Book of Common Prayer
Yahweh Is King Over All the Earth
93 Yahweh is king; he clothes himself with majesty.
Yahweh clothes himself; he girds himself with might.
Yes, the world is established so that it will not be moved.
2 Your throne is established from of old;
you are from everlasting.
3 The rivers have lifted up, O Yahweh;
the rivers have lifted up their rumbling;[a]
the rivers have lifted up their pounding.
4 Mightier than the rumblings of many waters,
mightier than the mighty breakers of the sea,
Yahweh on high is mighty.
5 Your testimonies are fully reliable.
Holiness is fitting for your house,[b]
O Yahweh, forever.[c]
Yahweh the King Comes in Judgment
96 Sing to[a] Yahweh a new song;
sing to[b] Yahweh, all the earth.
2 Sing to[c] Yahweh; bless his name.
Announce[d] his salvation from day to day.
3 Tell his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples.
4 For Yahweh is great and very worthy of praise;
he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,[e]
but Yahweh made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to Yahweh, you families of the peoples,
ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength.
8 Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come into his courts.
9 Worship Yahweh in holy array;
tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “Yahweh is king!
Yes, the world is established so that it will not be moved.
He will judge the peoples fairly.”
11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice.
Let the sea with[f] its fullness roar.
12 Let the field with[g] all that is in it exult.
Then all the trees of the forests will sing for joy
13 before Yahweh, 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.
Thanksgiving for Yahweh’s Deliverance
Of David, when he pretended to be crazy[a] in front of Abimelech[b]
so that he drove him out, and so he departed.[c]
34 I will bless Yahweh at all times;
his praise shall be in my mouth continually.
2 My soul makes its boast in Yahweh;
let the humble hear and be glad.
3 Magnify Yahweh with me,
and let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought Yahweh and he answered me,
and from all my terrors he delivered me.
5 They looked to him and were radiant,
and their faces shall not be ashamed.[d]
6 This poor man called and Yahweh heard,
and saved him from all his troubles.
7 The angel of Yahweh encamps
around those who fear him,
and he rescues them.
8 Taste and see that Yahweh is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear Yahweh, you his saints,[e]
for there is no lack for those who fear him.
10 The young lions are in want and suffer hunger,
but those who seek Yahweh will not lack for any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of Yahweh.
12 Who is the man who desires life,
who loves many days in order to see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Turn from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of Yahweh are toward the righteous,
and his ears toward their cry for help.
16 The face of Yahweh is against evildoers,
to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 They[f] cry out and Yahweh hears
and delivers them from all of their troubles.
18 Yahweh is near to those who are heartbroken
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 Many are the distresses of the righteous,
but Yahweh delivers him out of them all.
20 He protects all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
21 Evil will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will incur guilt.
22 Yahweh redeems the life of his servants,
and none who take refuge in him will incur guilt.
Elisha at Shunem
8 It happened one day that Elisha passed through to Shunem where there was a wealthy woman, and she urged him to eat bread; so it happened each time he passed through, he would stop there to eat. 9 She said to her husband, “Please now, I know that he is a holy man of God who is passing our way[a] regularly; 10 let us make a small enclosed room upstairs and put a bed, table, chair, and lampstand there for him, so that when he comes to us, he can turn and stay there. 11 One day it happened that he came there and went to the upper room and lay down there. 12 He said to Gehazi his servant, “Call to this Shunammite,” so he called to her, and she stood before him. 13 He said to him, “Please say to her, ‘Look, you took all this trouble, showing care for us; what is there for me to do for you? To speak for you to the king or to the commander of the army?’” She said, “I am living among my people.” 14 Then he said, “What may be done for her?” Gehazi said, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.” 15 And he said, “Call for her,” so he called for her and she stood in the doorway. 16 And he said, “At this time next spring,[b] you will be embracing a son.” She said, “No, my lord, O man of God! You must not tell a lie to your servant!” 17 But the woman conceived, and she bore a son in the spring,[c] which Elisha had promised to her.
Elisha Restores the Shunammite’s Son
18 The child grew older, and it happened one day that he went out to his father and to the reapers. 19 Then he said to his father, “My head, my head!” So he said to the servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 So they carried him and brought him to his mother; he sat on her lap until noon and then died. 21 She went up, laid him on the bed of the man of God, closed the door, and went out behind it. 22 She called to her husband and said, “Please send one of the servants and one of the female donkeys for me, so that I can go quickly up to the man of God and return.” 23 And he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither the new moon nor the Sabbath!” And she said, “Peace.” 24 She saddled the female donkey, and she said to her servant, “Drive along and go; you must not hold me back from riding, unless I tell you.” 25 So she went and came to the man of God by Mount Carmel. It happened when the man of God saw her at a distance,[d] he said to Gehazi his servant, “There is this Shunammite. 26 Now, please run to meet her and ask her, ‘Is it peace for you? Is it peace for your husband? Is it peace for the boy?’” She said, “Peace.” 27 So she came to the man of God at the mountain, and she caught hold of his feet. Then Gehazi came near to push her away, but the man of God said, “Let her alone, for her soul is bitter, and Yahweh has hidden it from me and has not told me.” 28 Then she said, “Did I ask for a son from my lord? Did I not say that you must not mislead me?”
29 Then he said to Gehazi, “Gird up your loins and take my staff in your hand and go. If you meet anyone, you must not greet them; if anyone greets you, you must not answer them. You must put my staff on the face of the boy.” 30 Then the mother of the boy said, “As Yahweh lives[e] and as your soul lives,[f] I will surely not leave you.” So he got up and went after her. 31 Gehazi crossed over before them, and he put the staff on the face of the boy; but there was no sound, and there was no sign of life, so he returned to meet him. He told him, saying, “The boy did not wake up.”
32 When Elisha came to the house, here was the boy dead, lying on his bed. 33 He went and closed the door behind the two of them and prayed to Yahweh. 34 Then he went up and lay upon the child and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his palms on his palms. As he bent down over him, the flesh of the boy became warm. 35 He returned and went to and fro[g] in the house one time, then he went up and bent over him. Then the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. 36 Elisha called to Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her and she came to him; then he said, “Pick up your son.” 37 She came and fell at his feet and bowed down to the ground; then she picked up her son and went out.
Ananias Sent to Saul
10 Now there was a certain disciple in Damascus named[a] Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias!” And he said, “Behold, here I am, Lord!” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Get up, go to the street called ‘Straight’ and in the house of Judas look for a man named Saul from Tarsus.[b] For behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named[c] Ananias coming in and placing hands[d] on him so that he may regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias replied, “Lord, I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to tie up[e] all who call upon your name!” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, because this man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before Gentiles[f] and kings and the sons of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 17 So Ananias departed and entered into the house, and placing his[g] hands on him, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight and got up and[h] was baptized, 19 and after[i] taking food, he regained his strength. And he was with the disciples in Damascus several days.
Saul Proclaims Christ in Damascus
20 And immediately he began proclaiming[j] Jesus in the synagogues: “This one is the Son of God!” 21 And all who heard him[k] were amazed, and were saying, “Is this not the one who was wreaking havoc in Jerusalem on those who call upon this name, and had come here for this reason, that he could bring them tied up[l] to the chief priests?” 22 But Saul was increasing in strength even more, and was confounding the Jews who lived in Damascus by[m] proving that this one is the Christ.[n]
23 And when many days had elapsed, the Jews plotted to do away with him. 24 But their plot became known to Saul, and they were also watching the gates both day and night so that they could do away with him. 25 But his disciples took him[o] at night and[p] let him down through the wall by[q] lowering him[r] in a basket.
Saul in Jerusalem
26 And when he[s] arrived in Jerusalem, he was attempting to associate with the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, because they[t] did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and[u] brought him[v] to the apostles and related to them how he had seen the Lord on the road and that he had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 And he was going in and going out among them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he was speaking and debating with the Greek-speaking Jews,[w] but they were trying to do away with him. 30 And when[x] the brothers found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus.
31 Then the church throughout all of Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, being strengthened. And living in the fear of the Lord and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it was increasing in numbers.[y]
7 Therefore he was saying to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “Offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance! And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones! 9 And even now the ax is positioned at the root of the trees; therefore every tree not producing good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 And the crowds were asking him, saying, “What then should we do?” 11 And he answered and[a] said to them, “The one who has two tunics must share with the one who does not have one,[b] and the one who has food must do likewise.” 12 And tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you are ordered to.”[c] 14 And those who served in the army were also asking him, saying, “What should we also do?” And he said to them, “Extort from no one, and do not blackmail anyone,[d] and be content with your pay.”
15 And while[e] the people were waiting expectantly and all were pondering in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he might be the Christ,[f] 16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but the one who is more powerful than I am is coming, of whom I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing shovel is in his hand, to clean out his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his storehouse, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
18 So with many other exhortations also he proclaimed good news to the people.
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