Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 93[a]
93 The Lord reigns.
He is robed in majesty.
The Lord is robed;
he wears strength around his waist.[b]
Indeed, the world is established; it cannot be moved.
2 Your throne has been secure from ancient times;
you have always been king.[c]
3 The waves[d] roar, O Lord,
the waves roar,
the waves roar and crash.[e]
4 Above the sound of the surging water,[f]
and the mighty waves of the sea,
the Lord sits enthroned in majesty.[g]
5 The rules you set down[h] are completely reliable.[i]
Holiness[j] aptly adorns your house, O Lord, forever.[k]
Psalm 96[a]
96 Sing to the Lord a new song.[b]
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord. Praise his name.
Announce every day how he delivers.[c]
3 Tell the nations about his splendor.
Tell[d] all the nations about his amazing deeds.
4 For the Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise;
he is more awesome than all gods.[e]
5 For all the gods of the nations are worthless,[f]
but the Lord made the sky.
6 Majestic splendor emanates from him;[g]
his sanctuary is firmly established and beautiful.[h]
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the nations,
ascribe to the Lord splendor and strength.
8 Ascribe to the Lord the splendor he deserves.[i]
Bring an offering and enter his courts.
9 Worship the Lord in holy attire.[j]
Tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
The world is established; it cannot be moved.
He judges the nations fairly.”
11 Let the sky rejoice, and the earth be happy.
Let the sea and everything in it shout.
12 Let the fields and everything in them celebrate.
Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy
13 before the Lord, for he comes.
For he comes to judge the earth.
He judges the world fairly,[k]
and the nations in accordance with his justice.[l]
Psalm 34[a]
By David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, causing the king to send him away.[b]
34 I will praise[c] the Lord at all times;
my mouth will continually praise him.[d]
2 I will boast[e] in the Lord;
let the oppressed hear and rejoice.[f]
3 Magnify the Lord with me.
Let us praise[g] his name together.
4 I sought the Lord’s help[h] and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Look to him and be radiant;
do not let your faces be ashamed.[i]
6 This oppressed man cried out and the Lord heard;
he saved him[j] from all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord camps around
the Lord’s[k] loyal followers[l] and delivers them.[m]
8 Taste[n] and see that the Lord is good.
How blessed[o] is the one[p] who takes shelter in him.[q]
9 Fear the Lord, you chosen people of his,[r]
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 Even young lions sometimes lack food and are hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 Come children. Listen to me.
I will teach you what it means to fear the Lord.[s]
12 Do you want to really live?[t]
Would you love to live a long, happy life?[u]
13 Then make sure you don’t speak evil words[v]
or use deceptive speech.[w]
14 Turn away from evil and do what is right.[x]
Strive for peace and promote it.[y]
15 The Lord pays attention to the godly
and hears their cry for help.[z]
16 But the Lord opposes evildoers
and wipes out all memory of them from the earth.[aa]
17 The godly[ab] cry out and the Lord hears;
he saves them from all their troubles.[ac]
18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
he delivers[ad] those who are discouraged.[ae]
19 The godly[af] face many dangers,[ag]
but the Lord saves[ah] them[ai] from each one of them.
20 He protects[aj] all his bones;[ak]
not one of them is broken.[al]
21 Evil people self-destruct;[am]
those who hate the godly are punished.[an]
22 The Lord rescues his servants;[ao]
all who take shelter in him escape punishment.[ap]
Conduct in God’s Church
14 I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions[a] to you 15 in case I am delayed, to let you know how people ought to conduct themselves[b] in the household of God, because it is[c] the church of the living God, the support and bulwark of the truth. 16 And we all agree,[d] our religion contains amazing revelation:[e]
He[f] was revealed in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,[g]
seen by angels,
proclaimed among Gentiles,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.
Timothy’s Ministry in the Later Times
4 Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the later times some will desert the faith and occupy themselves[h] with deceiving spirits and demonic teachings,[i] 2 influenced by the hypocrisy of liars[j] whose consciences are seared.[k] 3 They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For every creation of God is good and no food[l] is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. 5 For it is sanctified by God’s word and by prayer.
The Parable of the Weeds
24 He presented them with another parable:[a] “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed darnel[b] among the wheat and went away. 26 When[c] the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the darnel also appeared. 27 So the slaves[d] of the landowner[e] came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the darnel come from?’ 28 He said, ‘An enemy has done this!’ So[f] the slaves replied, ‘Do you want us to go and gather it?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, since in gathering the darnel you may uproot the wheat along with it. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At[g] harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burned, but then gather[h] the wheat into my barn.”’”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
31 He gave[i] them another parable:[j] “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed[k] that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest garden plant and becomes a tree,[l] so that the wild birds[m] come and nest in its branches.”[n]
The Parable of the Yeast
33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with[o] three measures[p] of flour until all the dough had risen.”[q]
The Purpose of Parables
34 Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds; he did not speak to them without a parable.
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