Book of Common Prayer
The Lord’s Power and Dominion.
97 (A)The Lord [a]reigns, let the (B)earth rejoice;
Let the many [b](C)islands be glad.
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 adversaries round about.
4 His (H)lightnings lit up the world;
The earth saw 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 Let all those be ashamed who serve (N)graven images,
Who boast themselves of (O)idols;
[c](P)Worship Him, all you [d]gods.
8 Zion [e]heard this and (Q)was glad,
And the daughters of Judah have rejoiced
Because of Your judgments, O 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)preserves the souls of His godly ones;
He (V)delivers 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)glad in the Lord, you righteous ones,
And (Z)give thanks [g]to His holy name.
Praise to the Lord for His Fidelity to Israel.
99 (A)The Lord reigns, let the peoples tremble;
He [a](B)is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake!
2 The Lord [b]is (C)great in Zion,
And He is (D)exalted above all the peoples.
3 Let them praise Your (E)great and awesome name;
(F)Holy is [c]He.
4 The [d]strength of the King (G)loves [e]justice;
You have established [f](H)equity;
You have (I)executed [g]justice and righteousness in Jacob.
5 [h](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 O 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 holy is the Lord our God.
All Men Exhorted to Praise God.
A Psalm for [i]Thanksgiving.
The Lord Implored to Avenge His People.
94 O Lord, God of [a](A)vengeance,
God of [b]vengeance, [c](B)shine forth!
2 (C)Rise up, O (D)Judge of the earth,
Render recompense (E)to the proud.
3 How long shall the wicked, O Lord,
How long shall the (F)wicked exult?
4 They pour forth words, they (G)speak arrogantly;
All who do wickedness (H)vaunt themselves.
5 They (I)crush Your people, O Lord,
And (J)afflict Your heritage.
6 They (K)slay the widow and the [d]stranger
And murder the orphans.
7 (L)They have said, “[e]The Lord does not see,
Nor does the God of Jacob pay heed.”
8 Pay heed, you (M)senseless among the people;
And when will you understand, (N)stupid ones?
9 He who (O)planted the ear, [f]does He not hear?
He who formed the eye, [g]does He not see?
10 He who [h](P)chastens the nations, will He not rebuke,
Even He who (Q)teaches man knowledge?
11 The Lord (R)knows the thoughts of man,
[i]That they are a mere breath.
12 Blessed is the man whom (S)You chasten, O [j]Lord,
And (T)whom You teach out of Your law;
13 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)forsake His inheritance.
15 For [k](Z)judgment [l]will again be righteous,
And all the upright in heart [m]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 wickedness?
17 If (AC)the Lord had not been my help,
My soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence.
18 If I should say, “(AD)My foot has slipped,”
Your lovingkindness, O Lord, will hold me up.
19 When my anxious thoughts [n]multiply within me,
Your (AE)consolations delight my soul.
20 Can a [o](AF)throne of destruction be allied with You,
One (AG)which devises [p]mischief by decree?
21 They (AH)band themselves together against the [q]life of the righteous
And (AI)condemn [r]the innocent to death.
22 But the Lord has been my (AJ)stronghold,
And my God the (AK)rock of my refuge.
23 He has (AL)brought back their wickedness upon them
And will [s](AM)destroy them in their evil;
The Lord our God will [t]destroy them.
Praise to the Lord, and Warning against Unbelief.
95 O come, let us (AN)sing for joy to the Lord,
Let us shout joyfully to (AO)the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us (AP)come before His presence (AQ)with [u]thanksgiving,
Let us shout joyfully to Him (AR)with [v]psalms.
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 His also.
5 [w]The sea is His, for it was He (AV)who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us (AW)worship and bow down,
Let us (AX)kneel before the Lord our (AY)Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And (AZ)we are the people of His [x](BA)pasture and the sheep of His hand.
(BB)Today, [y]if you would hear His voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts, as at [z](BC)Meribah,
As in the day of [aa](BD)Massah in the wilderness,
9 “When your fathers (BE)tested Me,
They tried Me, though they had seen My work.
10 “For (BF)forty years I loathed 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,
Truly they shall not enter into My (BH)rest.”
The Sabbath Must Be Kept
19 Thus the Lord said to me, “Go and stand in the [a]public gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, as well as in all the gates of Jerusalem; 20 and say to them, ‘(A)Listen to the word of the Lord, (B)kings of Judah, and all Judah and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who come in through these gates: 21 Thus says the Lord, “(C)Take heed for yourselves, and (D)do not carry any 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, as I (F)commanded your [b]forefathers. 23 Yet they (G)did not listen or incline their ears, but (H)stiffened their necks in order not to listen or take correction.
24 “But it will come about, if you (I)listen attentively 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 princes (M)sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, 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 environs of 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 incense, 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 kindle a fire in its gates and it will (T)devour the palaces of Jerusalem and (U)not be quenched.”’”
13 Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? (A)May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.
The Conflict of Two Natures
14 For we know that the Law is (B)spiritual, but I am (C)of flesh, (D)sold [a](E)into bondage to sin. 15 For what I am doing, (F)I do not understand; for I am not practicing (G)what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with (H)the Law, confessing that the Law is good. 17 So now, (I)no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells 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 am doing the very thing I do not want, (L)I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
21 I find then (M)the [b]principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God [c]in (N)the inner man, 23 but I see (O)a different law in [d]the members of my body, waging war against the (P)law of my mind and making me a prisoner [e]of (Q)the law of sin which is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from [f](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 The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. 19 Then, when they had rowed about [a]three or four miles, they *saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to 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 receive 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 entered with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone. 23 There came other small boats 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 seeking Jesus. 25 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 (L)signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not (M)work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to (N)eternal life, which (O)the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, (P)has set His seal.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.