Book of Common Prayer
33 The Lord made rivers dry up completely
and stopped springs from flowing.
34 (A)He made rich soil become a salty wasteland
because of the wickedness of those who lived there.
35 He changed deserts into pools of water
and dry land into flowing springs.
36 He let hungry people settle there,
and they built a city to live in.
37 They sowed the fields and planted grapevines
and reaped an abundant harvest.
38 He blessed his people, and they had many children;
he kept their herds of cattle from decreasing.
39 When God's people were defeated and humiliated
by cruel oppression and suffering,
40 he showed contempt for their oppressors
and made them wander in trackless deserts.
41 But he rescued the needy from their misery
and made their families increase like flocks.
42 The righteous see this and are glad,
but all the wicked are put to silence.
43 May those who are wise think about these things;
may they consider the Lord's constant love.
A Prayer for Help against Enemies[a] (B)
108 I have complete confidence, O God!
I will sing and praise you!
Wake up, my soul!
2 Wake up, my harp and lyre!
I will wake up the sun.
3 I will thank you, O Lord, among the nations.
I will praise you among the peoples.
4 Your constant love reaches above the heavens;
your faithfulness touches the skies.
5 Show your greatness in the sky, O God,
and your glory over all the earth.
6 Save us by your might; answer my prayer,
so that the people you love may be rescued.
7 From his sanctuary[b] God has said,
“In triumph I will divide Shechem
and distribute Sukkoth Valley to my people.
8 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh too;
Ephraim is my helmet
and Judah my royal scepter.
9 But I will use Moab as my washbowl,
and I will throw my sandals on Edom,
as a sign that I own it.
I will shout in triumph over the Philistines.”
10 Who, O God, will take me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Have you really rejected us?
Aren't you going to march out with our armies?
12 Help us against the enemy;
human help is worthless.
13 With God on our side we will win;
he will defeat our enemies.
A Song of Praise
33 All you that are righteous,
shout for joy for what the Lord has done;
praise him, all you that obey him.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with harps,
sing to him with stringed instruments.
3 Sing a new song to him,
play the harp with skill, and shout for joy!
4 The words of the Lord are true,
and all his works are dependable.
5 The Lord loves what is righteous and just;
his constant love fills the earth.
6 The Lord created the heavens by his command,
the sun, moon, and stars by his spoken word.
7 He gathered all the seas into one place;
he shut up the ocean depths in storerooms.
8 Worship the Lord, all the earth!
Honor him, all peoples of the world!
9 When he spoke, the world was created;
at his command everything appeared.
10 The Lord frustrates the purposes of the nations;
he keeps them from carrying out their plans.
11 But his plans endure forever;
his purposes last eternally.
12 Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord;
happy are the people he has chosen for his own!
13 The Lord looks down from heaven
and sees all of us humans.
14 From where he rules, he looks down
on all who live on earth.
15 He forms all their thoughts
and knows everything they do.
16 (A)A king does not win because of his powerful army;
a soldier does not triumph because of his strength.
17 War horses are useless for victory;
their great strength cannot save.
18 The Lord watches over those who obey him,
those who trust in his constant love.
19 He saves them from death;
he keeps them alive in times of famine.
20 We put our hope in the Lord;
he is our protector and our help.
21 We are glad because of him;
we trust in his holy name.
22 May your constant love be with us, Lord,
as we put our hope in you.
God's Love for His Rebellious People
11 (A)The Lord says,
“When Israel was a child, I loved him
and called him out of Egypt as my son.[a]
2 But the more I[b] called to him,
the more he turned away from me.[c]
My people sacrificed to Baal;
they burned incense to idols.
3 Yet I was the one who taught Israel to walk.
I took my people up in my arms,[d]
but they did not acknowledge that I took care of them.
4 I drew them to me with affection and love.
I picked them up and held them to my cheek;
I bent down to them and fed them.[e]
5 “They refuse to return to me, and so they must return to Egypt, and Assyria will rule them. 6 War will sweep through their cities and break down the city gates. It will destroy my people because they do what they themselves think best. 7 They insist on turning away from me. They will cry out because of the yoke that is on them, but no one will lift it from them.[f]
8 (B)“How can I give you up, Israel?
How can I abandon you?
Could I ever destroy you as I did Admah,
or treat you as I did Zeboiim?
My heart will not let me do it!
My love for you is too strong.
9 I will not punish you in my anger;
I will not destroy Israel again.
For I am God and not a mere human being.
I, the Holy One, am with you.
I will not come to you in anger.
Paul's Call to Preach to the Gentiles
17 “I went back to Jerusalem, and while I was praying in the Temple, I had a vision, 18 in which I saw the Lord, as he said to me, ‘Hurry and leave Jerusalem quickly, because the people here will not accept your witness about me.’ 19 ‘Lord,’ I answered, ‘they know very well that I went to the synagogues and arrested and beat those who believe in you. 20 (A)And when your witness Stephen was put to death, I myself was there, approving of his murder and taking care of the cloaks of his murderers.’ 21 ‘Go,’ the Lord said to me, ‘for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
22 The people listened to Paul until he said this; but then they started shouting at the top of their voices, “Away with him! Kill him! He's not fit to live!” 23 They were screaming, waving their clothes, and throwing dust up in the air. 24 The Roman commander ordered his men to take Paul into the fort, and he told them to whip him in order to find out why the Jews were screaming like this against him. 25 But when they had tied him up to be whipped, Paul said to the officer standing there, “Is it lawful for you to whip a Roman citizen who hasn't even been tried for any crime?”
26 When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and asked him, “What are you doing? That man is a Roman citizen!”
27 So the commander went to Paul and asked him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”
“Yes,” answered Paul.
28 The commander said, “I became one by paying a large amount of money.”
“But I am one by birth,” Paul answered.
29 At once the men who were going to question Paul drew back from him; and the commander was frightened when he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had put him in chains.
Love for Enemies(A)
27 “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If anyone hits you on one cheek, let him hit the other one too; if someone takes your coat, let him have your shirt as well. 30 Give to everyone who asks you for something, and when someone takes what is yours, do not ask for it back. 31 (B)Do for others just what you want them to do for you.
32 “If you love only the people who love you, why should you receive a blessing? Even sinners love those who love them! 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you receive a blessing? Even sinners do that! 34 And if you lend only to those from whom you hope to get it back, why should you receive a blessing? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount! 35 (C)No! Love your enemies and do good to them; lend and expect nothing back. You will then have a great reward, and you will be children of the Most High God. For he is good to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.
Judging Others(D)
37 “Do not judge others, and God will not judge you; do not condemn others, and God will not condemn you; forgive others, and God will forgive you. 38 Give to others, and God will give to you. Indeed, you will receive a full measure, a generous helping, poured into your hands—all that you can hold. The measure you use for others is the one that God will use for you.”
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.