Book of Common Prayer
The Lord is King
97 The Lord reigns!
Let the earth rejoice!
May many islands be glad!
2 Thick clouds are all around him;
righteousness and justice are his throne’s foundation.
3 Fire goes out from his presence
to consume his enemies on every side.
4 His lightning bolts light the world;
the earth sees and shakes.
5 Mountains melt like wax in the Lord’s presence—
In the presence of the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens declare his righteousness
so that all the nations see his glory.
7 All who serve carved images—
and those who praise idols—will be humiliated.
Worship him, all you “gods”!
The Lord is Holy
99 The Lord reigns—
let people tremble;
he is seated above the cherubim—
let the earth quake.
2 The Lord is great in Zion
and is exalted above all peoples.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name.
He is holy!
4 A mighty king who loves justice,
you have established fairness.
You have exercised justice
and righteousness over Jacob.
5 Exalt the Lord our God;
worship and bow down at his footstool;
He is holy!
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests;
Samuel also was among those who invoked his name.
When they called on the Lord,
he answered them.
7 In a pillar of cloud he spoke to them;
they obeyed his decrees
and the Law that he gave them.
8 Lord our God, you answered them;
you were their God who forgave[a] them,
but also avenged their evil deeds.
9 Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy mountain,
for the Lord our God is holy!
A psalm of thanksgiving
Give Thanks to the Lord
100 Shout to the Lord all the earth!
2 Serve the Lord with joy.
Come before him with a joyful shout!
3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God.
He made us and we belong to him;
we are his people
and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise.
Thank him and bless his name,
5 for the Lord is good
and his gracious love stands forever.
His faithfulness remains from generation to generation.
God Avenges His Own
94 God of vengeance,
Lord God of vengeance,
display your splendor![a]
2 Stand up, judge of the earth,
and repay the proud.
3 How long will the wicked, Lord,
how long will the wicked continue to triumph?
4 When they speak, they spew arrogance.
Everyone who practices iniquity brags about it.[b]
5 Lord, they have crushed your people,
afflicting your heritage.
6 The wicked[c] kill widows and foreigners;
they murder orphans.
7 They say, “The Lord cannot see,
and the God of Jacob will not notice.”
8 Pay attention, you dull ones among the crowds!
You fools! Will you ever become wise?
9 The one who formed[d] the ear can hear, can he not?
The one who made the eyes can see, can he not?
10 The one who disciplines nations can rebuke them, can he not?
The one who teaches mankind can discern, can he not?
11 The Lord knows the thoughts of human beings—
that they are futile.
12 How blessed is the man whom you instruct, Lord,
whom you teach from your Law,
13 keeping him calm when times are troubled
until a pit has been dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not forsake his people;
he will not abandon his heritage.
15 Righteousness will be restored with justice,
and all the pure of heart will follow it.
16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked?
Who will stand for me against those who practice iniquity?
17 If the Lord had not been my helper,
I would have quickly become silent.
18 When I say that my foot is shaking,
your gracious love, Lord, will sustain me.
19 When my anxious inner thoughts become overwhelming,
your comfort encourages me.
20 Will destructive national leaders,[e]
who plan wicked things through misuse of the Law,
be allied with you?
21 They gather together against the righteous,
condemning the innocent to death.
22 But the Lord is my stronghold,
and my God, the rock, is my refuge.
23 He will repay them for their sin;
he will annihilate them because of their evil.
The Lord our God will annihilate them.
Worship and Obedience
95 Come! Let us sing joyfully to the Lord!
Let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us shout with songs of praise to him.
3 For the Lord is an awesome God;
a great king above all divine beings.[f]
4 He holds in his hand the lowest parts of the earth
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea that he made belongs to him,
along with the dry land that his hands formed.
6 Come! Let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel in the presence of the Lord, who made us.
7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture
and the flock in his care.[g]
If only you would listen to his voice today,
8 do not be stubborn like your ancestors were[h] at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah, in the wilderness,
9 where your ancestors tested me.
They tested me,
even though they had seen my awesome deeds.
10 For forty years I loathed that generation, so I said,
“They are a people whose hearts continuously err,
and they have not understood my ways.”
11 So in my anger I declared an oath:
“They are not to enter my place of rest.”
The Harvest Approaches
10 “Look out! The day!
“Look out! It’s coming!
“Doom has blossomed.
“Arrogance has sprouted!
11 “Violence has matured into a branch that is wicked. No one will survive from that vast crowd, from their wealthy people, or from the famous among them.
12 “The time has come!
“The day has arrived.[a] Don’t let the buyer rejoice, nor the seller lament, because wrath is coming to attack the entire multitude. 13 The seller won’t regain what he has sold while the crowd remains[b] alive, because the vision concerning the entire multitude won’t be annulled. No person will be able to survive because of the sin in his life.
14 “They’ve sounded the alarm,[c] and everyone is prepared, but no one is marching for battle, since I’m angry at the entire multitude. 15 The sword lurks outside, but pestilence and famine are on the prowl inside the house. Whoever is in the field will die by violence,[d] while famine and pestilence will devour those in the city.
23 “Forge a chain, because the land is full of bloody judgment and the city is filled with violence. 24 Therefore, I’m bringing the worst of the nations, who will take possession of their houses. I’ll cause the pride of the mighty to cease, and their sanctuaries will be profaned.
25 “When destruction comes, they’ll seek peace, but there will be none to be found. 26 Disaster upon disaster will come, followed by rumor after rumor. They’ll seek an oracle from the prophet, but the Law will be gone from the priests, and counsel from the elders.
27 “The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed with desolation,[a] and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. I’ll deal with them according to their behavior and I will judge them by how they’ve judged. Then they’ll learn[b] that I am the Lord.”
God’s Promise is Reliable
13 For when God made his promise to Abraham, he swore an oath by himself, since he had no one greater to swear by. 14 He said, “I will certainly bless you and give you many descendants.”[a] 15 And so he obtained what he had been promised, because he patiently waited for it. 16 For people swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath given as confirmation puts an end to all argument. 17 In the same way, when God wanted to make the unchangeable character of his purpose perfectly clear to the heirs of his promise, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by these two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to prove false, we who have taken refuge in him might be encouraged to seize the hope set before us. 19 That hope,[b] firm and secure like an anchor for our souls, reaches behind the curtain 20 where Jesus, our forerunner, has gone on our behalf, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
The Mission of the Seventy
10 After this, the Lord appointed 70[a] other disciples[b] and was about to send them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place that he intended to go. 2 So he instructed them, “The harvest is vast, but the workers are few. So ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers out into his harvest. 3 Get going! See, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Don’t carry a wallet, a traveling bag, or sandals, and don’t greet anyone on the way.
5 “Whatever house you go into, first say, ‘May there be peace in this house.’ 6 If a peaceful person lives there, your greeting of peace will remain with him. But if that’s not the case, your greeting[c] will come back to you. 7 Stay with the same family, eating and drinking whatever they provide, because the worker deserves his pay. Don’t move from house to house.
8 “Whenever you go into a town and the people[d] welcome you, eat whatever they serve you, 9 heal the sick that are there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you!’ 10 But whenever you go into a town and people[e] don’t welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘We’re wiping off your town’s dust that clings to our feet in protest against you! But realize this: the kingdom of God is near!’ 12 I tell you, on the last[f] day it will be easier for Sodom than for that town!”
Jesus Denounces Unrepentant Cities(A)
13 “How terrible it will be for you, Chorazin! How terrible it will be for you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that happened in you had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 It will be easier for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you!
15 And you, Capernaum! You won’t be lifted up to heaven, will you? You’ll go down to Hell![g] 16 The person who listens to you listens to me, and the person who rejects you rejects me. The person who rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
The Return of the Seventy
17 The 70[h] disciples[i] came back and joyously reported, “Lord, even the demons are submitting to us in your name!”
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