Book of Common Prayer
מ Mem
97 Oh, how I love Your law!
It is my meditation all the day.
98 Your commandments have made me wiser than my enemies,
for they are continually with me.
99 I have more understanding than all my teachers,
for Your testimonies are my meditation.
100 I understand more than the elders,
because I keep Your precepts.
101 I have restrained my feet from every evil way,
that I might keep Your word.
102 I have not departed from Your judgments,
for You have taught me.
103 How sweet are Your words to the taste of my mouth!
Sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 Through Your precepts I receive understanding;
therefore I hate every false way.
נ Nun
105 Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
106 I have sworn, and I will perform it,
that I will keep Your righteous judgments.
107 I am greatly afflicted;
revive me, O Lord, according to Your word.
108 Accept the freewill offerings of my praise, O Lord,
and teach me Your judgments.
109 My soul is continually in my hand,
yet I do not forget Your law.
110 The wicked have laid a trap for me,
yet I do not depart from Your precepts.
111 Your testimonies are my inheritance forever,
for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
112 I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes always,
even unto the end.
ס Samekh
113 I hate those who are double-minded,
but I love Your law.
114 You are my hiding place and my shield,
I hope in Your word.
115 Depart from me, you who are wicked,
for I keep the commandments of my God.
116 Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live,
and let me not be ashamed with my hope.
117 Hold me up, and I shall be safe,
and I will have respect for Your statutes continually.
118 You have rejected all those who stray from Your statutes,
for their deceit is falsehood.
119 You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross;
therefore I love Your testimonies.
120 My body trembles for fear of You,
and I am afraid of Your judgments.
Psalm 81
For the Music Director. According to The Gittith. A Psalm of Asaph.
1 Sing aloud unto God our strength;
make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
2 Lift up a melody, and sound the tambourine,
the pleasant lyre with the harp.
3 Blow the trumpet at the New Moon,
at the full moon on our feast day.
4 For this is a statute for Israel,
a decree of the God of Jacob.
5 This He ordained in Joseph as a decree
when He went out against the land of Egypt.
I heard a voice that I had not known:
6 “I removed his shoulder from the burden;
his hands were released from holding the basket.
7 You called in trouble, and I delivered you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
8 Hear, O My people, and I will testify against you.
O Israel, if you would listen to me!
9 There shall be no strange god among you;
neither shall you bow down to any strange god.
10 I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt;
open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 “But My people would not listen to My voice;
Israel would not submit to Me.
12 So I gave them up to their stubborn hearts,
to walk in their own counsels.
13 “Oh, that My people would listen to Me,
and Israel would follow in My ways!
14 I would soon subdue their enemies,
and turn My hand against their adversaries.
15 Let those who hate the Lord cower before Him
and their fate might last forever.
16 But I would feed them with the finest of wheat,
and with honey out of the rock I would satisfy you.”
Psalm 82
A Psalm of Asaph.
1 God stands among the divine council;
He renders judgment among the gods.
2 “How long will you all judge unjustly
and accept partiality of the wicked? Selah
3 Defend the poor and fatherless;
vindicate the afflicted and needy.
4 Grant escape to the abused and the destitute,
pluck them out of the hand of the false.
5 “They have neither knowledge nor understanding;
they walk in darkness:
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.”
6 I have said, “You are gods,
sons of the Most High, all of you,
7 but you all shall die like men,
and fall like a man, O princes.”
8 Arise, O God, judge the earth,
for You shall inherit all nations.
Return to the Lord
12 Yet even now, declares the Lord,
return to Me with all your heart,
and with fasting and with weeping and with mourning.
13 Rend your heart,
and not your garments;
return to the Lord your God,
for He is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and He relents from punishing.
14 Who knows? He might turn aside and relent,
and He might leave behind a blessing—
a grain offering and a food offering
for the Lord your God.
15 Blow the ram’s horn in Zion,
consecrate a fast,
call a sacred assembly.
16 Gather the people,
consecrate the congregation,
assemble the elders,
gather the children
and those nursing at the breast;
let the bridegroom leave his room
and the bride her chamber.
17 Between the temple porch and the altar,
let the priests, ministers of the Lord, weep and say,
“Have pity upon Your people,
and do not make Your heritage a disgrace,
a mockery among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’ ”
Rescue and Restitution
18 Then the Lord became jealous for His land
and took pity upon His people.
19 So the Lord answered and said to His people,
Here! I am sending you grain, new wine, and oil,
and you will be satisfied,
and I will never again make you
a disgrace among the nations.
The Rider on the White Horse
11 I saw heaven opened. And there was a white horse. He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written, that no one knows but He Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood. His name is called The Word of God. 14 The armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Out of His mouth proceeds a sharp sword, with which He may strike the nations. “He shall rule them with an iron scepter.”[a] He treads the winepress of the fury and wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On His robe and on His thigh He has a name written:
KING OF KINGS
AND LORD OF LORDS.
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud voice to all the birds flying in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather for the supper of the great God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of commanders, the flesh of strong men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great!”
19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to wage war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 20 But the beast was captured and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with brimstone. 21 The remnant were slain with the sword which proceeded out of the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds gorged themselves with their flesh.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep(A)
15 Now all the tax collectors and sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 But the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”
3 So He told them this parable, saying, 4 “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he places it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 Then when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’ 7 Likewise, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous men who need no repentance.
The Parable of the Lost Coin
8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins[a] and losing one, does not light a candle and sweep the house and search 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 which I had lost.’ 10 Likewise, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.