precepts

And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant:

Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.

I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.

Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works.

Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.

And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.

This I had, because I kept thy precepts.

I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts.

The proud have forged a lie against me: but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart.

Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause: but I will meditate in thy precepts.

They had almost consumed me upon earth; but I forsook not thy precepts.

I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.

I am thine, save me: for I have sought thy precepts.

I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.

Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.

The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts.

Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.

Deliver me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts.

I am small and despised: yet do not I forget thy precepts.

Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O LORD, according to thy lovingkindness.

I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my ways are before thee.

Let thine hand help me; for I have chosen thy precepts.

And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you:

We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:

Then the angel said unto him, Dost thou not remember the precepts which thy father gave thee, that thou shouldest marry a wife of thine own kindred? wherefore hear me, O my brother; for she shall be given thee to wife; and make thou no reckoning of the evil spirit; for this same night shall she be given thee in marriage.

Thou shalt find that Israel by name hath kept thy precepts; but not the heathen.

And the guide of them who keep my commandments and precepts, saith the Lord God: let not your sins weigh you down, and let not your iniquities lift up themselves.

But concerning baptism, thus baptize ye: having first recited all these precepts, baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in running water; but if thou hast not running water, baptize in some other water, and if thou canst not baptize in cold, in warm water; but if thou hast neither, pour water three times on the head, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. But before the baptism, let him who baptizeth and he who is baptized fast previously, and any others who may he able. And thou shalt command him who is baptized to fast one or two days before.

_On avoiding falsehood, and on the repentance of Hermas for his dissimulation._ Again he said to me, “Love the truth, and let nothing but truth proceed from your mouth, that the spirit which God has placed in your flesh may be found truthful before all men; and the Lord, who dwelleth in you, will be glorified, because the Lord is truthful in every word, and in Him is no falsehood. They therefore who lie deny the Lord, and rob Him, not giving back to Him the deposit which they have received. For they received from Him a spirit free from falsehood. If they give him back this spirit untruthful, they pollute the commandment of the Lord, and become robbers.” On hearing these words, I wept most violently. When he saw me weeping, he said to me, “Why do you weep?” And I said, “Because, sir, I know not if I can be saved.” “Why?” said he. And I said, “Because, sir, I never spake a true word in my life, but have ever spoken cunningly to all, and have affirmed a lie for the truth to all; and no one ever contradicted me, but credit was given to my word. How then can I live, since I have acted thus?” And he said to me, “Your feelings are indeed right and sound, for you ought as a servant of God to have walked in truth, and not to have joined an evil conscience with the spirit of truth, nor to have caused sadness to the holy and true Spirit.” And I said to him, “Never, sir, did I listen to these words with so much attention.” And he said to me, “Now you hear them, and keep them, that even the falsehoods which you formerly told in your transactions may come to be believed through the truthfulness of your present statements. For even they can become worthy of credit. If you keep these precepts, and from this time forward you speak nothing but the truth, it will be possible for you to obtain life. And whosoever shall hear this commandment, and depart from that great wickedness falsehood, shall live to God.”

While fasting and sitting on a certain mountain, and giving thanks to the Lord for all His dealings with me, I see the Shepherd sitting down beside me, and saying, “Why have you come hither [so] early in the morning?” “Because, sir,” I answered, “I have a station.” “What is a station?” he asked. “I am fasting, sir,” I replied. “What is this fasting,” he continued, “which you are observing?” “As I have been accustomed, sir,” I reply, “so I fast.” “You do not know,” he says, “how to fast unto the Lord: this useless fasting which you observe to Him is of no value.” “Why, sir,” I answered, “do you say this?” “I say to you,” he continued, “that the fasting which you think you observe is not a fasting. But I will teach you what is a full and acceptable fasting to the Lord. Listen,” he continued: “God does not desire such an empty fasting. For fasting to God in this way you will do nothing for a righteous life; but offer to God a fasting of the following kind: Do no evil in your life, and serve the Lord with a pure heart: keep His commandments, walking in His precepts, and let no evil desire arise in your heart; and believe in God. If you do these things, and fear Him, and abstain from every evil thing, you will live unto God; and if you do these things, you will keep a great fast, and one acceptable before God.”

And from thence He gave me the way of His precepts and I opened the doors that were closed,