Book of Common Prayer
God the Judge
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm of Asaph. A song.
75 God, we thank you;
we thank you because you are near.
We tell about the miracles you do.
2 You say, “I set the time for trial,
and I will judge fairly.
3 The earth with all its people may shake,
but I am the one who holds it steady. Selah
4 I say to those who are proud, ‘Don’t brag,’
and to the wicked, ‘Don’t show your power.
5 Don’t try to use your power against heaven.
Don’t be stubborn.’”
6 No one from the east or the west
or the desert can judge you.
7 God is the judge;
he judges one person as guilty and another as innocent.
8 The Lord holds a cup of anger in his hand;
it is full of wine mixed with spices.
He pours it out even to the last drop,
and the wicked drink it all.
9 I will tell about this forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.
10 He will take all power away from the wicked,
but the power of good people will grow.
The God Who Always Wins
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph. A song.
76 People in Judah know God;
his fame is great in Israel.
2 His Tent is in Jerusalem;
his home is on Mount Zion.
3 There God broke the flaming arrows,
the shields, the swords, and the weapons of war. Selah
4 God, how wonderful you are!
You are more splendid than the hills full of animals.
5 The brave soldiers were stripped
as they lay asleep in death.
Not one warrior
had the strength to stop it.
6 God of Jacob, when you spoke strongly,
horses and riders fell dead.
7 You are feared;
no one can stand against you when you are angry.
8 From heaven you gave the decision,
and the earth was afraid and silent.
9 God, you stood up to judge
and to save the needy people of the earth. Selah
10 People praise you for your anger against evil.
Those who live through your anger are stopped from doing more evil.
11 Make and keep your promises to the Lord your God.
From all around, gifts should come to the God we worship.
12 God breaks the spirits of great leaders;
the kings on earth fear him.
The Lord the Shepherd
A psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd;
I have everything I need.
2 He lets me rest in green pastures.
He leads me to calm water.
3 He gives me new strength.
He leads me on paths that are right
for the good of his name.
4 Even if I walk through a very dark valley,
I will not be afraid,
because you are with me.
Your rod and your shepherd’s staff comfort me.
5 You prepare a meal for me
in front of my enemies.
You pour oil of blessing on my head;[a]
you fill my cup to overflowing.
6 Surely your goodness and love will be with me
all my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.
A Song of Trust in God
Of David.
27 The Lord is my light and the one who saves me.
So why should I fear anyone?
The Lord protects my life.
So why should I be afraid?
2 Evil people may try to destroy my body.
My enemies and those who hate me attack me,
but they are overwhelmed and defeated.
3 If an army surrounds me,
I will not be afraid.
If war breaks out,
I will trust the Lord.
4 I ask only one thing from the Lord.
This is what I want:
Let me live in the Lord’s house
all my life.
Let me see the Lord’s beauty
and look with my own eyes at his Temple.
5 During danger he will keep me safe in his shelter.
He will hide me in his Holy Tent,
or he will keep me safe on a high mountain.
6 My head is higher than my enemies around me.
I will offer joyful sacrifices in his Holy Tent.
I will sing and praise the Lord.
7 Lord, hear me when I call;
have mercy and answer me.
8 My heart said of you, “Go, worship him.”
So I come to worship you, Lord.
9 Do not turn away from me.
Do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have helped me.
Do not push me away or leave me alone,
God, my Savior.
10 If my father and mother leave me,
the Lord will take me in.
11 Lord, teach me your ways,
and guide me to do what is right
because I have enemies.
12 Do not hand me over to my enemies,
because they tell lies about me
and say they will hurt me.
13 I truly believe
I will live to see the Lord’s goodness.
14 Wait for the Lord’s help.
Be strong and brave,
and wait for the Lord’s help.
The Feast of Trumpets
23 Again the Lord said to Moses, 24 “Tell the people of Israel: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you must have a special day of rest, a holy meeting, when you blow the trumpet for a special time of remembering. 25 Do not do any work, and bring an offering made by fire to the Lord.’”
The Day of Cleansing
26 The Lord said to Moses, 27 “The Day of Cleansing will be on the tenth day of the seventh month. There will be a holy meeting, and you will deny yourselves and bring an offering made by fire to the Lord. 28 Do not do any work on that day, because it is the Day of Cleansing. On that day the priests will go before the Lord and perform the acts to make you clean from sin so you will belong to the Lord.
29 “Anyone who refuses to give up food on this day must be cut off from the people. 30 If anyone works on this day, I will destroy that person from among the people. 31 You must not do any work at all; this law will continue for people from now on wherever you live. 32 It will be a special day of rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. You will start this special day of rest on the evening after the ninth day of the month, and it will continue from that evening until the next evening.”
The Feast of Shelters
33 Again the Lord said to Moses, 34 “Tell the people of Israel: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month is the Feast of Shelters. This feast to the Lord will continue for seven days. 35 There will be a holy meeting on the first day; do not do any work. 36 You will bring an offering made by fire to the Lord each day for seven days. On the eighth day you will have another holy meeting, and you will bring an offering made by fire to the Lord. This will be a holy meeting; do not do any work.
37 (“‘These are the Lord’s special feasts, when there will be holy meetings and when you bring offerings made by fire to the Lord. You will bring whole burnt offerings, grain offerings, sacrifices, and drink offerings—each at the right time. 38 These offerings are in addition to those for the Lord’s Sabbath days, in addition to offerings you give as payment for special promises, and in addition to special offerings you want to give to the Lord.)
39 “‘So on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered in the crops of the land, celebrate the Lord’s festival for seven days. You must rest on the first day and the eighth day. 40 On the first day you will take good fruit from the fruit trees, as well as branches from palm trees, poplars, and other leafy trees. You will celebrate before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 Celebrate this festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This law will continue from now on; you will celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 Live in shelters for seven days. All the people born in Israel must live in shelters 43 so that all your descendants will know I made Israel live in shelters during the time I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”
44 So Moses told the people of Israel about all of the Lord’s appointed feast days.
Pray for Us
3 And now, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the Lord’s teaching will continue to spread quickly and that people will give honor to that teaching, just as happened with you. 2 And pray that we will be protected from stubborn and evil people, because not all people believe.
3 But the Lord is faithful and will give you strength and will protect you from the Evil One. 4 The Lord makes us feel sure that you are doing and will continue to do the things we told you. 5 May the Lord lead your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s patience.
The Duty to Work
6 Brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ we command you to stay away from any believer who refuses to work and does not follow the teaching we gave you. 7 You yourselves know that you should live as we live. We were not lazy when we were with you. 8 And when we ate another person’s food, we always paid for it. We worked very hard night and day so we would not be an expense to any of you. 9 We had the right to ask you to help us, but we worked to take care of ourselves so we would be an example for you to follow. 10 When we were with you, we gave you this rule: “Anyone who refuses to work should not eat.”
11 We hear that some people in your group refuse to work. They do nothing but busy themselves in other people’s lives. 12 We command those people and beg them in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and earn their own food. 13 But you, brothers and sisters, never become tired of doing good.
14 If some people do not obey what we tell you in this letter, then take note of them. Have nothing to do with them so they will feel ashamed. 15 But do not treat them as enemies. Warn them as fellow believers.
Final Words
16 Now may the Lord of peace give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
17 I, Paul, end this letter now in my own handwriting. All my letters have this to show they are from me. This is the way I write.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
The Way to Heaven Is Hard
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. The gate is wide and the road is wide that leads to hell, and many people enter through that gate. 14 But the gate is small and the road is narrow that leads to true life. Only a few people find that road.
People Know You by Your Actions
15 “Be careful of false prophets. They come to you looking gentle like sheep, but they are really dangerous like wolves. 16 You will know these people by what they do. Grapes don’t come from thornbushes, and figs don’t come from thorny weeds. 17 In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 In the same way, you will know these false prophets by what they do.
21 “Not all those who say ‘You are our Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven. The only people who will enter the kingdom of heaven are those who do what my Father in heaven wants.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.