Book of Common Prayer
The Majesty of the Lord.
93 The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty and splendor;
The Lord has clothed and encircled Himself with strength;
the world is firmly established, it cannot be moved.
2
Your throne is established from of old;
You are from everlasting.
3
The floods have lifted up, O Lord,
The floods have lifted up their voice;
The floods lift up their pounding waves.
4
More than the sounds of many waters,
More than the mighty breakers of the sea,
The Lord on high is mighty.
5
Your precepts are fully confirmed and completely reliable;
Holiness adorns Your house,
O Lord, forever.
A Call to Worship the Lord the Righteous Judge.
96 O sing to the Lord a new song;
Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
2
Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
Proclaim good news of His salvation from day to day.
3
Declare His glory among the nations,
His marvelous works and wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
4
For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.(A)
5
For all the gods of the peoples are [worthless, lifeless] idols,
But the Lord made the heavens.
6
Splendor and majesty are before Him;
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
7
[a]Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
8
Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name;
Bring an offering and come into His courts.
9
Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
Tremble [in submissive wonder] before Him, all the earth.
10
Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns;
Indeed, the world is firmly and securely established, it shall not be moved;
He will judge and rule the people with fairness.”(B)
11
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
Let the sea roar, and all the things it contains;
12
Let the field be exultant, and all that is in it.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy
13
Before the Lord, for He is coming,
For He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
And the peoples in His faithfulness.(C)
The Lord, a Provider and the One Who Rescues Me.
A Psalm of David; when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him out, and he went away.
34 I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2
My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
The humble and downtrodden will hear it and rejoice.
3
O [a]magnify the Lord with me,
And let us lift up His name together.
4
I sought the Lord [on the authority of His word], and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.(A)
5
They looked to Him and were radiant;
Their faces will never blush in shame or confusion.
6
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
And saved him from all his troubles.
7
The [b]angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him [with awe-inspired reverence and worship Him with obedience],
And He rescues [each of] them.(B)
8
O taste and see that the Lord [our God] is good;
How blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who takes refuge in Him.(C)
9
O [reverently] fear the Lord, you His saints (believers, holy ones);
For to those who fear Him there is no want.
10
The young lions lack [food] and grow hungry,
But they who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing.
11
Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you to fear the Lord [with awe-inspired reverence and worship Him with obedience].
12
Who is the man who desires life
And loves many days, that he may see good?
13
Keep your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking deceit.
14
Turn away from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
15
The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous [those with moral courage and spiritual integrity]
And His ears are open to their cry.
16
The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
To cut off the memory of them from the earth.(D)
17
When the righteous cry [for help], the Lord hears
And rescues them from all their distress and troubles.
18
The Lord is near to the heartbroken
And He saves those who are crushed in spirit (contrite in heart, truly sorry for their sin).
19
Many hardships and perplexing circumstances confront the righteous,
But the Lord rescues him from them all.
20
He keeps all his bones;
Not one of them is broken.(E)
21
Evil will cause the death of the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will be held guilty and will be condemned.
22
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.
The Brothers Are Brought Back
44 And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man’s [grain] money in the mouth of the sack. 2 Put my [personal] cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his grain money.” And the steward did as Joseph had told him. 3 As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys. 4 When they had left the city, and were not yet far away, Joseph said to his steward, “Get up, follow after the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil [to us] for good [paid to you]? 5 Is this not my lord’s drinking cup and the one which he uses for divination? You have done [a great and unforgivable] wrong in doing this.’”
6 So the steward overtook them and he said these words to them. 7 They said to him, “Why does my lord speak these things? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! 8 Please remember, the money which we found in the mouths of our sacks we have brought back to you from the land of Canaan. Is it likely then that we would steal silver or gold from your master’s house? 9 With whomever of your servants your master’s cup is found, let him die, and the rest of us will be my lord’s slaves.” 10 And the steward said, “Now let it be as you say; he with whom the cup is found will be my slave, but the rest of you shall be blameless.” 11 Then every man quickly lowered his sack to the ground and each man opened his sack [confident the cup would not be found among them]. 12 The steward searched, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13 Then they tore their clothes [in grief]; and after each man had loaded his donkey again, they returned to the city.
14 When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there; and they fell to the ground before him. 15 Joseph spoke harshly to them, “What is this thing that you have done? Do you not realize that such a man as I can indeed practice divination and foretell [everything you do without outside knowledge of it]?” 16 So Judah said, “What can we say to my lord? What can we reply? Or how can we clear ourselves, since God has exposed the sin and guilt of your servants? Behold, we are my lord’s slaves, the rest of us as well as he with whom the cup is found.” 17 But Joseph said, “Far be it from me that I should do that; but the man in whose hand the cup has been found, he will be my servant; and as for [the rest of] you, get up and go in peace to your father.”
Escape from Bondage
8 Therefore there is now no condemnation [no guilty verdict, no punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior].(A) 2 For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For what the Law could not do [that is, overcome sin and remove its penalty, its power] being weakened by the flesh [man’s nature without the Holy Spirit], God did: He sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful man as an offering for sin. And He condemned sin in the flesh [subdued it and overcame it in the person of His own Son],(B) 4 so that the [righteous and just] requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not live our lives in the ways of the flesh [guided by worldliness and our sinful nature], but [live our lives] in the ways of the Spirit [guided by His power]. 5 For those who are living according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh [which gratify the body], but those who are living according to the Spirit, [set their minds on] the things of the Spirit [His will and purpose]. 6 Now the mind of the flesh is death [both now and forever—because it pursues sin]; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace [the spiritual well-being that comes from walking with God—both now and forever]; 7 the mind of the flesh [with its sinful pursuits] is actively hostile to God. It does not submit itself to God’s law, since it cannot, 8 and those who are in the flesh [living a life that caters to sinful appetites and impulses] cannot please God.
9 However, you are not [living] in the flesh [controlled by the sinful nature] but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God lives in you [directing and guiding you]. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him [and is not a child of God].(C) 10 If Christ lives in you, though your [natural] body is dead because of sin, your spirit is alive because of righteousness [which He provides].
Two Resurrections
25 I assure you and most solemnly say to you, a time is coming and is [here] now, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear it will live. 26 For just as the Father has life in Himself [and is self-existent], even so He has given to the Son to have life in Himself [and be self-existent]. 27 And He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is a Son of Man [sinless humanity, qualifying Him to sit in judgment over mankind].(A) 28 Do not be surprised at this; for a time is coming when all those who are in the tombs will hear His voice, 29 and they will come out—those who did good things [will come out] to a resurrection of [new] life, but those who did evil things [will come out] to a resurrection of judgment [that is, to be sentenced].(B)
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