Psalm 116

1  I love the Lord,
      for he has heard the voice of my supplication; •
   because he inclined his ear to me
      on the day I called to him.
2  The snares of death encompassed me;
      the pains of hell took hold of me; •
   by grief and sorrow was I held.
3  Then I called upon the name of the Lord: •
   ‘O Lord, I beg you, deliver my soul.’
4  Gracious is the Lord and righteous; •
   our God is full of compassion.
5  The Lord watches over the simple; •
   I was brought very low and he saved me.
6  Turn again to your rest, O my soul, •
   for the Lord has been gracious to you.
7  For you have delivered my soul from death, •
   my eyes from tears and my feet from falling.
8  I will walk before the Lord •
   in the land of the living.
9  I believed that I should perish
      for I was sorely troubled; •
   and I said in my alarm,
      ‘Everyone is a liar.’
10  How shall I repay the Lord •
   for all the benefits he has given to me?
11  I will lift up the cup of salvation •
   and call upon the name of the Lord.
12  I will fulfil my vows to the Lord •
   in the presence of all his people.
13  Precious in the sight of the Lord •
   is the death of his faithful servants.
14  O Lord, I am your servant, •
   your servant, the child of your handmaid;
      you have freed me from my bonds.
15  I will offer to you a sacrifice of thanksgiving •
   and call upon the name of the Lord.
16  I will fulfil my vows to the Lord •
   in the presence of all his people,
17  In the courts of the house of the Lord, •
   in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
      Alleluia.

Psalm 117

1  O praise the Lord, all you nations; •
   praise him, all you peoples.
2  For great is his steadfast love towards us, •
   and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever.
      Alleluia.

¹⁴ Sanctify a fast,
   call a solemn assembly.
Gather the elders
   and all the inhabitants of the land
to the house of the Lord your God,
   and cry out to the Lord.

¹⁵ Alas for the day!
For the day of the Lord is near,
   and as destruction from the Almighty^* it comes.
¹⁶ Is not the food cut off
   before our eyes,
joy and gladness
   from the house of our God?

¹⁷ The seed shrivels under the clods,^*
   the storehouses are desolate;
the granaries are ruined
   because the grain has failed.
¹⁸ How the animals groan!
   The herds of cattle wander about
because there is no pasture for them;
   even the flocks of sheep are dazed.^*

¹⁹ To you, O Lord, I cry.
For fire has devoured
   the pastures of the wilderness,
and flames have burned
   all the trees of the field.
²⁰ Even the wild animals cry to you
   because the watercourses are dried up,
and fire has devoured
   the pastures of the wilderness.

2Blow the trumpet in Zion;
   sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
   for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near—
² a day of darkness and gloom,
   a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness spread upon the mountains
   a great and powerful army comes;
their like has never been from of old,
   nor will be again after them
   in ages to come.

[
³ Fire devours in front of them,
   and behind them a flame burns.
Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,
   but after them a desolate wilderness,
   and nothing escapes them.

⁴ They have the appearance of horses,
   and like warhorses they charge.
⁵ As with the rumbling of chariots,
   they leap on the tops of the mountains,
like the crackling of a flame of fire
   devouring the stubble,
like a powerful army
   drawn up for battle.

⁶ Before them peoples are in anguish,
   all faces grow pale.^*
7 Like warriors they charge,
   like soldiers they scale the wall.
Each keeps to its own course,
   they do not swerve from^* their paths.
⁸ They do not jostle one another,
   each keeps to its own track;
they burst through the weapons
   and are not halted.
⁹ They leap upon the city,
   they run upon the walls;
they climb up into the houses,
   they enter through the windows like a thief.

¹⁰ The earth quakes before them,
   the heavens tremble.
The sun and the moon are darkened,
   and the stars withdraw their shining.
¹¹ The Lord utters his voice
   at the head of his army;
how vast is his host!
   Numberless are those who obey his command.
Truly the day of the Lord is great;
   terrible indeed—who can endure it?

]

The Rejoicing in Heaven

19After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,
‘Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power to our God,
²   for his judgements are true and just;
he has judged the great whore
   who corrupted the earth with her fornication,
and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants.’^*
3Once more they said,
‘Hallelujah!
The smoke goes up from her for ever and ever.’
⁴And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God who is seated on the throne, saying,
‘Amen. Hallelujah!’

5 And from the throne came a voice saying,
‘Praise our God,
   all you his servants,^*
and all who fear him,
   small and great.’
⁶Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunder-peals, crying out,
‘Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
   the Almighty reigns.
⁷ Let us rejoice and exult
   and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
   and his bride has made herself ready;
⁸ to her it has been granted to be clothed
   with fine linen, bright and pure’—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

9 And the angel said^* to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ And he said to me, ‘These are true words of God.’ ¹⁰Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am a fellow-servant^* with you and your comrades^* who hold the testimony of Jesus.^* Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus^* is the spirit of prophecy.’