Book of Common Prayer
Jehovah’s power and dominion.
97 Jehovah reigneth; let the earth rejoice;
Let the multitude of isles be glad.
2 Clouds and darkness are round about him:
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 A fire goeth before him,
And burneth up his adversaries round about.
4 His lightnings lightened the world:
The earth saw, and trembled.
5 The mountains melted like wax at the presence of Jehovah,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The heavens declare his righteousness,
And all the peoples have seen his glory.
7 Let all them be put to shame that serve graven images,
That boast themselves of idols:
Worship him, all ye gods.
8 Zion heard and was glad,
And the daughters of Judah rejoiced,
Because of thy judgments, O Jehovah.
9 For thou, Jehovah, art most high above all the earth:
Thou art exalted far above all gods.
10 O ye that love Jehovah, hate evil:
He preserveth the souls of his saints;
He delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown for the righteous,
And gladness for the upright in heart.
12 Be glad in Jehovah, ye righteous;
And give thanks to his holy memorial name.
Praise to Jehovah for his fidelity to Israel.
99 Jehovah reigneth; let the peoples tremble:
He [a]sitteth above the cherubim; let the earth be moved.
2 Jehovah is great in Zion;
And he is high above all the peoples.
3 Let them praise thy great and terrible name:
Holy is he.
4 The king’s strength also loveth justice;
Thou dost establish equity;
Thou executest justice and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Exalt ye Jehovah our God,
And worship at his footstool:
Holy is he.
6 Moses and Aaron among his priests,
And Samuel among them that call upon his name;
They called upon Jehovah, and he answered them.
7 He spake unto them in the pillar of cloud:
They kept his testimonies,
And the statute that he gave them.
8 Thou answeredst them, O Jehovah our God:
Thou wast a God that forgavest them,
Though thou tookest vengeance of their doings.
9 Exalt ye Jehovah our God,
And worship at his holy hill;
For Jehovah our God is holy.
All men exhorted to praise God.
A Psalm [b]of thanksgiving.
100 Make a joyful noise unto Jehovah, [c]all ye lands.
2 Serve Jehovah with gladness:
Come before his presence with singing.
3 Know ye that Jehovah, he is God:
It is he that hath made us, [d]and we are his;
We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with [e]thanksgiving,
And into his courts with praise:
Give thanks unto him, and bless his name.
5 For Jehovah is good; his lovingkindness endureth for ever,
And his faithfulness unto all generations.
Jehovah implored to avenge his people.
94 O Jehovah, thou God to whom vengeance belongeth,
Thou God to whom vengeance belongeth, shine forth.
2 Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth:
Render to the proud their desert.
3 Jehovah, how long shall the wicked,
How long shall the wicked triumph?
4 They prate, they speak arrogantly:
All the workers of iniquity boast themselves.
5 They break in pieces thy people, O Jehovah,
And afflict thy heritage.
6 They slay the widow and the sojourner,
And murder the fatherless.
7 And they say, [a]Jehovah will not see,
Neither will the God of Jacob consider.
8 Consider, ye brutish among the people;
And ye fools, when will ye be wise?
9 He that planted the ear, shall he not hear?
He that formed the eye, shall he not see?
10 He that [b]chastiseth the nations, shall not he correct,
Even he that teacheth man knowledge?
11 Jehovah knoweth the thoughts of man,
[c]That they are [d]vanity.
12 Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O [e]Jehovah,
And teachest out of thy law;
13 That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity,
Until the pit be digged for the wicked.
14 For Jehovah will not cast off his people,
Neither will he forsake his inheritance.
15 For judgment shall return unto righteousness;
And all the upright in heart shall follow it.
16 Who will rise up for me against the evil-doers?
Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
17 Unless Jehovah had been my help,
My soul had soon dwelt in silence.
18 When I said, My foot slippeth;
Thy lovingkindness, O Jehovah, held me up.
19 In the multitude of my [f]thoughts within me Thy comforts delight my soul.
20 Shall the [g]throne of wickedness have fellowship with thee,
Which frameth mischief by statute?
21 They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous,
And condemn the innocent blood.
22 But Jehovah hath been my high tower,
And my God the rock of my refuge.
23 And he hath brought upon them their own iniquity,
And will cut them off in their own wickedness;
Jehovah our God will cut them off.
Praise to Jehovah, and warning against unbelief.
95 Oh come, let us sing unto Jehovah;
Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving;
Let us make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
3 For Jehovah is a great God,
And a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth;
The [h]heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, and he made it;
And his hands formed the dry land.
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before Jehovah our Maker:
7 For he is our God,
And we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
To-day, [i]oh that ye would hear his voice!
8 Harden not your heart, as at [j]Meribah,
As in the day of [k]Massah in the wilderness;
9 When your fathers tempted me,
Proved me, and saw my work.
10 Forty years long was I grieved with that generation,
And said, It is a people that do err in their heart,
And they have not known my ways:
11 Wherefore I sware in my wrath,
That they should not enter into my rest.
14 Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was toward Absalom. 2 And Joab sent to Tekoa, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on mourning apparel, I pray thee, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that hath a long time mourned for the dead: 3 and go in to the king, and speak on this manner unto him. So Joab put the words in her mouth.
4 And when the woman of Tekoa spake to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said, Help, O king. 5 And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, Of a truth I am a widow, and my husband is dead. 6 And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and killed him. 7 And, behold, the whole family is risen against thy handmaid, and they say, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him for the life of his brother whom he slew, and so destroy the heir also. Thus will they quench my coal which is left, and will leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the face of the earth.
8 And the king said unto the woman, Go to thy house, and I will give charge concerning thee. 9 And the woman of Tekoa said unto the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father’s house; and the king and his throne be guiltless. 10 And the king said, Whosoever saith aught unto thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more. 11 Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember Jehovah thy God, that the avenger of blood destroy not any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, As Jehovah liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.
12 Then the woman said, Let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak a word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on. 13 And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou devised such a thing against the people of God? for in speaking this word the king is as one that is guilty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished one. 14 For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God take away life, but deviseth means, that he that is banished be not an outcast from him. 15 Now therefore seeing that I am come to speak this word unto my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant. 16 For the king will hear, to deliver his servant out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God. 17 Then thy handmaid said, Let, I pray thee, the word of my lord the king be [a]comfortable; for as [b]an angel of God, so is my lord the king [c]to discern good and bad: and Jehovah thy God be with thee.
18 Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, aught that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak. 19 And the king said, Is the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from aught that my lord the king hath spoken; for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thy handmaid; 20 to change the face of the matter hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.
21 And when it came to pass that we were parted from them and had set sail, we came with a straight course unto Cos, and the next day unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara: 2 and having found a ship crossing over unto Phoenicia, we went aboard, and set sail. 3 And when we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left hand, we sailed unto Syria, and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unlade her burden. 4 And having found the disciples, we tarried there seven days: and these said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not set foot in Jerusalem. 5 And when it came to pass that we had accomplished the days, we departed and went on our journey; and they all, with wives and children, brought us on our way till we were out of the city: and kneeling down on the beach, we prayed, and bade each other farewell; 6 and we went on board the ship, but they returned home again.
7 And when we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais; and we saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day. 8 And on the morrow we departed, and came unto Caesarea: and entering into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we abode with him. 9 Now this man had four virgin daughters, who prophesied. 10 And as we tarried there some days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus. 11 And coming to us, and taking Paul’s girdle, he bound his own feet and hands, and said, Thus saith the Holy Spirit, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. 12 And when we heard these things, both we and they of that place besought him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, What do ye, weeping and breaking my heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. 14 And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.
10 And he arose from thence, and cometh into the borders of Judaea and beyond the Jordan: and multitudes come together unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again.
2 And there came unto him Pharisees, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? trying him. 3 And he answered and said unto them, [a]What did Moses command you? 4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. 5 But Jesus said unto them, For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of the creation, Male and female made he them. 7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, [b]and shall cleave to his wife; 8 and the two shall become one flesh: so that they are no more two, but one flesh. 9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 10 And in the house the disciples asked him again of this matter. 11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her: 12 and if she herself shall put away her husband, and marry another, she committeth adultery.
13 And they were bringing unto him little children, that he should touch them: and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was moved with indignation, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me; forbid them not: for [c]to such belongeth the kingdom of God. 15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no wise enter therein. 16 And he took them in his arms, and blessed them, laying his hands upon them.
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