Book of Common Prayer
Love for the Law of the Lord
97 How I love your law!
I think about it all day long.
98 Your commandment is with me all the time
and makes me wiser than my enemies.
99 I understand more than all my teachers,
because I meditate on your instructions.
100 I have greater wisdom than those who are old,
because I obey your commands.
101 I have avoided all evil conduct,
because I want to obey your word.
102 I have not neglected your instructions,
because you yourself are my teacher.
103 How sweet is the taste of your instructions—
sweeter even than honey!
104 I gain wisdom from your laws,
and so I hate all bad conduct.
Light from the Law of the Lord
105 Your word is a lamp to guide me
and a light for my path.
106 I will keep my solemn promise
to obey your just instructions.
107 My sufferings, Lord, are terrible indeed;
keep me alive, as you have promised.
108 Accept my prayer of thanks, O Lord,
and teach me your commands.
109 I am always ready to risk my life;
I[a] have not forgotten your law.
110 The wicked lay a trap for me,
but I have not disobeyed your commands.
111 Your commandments are my eternal possession;
they are the joy of my heart.
112 I have decided to obey your laws
until the day I die.
Safety in the Law of the Lord
113 I hate those who are not completely loyal to you,
but I love your law.
114 You are my defender and protector;
I put my hope in your promise.
115 Go away from me, you sinful people.
I will obey the commands of my God.
116 Give me strength, as you promised, and I shall live;
don't let me be disappointed in my hope!
117 Hold me, and I will be safe,
and I will always pay attention to your commands.
118 You reject everyone who disobeys your laws;
their deceitful schemes are useless.
119 You treat all the wicked like rubbish,
and so I love your instructions.
120 Because of you I am afraid;
I am filled with fear because of your judgments.
A Song for a Festival[a]
81 Shout for joy to God our defender;
sing praise to the God of Jacob!
2 Start the music and beat the tambourines;
play pleasant music on the harps and the lyres.
3 (A)Blow the trumpet for the festival,
when the moon is new and when the moon is full.
4 This is the law in Israel,
an order from the God of Jacob.
5 He gave it to the people of Israel
when he attacked the land of Egypt.
I hear an unknown voice saying,
6 “I took the burdens off your backs;
I let you put down your loads of bricks.
7 (B)When you were in trouble, you called to me, and I saved you.
From my hiding place in the storm, I answered you.
I put you to the test at the springs of Meribah.
8 Listen, my people, to my warning;
Israel, how I wish you would listen to me!
9 (C)You must never worship another god.
10 I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of Egypt.
Open your mouth, and I will feed you.
11 “But my people would not listen to me;
Israel would not obey me.
12 So I let them go their stubborn ways
and do whatever they wanted.
13 How I wish my people would listen to me;
how I wish they would obey me!
14 I would quickly defeat their enemies
and conquer all their foes.
15 Those who hate me would bow in fear before me;
their punishment would last forever.
16 But I would feed you with the finest wheat
and satisfy you with wild honey.”
God the Supreme Ruler[b]
82 God presides in the heavenly council;
in the assembly of the gods he gives his decision:
2 “You must stop judging unjustly;
you must no longer be partial to the wicked!
3 Defend the rights of the poor and the orphans;
be fair to the needy and the helpless.
4 Rescue them from the power of evil people.
5 “How ignorant you are! How stupid!
You are completely corrupt,
and justice has disappeared from the world.
6 (D)‘You are gods,’ I said;
‘all of you are children of the Most High.’
7 But you will die like mortals;
your life will end like that of any prince.”
8 Come, O God, and rule the world;
all the nations are yours.
A Call to Repentance
12 “But even now,” says the Lord,
“repent sincerely and return to me
with fasting and weeping and mourning.
13 Let your broken heart show your sorrow;
tearing your clothes is not enough.”
Come back to the Lord your God.
He is kind and full of mercy;
he is patient and keeps his promise;
he is always ready to forgive and not punish.
14 Perhaps the Lord your God will change his mind
and bless you with abundant crops.
Then you can offer him grain and wine.
15 Blow the trumpet on Mount Zion;
give orders for a fast and call an assembly!
16 Gather the people together;
prepare them for a sacred meeting;
bring the old people;
gather the children
and the babies too.
Even newly married couples
must leave their homes and come.
17 (A)The priests, serving the Lord
between the altar and the entrance of the Temple,
must weep and pray:
“Have pity on your people, Lord.
Do not let other nations despise us and mock us
by saying, ‘Where is your God?’”
God Restores Fertility to the Land
18 Then the Lord showed concern for his land;
he had mercy on his people.
19 He answered them:
“Now I am going to give you
grain and wine and olive oil,
and you will be satisfied.
Other nations will no longer despise you.
The Rider on the White Horse
11 (A)Then I saw heaven open, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True; it is with justice that he judges and fights his battles. 12 (B)His eyes were like a flame of fire, and he wore many crowns on his head. He had a name written on him, but no one except himself knows what it is. 13 (C)The robe he wore was covered with blood. His name is “The Word of God.” 14 The armies of heaven followed him, riding on white horses and dressed in clean white linen. 15 (D)Out of his mouth came a sharp sword, with which he will defeat the nations. He will rule over them with a rod of iron, and he will trample out the wine in the wine press of the furious anger of the Almighty God. 16 On his robe and on his thigh was written the name: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
17 (E)Then I saw an angel standing on the sun. He shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair: “Come and gather together for God's great feast! 18 Come and eat the flesh of kings, generals, and soldiers, the flesh of horses and their riders, the flesh of all people, slave and free, great and small!”
19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered to fight against the one who was riding the horse and against his army. 20 (F)The beast was taken prisoner, together with the false prophet who had performed miracles in his presence. (It was by those miracles that he had deceived those who had the mark of the beast and those who had worshiped the image of the beast.) The beast and the false prophet were both thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 21 Their armies were killed by the sword that comes out of the mouth of the one who was riding the horse; and all the birds ate all they could of their flesh.
The Lost Sheep(A)
15 (B)One day when many tax collectors and other outcasts came to listen to Jesus, 2 the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law started grumbling, “This man welcomes outcasts and even eats with them!” 3 So Jesus told them this parable:
4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them—what do you do? You leave the other ninety-nine sheep in the pasture and go looking for the one that got lost until you find it. 5 When you find it, you are so happy that you put it on your shoulders 6 and carry it back home. Then you call your friends and neighbors together and say to them, ‘I am so happy I found my lost sheep. Let us celebrate!’ 7 In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine respectable people who do not need to repent.
The Lost Coin
8 “Or suppose a woman who has ten silver coins loses one of them—what does she do? She lights a lamp, sweeps her house, and looks carefully everywhere until she finds it. 9 When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, and says to them, ‘I am so happy I found the coin I lost. Let us celebrate!’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, the angels of God rejoice over one sinner who repents.”
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.