Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 97[a]
97 The Lord reigns.
Let the earth be happy.
Let the many coastlands rejoice.
2 Dark clouds surround him;
equity and justice are the foundation of his throne.[b]
3 Fire goes before him;
on every side[c] it burns up his enemies.
4 His lightning bolts light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The sky declares his justice,
and all the nations see his splendor.
7 All who worship idols are ashamed,
those who boast about worthless idols.
All the gods bow down before him.[d]
8 Zion hears and rejoices,
the towns[e] of Judah are happy,
because of your judgments, O Lord.
9 For you, O Lord, are the Most High[f] over the whole earth;
you are elevated high above all gods.
10 You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He protects[g] the lives of his faithful followers;
he delivers them from the power[h] of the wicked.
11 The godly bask in the light;
the morally upright experience joy.[i]
12 You godly ones, rejoice in the Lord.
Give thanks to his holy name.[j]
Psalm 99[a]
99 The Lord reigns!
The nations tremble.[b]
He sits enthroned above the cherubim;[c]
the earth shakes.[d]
2 The Lord is elevated[e] in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name.
He[f] is holy!
4 The king is strong;
he loves justice.[g]
You ensure that legal decisions will be made fairly;[h]
you promote justice and equity in Jacob.
5 Praise[i] the Lord our God.
Worship[j] before his footstool.
He is holy!
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests;
Samuel was one of those who prayed to him.[k]
They[l] prayed to the Lord and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from a pillar of cloud;[m]
they obeyed his regulations and the ordinance he gave them.
8 O Lord our God, you answered them.
They found you to be a forgiving God,
but also one who punished their sinful deeds.[n]
9 Praise[o] the Lord our God!
Worship on his holy hill,
for the Lord our God is holy.
Psalm 115[a]
115 Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
but to your name bring honor,[b]
for the sake of your loyal love and faithfulness.[c]
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven.
He does whatever he pleases.[d]
4 Their[e] idols are made of silver and gold—
they are man-made.[f]
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see,
6 ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell,
7 hands, but cannot touch,
feet, but cannot walk.
They cannot even clear their throats.[g]
8 Those who make them will end up[h] like them,
as will everyone who trusts in them.
9 O Israel, trust in the Lord.
He is their deliverer[i] and protector.[j]
10 O family[k] of Aaron, trust in the Lord.
He is their deliverer[l] and protector.[m]
11 You loyal followers of the Lord,[n] trust in the Lord.
He is their deliverer[o] and protector.[p]
12 The Lord takes notice of us;[q] he will bless[r]—
he will bless the family[s] of Israel,
he will bless the family of Aaron.
13 He will bless his loyal followers,[t]
both young and old.[u]
14 May he increase your numbers,
yours and your children’s.[v]
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
the Creator[w] of heaven and earth.
16 The heavens belong to the Lord,[x]
but the earth he has given to mankind.[y]
17 The dead do not praise the Lord,
nor do any of those who descend into the silence of death.[z]
18 But we will praise the Lord
now and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!
7 But I will keep watching for the Lord;
I will wait for the God who delivers me.
My God will listen to me.
Jerusalem Will Be Vindicated
8 My enemies,[a] do not gloat[b] over me!
Though I have fallen, I will get up.
Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.[c]
9 I must endure[d] the Lord’s fury,
for I have sinned against him.
But then[e] he will defend my cause[f]
and accomplish justice on my behalf.
He will lead me out into the light;
I will witness his deliverance.[g]
10 When my enemies see this, they will be covered with shame.
They say[h] to me, “Where is the Lord your God?”
I will gloat over them;[i]
then they will be trampled down[j]
like mud in the streets.
11 It will be a day for rebuilding your walls;
in that day your boundary will be extended.[k]
A Closing Prayer
12 In that day people[l] will come to you[m]
from Assyria as far as[n] Egypt,
from Egypt as far as the Euphrates River,[o]
from the seacoasts[p] and the mountains.[q]
13 The earth will become desolate
because of what its inhabitants have done.[r]
14 Shepherd your people with your rod,[s]
the flock that belongs to you,[t]
the one that lives alone in a thicket,
in the midst of a pastureland.[u]
Allow them to graze in Bashan and Gilead,[v]
as they did in the old days.[w]
15 “As in the days when you departed from the land of Egypt,
I will show you[x] miraculous deeds.”[y]
Peter and John Heal a Lame Man at the Temple
3 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time[a] for prayer,[b] at three o’clock in the afternoon.[c] 2 And a man lame[d] from birth[e] was being carried up, who was placed at the temple gate called “the Beautiful Gate” every day[f] so he could beg for money[g] from those going into the temple courts.[h] 3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple courts,[i] he asked them for money.[j] 4 Peter looked directly[k] at him (as did John) and said, “Look at us!” 5 So the lame man[l] paid attention to them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold,[m] but what I do have I give you. In the name[n] of Jesus Christ[o] the Nazarene, stand up and[p] walk!” 7 Then[q] Peter[r] took hold[s] of him by the right hand and raised him up, and at once the man’s[t] feet and ankles were made strong.[u] 8 He[v] jumped up,[w] stood and began walking around, and he entered the temple courts[x] with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 All[y] the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and they recognized him as the man who used to sit and ask for donations[z] at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with astonishment and amazement[aa] at what had happened to him.
The Vine and the Branches
15 “I am the true vine[a] and my Father is the gardener.[b] 2 He takes away[c] every branch that does not bear[d] fruit in me. He[e] prunes[f] every branch that bears[g] fruit so that it will bear more fruit. 3 You are clean already[h] because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Remain[i] in me, and I will remain in you.[j] Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself,[k] unless it remains[l] in[m] the vine, so neither can you unless you remain[n] in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains[o] in me—and I in him—bears[p] much fruit,[q] because apart from me you can accomplish[r] nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain[s] in me, he is thrown out like a branch, and dries up; and such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire,[t] and are burned up.[u] 7 If you remain[v] in me and my words remain[w] in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you.[x] 8 My Father is honored[y] by this, that[z] you bear[aa] much fruit and show that you are[ab] my disciples.
9 “Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you; remain[ac] in my love. 10 If you obey[ad] my commandments, you will remain[ae] in my love, just as I have obeyed[af] my Father’s commandments and remain[ag] in his love. 11 I have told you these things[ah] so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.
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