Book of Common Prayer
The Lord’s Power and Dominion.
97 (A)The Lord [a]reigns, may the (B)earth rejoice;
May the many [b](C)islands be joyful.
2 (D)Clouds and thick darkness surround Him;
(E)Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
3 (F)Fire goes before Him
And (G)burns up His enemies all around.
4 His (H)lightning lit up the world;
The earth saw it and (I)trembled.
5 The mountains (J)melted like wax at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the (K)Lord of the whole earth.
6 The (L)heavens declare His righteousness,
And (M)all the peoples have seen His glory.
7 May all those be ashamed who serve (N)carved images,
Who boast in (O)idols;
[c](P)Worship Him, all you [d]gods.
8 Zion [e]heard this and (Q)was joyful,
And the daughters of Judah have rejoiced
Because of Your judgments, Lord.
9 For You are the Lord (R)Most High over all the earth;
You are exalted far (S)above all [f]gods.
10 (T)Hate evil, you who love the Lord,
Who (U)watches over the souls of His godly ones;
He (V)saves them from the hand of the wicked.
11 (W)Light is sown like seed for the righteous,
And (X)gladness for the upright in heart.
12 Be (Y)joyful in the Lord, you righteous ones,
And (Z)praise [g]the mention of His holy name.
Praise to the Lord for His Faithfulness to Israel.
99 (A)The Lord reigns, [a]the peoples tremble!
He (B)sits enthroned above the cherubim, [b]the earth quakes!
2 The Lord [c]is (C)great in Zion,
And He is (D)exalted above all the peoples.
3 May they praise Your (E)great and awesome name;
(F)Holy is [d]He.
4 The [e]strength of the King (G)loves [f]justice;
You have established [g](H)order;
You have (I)executed [h]justice and righteousness in Jacob.
5 [i](J)Exalt the Lord our God
And (K)worship at His footstool;
(L)Holy is He.
6 (M)Moses and Aaron were among His (N)priests,
And (O)Samuel was among those who (P)called on His name;
They (Q)called upon the Lord and He answered them.
7 He (R)spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
They (S)kept His testimonies
And the statute that He gave them.
8 Lord our God, You (T)answered them;
You were a (U)forgiving God to them,
And yet an (V)avenger of their evil deeds.
9 Exalt the Lord our God
And worship at His holy hill,
For the Lord our God is holy.
All People Exhorted to Praise God.
A Psalm for [j]Thanksgiving.
The Lord Implored to Avenge His People.
94 Lord, God of [a](A)vengeance,
God of [b]vengeance, [c](B)shine forth!
2 (C)Rise up, (D)Judge of the earth,
Pay back retribution (E)to the proud.
3 How long, Lord, shall the wicked—
How long shall the (F)wicked triumph?
4 They pour out words, they (G)speak arrogantly;
All who do injustice (H)boast.
5 They (I)crush Your people, Lord,
And (J)afflict Your inheritance.
6 They (K)kill the widow and the stranger
And murder the orphans.
7 (L)They have said, “[d]The Lord does not see,
Nor does the God of Jacob perceive.”
8 Pay attention, you (M)stupid ones among the people;
And when will you understand, (N)foolish ones?
9 He who (O)planted the ear, [e]does He not hear?
Or He who formed the eye, [f]does He not see?
10 He who [g](P)disciplines the nations, will He not rebuke,
He who (Q)teaches mankind knowledge?
11 The Lord (R)knows human thoughts,
[h]That they are mere breath.
12 Blessed is the man whom (S)You discipline, [i]Lord,
And (T)whom You teach from Your Law,
13 So that You may grant him (U)relief from the (V)days of adversity,
Until (W)a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For (X)the Lord will not abandon His people,
Nor will He (Y)abandon His inheritance.
15 For [j](Z)judgment [k]will again be righteous,
And all the upright in heart [l]will follow it.
16 Who will (AA)stand up for me against evildoers?
Who will take his stand for me (AB)against those who do injustice?
17 If (AC)the Lord had not been my help,
My soul would soon have dwelt in the land of silence.
18 If I should say, “(AD)My foot has slipped,”
Your faithfulness, Lord, will support me.
19 When my anxious thoughts [m]multiply within me,
Your (AE)comfort delights my soul.
20 Can a [n](AF)throne of destruction be allied with You,
One (AG)which devises [o]mischief by decree?
21 They (AH)band themselves together against the [p]life of the righteous
And (AI)condemn [q]the innocent to death.
22 But the Lord has been my (AJ)refuge,
And my God the (AK)rock of my refuge.
23 He has (AL)brought back their injustice upon them,
And He will [r](AM)destroy them in their evil;
The Lord our God will [s]destroy them.
Praise to the Lord and Warning against Unbelief.
95 Come, let’s (AN)sing for joy to the Lord,
Let’s shout joyfully to (AO)the rock of our salvation.
2 Let’s (AP)come before His presence (AQ)with a song of thanksgiving,
Let’s shout joyfully to Him (AR)in songs with instruments.
3 For the Lord is a (AS)great God
And a great King (AT)above all gods,
4 In whose hand are the (AU)depths of the earth,
The peaks of the mountains are also His.
5 [t]The sea is His, for it was He (AV)who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let’s (AW)worship and bow down,
Let’s (AX)kneel before the Lord our (AY)Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And (AZ)we are the people of His [u](BA)pasture and the sheep of His hand.
(BB)Today, [v]if you will hear His voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts as at [w](BC)Meribah,
As on the day of [x](BD)Massah in the wilderness,
9 “When your fathers (BE)put Me to the test,
They tested Me, though they had seen My work.
10 For (BF)forty years I was disgusted with that generation,
And said they are a people who err in their heart,
And they do not know My ways.
11 Therefore I (BG)swore in My anger,
They certainly shall not enter My (BH)rest.”
The Sabbath Must Be Kept
19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the [a]public gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, as well as at all the gates of Jerusalem; 20 and say to them, ‘(A)Listen to the word of the Lord, you (B)kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who come in through these gates. 21 This is what the Lord says: “(C)Take care for yourselves, and (D)do not carry any [b]load on the Sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day (E)nor do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, just as I (F)commanded your [c]forefathers. 23 Yet they (G)did not listen or incline their ears, but (H)stiffened their necks so as not to listen or accept discipline.
24 “But it will come about, if you (I)give your attention to Me,” declares the Lord, “to (J)bring no load in through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, (K)but to keep the Sabbath day holy by doing no work on it, 25 (L)then there will come in through the gates of this city kings and officials (M)sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this (N)city will be inhabited forever. 26 They will come in from the (O)cities of Judah and from the areas surrounding Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the (P)lowland, from the hill country, and from the (Q)Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and frankincense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving to the house of the Lord. 27 But (R)if you do not listen to Me, to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then (S)I will set fire to its gates, and it will (T)devour the palaces of Jerusalem and (U)not go out.”’”
13 Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? [a](A)Far from it! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by bringing about my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.
The Conflict of Serving Two Masters
14 For we know that the Law is (B)spiritual, but I am (C)fleshly, (D)sold [b](E)into bondage to sin. 15 For (F)I do not understand what I am doing; for I am not practicing (G)what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 However, if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with (H)the Law, that the Law is good. 17 But now, (I)no longer am I the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my (J)flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19 For (K)the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20 But if I do the very thing I do not want, (L)I am no longer the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me.
21 I find then (M)the [c]principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22 For I joyfully agree with the law of God [d]in (N)the inner person, 23 but I see (O)a different law in [e]the parts of my body waging war against the (P)law of my mind, and making me a prisoner [f]of (Q)the law of sin, the law which is in [g]my body’s parts. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from [h](R)the body of this (S)death? 25 (T)Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh (U)the law of sin.
16 Now when evening came, His (A)disciples went down to the sea, 17 and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea (B)to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 In addition, the sea began getting rough, because a strong wind was blowing. 19 Then, when they had rowed about [a]twenty-five or thirty stadia, they *saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat; and they were frightened. 20 But He *said to them, “It is I; [b](C)do not be afraid.” 21 So they were willing to take Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.
22 The next day (D)the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there except one, and that Jesus (E)had not gotten into the boat with His disciples, but that His disciples had departed alone. 23 Other small boats came from (F)Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the (G)Lord (H)had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats and (I)came to Capernaum, looking for Jesus. 25 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “(J)Rabbi, when did You get here?”
Words to the People
26 Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you (K)seek Me, not because you saw [c](L)signs, but because you ate some of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not (M)work for the food that perishes, but for the food that lasts for (N)eternal life, which (O)the Son of Man will give you, for on Him the Father, God, (P)has set His [d]seal.”
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