your hopes on. 46 Do you believe Moses? Then you should believe me. He wrote about me. 47 But you do not believe what he wrote. So how are you going to believe what I say?”
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