Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 97
The Majestic King
1 The Lord reigns! Let the earth rejoice;
let the many coasts and islands be glad.(A)
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround Him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.(B)
3 Fire goes before Him
and burns up His foes on every side.(C)
4 His lightning lights up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.(D)
5 The mountains melt like wax
at the presence of the Lord—
at the presence of the Lord of all the earth.(E)
7 All who serve carved images,
those who boast in idols, will be put to shame.(H)
All the gods[a] must worship Him.(I)
Psalm 99
The King Is Holy
1 The Lord reigns! Let the peoples tremble.
He is enthroned above the cherubim.(A)
Let the earth quake.(B)
2 Yahweh is great in Zion;
He is exalted above all the peoples.(C)
3 Let them praise Your great
and awe-inspiring name.(D)
He is holy.(E)
4 The mighty King loves justice.
You have established fairness;
You have administered justice
and righteousness in Jacob.(F)
5 Exalt the Lord our God;
bow in worship at His footstool.(G)
He is holy.(H)
6 Moses and Aaron were among His priests;(I)
Samuel also was among those calling on His name.
They called to Yahweh and He answered them.(J)
7 He spoke to them in a pillar of cloud;(K)
they kept His decrees and the statutes He gave them.
8 Lord our God, You answered them.
You were a forgiving God to them,(L)
an avenger of their sinful actions.(M)
9 Exalt the Lord our God;
bow in worship at His holy mountain,
for the Lord our God is holy.(N)
Psalm 100
Be Thankful
A psalm of thanksgiving.
1 Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth.(O)
2 Serve the Lord with gladness;
come before Him with joyful songs.(P)
3 Acknowledge that Yahweh is God.
He made us, and we are His[a](Q) —
His people, the sheep of His pasture.(R)
4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving(S)
and His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him and praise His name.(T)
5 For Yahweh is good, and His love is eternal;
His faithfulness endures through all generations.
Psalm 94
The Just Judge
1 Lord, God of vengeance—
God of vengeance, appear.(A)
2 Rise up, Judge of the earth;
repay the proud what they deserve.(B)
3 Lord, how long will the wicked—
how long will the wicked gloat?(C)
4 They pour out arrogant words;
all the evildoers boast.(D)
5 Lord, they crush Your people;
they afflict Your heritage.(E)
6 They kill the widow and the foreigner
and murder the fatherless.(F)
7 They say, “The Lord doesn’t see it.
The God of Jacob doesn’t pay attention.”(G)
8 Pay attention, you stupid people!
Fools, when will you be wise?(H)
9 Can the One who shaped the ear not hear,
the One who formed the eye not see?(I)
10 The One who instructs nations,
the One who teaches man knowledge—
does He not discipline?(J)
11 The Lord knows man’s thoughts;
they are meaningless.(K)
12 Lord, happy is the man You discipline
and teach from Your law(L)
13 to give him relief from troubled times
until a pit is dug for the wicked.(M)
14 The Lord will not forsake His people
or abandon His heritage,(N)
15 for justice will again be righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow[a] it.(O)
16 Who stands up for me against the wicked?
Who takes a stand for me against evildoers?(P)
17 If the Lord had not been my helper,
I would soon rest in the silence of death.(Q)
18 If I say, “My foot is slipping,”
Your faithful love will support me, Lord.(R)
19 When I am filled with cares,
Your comfort brings me joy.(S)
20 Can a corrupt throne—
one that creates trouble by law—
become Your ally?(T)
21 They band together against the life of the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death.(U)
22 But the Lord is my refuge;
my God is the rock of my protection.(V)
23 He will pay them back for their sins
and destroy them for their evil.
The Lord our God will destroy them.(W)
Psalm 95
Worship and Warning
1 Come, let us shout joyfully to the Lord,
shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation!(X)
2 Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving;
let us shout triumphantly to Him in song.(Y)
3 For the Lord is a great God,
a great King above all gods.(Z)
4 The depths of the earth are in His hand,
and the mountain peaks are His.(AA)
5 The sea is His; He made it.
His hands formed the dry land.(AB)
6 Come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.(AC)
7 For He is our God,
and we are the people of His pasture,
the sheep under His care.[b](AD)
Today, if you hear His voice:(AE)
8 Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the wilderness(AF)
9 where your fathers tested Me;
they tried Me, though they had seen what I did.(AG)
10 For 40 years I was disgusted with that generation;
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray;
they do not know My ways.”(AH)
11 So I swore in My anger,
“They will not enter My rest.”(AI)
Jacob Separates from Laban
31 Now Jacob heard what Laban’s sons were saying: “Jacob has taken all that was our father’s and has built this wealth from what belonged to our father.” 2 And Jacob saw from Laban’s face that his attitude toward him was not the same.
3 Then the Lord said to him, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.”(A)
4 Jacob had Rachel and Leah called to the field where his flocks were. 5 He said to them, “I can see from your father’s face that his attitude toward me is not the same, but the God of my father has been with me. 6 You know that I’ve worked hard[a] for your father(B) 7 and that he has cheated me and changed my wages 10 times. But God has not let him harm me. 8 If he said, ‘The spotted sheep will be your wages,’ then all the sheep were born spotted. If he said, ‘The streaked sheep will be your wages,’ then all the sheep were born streaked.(C) 9 God has taken away your father’s herds and given them to me.
10 “When the flocks were breeding, I saw in a dream that the streaked, spotted, and speckled males were mating with the females. 11 In that dream the Angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’ 12 And He said, ‘Look up and see: all the males that are mating with the flocks are streaked, spotted, and speckled, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you.(D) 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you poured oil on the stone marker and made a solemn vow to Me.(E) Get up, leave this land, and return to your native land.’”
14 Then Rachel and Leah answered him, “Do we have any portion or inheritance in our father’s household? 15 Are we not regarded by him as outsiders? For he has sold us(F) and has certainly spent our money. 16 In fact, all the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So do whatever God has said to you.”
17 Then Jacob got up and put his children and wives on the camels. 18 He took all the livestock and possessions he had acquired in Paddan-aram, and he drove his herds to go to the land of his father Isaac in Canaan. 19 When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household idols.(G) 20 And Jacob deceived[b] Laban the Aramean, not telling him that he was fleeing. 21 He fled with all his possessions, crossed the Euphrates, and headed for[c] the hill country of Gilead.
Laban Overtakes Jacob
22 On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. 23 So he took his relatives with him, pursued Jacob for seven days, and overtook him at Mount Gilead. 24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night. “Watch yourself!” God warned him. “Don’t say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”(H)
2 My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate(A) with the Father—Jesus Christ the Righteous One. 2 He Himself is the propitiation(B) for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.(C)
God’s Commands
3 This is how we are sure(D) that we have come to know Him: by keeping His commands.(E) 4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” yet doesn't keep His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word,(F) truly in him the love of God is perfected.[a] This is how we know we are in Him:(G) 6 The one who says he remains in Him(H) should walk just as He walked.
7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command(I) but an old command that you have had from the beginning. The old command is the message(J) you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away(K) and the true light(L) is already shining.(M)
9 The one who says he is in the light but hates his brother(N) is in the darkness until now. 10 The one who loves his brother(O) remains in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.[b] 11 But the one who hates his brother(P) is in the darkness, walks in the darkness,(Q) and doesn’t know where he’s going,(R) because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
18 The Jews did not believe this about him—that he was blind and received sight—until they summoned the parents of the one who had received his sight.
19 They asked them, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”
20 “We know this is our son and that he was born blind,” his parents answered. 21 “But we don’t know how he now sees, and we don’t know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he’s of age. He will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews, since the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him as Messiah,(A) he would be banned from the synagogue. 23 This is why his parents said, “He’s of age; ask him.”
24 So a second time they summoned the man who had been blind and told him, “Give glory(B) to God.[a](C) We know that this man is a sinner!”
25 He answered, “Whether or not He’s a sinner, I don’t know. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I can see!”
26 Then they asked him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”
27 “I already told you,” he said, “and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don’t want to become His disciples too, do you?”
28 They ridiculed him: “You’re that man’s disciple, but we’re Moses’(D) disciples. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses. But this man—we don’t know where He’s from!”(E)
30 “This is an amazing thing,” the man told them. “You don’t know where He is from, yet He opened my eyes! 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners,(F) but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will,(G) He listens to him.(H) 32 Throughout history[b] no one has ever heard of someone opening the eyes of a person born blind.(I) 33 If this man were not from God, He wouldn’t be able to do anything.”(J)
34 “You were born entirely in sin,”(K) they replied, “and are you trying to teach us?” Then they threw him out.[c](L)
The Blind Man’s Sight and the Pharisees’ Blindness
35 When Jesus heard that they had thrown the man out, He found him and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”[d](M)
36 “Who is He, Sir,(N) that I may believe in Him?” he asked.
37 Jesus answered, “You have seen Him; in fact, He is the One speaking with you.”
38 “I believe, Lord!” he said, and he worshiped Him.
39 Jesus said, “I came into this world(O) for judgment,(P) in order that those who do not see will see and those who do see will become blind.”(Q)
40 Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and asked Him, “We aren’t blind too, are we?”
41 “If you were blind,” Jesus told them, “you wouldn’t have sin.[e](R) But now that you say, ‘We see’—your sin remains.
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