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 Ark Returned to Israel
6 Now the ark of the Lord had been in the [a]country of the Philistines seven months. 2 And (A)the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us [b]how we shall send it to its place.” 3 They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, (B)do not send it empty; but you shall surely (C)return to Him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.” 4 Then they said, “What shall be the guilt offering which we shall return to Him?” And they said, “Five golden (D)tumors and five golden mice (E)according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for one plague was on all of [c]you and on your lords. 5 So you shall make likenesses of your tumors and likenesses of your mice that ravage the land, and (F)you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps (G)He will ease His hand from you, (H)your gods, and your land. 6 Why then do you harden your hearts (I)as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He had severely dealt with them, (J)did they not allow [d]the people to go, and they departed? 7 Now therefore, take and (K)prepare a new cart and two milch cows on which there (L)has never been a yoke; and hitch the cows to the cart and take their calves home, away from them. 8 Take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart; and put (M)the articles of gold which you return to Him as (N)a guilt offering in a box by its side. Then send it away that it may go. 9 Watch, if it goes up by the way of its own territory to (O)Beth-shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then (P)we will know that it was not His hand that struck us; it happened to us by chance.”
10 Then the men did so, and took two milch cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. 11 They put the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the box with the golden mice and the likenesses of their tumors. 12 And the cows took the straight way in the [e]direction of (Q)Beth-shemesh; they went along (R)the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right or to the left. And the lords of the Philistines followed them to the border of Beth-shemesh.
13 Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley, and they raised their eyes and saw the ark and were glad to see it. 14 The cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite and stood there where there was a large stone; and they split the wood of the cart and (S)offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 (T)The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the box that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices that day to the Lord. 16 When the (U)five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned to Ekron that day.
27 When they had brought them, they stood them [a]before (A)the Council. The high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We gave you (B)strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and [b]yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and (C)intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “(D)We must obey God rather than men. 30 (E)The God of our fathers (F)raised up Jesus, [c]whom you had (G)put to death by hanging Him on a [d]cross. 31 (H)He is the one whom God exalted [e]to His right hand as a [f](I)Prince and a (J)Savior, to grant (K)repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are (L)witnesses [g]of these things; and (M)so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
Gamaliel’s Counsel
33 But when they heard this, they were (N)cut [h]to the quick and intended to kill them. 34 But a Pharisee named (O)Gamaliel, a (P)teacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in (Q)the Council and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time. 35 And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you propose to do with these men. 36 For some time ago Theudas rose up, (R)claiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men joined up with him. [i]But he was killed, and all who [j]followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of (S)the census and drew away some people after him; he too perished, and all those who [k]followed him were scattered. 38 So in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or [l]action (T)is of men, it will be overthrown; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found (U)fighting against God.”
40 They [m]took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they (V)flogged them and ordered them not to [n]speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them. 41 So they went on their way from the presence of the [o](W)Council, (X)rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame (Y)for His name. 42 (Z)And every day, in the temple and [p]from house to house, they [q]kept right on teaching and [r](AA)preaching Jesus as the [s]Christ.
37 Now [a]during the day He was (A)teaching in the temple, but [b](B)at evening He would go out and spend the night on [c](C)the mount that is called [d]Olivet. 38 And all the people would get up (D)early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him.
Preparing the Passover
22 (E)Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the (F)Passover, was approaching. 2 The chief priests and the scribes (G)were seeking how they might put Him to death; for they were afraid of the people.
3 (H)And (I)Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, [e]belonging to the number of the twelve. 4 And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and (J)officers how he might betray Him to them. 5 They were glad and agreed to give him money. 6 So he consented, and began seeking a good opportunity to betray Him to them [f]apart from the crowd.
7 (K)Then came the first day of Unleavened Bread on which (L)the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 And Jesus sent (M)Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it.” 9 They said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare it?” 10 And He said to them, “When you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house that he enters. 11 And you shall say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ 12 And he will show you a large, furnished upper room; prepare it there.” 13 And they left and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.
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