Book of Common Prayer
Mem
97 Oh how (A)I love your law!
It is my (B)meditation all the day.
98 Your commandment makes me (C)wiser than my enemies,
for it is ever with me.
99 I have more understanding than all my teachers,
for (D)your testimonies are my meditation.
100 I understand more than (E)the aged,[a]
for I (F)keep your precepts.
101 I (G)hold back my feet from every evil way,
in order to keep your word.
102 I do not turn aside from your rules,
for you have taught me.
103 How (H)sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 Through your precepts I get understanding;
therefore (I)I hate every false way.
Nun
105 (J)Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
106 I have (K)sworn an oath and confirmed it,
to keep your (L)righteous rules.
107 I am severely (M)afflicted;
(N)give me life, O Lord, according to your word!
108 Accept (O)my freewill offerings of praise, O Lord,
and (P)teach me your rules.
109 I hold my life (Q)in my hand continually,
but I do not (R)forget your law.
110 The wicked have laid (S)a snare for me,
but (T)I do not stray from your precepts.
111 Your testimonies are (U)my heritage forever,
for they are (V)the joy of my heart.
112 I (W)incline my heart to perform your statutes
forever, (X)to the end.[b]
Samekh
113 I hate (Y)the double-minded,
but I love (Z)your law.
114 You are my (AA)hiding place and my (AB)shield;
I (AC)hope in your word.
115 (AD)Depart from me, you evildoers,
that I may (AE)keep the commandments of my God.
116 Uphold me (AF)according to your promise, that I may live,
and let me not be (AG)put to shame in my (AH)hope!
117 (AI)Hold me up, that I may be safe
and have regard for your statutes continually!
118 You (AJ)spurn all who (AK)go astray from your statutes,
for their cunning is in vain.
119 All the wicked of the earth you discard like (AL)dross,
therefore (AM)I love your testimonies.
120 My flesh (AN)trembles for fear of you,
and I am afraid of your judgments.
Oh, That My People Would Listen to Me
To the choirmaster: according to (A)The Gittith.[a] Of (B)Asaph.
81 (C)Sing aloud to God our strength;
(D)shout for joy to the God of Jacob!
2 Raise a song; sound (E)the tambourine,
(F)the sweet lyre with (G)the harp.
3 Blow the trumpet at (H)the new moon,
at the full moon, on our feast day.
4 For it is a statute for Israel,
a rule[b] of the God of Jacob.
5 He made it (I)a decree in (J)Joseph
when he (K)went out over[c] the land of Egypt.
(L)I hear a language (M)I had not known:
6 “I (N)relieved your[d] shoulder of (O)the burden;
your hands were freed from the basket.
7 In distress you (P)called, and I delivered you;
I (Q)answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I (R)tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
8 (S)Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
9 There shall be no (T)strange god among you;
you shall not bow down to a (U)foreign god.
10 (V)I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
(W)Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 “But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel (X)would not submit to me.
12 So I (Y)gave them over to their (Z)stubborn hearts,
to follow their own (AA)counsels.
13 (AB)Oh, that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would (AC)walk in my ways!
14 I would soon subdue their enemies
and (AD)turn my hand against their foes.
15 Those who hate the Lord would (AE)cringe toward him,
and their fate would last forever.
16 But he would feed you[e] with (AF)the finest of the wheat,
and with (AG)honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
Rescue the Weak and Needy
A Psalm of (AH)Asaph.
82 (AI)God (AJ)has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of (AK)the gods he (AL)holds judgment:
2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and (AM)show partiality to (AN)the wicked? Selah
3 (AO)Give justice to (AP)the weak and the fatherless;
(AQ)maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
4 (AR)Rescue the weak and the needy;
(AS)deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
5 (AT)They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
(AU)they walk about in darkness;
(AV)all the foundations of the earth are (AW)shaken.
Return to the Lord
12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
(A)“return to me with all your heart,
(B)with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13 and (C)rend your hearts and not (D)your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
(E)for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
(F)and he relents over disaster.
14 (G)Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and (H)leave a blessing behind him,
(I)a grain offering and a drink offering
for the Lord your God?
15 (J)Blow the trumpet in Zion;
(K)consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
16 gather the people.
(L)Consecrate the congregation;
assemble the elders;
(M)gather the children,
even nursing infants.
(N)Let the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride her chamber.
17 (O)Between the (P)vestibule and the (Q)altar
(R)let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep
and say, “Spare your people, O Lord,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
a byword among the nations.[a]
(S)Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”
The Lord Had Pity
The Rider on a White Horse
11 Then I saw (A)heaven opened, and behold, (B)a white horse! The one sitting on it is called (C)Faithful and True, and (D)in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 (E)His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are (F)many diadems, and he has (G)a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in (H)a robe dipped in[a] blood, and the name by which he is called is (I)The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, (J)arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, (K)were following him on white horses. 15 (L)From his mouth comes a sharp sword (M)with which to strike down the nations, and (N)he will rule[b] them with a rod of iron. (O)He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh (P)he has a name written, (Q)King of kings and Lord of lords.
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to (R)all the birds that fly directly overhead, (S)“Come, gather for (T)the great supper of God, 18 (U)to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave,[c] both small and great.” 19 And I saw (V)the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies (W)gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it (X)the false prophet (Y)who in its presence[d] had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who (Z)worshiped its image. These two were (AA)thrown alive into the lake of (AB)fire that burns with sulfur. 21 And the rest were slain by the sword (AC)that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and (AD)all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
15 Now (A)the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes (B)grumbled, saying, (C)“This man receives sinners and (D)eats with them.”
3 So he told them this parable: 4 (E)“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, (F)if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine (G)in the open country, and (H)go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, (I)he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for (J)I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who (K)repents than over ninety-nine (L)righteous persons who need no repentance.
The Parable of the Lost Coin
8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins,[a] if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before (M)the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.