Book of Common Prayer
The Lord’s Power and Dominion.
97 (A)The Lord [a]reigns, may the (B)earth rejoice;
May the many [b](C)islands be joyful.
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 enemies all around.
4 His (H)lightning lit up the world;
The earth saw it 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 May all those be ashamed who serve (N)carved images,
Who boast in (O)idols;
[c](P)Worship Him, all you [d]gods.
8 Zion [e]heard this and (Q)was joyful,
And the daughters of Judah have rejoiced
Because of Your judgments, 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)watches over the souls of His godly ones;
He (V)saves 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)joyful in the Lord, you righteous ones,
And (Z)praise [g]the mention of His holy name.
Praise to the Lord for His Faithfulness to Israel.
99 (A)The Lord reigns, [a]the peoples tremble!
He (B)sits enthroned above the cherubim, [b]the earth quakes!
2 The Lord [c]is (C)great in Zion,
And He is (D)exalted above all the peoples.
3 May they praise Your (E)great and awesome name;
(F)Holy is [d]He.
4 The [e]strength of the King (G)loves [f]justice;
You have established [g](H)order;
You have (I)executed [h]justice and righteousness in Jacob.
5 [i](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 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 the Lord our God is holy.
All People Exhorted to Praise God.
A Psalm for [j]Thanksgiving.
The Lord Implored to Avenge His People.
94 Lord, God of [a](A)vengeance,
God of [b]vengeance, [c](B)shine forth!
2 (C)Rise up, (D)Judge of the earth,
Pay back retribution (E)to the proud.
3 How long, Lord, shall the wicked—
How long shall the (F)wicked triumph?
4 They pour out words, they (G)speak arrogantly;
All who do injustice (H)boast.
5 They (I)crush Your people, Lord,
And (J)afflict Your inheritance.
6 They (K)kill the widow and the stranger
And murder the orphans.
7 (L)They have said, “[d]The Lord does not see,
Nor does the God of Jacob perceive.”
8 Pay attention, you (M)stupid ones among the people;
And when will you understand, (N)foolish ones?
9 He who (O)planted the ear, [e]does He not hear?
Or He who formed the eye, [f]does He not see?
10 He who [g](P)disciplines the nations, will He not rebuke,
He who (Q)teaches mankind knowledge?
11 The Lord (R)knows human thoughts,
[h]That they are mere breath.
12 Blessed is the man whom (S)You discipline, [i]Lord,
And (T)whom You teach from Your Law,
13 So 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)abandon His inheritance.
15 For [j](Z)judgment [k]will again be righteous,
And all the upright in heart [l]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 injustice?
17 If (AC)the Lord had not been my help,
My soul would soon have dwelt in the land of silence.
18 If I should say, “(AD)My foot has slipped,”
Your faithfulness, Lord, will support me.
19 When my anxious thoughts [m]multiply within me,
Your (AE)comfort delights my soul.
20 Can a [n](AF)throne of destruction be allied with You,
One (AG)which devises [o]mischief by decree?
21 They (AH)band themselves together against the [p]life of the righteous
And (AI)condemn [q]the innocent to death.
22 But the Lord has been my (AJ)refuge,
And my God the (AK)rock of my refuge.
23 He has (AL)brought back their injustice upon them,
And He will [r](AM)destroy them in their evil;
The Lord our God will [s]destroy them.
Praise to the Lord and Warning against Unbelief.
95 Come, let’s (AN)sing for joy to the Lord,
Let’s shout joyfully to (AO)the rock of our salvation.
2 Let’s (AP)come before His presence (AQ)with a song of thanksgiving,
Let’s shout joyfully to Him (AR)in songs with instruments.
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 also His.
5 [t]The sea is His, for it was He (AV)who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let’s (AW)worship and bow down,
Let’s (AX)kneel before the Lord our (AY)Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And (AZ)we are the people of His [u](BA)pasture and the sheep of His hand.
(BB)Today, [v]if you will hear His voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts as at [w](BC)Meribah,
As on the day of [x](BD)Massah in the wilderness,
9 “When your fathers (BE)put Me to the test,
They tested Me, though they had seen My work.
10 For (BF)forty years I was disgusted with 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,
They certainly shall not enter My (BH)rest.”
10 ‘Behold, the day! Behold, it is coming! Your [a]doom has gone forth; the (A)rod has budded, arrogance has blossomed. 11 Violence [b]has grown into a rod of (B)wickedness. None of them shall remain, none of their [c]people, none of their (C)wealth, nor anything eminent among them. 12 The (D)time has come, the day has arrived. Let neither the (E)buyer rejoice nor the seller mourn; for (F)wrath is against all their multitude. 13 Indeed, the seller will not [d](G)regain [e]what he sold as long as [f]they both live; for the vision regarding all their multitude will not [g]be averted, nor will any of them maintain his life by his wrongdoing.
14 ‘They have (H)blown the trumpet and made everything ready, but no one is going to the battle, for My wrath is against all [h]their multitude. 15 The (I)sword is outside the city and the plague and the famine are within. Anyone who is in the field will die by the sword, while famine and the plague will consume those in the city.
23 ‘(A)Make the [a]chain, for the land is full of [b](B)bloody crimes, and the city is (C)full of violence. 24 Therefore, I will bring the worst of the (D)nations, and they will take possession of their houses. I will also put an end to the (E)pride of the strong ones, and their (F)holy places will be profaned. 25 When anguish comes, they will seek (G)peace, but there will be none. 26 (H)Disaster will come upon disaster and (I)rumor will be added to rumor; then they will seek a (J)vision from a prophet, but the (K)Law will be lost from the priest, and (L)counsel from the elders. 27 The king will mourn, the prince will be (M)clothed in horror, and the hands of the people of the land will [c]tremble. I will deal with them because of their conduct, and by their judgments I will judge them. And they will know that I am the Lord.’”
13 For (A)when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear an oath by no one greater, He (B)swore by Himself, 14 saying, “(C)indeed I will greatly bless you and I will greatly multiply you.” 15 And so, (D)having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. 16 (E)For people swear an oath by [a]one greater than themselves, and with them (F)an oath serving as confirmation is an end of every dispute. 17 [b]In the same way God, desiring even more to demonstrate to (G)the heirs of the promise [c](H)the fact that His purpose is unchangeable, [d]confirmed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things in which (I)it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to hold firmly to (J)the hope set before us. 19 [e]This (K)hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and reliable and one which (L)enters [f]within the veil, 20 (M)where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a (N)high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
The Seventy-two Sent Out
10 Now after this (A)the Lord appointed [a]seventy-two (B)others, and sent them (C)in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. 2 And He was saying to them, “(D)The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 3 Go; (E)behold, I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 (F)Carry no money belt, no [b]bag, no sandals, and greet no one along the way. 5 And whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ 6 And if a [c]man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay in [d]that house, eating and drinking [e]what they provide; for (G)the laborer is deserving of his wages. Do not move from house to house. 8 Whatever city you enter and they receive you, (H)eat what is served to you; 9 and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘(I)The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘(J)Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet [f]be sure of this, that (K)the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I say to you, (L)it will be more tolerable on that day for (M)Sodom than for that city.
13 “(N)Woe to you, (O)Chorazin! Woe to you, (P)Bethsaida! For if the [g]miracles that occurred in you had occurred in (Q)Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in [h](R)sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more tolerable for (S)Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. 15 And you, (T)Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!
16 “(U)The one who listens to you listens to Me, and (V)the one who rejects you rejects Me; but the one who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
The Joyful Results
17 Now the [i]seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even (W)the demons are subject to us [j]in Your name!”
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