Book of Common Prayer
93 The Lord is King.
The Lord wears majesty and strength like clothes.
He is ready, so the whole world is safe.
It will not be shaken.
2 Your kingdom has continued forever.
You have lived forever!
3 Lord, the ocean roars.
The mighty ocean sounds like thunder
as the waves crash on the shore.
4 The crashing waves of the sea are loud and powerful,
but the Lord above is even more powerful.
5 Lord, your laws will continue forever.[a]
Your holy Temple will stand for a long time.
96 Sing a new song[a] to the Lord!
Let the whole world sing to the Lord!
2 Sing to the Lord and praise his name!
Tell the good news every day about how he saves us!
3 Tell all the nations how wonderful he is!
Tell people everywhere about the amazing things he does.
4 The Lord is great and worthy of praise.
He is more awesome than any of the “gods.”
5 All the “gods” in other nations are nothing but statues,
but the Lord made the heavens.
6 He lives in the presence of glory and honor.
His Temple is a place of power and beauty.
7 Praise the Lord, all people of every nation;
praise the Lord’s glory and power.
8 Give the Lord praise worthy of his glory!
Come, bring your offerings into his courtyard.
9 Worship the Lord in all his holy beauty.
Everyone on earth should tremble before him.
10 Tell the nations that the Lord is King!
The world stands firm and cannot be moved.
He will judge all people fairly.
11 Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be happy!
Let the sea and everything in it shout for joy!
12 Let the fields and everything in them be happy!
Let the trees in the forest sing for joy
13 when they see the Lord coming!
He is coming to rule[b] the world.
He will rule all the nations of the world
with justice and fairness.
[a] A song of David when he pretended to be crazy so that Abimelech would send him away, which he did.
34 I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will never stop singing his praises.
2 Humble people, listen and be happy,
while I brag about the Lord.
3 Praise the Lord with me.
Let us honor his name.
4 I went to the Lord for help, and he listened.
He saved me from all that I fear.
5 If you look to him for help,
he will put a smile on your face.
You will have no need to be ashamed.
6 As a poor, helpless man I prayed to the Lord,
and he heard me.
He saved me from all my troubles.
7 The Lord’s angel builds a camp around his followers,
and he protects them.
8 Give the Lord a chance to show you[b] how good he is.
Great blessings belong to those who depend on him!
9 The Lord’s holy people should fear and respect him.
Those who respect him will always have what they need.
10 Even strong lions get weak and hungry,
but those who go to the Lord for help will have every good thing.
11 Children, come and listen to me;
I will teach you to respect the Lord.
12 Do you want to enjoy life?
Do you want to have many happy days?
13 Then avoid saying anything hurtful,
and never let a lie come out of your mouth.
14 Stop doing anything evil, and do good.
Look for peace, and do all you can to help people live peacefully.
15 The Lord watches over those who do what is right,
and he hears their prayers.
16 But the Lord is against those who do evil,
so they are forgotten soon after they die.
17 Pray to the Lord, and he will hear you.
He will save you from all your troubles.
18 The Lord is close to those who have suffered disappointment.
He saves those who are discouraged.
19 Good people might have many problems,
but the Lord will take them all away.
20 He will protect them completely.
Not one of their bones will be broken.
21 But troubles will kill the wicked.
The enemies of those who live right will all be punished.
22 The Lord saves his servants.
All who go to him for protection will escape punishment.
The Lord Will Save His People
14 Clear the road! Clear the road!
Make the way clear for my people!
15 God is high and lifted up.
He lives forever.
His name is holy.
He says, “I live in a high and holy place,
but I also live with people who are humble and sorry for their sins.
I will give new life to those who are humble in spirit.
I will give new life to those who are sorry for their sins.
16 I will not accuse my people forever.
I will not always be angry.
If I continued to show my anger,
then the human spirit, the life I gave them, would die before me.
17 Israel’s evil greed made me angry,
so I punished them.
I turned away from them
because I was angry.
But they continued to do wrong.
They did whatever they wanted.
18 I have seen their way of life, but I will heal them.
I will guide and comfort them and those who mourn for them.
19 I will teach them a new word: peace.
I will give peace to those who are near and to those who are far away.
I will heal them.”
The Lord himself said this.
20 But evil people are like the angry ocean.
They cannot be quiet and peaceful.
They are angry, and like the ocean,
they stir up mud.
21 My God says,
“There is no peace for evil people.”
We Also Should Follow Jesus’ Example
12 We have all these great people around us as examples. Their lives tell us what faith means. So we, too, should run the race that is before us and never quit. We should remove from our lives anything that would slow us down and the sin that so often makes us fall. 2 We must never stop looking to Jesus. He is the leader of our faith, and he is the one who makes our faith complete. He suffered death on a cross. But he accepted the shame of the cross as if it were nothing because of the joy he could see waiting for him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God’s throne. 3 Think about Jesus. He patiently endured the angry insults that sinful people were shouting at him. Think about him so that you won’t get discouraged and stop trying.
God Is Like a Father
4 You are struggling against sin, but you have not had to give up your life for the cause. 5 You are children of God, and he speaks words of comfort to you. You have forgotten these words:
“My child, don’t think the Lord’s discipline is worth nothing,
and don’t stop trying when he corrects you.
6 The Lord disciplines everyone he loves;
he punishes everyone he accepts as a child.” (A)
Jesus Talks About the Holy Spirit
37 The last day of the festival came. It was the most important day. On that day Jesus stood up and said loudly, “Whoever is thirsty may come to me and drink. 38 If anyone believes in me, rivers of living water will flow out from their heart. That is what the Scriptures say.” 39 Jesus was talking about the Spirit. The Spirit had not yet been given to people, because Jesus had not yet been raised to glory. But later, those who believed in Jesus would receive the Spirit.
The People Argue About Jesus
40 When the people heard the things that Jesus said, some of them said, “This man really is the Prophet.[a]”
41 Other people said, “He is the Messiah.”
And others said, “The Messiah will not come from Galilee. 42 The Scriptures say that the Messiah will come from the family of David. And they say that he will come from Bethlehem, the town where David lived.” 43 So the people did not agree with each other about Jesus. 44 Some of the people wanted to arrest him. But no one tried to do it.
The Jewish Leaders Refuse to Believe
45 The Temple police went back to the leading priests and the Pharisees. The priests and the Pharisees asked, “Why didn’t you bring Jesus?”
46 The Temple police answered, “We have never heard anyone say such amazing things!”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International