Book of Common Prayer
(By David.)
Trust the Lord
1 Don't be annoyed by anyone
who does wrong,
and don't envy them.
2 They will soon disappear
like grass without rain.
3 Trust the Lord and live right!
The land will be yours,
and you will be safe.
4 Do what the Lord wants,
and he will give you
your heart's desire.
5 Let the Lord lead you
and trust him to help.
6 Then it will be as clear
as the noonday sun
that you were right.
7 Be patient and trust the Lord.
Don't let it bother you
when all goes well for those
who do sinful things.
8 Don't be angry or furious.
Anger can lead to sin.
9 All sinners will disappear,
but if you trust the Lord,
the land will be yours.
10 Sinners will soon disappear,
never to be found,
11 (A) but the poor will take the land
and enjoy a big harvest.
12 Merciless people make plots
against good people
and snarl like animals,
13 but the Lord laughs and knows
their time is coming soon.
14 The wicked kill with swords
and shoot arrows to murder
the poor and the needy
and all who do right.
15 But they will be killed
by their own swords,
and their arrows
will be broken.
16 It is better to live right
and be poor
than to be sinful and rich.
17 The wicked will lose all
of their power,
but the Lord gives strength
to everyone who is good.
18 Those who obey the Lord
are daily in his care,
and what he has given them
will be theirs forever.
19 They won't be in trouble
when times are bad,
and they will have plenty
when food is scarce.
20 Wicked people are enemies
of the Lord
and will vanish like smoke
from a field on fire.
21 An evil person borrows
and never pays back;
a good person is generous
and never stops giving.
22 Everyone the Lord blesses
will receive the land;
everyone the Lord curses
will be destroyed.
23 If you do what the Lord wants,
he will make certain
each step you take is sure.
24 The Lord will hold your hand,
and if you stumble,
you still won't fall.
25 As long as I can remember,
good people have never
been left helpless,
and their children have never
gone begging for food.
26 They gladly give and lend,
and their children
turn out good.
27 If you stop sinning
and start doing right,
you will keep living
and be secure forever.
28 The Lord loves justice,
and he won't ever desert
his faithful people.
He always protects them,
but destroys the children
of the wicked.
29 God's people will own the land
and live here forever.
30 Words of wisdom come
when good people speak
for justice.
31 They remember God's teachings,
and they never take
a wrong step.
32 The wicked try to trap
and kill good people,
33 but the Lord is on their side,
and he will defend them
when they are on trial.
34 Trust the Lord and follow him.
He will give you the land,
and you will see
the wicked destroyed.
35 I have seen brutal people
abuse others and grow strong
like trees in rich soil.[a]
36 Suddenly they disappeared!
I looked, but they were gone
and no longer there.
37 Think of the bright future
waiting for all the families
of honest, innocent,
and peace-loving people.
38 But not a trace will be left
of the wicked
or their families.
39 The Lord protects his people,
and they can come to him
in times of trouble.
40 The Lord helps his people
and saves them from the wicked
because they run to him.
Judgment on Israel
9 I saw a vision of the Lord
standing by the temple altar,[a]
and he said,
“Shake the columns
until the tops fall loose,
and the doorposts crumble.
Then make the pieces fall
on the people below.
I will take a sword and kill
anyone who escapes.
2 “If they dig deep into the earth
or climb to the sky,
I'll reach out and get them.
3 If they escape to the peaks
of Mount Carmel,
I'll search and find them.
And if they hide from me
at the bottom of the ocean,
I'll command a sea monster
to bite them.
4 I'll send a sword to kill them,
wherever their enemies
drag them off as captives.
I'm determined to hurt them,
not to help them.”
His Name Is the Lord
5 When the Lord God All-Powerful
touches the earth, it melts,
and its people mourn.
God makes the earth rise
and then fall,
just like the Nile River.
6 He built his palace in the heavens
and let its foundations
rest on the earth.[b]
He scoops up the ocean
and empties it on the earth.
His name is the Lord.
The Lord Is God
7 Israel, I am the Lord God,
and the Ethiopians[c]
are no less important to me
than you are.
I brought you out of Egypt,
but I also brought
the Philistines from Crete[d]
and the Arameans from Kir.[e]
8 My eyes have seen
what a sinful nation you are,
and I'll wipe you out.
But I will leave a few
of Jacob's descendants.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
9 At my command, all of you
will be sifted like grain.
Israelites who remain faithful
will be scattered
among the nations.
And the others will be trapped
like trash in a sifter.
10 Some of you are evil,
and you deny
that you will ever get caught.
But you will be killed.
The Letter to Smyrna
8 (A) This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Smyrna:
I am the first and the last. I died, but now I am alive! Listen to what I say.
9 I know how much you suffer and how poor you are, but you are rich. I also know the cruel things being said about you by people who claim to be God's people. But they are not really God's people. They are a group that belongs to Satan.
10 Don't worry about what you will suffer. The devil will throw some of you into jail, and you will be tested and made to suffer for ten days. But if you are faithful until you die, I will reward you with a glorious life.[a]
11 (B) If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. Whoever wins the victory will not be hurt by the second death.[b]
The Letter to Pergamum
12 This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Pergamum:
I am the one who has the sharp double-edged sword! Listen to what I say.
13 I know you live where Satan has his throne.[c] But you have kept true to my name. Right there where Satan lives, my faithful witness Antipas[d] was taken from you and put to death. Even then you did not give up your faith in me.
14 (C) I do have a few things against you. Some of you are following the teaching of Balaam.[e] Long ago he told Balak to teach the people of Israel to eat food that had been offered to idols and to be immoral. 15 Now some of you are following the teaching of the Nicolaitans.[f] 16 Turn back! If you don't, I will come quickly and fight against these people. And my words will cut like a sword.
17 (D) If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To everyone who wins the victory, I will give some of the hidden food.[g] I will also give each one a white stone[h] with a new name[i] written on it. No one will know that name except the one who is given the stone.
13-14 You Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses are in for trouble! You're nothing but show-offs. You lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. You won't go in yourselves, and you keep others from going in.[a]
15 You Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses are in for trouble! You're nothing but show-offs. You travel over land and sea to win one follower. And when you have done so, you make that person twice as fit for hell as you are.
16 You are in for trouble! You are supposed to lead others, but you are blind. You teach that it doesn't matter if a person swears by the temple. But you say it does matter if someone swears by the gold in the temple. 17 You blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred?
18 You also teach that it doesn't matter if a person swears by the altar. But you say it does matter if someone swears by the gift on the altar. 19 Are you blind? Which is more important, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Anyone who swears by the altar also swears by everything on it. 21 And anyone who swears by the temple also swears by God, who lives there. 22 (A) To swear by heaven is the same as swearing by God's throne and by the one who sits on that throne.
23 (B) You Pharisees and teachers are show-offs, and you're in for trouble! You give God a tenth of the spices from your garden, such as mint, dill, and cumin. Yet you neglect the more important matters of the Law, such as justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These are the important things you should have done, though you should not have left the others undone either. 24 You blind leaders! You strain out a small fly but swallow a camel.
25 You Pharisees and teachers are show-offs, and you're in for trouble! You wash the outside of your cups and dishes, while inside there is nothing but greed and selfishness. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of a cup, and then the outside will also be clean.
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