Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 97
1 The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles and coastlands be glad!
2 Clouds and darkness are round about Him [as at Sinai]; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.(A)
3 Fire goes before Him and burns up His adversaries round about.
4 His lightnings illumine the world; the earth sees and trembles.
5 The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the peoples see His glory.
7 Let all those be put to shame who serve graven images, who boast in idols. Fall prostrate before Him, all you gods.(B)
8 Zion heard and was glad, and the daughters of Judah rejoiced [in relief] because of Your judgments, O Lord.
9 For You, Lord, are high above all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods.
10 O you who love the Lord, hate evil; He preserves the lives of His saints (the children of God), He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.(C)
11 Light is sown for the [uncompromisingly] righteous and strewn along their pathway, and joy for the upright in heart [the irrepressible joy which comes from consciousness of His favor and protection].
12 Rejoice in the Lord, you [consistently] righteous (upright and in right standing with God), and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness.
Psalm 98
A Psalm.
1 O sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have wrought salvation for Him.
2 The Lord has made known His salvation; His righteousness has He openly shown in the sight of the nations.(D)
3 He has [earnestly] remembered His mercy and loving-kindness, His truth and His faithfulness toward the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have witnessed the salvation of our God.(E)
4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth and sing for joy, yes, sing praises!
5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the voice of melody.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!
7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it, the world, and those who dwell in it!
8 Let the rivers clap their hands; together let the hills sing for joy
9 Before the Lord, for He is coming to judge [and rule] the earth; with righteousness will He judge [and rule] the world, and the peoples with equity.
22 The Lord formed and brought me [Wisdom] forth at the beginning of His way, before His acts of old.
23 I [Wisdom] was inaugurated and ordained from everlasting, from the beginning, before ever the earth existed.(A)
24 When there were no deeps, I was brought forth, when there were no fountains laden with water.
25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was brought forth,(B)
26 While as yet He had not made the land or the fields or the first of the dust of the earth.
27 When He prepared the heavens, I [Wisdom] was there; when He drew a circle upon the face of the deep and stretched out the firmament over it,
28 When He made firm the skies above, when He established the fountains of the deep,
29 When He gave to the sea its limit and His decree that the waters should not transgress [across the boundaries set by] His command, when He appointed the foundations of the earth—(C)
30 Then I [Wisdom] was [a]beside Him as a master and director of the work; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing before Him always,(D)
20 I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, he who receives and welcomes and takes into his heart any messenger of Mine receives Me [in just that way]; and he who receives and welcomes and takes Me into his heart receives Him Who sent Me [in that same way].
21 After Jesus had said these things, He was troubled (disturbed, agitated) in spirit and said, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, one of you will deliver Me up [one of you will be false to Me and betray Me]!
22 The disciples kept looking at one another, puzzled as to whom He could mean.
23 One of His disciples, whom Jesus loved [whom He esteemed and delighted in], was reclining [next to Him] on Jesus’ bosom.
24 So Simon Peter motioned to him to ask of whom He was speaking.
25 Then leaning back against Jesus’ breast, he asked Him, Lord, who is it?
26 Jesus answered, It is the one to whom I am going to give this morsel (bit) of food after I have dipped it. So when He had dipped the morsel of bread [into the dish], He gave it to Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son.
27 Then after [he had taken] the bit of food, Satan entered into and took possession of [Judas]. Jesus said to him, What you are going to do, do [a]more swiftly than you seem to intend and [b]make quick work of it.
28 But nobody reclining at the table knew why He spoke to him or what He meant by telling him this.
29 Some thought that, since Judas had the money box (the purse), Jesus was telling him, Buy what we need for the Festival, or that he should give something to the poor.
30 So after receiving the bit of bread, he went out immediately. And it was night.
31 When he had left, Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified! [Now He has achieved His glory, His honor, His exaltation!] And God has been glorified through and in Him.
32 And if God is glorified through and in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and He will glorify Him at once and not delay.
33 [Dear] little children, I am to be with you only a little longer. You will look for Me and, as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: you are not able to come where I am going.
34 I give you a new commandment: that you should love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another.
35 By this shall all [men] know that you are My disciples, if you love one another [if you keep on showing love among yourselves].
Psalm 145
[A Psalm] of praise. Of David.
1 I will extol You, my God, O King; and I will bless Your name forever and ever [with grateful, affectionate praise].
2 Every day [with its new reasons] will I bless You [affectionately and gratefully praise You]; yes, I will praise Your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord and highly to be praised; and His greatness is [so vast and deep as to be] unsearchable.(A)
4 One generation shall laud Your works to another and shall declare Your mighty acts.
5 On the glorious splendor of Your majesty and on Your wondrous works I will meditate.
6 Men shall speak of the might of Your tremendous and terrible acts, and I will declare Your greatness.
7 They shall pour forth [like a fountain] the fame of Your great and abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of Your rightness and justice.
8 The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and abounding in mercy and loving-kindness.
9 The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works [the entirety of things created].
10 All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, and Your loving ones shall bless You [affectionately and gratefully shall Your saints confess and praise You]!
11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom and talk of Your power,
12 To make known to the sons of men God’s mighty deeds and the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
14 The Lord upholds all those [of His own] who are falling and raises up all those who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all wait for You [looking, watching, and expecting] and You give them their food in due season.
16 You open Your hand and satisfy every living thing with favor.
17 The Lord is [rigidly] righteous in all His ways and gracious and merciful in all His works.
18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him sincerely and in truth.
19 He will fulfill the desires of those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him; He also will hear their cry and will save them.
20 The Lord preserves all those who love Him, but all the wicked will He destroy.
21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord; and let all flesh bless (affectionately and gratefully praise) His holy name forever and ever.
5 Everyone who believes (adheres to, trusts, and relies on the fact) that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah) is a born-again child of God; and everyone who loves the Father also loves the one born of Him (His offspring).
2 By this we come to know (recognize and understand) that we love the children of God: when we love God and obey His commands (orders, charges)—[when we keep His ordinances and are mindful of His precepts and His teaching].
3 For the [true] love of God is this: that we do His commands [keep His ordinances and are mindful of His precepts and teaching]. And these orders of His are not irksome (burdensome, oppressive, or grievous).
4 For whatever is born of God is victorious over the world; and this is the victory that conquers the world, even our faith.
5 Who is it that is victorious over [that conquers] the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on that fact]?
6 This is He Who came by (with) water and blood [[a]His baptism and His death], Jesus Christ (the Messiah)—not by (in) the water only, but by (in) the water and the blood. And it is the [Holy] Spirit Who bears witness, because the [Holy] Spirit is the Truth.
7 So there are three witnesses [b]in heaven: the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit, and these three are One;
8 and there are three witnesses on the earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree [are in unison; their testimony coincides].
9 If we accept [as we do] the testimony of men [if we are willing to take human authority], the testimony of God is greater (of stronger authority), for this is the testimony of God, even the witness which He has borne regarding His Son.
10 He who believes in the Son of God [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] has the testimony [possesses this divine attestation] within himself. He who does not believe God [in this way] has made Him out to be and represented Him as a liar, because he has not believed (put his faith in, adhered to, and relied on) the evidence (the testimony) that God has borne regarding His Son.
11 And this is that testimony (that evidence): God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
12 He who possesses the Son has that life; he who does not possess the Son of God does not have that life.
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