Book of Common Prayer

Giving Thanks to God

63 O God, You are my God. I will look for You with all my heart and strength. My soul is thirsty for You. My flesh is weak wanting You in a dry and tired land where there is no water. ² So I have seen You in the holy place. And I have seen Your power and Your shining-greatness. ³ My lips will praise You because Your loving-kindness is better than life. ⁴ So I will give honor to You as long as I live. I will lift up my hands in Your name. ⁵ My soul will be filled as with rich foods. And my mouth praises You with lips of joy.

⁶ On my bed I remember You. I think of You through the hours of the night. ⁷ For You have been my help. And I sing for joy in the shadow of Your wings. ⁸ My soul holds on to You. Your right hand holds me up.

⁹ But those who want to take my life and destroy it will go deep into the earth. ¹⁰ They will be given over to the power of the sword. They will become food for foxes. ¹¹ But the king will be full of joy in God. All who are faithful to God will be full of joy. For the mouth of those who speak lies will be stopped.

Praise for God’s Love

103 Praise the Lord, O my soul. And all that is within me, praise His holy name. ² Praise the Lord, O my soul. And forget none of His acts of kindness. ³ He forgives all my sins. He heals all my diseases. ⁴ He saves my life from the grave. He crowns me with loving-kindness and pity. ⁵ He fills my years with good things and I am made young again like the eagle.

⁶ The Lord does what is right and fair for all who suffer under a bad power. ⁷ He made His ways known to Moses and His acts to the people of Israel. ⁸ The Lord is full of loving-pity and kindness. He is slow to anger and has much loving-kindness. ⁹ He will not always keep after us. And He will not keep His anger back forever. ¹⁰ He has not punished us enough for all our sins. He has not paid us back for all our wrong-doings. ¹¹ For His loving-kindness for those who fear Him is as great as the heavens are high above the earth. ¹² He has taken our sins from us as far as the east is from the west. ¹³ The Lord has loving-pity on those who fear Him, as a father has loving-pity on his children. ¹⁴ For He knows what we are made of. He remembers that we are dust.

¹⁵ The days of man are like grass. He grows like a flower of the field. ¹⁶ When the wind blows over it, it is gone. Its place will remember it no more. ¹⁷ But the loving-kindness of the Lord is forever and forever on those who fear Him. And what is right with God is given forever to their children’s children, ¹⁸ to those who keep His agreement and remember to obey His Law.

¹⁹ The Lord has set up His throne in the heavens. And His holy nation rules over all. ²⁰ Praise the Lord, you powerful angels of His who do what He says, obeying His voice as He speaks! ²¹ Praise the Lord, all you armies of His who work for Him and do what pleases Him. ²² Praise the Lord, all His works in all places under His rule. Praise the Lord, O my soul!

Bildad Talks

25 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered, ² “Power and fear belong to God. He keeps peace in His high places. ³ Is there any number to His armies? Upon whom does His light not shine? ⁴ How then can a man be right and good before God? How can he who is born of woman be clean? ⁵ See, even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in His eyes. ⁶ How much less man, who is a bug, and the son of man, who is a worm!”

Job Keeps On Talking

27 Job kept on speaking, and said, ² “As God lives, Who has taken away my right, and the All-powerful, Who has troubled my soul, ³ as long as life is in me, and the breath of God is in my nose, ⁴ my lips will not speak what is not true, and my tongue will not lie. ⁵ Far be it from me to say that you are right. Until I die I will not put away my honor. ⁶ I hold on to what is right and good and will not let it go. My heart does not put me to shame for any of my days.

The Lamb Stands in Jerusalem

14 Then I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion. There were 144,000 people with Him. These people had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads. ² I heard a voice coming from heaven. It was like the sound of rushing water and of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like people playing music on their harps. ³ This large group sang a new song. They sang before the throne and in front of the four living beings and the twenty-four leaders. Only the 144,000 could learn this song. They had been bought by the blood of Christ and made free from the earth. ⁴ These are men who have kept themselves pure by not being married. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been bought by the blood of Christ and have been made free from among men. They are the first ones to be given to God and to the Lamb. ⁵ No lie has come from their mouths. They are without blame.

The Three Angels

⁶ Then I saw another angel flying in the heavens. He was carrying the Good News that lasts forever. He was preaching to every nation and to every family group and to the people of every language and to all the people of the earth. ⁷ He said with a loud voice, “Honor God with love and fear. The time has come for Him to judge all men. Worship Him Who made heaven and earth and the sea and the places where water comes out of the earth.”

¹³ Then I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write these words: ‘From now on those who are dead who died belonging to the Lord will be happy.’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will have rest from all their work. All the good things they have done will follow them.”

Jesus Teaches about Salt and Light

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. If salt loses its taste, how can it be made to taste like salt again? It is no good. It is thrown away and people walk on it. ¹⁴ You are the light of the world. You cannot hide a city that is on a mountain. ¹⁵ Men do not light a lamp and put it under a basket. They put it on a table so it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light shine in front of men. Then they will see the good things you do and will honor your Father Who is in heaven.

Jesus Teaches about the Law

¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to do away with the Law of Moses or the writings of the early preachers. I have not come to do away with them but to complete them. ¹⁸ I tell you, as long as heaven and earth last, not one small mark or part of a word will pass away of the Law of Moses until it has all been done. ¹⁹ Anyone who breaks even the least of the Law of Moses and teaches people not to do what it says, will be called the least in the holy nation of heaven. He who obeys and teaches others to obey what the Law of Moses says, will be called great in the holy nation of heaven. ²⁰ I tell you, unless you are more right with God than the teachers of the Law and the proud religious law-keepers, you will never get into the holy nation of heaven.