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)
Observing the Sabbath
19 This is what the Lord said to me, “Go and stand at the People’s Gate, through which the kings of Judah enter and leave, as well as at all the gates of Jerusalem. 20 Announce to them: Hear the word of the Lord, kings of Judah, all Judah, and all the residents of Jerusalem who enter through these gates. 21 This is what the Lord says: Watch yourselves; do not pick up a load and bring it in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.(A) 22 You must not carry a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day or do any work,(B) but you must consecrate the Sabbath day, just as I commanded your ancestors.(C) 23 They wouldn’t listen or pay attention but became obstinate,(D) not listening or accepting discipline.
24 “However, if you listen to Me, says the Lord, and do not bring loads through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day and consecrate the Sabbath day and do no work on it, 25 kings and princes will enter through the gates of this city. They will sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses(E) with their officials, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem. This city will be inhabited forever. 26 Then people will come from the cities of Judah and from the area around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and from the Judean foothills, from the hill country and from the Negev(F) bringing burnt offerings and sacrifice, grain offerings and frankincense, and thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 If you do not listen to Me to consecrate the Sabbath day by not carrying a load while entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, I will set fire to its gates,(G) and it will consume the citadels(H) of Jerusalem(I) and not be extinguished.”(J)
The Problem of Sin in Us
13 Therefore, did what is good cause my death?[a] Absolutely not!(A) On the contrary, sin, in order to be recognized as sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment, sin might become sinful beyond measure. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual,(B) but I am made out of flesh,[b] sold(C) into sin’s power.(D) 15 For I do not understand what I am doing,(E) because I do not practice what I want to do,(F) but I do what I hate. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 So now I am no longer the one doing it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh.(G) For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. 19 For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but it is the sin that lives in me. 21 So I discover this principle:[c](H) When I want to do what is good, evil is with me. 22 For in my inner self[d] I joyfully agree with God’s law.(I) 23 But I see a different law in the parts of my body,[e](J) waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body.[f] 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this dying body?(K) 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord So then, with my mind I myself am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh, to the law of sin.
The Fifth Sign: Walking on Water
16 When(A) evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum.(B) Darkness had already set in, but Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 Then a high wind arose, and the sea began to churn. 19 After they had rowed about three or four miles,[a] they saw Jesus walking on the sea. He was coming near the boat, and they were afraid.
20 But He said to them, “It is I.[b](C) Don’t be afraid!” 21 Then they were willing to take Him on board, and at once the boat was at the shore where they were heading.
The Bread of Life
22 The next day, the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea knew there had been only one boat.[c](D) They also knew that Jesus had not boarded the boat with His disciples, but that His disciples had gone off alone. 23 Some boats from Tiberias(E) came near the place where they ate the bread after the Lord gave thanks. 24 When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi,(F) when did You get here?”
26 Jesus answered, “I assure you: You are looking for Me, not because you saw[d] the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. 27 Don’t work for the food that perishes(G) but for the food that lasts for eternal life,(H) which the Son of Man(I) will give you, because God the Father(J) has set His seal of approval on Him.”
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