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.”
God’s Deliverance of His People
3 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to [a]Shigionoth.
2 Lord, I have (A)heard [b]the report about You and [c]I (B)fear.
O Lord, (C)revive (D)Your work in the midst of the years,
In the midst of the years make it known;
In wrath remember [d](E)mercy.
3 God comes from (F)Teman,
And the Holy One from Mount (G)Paran. Selah.
His (H)splendor covers the heavens,
And the (I)earth is full of His praise.
4 His (J)radiance is like the sunlight;
He has rays flashing from His hand,
And there is the hiding of His (K)power.
5 Before Him goes (L)pestilence,
And (M)plague comes [e]after Him.
6 He stood and surveyed the earth;
He looked and (N)startled the nations.
Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered,
The ancient hills [f]collapsed.
His ways are (O)everlasting.
7 I saw the tents of Cushan under (P)distress,
The tent curtains of the land of (Q)Midian were trembling.
8 Did the Lord rage against the (R)rivers,
Or was Your anger against the rivers,
Or was Your wrath against the (S)sea,
That You (T)rode on Your horses,
On Your (U)chariots of salvation?
9 Your (V)bow was made bare,
The rods of [g]chastisement were sworn. Selah.
You (W)cleaved the earth with rivers.
10 The mountains saw You and quaked;
The downpour of waters swept by.
The deep (X)uttered forth its voice,
It lifted high its hands.
11 (Y)Sun and moon stood in their places;
They went away at the (Z)light of Your arrows,
At the radiance of Your gleaming spear.
12 In indignation You (AA)marched through the earth;
In anger You [h](AB)trampled the nations.
13 You went forth for the (AC)salvation of Your people,
For the salvation of Your (AD)anointed.
You struck the (AE)head of the house of the evil
To lay him open from [i]thigh to neck. Selah.
14 You pierced with his (AF)own [j]spears
The head of his [k]throngs.
They (AG)stormed in to scatter [l]us;
Their exultation was like those
Who (AH)devour the oppressed in secret.
15 You (AI)trampled on the sea with Your horses,
On the (AJ)surge of many waters.
16 I heard and my [m]inward parts (AK)trembled,
At the sound my lips quivered.
Decay enters my (AL)bones,
And in my place I tremble.
Because I must (AM)wait quietly for the day of distress,
[n]For the (AN)people to arise who will invade us.
17 Though the (AO)fig tree should not blossom
And there be no [o]fruit on the vines,
Though the yield of the (AP)olive should fail
And the fields produce no food,
Though the (AQ)flock should be cut off from the fold
And there be (AR)no cattle in the stalls,
18 Yet I will (AS)exult in the Lord,
I will (AT)rejoice in the (AU)God of my salvation.
The Tongue Is a Fire
3 (A)Let not many of you become teachers, (B)my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a [a]stricter judgment. 2 For we all (C)stumble in many ways. (D)If anyone does not stumble in [b]what he says, he is a (E)perfect man, able to (F)bridle the whole body as well. 3 Now (G)if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. 4 Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. 5 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it (H)boasts of great things.
(I)See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6 And (J)the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which (K)defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our [c]life, and is set on fire by [d](L)hell. 7 For every [e]species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human [f]race. 8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of (M)deadly poison. 9 With it we bless (N)our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, (O)who have been made in the likeness of God; 10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. 11 Does a fountain send out from the same opening both [g]fresh and bitter water? 12 (P)Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce [h]fresh.
Instructions
17 He said to His disciples, “(A)It is inevitable that [a]stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come! 2 (B)It [b]would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble. 3 [c]Be on your guard! (C)If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 And if he sins against you (D)seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ [d]forgive him.”
5 (E)The apostles said to (F)the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 And (G)the Lord said, “If you [e]had faith like (H)a mustard seed, you would say to this (I)mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would [f]obey you.
7 “Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and [g]sit down to eat’? 8 But will he not say to him, ‘(J)Prepare something for me to eat, and properly [h]clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and [i]afterward you [j]may eat and drink’? 9 He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? 10 So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”
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