Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 93
God’s Eternal Reign
1 The Lord reigns! He is robed in majesty;
The Lord is robed, enveloped in strength.
The world is firmly established;
it cannot be shaken.(A)
2 Your throne has been established
from the beginning;[a]
You are from eternity.(B)
3 The floods have lifted up, Lord,
the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods lift up their pounding waves.(C)
4 Greater than the roar of many waters—
the mighty breakers of the sea—
the Lord on high is majestic.(D)
Psalm 96(A)
King of the Earth
1 Sing a new song to the Lord;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.(B)
2 Sing to Yahweh, praise His name;
proclaim His salvation from day to day.(C)
3 Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonderful works among all peoples.(D)
4 For the Lord is great and is highly praised;
He is feared above all gods.(E)
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.(F)
6 Splendor and majesty are before Him;
strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.(G)
7 Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.(H)
8 Ascribe to Yahweh the glory of His name;(I)
bring an offering and enter His courts.(J)
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness;(K)
tremble before Him, all the earth.(L)
10 Say among the nations: “The Lord reigns.(M)
The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken.(N)
He judges the peoples fairly.”(O)
11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and all that fills it resound.(P)
12 Let the fields and everything in them exult.
Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy(Q)
13 before the Lord, for He is coming—
for He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with His faithfulness.(R)
Psalm 34
The Lord Delivers the Righteous
Concerning David, when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech,[a](A) who drove him out, and he departed.
1 I[b] will praise the Lord at all times;
His praise will always be on my lips.(B)
2 I will boast in the Lord;(C)
the humble will hear and be glad.(D)
3 Proclaim Yahweh’s greatness with me;(E)
let us exalt His name together.(F)
4 I sought the Lord, and He answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.(G)
5 Those who look to Him are[c] radiant with joy;(H)
their faces will never be ashamed.(I)
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him from all his troubles.(J)
7 The Angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear Him, and rescues them.(K)
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.(L)
How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him!(M)
9 You who are His holy ones, fear Yahweh,
for those who fear Him lack nothing.(N)
10 Young lions[d] lack food and go hungry,(O)
but those who seek the Lord
will not lack any good thing.(P)
11 Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.(Q)
12 Who is the man who delights in life,
loving a long life to enjoy what is good?(R)
13 Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from deceitful speech.(S)
14 Turn away from evil and do what is good;(T)
seek peace and pursue it.(U)
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and His ears are open to their cry for help.(V)
16 The face of the Lord is set
against those who do what is evil,(W)
to erase[e] all memory of them from the earth.(X)
17 The righteous[f] cry out, and the Lord hears,
and delivers them from all their troubles.(Y)
18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
He saves those crushed in spirit.(Z)
19 Many adversities come to the one who is righteous,
but the Lord delivers him from them all.(AA)
20 He protects all his bones;
not one of them is broken.(AB)
21 Evil brings death to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.(AC)
22 The Lord redeems the life of His servants,
and all who take refuge in Him will not be punished.(AD)
The Mystery of Godliness
14 I write these things to you, hoping to come(A) to you soon. 15 But if I should be delayed, I have written so that you will know how people ought to act in God’s household,(B) which is the church of the living God,(C) the pillar and foundation of the truth.(D) 16 And most certainly, the mystery of godliness(E) is great:
He[a] was manifested in the flesh,(F)
vindicated in the Spirit,(G)
seen by angels,
preached among the nations,
believed(H) on in the world,
taken up in glory.(I)
Demonic Influence
4 Now the Spirit(J) explicitly says that in later times(K) some will depart from the faith,(L) paying attention to deceitful spirits(M) and the teachings of demons,(N) 2 through the hypocrisy(O) of liars whose consciences(P) are seared. 3 They forbid marriage(Q) and demand abstinence(R) from foods that God created(S) to be received with gratitude by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good,(T) and nothing should be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,(U) 5 since it is sanctified by the word of God(V) and by prayer.
The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds
24 He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.(A) 25 But while people were sleeping, his enemy came, sowed weeds[a] among the wheat, and left. 26 When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also appeared. 27 The landowner’s slaves(B) came to him and said, ‘Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’
28 “‘An enemy did this!’ he told them.
“‘So, do you want us to go and gather them up?’ the slaves asked him.
29 “‘No,’ he said. ‘When you gather up the weeds, you might also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I’ll tell the reapers: Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to burn them, but store the wheat in my barn.’”
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and of the Yeast
31 He(C) presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven(D) is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It’s the smallest of all the seeds, but when grown, it’s taller than the vegetables and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”(E)
33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into 50 pounds[b] of flour until it spread through all of it.”[c](F)
Using Parables Fulfills Prophecy
34 Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables, and He would not speak anything to them without a parable,(G)
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