Book of Common Prayer
Yahweh’s Glorious Reign
97 Yahweh is king! Let the earth rejoice;
let many coastlands be glad.
2 Cloud and thick darkness are surrounding him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him,
and devours his enemies round about.
4 His lightnings light the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax at the presence of Yahweh,
at the presence of the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens declare his righteousness,
and all the peoples see his glory.
7 Let all who serve an image be ashamed,
those who boast about idols.[a]
Worship him, all you gods.
8 Zion hears and is glad,
and the daughters of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments, O Yahweh.
9 For you, O Yahweh, are most high over all the earth.
You are highly[b] exalted above all gods.
10 You who love Yahweh, hate evil.
He protects the lives of his faithful;
he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Be glad in Yahweh, you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name.[c]
Yahweh Is a Holy King
99 Yahweh is king; let the peoples tremble.
He sits enthroned[a] between the cherubim. Let the earth shake.
2 Yahweh is great in Zion,
and he is exalted over all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your great and fearful name.
He is holy.
4 And the strength of the king loves justice.[b]
You have established equity;
you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Exalt Yahweh our God,
and worship at his footstool.
He is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests;
Samuel also was among those who called on his name.
They called to Yahweh, and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud.
They kept his testimonies and the statute he gave to them.
8 O Yahweh our God, you answered them.
You were a forgiving God to them,
but an avenger of their wrong deeds.
9 Exalt Yahweh our God,
and worship at his holy mountain,
for Yahweh our God is holy.
Worship God with Joy
A psalm of thanksgiving.[c]
100 Shout in triumph to Yahweh, all the earth.
2 Serve[d] Yahweh with joy;
come into his presence with exultation.
3 Know that Yahweh, he is God;
he made us and we are his.[e]
We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him; bless his name.
5 For Yahweh is good; his loyal love is forever,
and his faithfulness is from generation to generation.[f]
A Prayer for Retribution against Oppressors
94 O Yahweh, God of vengeance,
God of vengeance, shine forth.
2 Rise up, O Judge of the earth.
Repay upon the proud what is their rightful due.
3 How long will the wicked, O Yahweh,
how long will the wicked exult?
4 They gush words[a] unrestrained.
All the evildoers boast.
5 They crush your people, O Yahweh;
they oppress your inheritance.
6 They kill widow and stranger,
and they murder orphans,
7 while[b] they say, “Yah[c] does not see,”
and “The God of Jacob does not pay attention.”
8 You pay attention, O brutes among the people.
And you fools, when you will show insight?
9 Will the one who planted the ear not hear?
Will the one who formed the eye not see?
10 Will the one who instructs nations not rebuke,
the one who teaches humankind knowledge?
11 Yahweh knows the thoughts of humankind,
that they are to no purpose.[d]
12 Blessed is the man, O Yah, whom you instruct
and teach from your law,
13 to give him rest from days of trouble,
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For Yahweh will not abandon his people,
nor forsake his inheritance.
15 For judgment will return to righteousness,[e]
and all the upright in heart will follow after it.
16 Who rose up for me against the wicked?
Who stood up for me against the workers of iniquity?
17 If Yahweh had not been my help,
my soul would soon have dwelt in silence.
18 When I thought,[f] “My foot is slipping,”
your loyal love, O Yahweh, supported me.
19 When my troubled thoughts were many within me,[g]
your consolations cheered my soul.
20 Can there be allied with you a throne of destruction,
one that forms trouble based on statute?
21 They band together against the life of the righteous,
and declare the blameless guilty of blood.[h]
22 But Yahweh has become my high stronghold,
and my God has become my rock of refuge.
23 And he will repay on them their iniquity,
and by[i] their evil he will destroy them.
Yahweh our God will destroy them.
A Call to Worship and Obey
95 Come, let us sing for joy to Yahweh;
let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving;
with songs let us shout joyfully to him.
3 For Yahweh is the[j] great God,
and the great king over all gods,
4 in whose hand are the unexplored places[k] of the earth,
and the heights of the mountains are his,
5 to whom belongs the sea that he made, [l]
and the dry land that his hands formed.
6 Come in, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before Yahweh, our maker.
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture
and the sheep of his hand.
Today[m] if you will hear his voice:[n]
8 “Do not harden your heart as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your ancestors[o] tried me.
They put me to the test,
even though they had seen my work.
10 For forty years I loathed that generation,
and said, ‘They are a people whose heart wanders.
And my ways they do not know.’
11 Therefore I swore in my anger,
‘They shall surely not enter into my rest.’”
20 And Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 21 “Separate yourselves from the midst of this community, that I can destroy them in a moment.” 22 And they fell on their faces, and they said, “God, God of the spirits of all flesh, will one man sin and you become angry toward the entire community?”
23 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the community, saying, ‘Move away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’” 25 So Moses stood up and went to Dathan and Abiram; the elders of Israel followed after him. 26 He said to the community, saying, “Please turn away from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything that belongs to them,[a] or you will be destroyed with all their sins.” 27 And so they moved away from around the dwellings[b] of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out standing at the doorway of their tents, with their wives, sons, and little children. 28 And Moses said, “In this you will know that Yahweh has sent me to do all these works; it is not from my heart. 29 If they die a natural death[c] or if a natural fate is visited upon them,[d] Yahweh has not sent me. 30 But if Yahweh creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up and all that belongs to them,[e] and they go down alive to Sheol, and you will know that these men have despised Yahweh.”
31 And it happened, as soon as he finished speaking[f] all these words, the ground that was under them split open. 32 The land opened its mouth and swallowed them up with their houses and every person that belonged to Korah[g] and all the property. 33 They went down alive to Sheol, they and all that belonged to them, and the land covered over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 34 All Israel who were around them fled at their cry, because they said, “Lest the land swallow us up!” 35 And fire went out from Yahweh, and it consumed the two hundred and fifty men presenting the incense.
Abraham’s Faith Counted as Righteousness
4 What then shall we say that Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh, has found? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the scripture say? “And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness.”[a] 4 Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited according to grace, but according to his due. 5 But to the one who does not work, but who believes in the one who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited for righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks about the blessing of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are they whose lawless deeds have been forgiven,
and whose sins are covered over.
8 Blessed is the person against whom the Lord will never count sin.”[b]
9 Therefore, is this blessing for those who are circumcised[c], or also for those who are uncircumcised[d]? For we say, “Faith was credited to Abraham for righteousness.”[e] 10 How then was it credited? While he[f] was circumcised[g] or uncircumcised[h]? Not while circumcised[i] but while uncircumcised[j]! 11 And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal[k] of the righteousness by faith which he had while uncircumcised[l], so that he could be the father of all who believe although they are uncircumcised[m], so that righteousness could be credited to them,[n] 12 and the father of those who are circumcised[o] to those who are not only from the circumcision, but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised[p].
23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I say to you that with difficulty a rich person will enter into the kingdom of heaven! 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich person into[a] the kingdom of God.” 25 So when[b] the disciples heard this,[c] they were extremely amazed, saying, “Then who can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them[d] and[e] said to them, “With human beings this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter answered and[f] said to him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed you. What then will there be for us?” 28 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that in the renewal of the world,[g] when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me—you also will sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife[h] or children or fields on account of my name will receive a hundred times as much, and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
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