Book of Common Prayer
(A psalm by David for the music leader. Use with stringed instruments.)
Under the Protection of God
1 Please listen, God,
and answer my prayer!
2 I feel hopeless,
and I cry out to you
from a faraway land.
Lead me to the mighty rock[a]
high above me.
3 You are a strong tower,
where I am safe
from my enemies.
4 Let me live with you forever
and find protection
under your wings, my God.
5 You heard my promises,
and you have blessed me,
just as you bless everyone
who worships you.
6 Let the king have a long
and healthy life.
7 May he always rule
with you, God, at his side;
may your love and loyalty
watch over him.
8 I will sing your praises
forever, God, and will always
keep my promises.
(A psalm by David for Jeduthun, the music leader.)
God Is Powerful and Kind
1 Only God can save me,
and I calmly wait for[b] him.
2 God alone is the mighty rock[c]
that keeps me safe
and the fortress
where I am secure.
3 I feel like a shaky fence
or a sagging wall.
How long will all of you
attack and assault me?
4 You want to bring me down
from my place of honor.
You love to tell lies,
and when your words are kind,
hatred hides in your heart.
5 Only God gives inward peace,
and I depend on him.
6 God alone is the mighty rock
that keeps me safe,
and he is the fortress
where I feel secure.
7 God saves me and honors me.
He is that mighty rock
where I find safety.
8 Trust God, my friends,
and always tell him
each of your concerns.
God is our place of safety.
9 We humans are only a breath;
none of us are truly great.
All of us together weigh less
than a puff of air.
10 Don't trust in violence
or depend on dishonesty
or rely on great wealth.
11 I heard God say two things:
“I am powerful,
12 (A) and I am very kind.”
The Lord rewards each of us
according to what we do.
God Blesses His Worshipers
1 Shout praises to the Lord!
The Lord blesses everyone
who worships him and gladly
obeys his teachings.
2 Their descendants will have
great power in the land,
because the Lord blesses
all who do right.
3 They will get rich and prosper
and will always be remembered
for their fairness.
4 They will be so kind
and merciful and good,
that they will be a light
in the dark for others
who do the right thing.
5 Life will go well for those
who freely lend
and are honest in business.
6 They won't ever be troubled,
and the kind things they do
will never be forgotten.
7 Bad news won't bother them;
they have decided
to trust the Lord.
8 They are dependable
and not afraid,
and they will live to see
their enemies defeated.
9 (A) They will always be remembered
and greatly praised,
because they were kind
and freely gave to the poor.
10 When evil people see this,
they angrily bite their tongues
and disappear.
They will never get
what they really want.
The Lord Deserves To Be Praised
1 We don't deserve praise!
The Lord alone deserves
all of the praise,
because of his love
and faithfulness.
2 (A) Why should the nations ask,
“Where is your God?”
3 Our God is in the heavens,
doing as he chooses.
4 (B) The idols of the nations
are made of silver and gold.
5 They have a mouth and eyes,
but they can't speak or see.
6 Their ears can't hear,
and their noses can't smell.
7 Their hands have no feeling,
their legs don't move,
and they can't make a sound.
8 Everyone who made the idols
and all who trust them
are just as helpless
as those useless gods.
9 People of Israel,
you must trust the Lord
to help and protect you.
10 Family of Aaron the priest,
you must trust the Lord
to help and protect you.
11 All of you worship the Lord,
so you must trust him
to help and protect you.
12 The Lord will not forget
to give us his blessing;
he will bless all of Israel
and the family of Aaron.
13 (C) All who worship the Lord,
no matter who they are,
will receive his blessing.
14 I pray that the Lord
will let your family
and your descendants
always grow strong.
15 May the Lord who created
the heavens and the earth
give you his blessing.
16 The Lord has kept the heavens
for himself,
but he has given the earth
to us humans.
17 The dead are silent
and cannot praise the Lord,
18 but we will praise him
now and forevermore.
Shout praises to the Lord!
Peace at Last
11 (A) Like a branch that sprouts
from a stump,
someone from David's family[a]
will someday be king.
2 The Spirit of the Lord
will be with him
to give him understanding,
wisdom, and insight.
He will be powerful,
and he will know
and honor the Lord.
3 His greatest joy will be
to obey the Lord.
This king won't judge
by appearances
or listen to rumors.
4 The poor and the needy
will be treated with fairness
and with justice.
His word will be law
everywhere in the land,
and criminals
will be put to death.
5 (B) Honesty and fairness
will be his royal robes.
6 (C) Leopards will lie down
with young goats,
and wolves will rest
with lambs.
Calves and lions
will eat together
and be cared for
by little children.
7 Cows and bears will share
the same pasture;
their young will rest
side by side.
Lions and oxen
will both eat straw.
8 Little children will play
near snake holes.
They will stick their hands
into dens of poisonous snakes
and never be hurt.
9 (D) Nothing harmful will take place
on the Lord's holy mountain.
Just as water fills the sea,
the land will be filled
with people who know
and honor the Lord.
The Thousand Years
20 I saw an angel come down from heaven, carrying the key to the deep pit and a big chain. 2 (A) He chained the dragon for 1,000 years. It is that old snake, who is also known as the devil and Satan. 3 Then the angel threw the dragon into the pit. He locked and sealed it, so 1,000 years would go by before the dragon could fool the nations again. But after that, it would have to be set free for a little while.
4 (B) I saw thrones, and sitting on those thrones were the ones who had been given the right to judge. I also saw the souls of the people who had their heads cut off because they had told about Jesus and preached God's message. They were the same ones who had not worshiped the beast or the idol, and they had refused to let its mark be put on their foreheads or hands. They will come to life and rule with Christ for 1,000 years.
5-6 These people are the first to be raised to life, and they are especially blessed and holy. The second death[a] has no power over them. They will be priests for God and Christ and will rule with them for 1,000 years.
No other dead people were raised to life until 1,000 years later.
Satan Is Defeated
7 At the end of the 1,000 years, Satan will be set free. 8 (C) He will fool the countries of Gog and Magog, which are at the far ends of the earth, and their people will follow him into battle. They will have as many followers as there are grains of sand along the beach, 9 and they will march all the way across the earth. They will surround the camp of God's people and the city God loves. But fire will come down from heaven and destroy the whole army. 10 Then the devil who fooled them will be thrown into the lake of fire and burning sulfur. He will be there with the beast and the false prophet, and they will be in pain day and night forever and ever.
30 I cannot do anything on my own. The Father sent me, and he is the one who told me how to judge. I judge with fairness, because I obey him, and I don't just try to please myself.
Witnesses to Jesus
31 If I speak for myself, there is no way to prove I am telling the truth. 32 But there is someone else who speaks for me, and I know what he says is true. 33 (A) You sent messengers to John, and he told them the truth. 34 I don't depend on what people say about me, but I tell you these things so that you may be saved. 35 (B) John was a lamp that gave a lot of light, and you were glad to enjoy his light for a while.
36 But something more important than John speaks for me. I mean the things that the Father has given me to do! All of these speak for me and prove that the Father sent me.
37 (C) The Father who sent me also speaks for me, but you have never heard his voice or seen him face to face. 38 You have not believed his message, because you refused to have faith in the one he sent.
39 (D) You search the Scriptures, because you think you will find eternal life in them. The Scriptures tell about me, 40 but you refuse to come to me for eternal life.
41 I don't care about human praise, 42 but I do know that none of you love God. 43 I have come with my Father's authority, and you have not welcomed me. But you will welcome people who come on their own. 44 How could you possibly believe? You like to have your friends praise you, and you don't care about praise that the only God can give!
45 Don't think that I will be the one to accuse you to the Father. You have put your hope in Moses, yet he is the very one who will accuse you. 46 Moses wrote about me, and if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me. 47 But if you don't believe what Moses wrote, how can you believe what I say?
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