Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 93[a]
Glory of the Lord’s Kingdom
1 The Lord is King,[b] adorned in splendor;
the Lord has clothed and girded himself with strength.
[c]He has made the world firm,
never to be moved.
2 Your throne has stood firm from the beginning;
you have existed throughout eternity, O Lord.
3 The waters[d] have lifted up, O Lord;
the waters have lifted up their voice;
the waters have lifted up their roar.
4 More powerful than the roar of mighty waters,
more powerful than the crashing waves of the sea,
mighty on high is the Lord.[e]
5 Your decrees[f] are firmly established;
holiness adorns your house,
O Lord, throughout the ages.
Psalm 96[a]
God, Sovereign and Judge of the Universe
1 Sing to the Lord a new song;[b]
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord and bless his name;
proclaim his salvation[c] day after day.
3 Declare his glory[d] among the nations,
his wondrous deeds to every people.
4 For great is the Lord and worthy of all praise;
he is more to be feared[e] than all other gods.
5 The gods of the nations are merely idols,
but it was the Lord who made the heavens.[f]
6 Majesty and splendor surround him;
power and beauty[g] are in his sanctuary.
7 Render to the Lord, you families of nations,
render to the Lord glory and power.[h]
8 Render to the Lord the glory due to his name;
bring an offering and enter his courts.[i]
9 Worship[j] the Lord in the splendor of his holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord is King.[k]
The world is firmly established, never to be moved.
He will judge the peoples fairly.”
11 Let the heavens exult and the earth be glad;
let the sea resound and all that fills it.
12 Let the fields rejoice and all that is in them;
let all the trees[l] of the forest shout for joy
13 before the Lord, for he is coming,
coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with justice
and the nations with equity.[m]
Psalm 34[a]
Presence of God, Protector of the Righteous
1 Of David. When he pretended to be mad before Abimelech, who forced him to depart.[b]
2 [c]I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise will be continually on my lips.
3 My soul[d] will glory in the Lord;
let the lowly hear and be glad.
4 Magnify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.
5 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he set me free from all my fears.
6 Look to him and you will be radiant;
your faces will never be covered with shame.
7 In my anguish[e] I cried out;
the Lord heard my plea,
and I was saved from all my troubles.
8 The angel of the Lord[f] encamps around those who fear God,
and he delivers them.
9 Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed[g] is the man who takes refuge in him.
10 Fear the Lord,[h] you his saints;
nothing is lacking for those who fear him.
11 The powerful[i] suffer want and go hungry,
but those who seek the Lord want for no good thing.
12 [j]Come, my children,[k] and listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
13 Who among you delights in life
and desires many years to enjoy prosperity?[l]
14 Then keep your tongue[m] from evil
and your lips from telling lies.
15 Shun evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
16 [n]The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry.
17 The face of the Lord is turned against those who do evil,
to erase all memory of them from the earth.
18 [o]The righteous call out, and the Lord hears them;
he rescues them from all their troubles.
19 The Lord remains close to the brokenhearted,
and he saves those whose spirit is crushed.
20 [p]The misfortunes of the righteous man are many,
but the Lord delivers him,[q] from all of them.
21 He watches with care over all his bones;
not a single one will be broken.
22 [r]Evil will bring death to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
23 The Lord redeems the lives of those who serve him;
no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.
The Judges, Defenders of an Oppressed Israel
11 The Judges too, every one of them by name,
whose hearts did not succumb to idolatry
and who did not turn their backs on the Lord—
may their memory be blessed.
12 May their bones send forth new life from the grave,
and may the names of those illustrious men
live again in their children.
Samuel, a Prophet for the People[a]
13 Honored among his people and beloved by his Creator,
pledged in a vow from his mother’s womb,
and consecrated to the Lord in the prophetic office
was Samuel, the judge who offered sacrifice.
At God’s word, he established the monarchy
and anointed rulers of his people.
14 He judged the community according to the law of the Lord,
and the Lord watched over the people of Jacob.
15 By his faithfulness he was proved to be a prophet,
and his words substantiated his trustworthy role as a seer.
16 When his enemies pressed him on every side,
he called upon the Lord, the Mighty One,
offering him a suckling lamb.
17 Then the Lord thundered from heaven,
and made his voice heard with a mighty roar.
18 He routed the leaders of the enemy
and all the rulers of the Philistines.
19 When the time drew near for his eternal sleep,
Samuel bore witness to the Lord and his anointed:
“I have never taken from anyone any property,
not even a pair of shoes.”
And no one could contradict his statement.
20 Even after he had fallen asleep, he prophesied once again,
warning the king of his approaching death.
He raised his voice in prophecy from the depths of the earth
to put an end to the wickedness of the people.
Chapter 15
The Seven Angels and the Seven Plagues.[a] 1 Then I saw in heaven another great and wondrous sign: seven angels with the seven plagues, the last plagues of all, for through them the wrath of God is completed.
The Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb.[b] 2 I saw something that looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. Standing beside the sea of glass and holding the harps that God had given them were those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They were holding harps given them by God 3 and singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:
“How great and wonderful are your works,
Lord God Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
O King of the nations!
4 Who shall not fear you, O Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your acts of justice have been revealed.”
The Justice and Triumph of God[c]
Vision of the Temple. 5 After this, in my vision, the temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony,[d] was opened in heaven, 6 and from the temple emerged the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were robed in clean, shining linen, and breastplates of gold were fastened around their chests.
7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven gold bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. 8 The temple was filled with the smoke from the glory of God and from his power, so that no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
Instructions to the Disciples: The Charter of the Community[a]
Chapter 18
Become Like Little Children.[b] 1 At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 Then Jesus beckoned a child to come to him, placed it in their midst, 3 and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself and becomes like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Woe to the World because of Scandals.[c] 5 “And whoever receives one such child in my name receives me. 6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of scandals. Such things are bound to occur, but woe to the one through whom they come.
8 [d]“If your hand or your foot is an occasion of sin for you, cut it off and throw it away. It is preferable for you to enter into life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is preferable for you to enter into life with one eye than to have two eyes and be cast into the fires of Gehenna.
10 “Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven gaze continually on the face of my heavenly Father. [ 11 For the Son of Man has come to save what was lost.][e]
12 The Parable of the Lost Sheep.[f]“Tell me your opinion. If a man owns a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the other ninety-nine on the hillside and go off in search of the one who went astray? 13 And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he is more filled with joy over it than over the ninety-nine who did not wander off. 14 In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that a single one of these little ones should be lost.
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