Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 97[a]
The Divine Ruler of All
I
1 The Lord is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many islands be glad.(A)
2 Cloud and darkness surround him;
justice and right are the foundation of his throne.(B)
3 Fire goes before him,
consuming his foes on every side.
4 His lightening illumines the world;
the earth sees and trembles.(C)
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.(D)
6 The heavens proclaim his justice;
all peoples see his glory.(E)
II
7 All who serve idols are put to shame,
who glory in worthless things;
all gods[b] bow down before him.(F)
8 Zion hears and is glad,
and the daughters of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments, O Lord.(G)
9 For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth,(H)
exalted far above all gods.
10 You who love the Lord, hate evil,
he protects the souls of the faithful,(I)
rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light dawns for the just,
and gladness for the honest of heart.(J)
12 Rejoice in the Lord, you just,
and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.(K)
Psalm 99[a]
The Holy King
I
1 The Lord is king, the peoples tremble;
he is enthroned on the cherubim,[b] the earth quakes.(A)
2 Great is the Lord in Zion,
exalted above all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name:
Holy is he!(B)
II
4 O mighty king, lover of justice,
you have established fairness;
you have created just rule in Jacob.(C)
5 Exalt the Lord, our God;
bow down before his footstool;[c](D)
holy is he!
III
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel among those who called on his name;
they called on the Lord, and he answered them.(E)
7 From the pillar of cloud he spoke to them;
they kept his decrees, the law he had given them.(F)
8 O Lord, our God, you answered them;
you were a forgiving God to them,
though you punished their offenses.(G)
9 Exalt the Lord, our God;
bow down before his holy mountain;
holy is the Lord, our God.
Psalm 100[d]
Processional Hymn
1 A psalm of thanksgiving.
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all you lands;
2 serve the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
3 [e]Know that the Lord is God,
he made us, we belong to him,
we are his people, the flock he shepherds.(H)
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him, bless his name;(I)
5 good indeed is the Lord,
His mercy endures forever,
his faithfulness lasts through every generation.
Psalm 94[a]
A Prayer for Deliverance from the Wicked
I
1 Lord, avenging God,
avenging God, shine forth!(A)
2 Rise up, O judge of the earth;
give the proud what they deserve!(B)
II
3 How long, Lord, shall the wicked,
how long shall the wicked glory?(C)
4 How long will they mouth haughty speeches,
go on boasting, all these evildoers?(D)
5 They crush your people, Lord,
torment your very own.
6 They kill the widow and alien;
the orphan they murder.(E)
7 They say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob takes no notice.”(F)
III
8 Understand, you stupid people!
You fools, when will you be wise?(G)
9 Does the one who shaped the ear not hear?
The one who formed the eye not see?(H)
10 Does the one who guides nations not rebuke?
The one who teaches man not have knowledge?
11 The Lord knows the plans of man;
they are like a fleeting breath.(I)
IV
12 Blessed the one whom you guide, Lord,(J)
whom you teach by your instruction,
13 To give rest from evil days,
while a pit is being dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not forsake his people,
nor abandon his inheritance.(K)
15 Judgment shall again be just,
and all the upright of heart will follow it.
V
16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked?
Who will stand up for me against evildoers?
17 If the Lord were not my help,
I would long have been silent in the grave.(L)
18 When I say, “My foot is slipping,”
your mercy, Lord, holds me up.(M)
19 When cares increase within me,
your comfort gives me joy.
VI
20 Can unjust judges be your allies,
those who create burdens by decree,
21 Those who conspire against the just
and condemn the innocent to death?
22 No, the Lord is my secure height,
my God, my rock of refuge,
23 (N)Who will turn back their evil upon them(O)
and destroy them for their wickedness.
Surely the Lord our God will destroy them!
Psalm 95[b]
A Call to Praise and Obedience
I
1 Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord;
cry out to the rock of our salvation.(P)
2 Let us come before him with a song of praise,
joyfully sing out our psalms.
3 For the Lord is the great God,
the great king over all gods,(Q)
4 Whose hand holds the depths of the earth;
who owns the tops of the mountains.
5 The sea and dry land belong to God,
who made them, formed them by hand.(R)
II
6 Enter, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the Lord who made us.
7 For he is our God,
we are the people he shepherds,
the sheep in his hands.(S)
III
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:(T)
8 Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah,
as on the day of Massah in the desert.[c]
9 There your ancestors tested me;
they tried me though they had seen my works.(U)
10 Forty years I loathed that generation;
I said: “This people’s heart goes astray;
they do not know my ways.”(V)
11 Therefore I swore in my anger:
“They shall never enter my rest.”[d]
II. Israel’s Guilt, Punishment, and Restoration
Chapter 4
Indictment of Israel[a]
1 Hear the word of the Lord, Israelites,
for the Lord has a dispute
with the inhabitants of the land:(A)
There is no fidelity, no loyalty,
no knowledge of God in the land.
2 Swearing, lying, murder,
stealing and adultery break out;[b]
bloodshed follows bloodshed.(B)
3 Therefore the land dries up,
and everything that dwells in it languishes:
The beasts of the field,
the birds of the air,
and even the fish of the sea perish.(C)
Guilt of Priest and of People
4 But let no one accuse, let no one rebuke;
with you is my dispute, priest![c]
5 You will stumble in the day,
and the prophet will stumble with you at night;
I will make an end of your mother.[d]
6 My people are ruined for lack of knowledge!
Since you have rejected knowledge,
I will reject you from serving as my priest;
Since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I will also forget your children.
7 The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against me,
I will change their glory[e] into shame.(D)
8 They feed on the sin of my people,
and are greedy for their iniquity.[f]
9 Like people, like priest:(E)
I will punish them for their ways,
and repay them for their deeds.
10 They will eat but not be satisfied,(F)
they will promote prostitution[g] but not increase,
Because they have abandoned the Lord,
devoting themselves
Chapter 21
Arrival at Tyre. 1 [a]When we had taken leave of them we set sail, made a straight run for Cos, and on the next day for Rhodes, and from there to Patara. 2 Finding a ship crossing to Phoenicia, we went on board and put out to sea. 3 We caught sight of Cyprus but passed by it on our left and sailed on toward Syria and put in at Tyre where the ship was to unload cargo. 4 There we sought out the disciples and stayed for a week. They kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to embark for Jerusalem. 5 At the end of our stay we left and resumed our journey. All of them, women and children included, escorted us out of the city, and after kneeling on the beach to pray, 6 we bade farewell to one another. Then we boarded the ship, and they returned home.
Arrival at Ptolemais and Caesarea. 7 We continued the voyage and came from Tyre to Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and stayed a day with them. 8 On the next day we resumed the trip and came to Caesarea, where we went to the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven,[b] and stayed with him.(A) 9 He had four virgin daughters gifted with prophecy. 10 We had been there several days when a prophet named Agabus[c] came down from Judea. 11 (B)He came up to us, took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands with it, and said, “Thus says the holy Spirit: This is the way the Jews will bind the owner of this belt in Jerusalem, and they will hand him over to the Gentiles.”[d] 12 When we heard this, we and the local residents begged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? I am prepared not only to be bound but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 (C)Since he would not be dissuaded we let the matter rest, saying,(D) “The Lord’s will be done.”[e]
12 Now there was a man full of leprosy[a] in one of the towns where he was; and when he saw Jesus, he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” 13 Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do will it. Be made clean.” And the leprosy left him immediately. 14 Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but “Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;[b] that will be proof for them.”(A) 15 The report about him spread all the more, and great crowds assembled to listen to him and to be cured of their ailments, 16 but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.(B)
The Healing of a Paralytic.(C) 17 [c]One day as Jesus was teaching, Pharisees[d] and teachers of the law were sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem, and the power of the Lord was with him for healing. 18 And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed; they were trying to bring him in and set [him] in his presence. 19 But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles[e] into the middle in front of Jesus. 20 When he saw their faith, he said, “As for you, your sins are forgiven.”[f] 21 Then the scribes[g] and Pharisees began to ask themselves, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who but God alone can forgive sins?”(D) 22 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply, “What are you thinking in your hearts?(E) 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 24 [h](F)But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.” 25 He stood up immediately before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God. 26 Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God, and, struck with awe, they said, “We have seen incredible things today.”
The Call of Levi.(G)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.