Book of Common Prayer
33
He turns rivers into a wilderness,
And springs of water into a thirsty ground;(A)
34
A productive land into a [barren] salt waste,
Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.(B)
35
He turns a wilderness into a pool of water
And a dry land into springs of water;(C)
36
And there He has the hungry dwell,
So that they may establish an inhabited city,
37
And sow fields and plant vineyards,
And produce an abundant harvest.
38
Also He blesses them so that they multiply greatly,
And He does not let [the number of] their cattle decrease.
39
When they are diminished and bowed down (humbled)
Through oppression, misery, and sorrow,
40
He pours contempt on princes
And makes them wander in a pathless wasteland.
41
Yet He sets the needy securely on high, away from affliction,
And makes their families like a flock.
42
The upright see it and rejoice;
But all unrighteousness shuts its mouth.
43
Who is wise? Let him observe and heed these things;
And [thoughtfully] consider the lovingkindness of the Lord.
Praise and Supplication to God for Victory.
A Song. A Psalm of David.
108 O God, my heart is steadfast [with confident faith];
I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my soul.
2
Awake, harp and lyre;
I will awaken the dawn!
3
I will praise and give thanks to You, O Lord, among the people;
And I will sing praises to You among the nations.
4
For Your lovingkindness is great and higher than the heavens;
Your truth reaches to the skies.(D)
5
Be exalted [in majesty], O God, above the heavens,
And Your glory above all the earth.
6
That Your beloved [ones] may be rescued,
Save with Your right hand, and answer me!
7
God has spoken in His [a]holiness:
“I will rejoice, I will portion out Shechem [as I divide Canaan among My people],
And measure out the Valley of Succoth.
8
“Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is the helmet of My head [My stronghold, My defense];
Judah is My [b]scepter.(E)
9
“Moab is My washbowl;
Over Edom I will throw My shoe [to show Edom is Mine];
Over Philistia I will shout [in triumph].”
10
Who will bring me into the fortified city [of Petra]?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11
Have You not rejected us, O God?
And will You not go out, O God, with our armies?
12
Give us help against the adversary,
For deliverance by man is in vain [a worthless hope].
13
[c]With God we will do valiantly,
For it is He who will trample down our enemies.(F)
Praise to the Creator and Preserver.
33 Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones;
Praise is becoming and appropriate for those who are upright [in heart—those with moral integrity and godly character].
2
Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
Sing praises to Him with the harp of ten strings.
3
Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully [on the strings] with a loud and joyful sound.
4
For the word of the Lord is right;
And all His work is done in faithfulness.
5
He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.
6
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made,
And all their host by the breath of His mouth.(A)
7
He gathers the waters of the sea together as in a wineskin;
He puts the deeps in storehouses.
8
Let all the earth fear and worship the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
9
For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.
10
The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations;
He makes the thoughts and plans of the people ineffective.
11
The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The thoughts and plans of His heart through all generations.
12
Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the nation whose God is the Lord,
The people whom He has chosen as His own inheritance.(B)
13
The Lord looks [down] from heaven;
He sees all the sons of man;
14
From His dwelling place He looks closely
Upon all the inhabitants of the earth—
15
He who fashions the hearts of them all,
Who considers and understands all that they do.
16
The king is not saved by the great size of his army;
A warrior is not rescued by his great strength.
17
A horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.
18
Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear Him [and worship Him with awe-inspired reverence and obedience],
On those who hope [confidently] in His compassion and lovingkindness,
19
To rescue their lives from death
And keep them alive in famine.
20
We wait [expectantly] for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
21
For in Him our heart rejoices,
Because we trust [lean on, rely on, and are confident] in His holy name.
22
Let Your [steadfast] lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us,
In proportion as we have [a]hoped in You.
New Heavens and a New Earth
17
“Behold, I am creating new heavens and a new earth;
And the former things [of life] will not be remembered or come to mind.(A)
18
“But be glad and rejoice forever over what I create;
Behold, I am creating Jerusalem to be a source of rejoicing
And her people a joy.
19
“I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;
And there will no longer be heard in her
The voice of weeping and the sound of crying.
20
“No longer shall there be [a]in it an infant who lives only a few days,
Or an old man who does not finish his days;
For the youth who dies at the age of a hundred,
And the one who does not reach the age of a hundred
Will be thought of as accursed.
21
“They will build houses and live in them;
They will plant vineyards and eat the fruit.
22
“They will not build and another occupy;
They will not plant and another eat [the fruit].
For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,
And My chosen [people] will fully enjoy [and long make use of] the work of their hands.
23
“They will not labor in vain,
Or bear children for disaster;
For they are the descendants of those blessed by the Lord,
And their offspring with them.
24 “It shall also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.(B) 25 The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox [there will no longer be predator and prey]; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain (Zion),” says the Lord.
14 [a]Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) are those who wash their robes [in the blood of Christ by believing and trusting in Him—the righteous who do His commandments], so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.(A) 15 Outside are the dogs [the godless, the impure, those of low moral character] and the sorcerers [with their intoxicating drugs, and magic arts], and the immoral persons [the perverted, the molesters, and the adulterers], and the murderers, and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying (deception, cheating).
The Final Invitation
16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you and to give you assurance of these things for the churches. I am the Root (the Source, the Life) and the Offspring of David, the radiant and bright Morning Star.”(B)
17 The [Holy] Spirit and the bride (the church, believers) say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take and drink the water of life without cost.(C)
18 I testify and warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book [its predictions, consolations, and admonitions]: if anyone adds [anything] to them, God will add to him the plagues (afflictions, calamities) which are written in this book;(D) 19 and if anyone takes away from or distorts the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away [from that one] his share from the tree of life and from the holy city (new Jerusalem), which are written in this book.
20 He who testifies and affirms these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus (the Christ, the Messiah) be with all [the saints—all believers, those set apart for God]. Amen.
Forgiveness
21 Then Peter came to Him and asked, “Lord, how many times will my brother sin against me and I forgive him and let it go? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered him, “I say to you, not up to seven times, but seventy times seven.
23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 When he began the accounting, one who owed him 10,000 [a]talents was brought to him. 25 But because he could not repay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and his children and everything that he possessed, and payment to be made. 26 So the slave fell on his knees and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27 And his master’s heart was moved with compassion and he released him and forgave him [canceling] the debt. 28 But that same slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him [b]a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began choking him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe!’ 29 So his fellow slave fell on his knees and begged him earnestly, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ 30 But he was unwilling and he went and had him thrown in prison until he paid back the debt. 31 When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and they went and reported to their master [with clarity and in detail] everything that had taken place. 32 Then his master called him and said to him, ‘You wicked and contemptible slave, I forgave all that [great] debt of yours because you begged me. 33 Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave [who owed you little by comparison], as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in wrath his master turned him over to the torturers (jailers) until he paid all that he owed. 35 My heavenly Father will also do the same to [every one of] you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.