His Steadfast Love Endures Forever
1 fOh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 gLet Israel say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
3 gLet the house of Aaron say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
4 gLet those who fear the Lord say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
5 hOut of my distress I icalled on the Lord;
the Lord answered me and set me jfree.
6 kThe Lord is on my side; lI will not fear.
What can man do to me?
7 mThe Lord is on my side as my helper;
I shall nlook in triumph on those who hate me.
8 oIt is better to take refuge in the Lord
pthan to trust in man.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
pthan to trust in princes.
10 qAll nations surrounded me;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
12 rThey surrounded me like bees;
they went out like sa fire among thorns;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
13 I was tpushed hard,1 so that I was falling,
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord is my strength and my song;
uhe has become my salvation.
15 Glad songs of salvation
are in the tents of the righteous:
v“The right hand of the Lord wdoes valiantly,
16 the right hand of the Lord exalts,
the right hand of the Lord wdoes valiantly!”
17 xI shall not die, but I shall live,
and yrecount the deeds of the Lord.
18 The Lord has zdisciplined me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
19 aOpen to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord;
bthe righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that cyou have answered me
uand have become my salvation.
22 dThe stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.2
23 This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save us, we pray, O Lord!
O Lord, we pray, give us success!
26 eBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
We fbless you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has made ghis light to shine upon us.
Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,
up to hthe horns of the altar!
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God; I will iextol you.
29 jOh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
Christ Our Advocate
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, ywe have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 zHe is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but aalso for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we bkeep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments cis a liar, and cthe truth is not in him, 5 but whoever dkeeps his word, in him truly ethe love of God is perfected. fBy this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he gabides in him hought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
The New Commandment
7 Beloved, I am writing you ino new commandment, but jan old commandment kthat you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is la new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because1 mthe darkness is passing away and nthe true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and ohates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him2 there is no pcause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and qwalks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
12 I am writing to you, little children,
because ryour sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know shim who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because tyou have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, children,
because uyou know the Father.
14 I write to you, fathers,
because you know shim who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because tyou are strong,
and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
Do Not Love the World
15 vDo not love the world or the things in the world. wIf anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—xthe desires of the flesh and ythe desires of the eyes and pride of life3—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And zthe world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
Warning Concerning Antichrists
18 Children, ait is the last hour, and as you have heard that bantichrist is coming, so now cmany antichrists have come. dTherefore we know that it is the last hour. 19 eThey went out from us, but they were not of us; for fif they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, gthat it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20 But you have been hanointed by ithe Holy One, and jyou all have knowledge.4 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but khe who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is bthe antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 lNo one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 Let mwhat you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then nyou too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us5—oeternal life.
26 I write these things to you about pthose who are trying to deceive you. 27 But qthe anointing that you received from him abides in you, and ryou have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and sis true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.
Children of God
28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that twhen he appears uwe may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his vcoming. 29 If you know that whe is righteous, you may be sure that xeveryone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
