Book of Common Prayer
97 The Lord rules. Let the earth be glad.
Let countries that are far away be full of joy.
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him.
His rule is built on what is right and fair.
3 The Lord sends fire ahead of him.
It burns up his enemies all around him.
4 His lightning lights up the world.
The earth sees it and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax when the Lord is near.
He is the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The heavens announce that what he does is right.
All people everywhere see his glory.
7 All who worship statues of gods or brag about them are put to shame.
All you gods, worship the Lord!
8 Zion hears about it and is filled with joy.
Lord, the villages of Judah are glad
because of how you judge.
9 Lord, you are the Most High God.
You rule over the whole earth.
You are honored much more than all gods.
10 Let those who love the Lord hate evil.
He guards the lives of those who are faithful to him.
He saves them from the power of sinful people.
11 Good things come to those who do what is right.
Joy comes to those whose hearts are honest.
12 You who are godly, be glad because of what the Lord has done.
Praise him, because his name is holy.
99 The Lord rules.
Let the nations tremble.
He sits on his throne between the cherubim.
Let the earth shake.
2 Great is the Lord in Zion.
He is honored over all the nations.
3 Let them praise his great and wonderful name.
He is holy.
4 The King is mighty and loves justice.
He has set up the rules for fairness.
He has done what is right and fair
for the people of Jacob.
5 Honor the Lord our God.
Worship at his feet.
He is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were two of his priests.
Samuel was one of those who worshiped him.
They called out to the Lord.
And he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud.
They obeyed his laws and the orders he gave them.
8 Lord our God, you answered them.
You showed Israel that you are a God who forgives.
But when they did wrong, you punished them.
9 Honor the Lord our God.
Worship at his holy mountain.
The Lord our God is holy.
A psalm for giving grateful praise.
100 Shout for joy to the Lord, everyone on earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come to him with songs of joy.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
He made us, and we belong to him.
We are his people.
We are the sheep belonging to his flock.
4 Give thanks as you enter the gates of his temple.
Give praise as you enter its courtyards.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 The Lord is good. His faithful love continues forever.
It will last for all time to come.
94 The Lord is a God who punishes.
Since you are the one who punishes, come and show your anger.
2 Judge of the earth, rise up.
Pay back proud people for what they have done.
3 Lord, how long will those who are evil be glad?
How long will they be full of joy?
4 Proud words pour out of their mouths.
All those who do evil are always bragging.
5 Lord, they crush your people.
They treat badly those who belong to you.
6 They kill outsiders. They kill widows.
They murder children whose fathers have died.
7 They say, “The Lord doesn’t see what’s happening.
The God of Jacob doesn’t pay any attention to it.”
8 You who aren’t wise, pay attention.
You foolish people, when will you become wise?
9 Does he who made the ear not hear?
Does he who formed the eye not see?
10 Does he who corrects nations not punish?
Does he who teaches human beings not know anything?
11 The Lord knows what people think.
He knows that their thoughts don’t amount to anything.
12 Lord, blessed is the person you correct.
Blessed is the person you teach from your law.
13 You give them rest from times of trouble,
until a pit is dug to trap sinners.
14 The Lord won’t say no to his people.
He will never desert those who belong to him.
15 He will again judge people in keeping with what is right.
All those who have honest hearts will follow the right way.
16 Who will rise up for me against sinful people?
Who will stand up for me against those who do evil?
17 Suppose the Lord had not helped me.
Then I would soon have been lying quietly in the grave.
18 I said, “My foot is slipping.”
But Lord, your faithful love kept me from falling.
19 I was very worried.
But your comfort brought me joy.
20 Can you have anything to do with rulers who aren’t fair?
Can those who make laws that cause suffering be friends of yours?
21 Evil people join together against those who do what is right.
They sentence to death those who aren’t guilty of doing anything wrong.
22 But the Lord has become like a fort to me.
My God is my rock. I go to him for safety.
23 He will pay them back for their sins.
He will destroy them for their evil acts.
The Lord our God will destroy them.
95 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord.
Let us give a loud shout to the Rock who saves us.
2 Let us come to him and give him thanks.
Let us praise him with music and song.
3 The Lord is the great God.
He is the greatest King.
He rules over all the gods.
4 He owns the deepest parts of the earth.
The mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The ocean is his, because he made it.
He formed the dry land with his hands.
6 Come, let us bow down and worship him.
Let us fall on our knees in front of the Lord our Maker.
7 He is our God.
We are the sheep belonging to his flock.
We are the people he takes good care of.
If only you would listen to his voice today.
8 He says, “Don’t be stubborn as you were at Meribah.
Don’t be stubborn as you were that day at Massah in the desert.
9 There your people of long ago really tested me.
They did it even though they had seen what I had done for them.
10 For 40 years I was angry with them.
I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray.
They do not know how I want them to live.’
11 So when I was angry, I made a promise.
I said, ‘They will never enjoy the rest I planned for them.’ ”
Habakkuk Prays to the Lord
3 This is a prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. It is on shigionoth. Here is what he said.
2 Lord, I know how famous you are.
I have great respect for you
because of your mighty acts.
Do them again for us.
Make them known in our time.
When you are angry,
please have mercy on us.
3 God came from Teman.
The Holy One came from Mount Paran.
His glory covered the heavens.
His praise filled the earth.
4 His glory was like the sunrise.
Rays of light flashed from his mighty hand.
His power was hidden there.
5 He sent plagues ahead of him.
Sickness followed behind him.
6 When he stood up, the earth shook.
When he looked at the nations,
they trembled with fear.
The age-old mountains crumbled.
The ancient hills fell down.
But he marches on forever.
7 I saw the tents of Cushan in trouble.
The people of Midian were suffering greatly.
8 Lord, were you angry with the rivers?
Were you angry with the streams?
Were you angry with the Red Sea?
You rode your horses and chariots
to overcome it.
9 You got your bow ready to use.
You asked for many arrows.
You broke up the surface
of the earth with rivers.
10 The mountains saw you and shook.
Floods of water swept by.
The sea roared.
It lifted its waves high.
11 The sun and moon stood still in the sky.
They stopped because your flying arrows flashed by.
Your gleaming spear shone like lightning.
12 When you were angry, you marched across the earth.
Because of your anger you destroyed the nations.
13 You came out to set your people free.
You saved your chosen ones.
You crushed Pharaoh, the leader of that evil land of Egypt.
You stripped him from head to foot.
14 His soldiers rushed out to scatter us.
They were laughing at us.
They thought they would easily destroy us.
They saw us as weak people who were trying to hide.
So you wounded Pharaoh’s head with his own spear.
15 Your horses charged into the Red Sea.
They stirred up the great waters.
16 I listened and my heart pounded.
My lips trembled at the sound.
My bones seemed to rot.
And my legs shook.
But I will be patient.
I’ll wait for the day of trouble to come on Babylon.
It’s the nation that is attacking us.
17 The fig trees might not bud.
The vines might not produce any grapes.
The olive crop might fail.
The fields might not produce any food.
There might not be any sheep in the pens.
There might not be any cattle in the barns.
18 But I will still be glad
because of what the Lord has done.
God my Savior fills me with joy.
Control What You Say
3 My brothers and sisters, most of you shouldn’t become teachers. That’s because you know that those of us who teach will be held more accountable. 2 All of us get tripped up in many ways. Suppose someone is never wrong in what they say. Then they are perfect. They are able to keep their whole body under control.
3 We put a small piece of metal in the mouth of a horse to make it obey us. We can control the whole animal with it. 4 And how about ships? They are very big. They are driven along by strong winds. But they are steered by a very small rudder. It makes them go where the captain wants to go. 5 In the same way, the tongue is a small part of a person’s body. But it talks big. Think about how a small spark can set a big forest on fire. 6 The tongue is also a fire. The tongue is the most evil part of the body. It makes the whole body impure. It sets a person’s whole way of life on fire. And the tongue itself is set on fire by hell.
7 People have tamed all kinds of wild animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures. And they still tame them. 8 But no one can tame the tongue. It is an evil thing that never rests. It is full of deadly poison.
9 With our tongues we praise our Lord and Father. With our tongues we curse people. We do it even though people have been created to be like God. 10 Praise and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, it shouldn’t be this way. 11 Can fresh water and salt water flow out of the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree produce olives? Can a grapevine produce figs? Of course not. And a saltwater spring can’t produce fresh water either.
Sin, Faith and Duty
17 Jesus spoke to his disciples. “Things that make people sin are sure to come,” he said. “But how terrible it will be for anyone who causes those things to come! 2 Suppose people lead one of these little ones to sin. It would be better for those people to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck. 3 So watch what you do.
“If your brother or sister sins against you, tell them they are wrong. Then if they turn away from their sins, forgive them. 4 Suppose they sin against you seven times in one day. And suppose they come back to you each time and say, ‘I’m sorry.’ You must forgive them.”
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Give us more faith!”
6 He replied, “Suppose you have faith as small as a mustard seed. Then you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up. Be planted in the sea.’ And it will obey you.
7 “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. And suppose the servant came in from the field. Will you say to him, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? 8 No. Instead, you will say, ‘Prepare my supper. Get yourself ready. Wait on me while I eat and drink. Then after that you can eat and drink.’ 9 Will you thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 It’s the same with you. Suppose you have done everything you were told to do. Then you should say, ‘We are not worthy to serve you. We have only done our duty.’ ”
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