Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 93
God’s Eternal Reign
1 The Lord reigns! He is robed in majesty;
The Lord is robed, enveloped in strength.
The world is firmly established;
it cannot be shaken.(A)
2 Your throne has been established
from the beginning;[a]
You are from eternity.(B)
3 The floods have lifted up, Lord,
the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods lift up their pounding waves.(C)
4 Greater than the roar of many waters—
the mighty breakers of the sea—
the Lord on high is majestic.(D)
Psalm 96(A)
King of the Earth
1 Sing a new song to the Lord;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.(B)
2 Sing to Yahweh, praise His name;
proclaim His salvation from day to day.(C)
3 Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonderful works among all peoples.(D)
4 For the Lord is great and is highly praised;
He is feared above all gods.(E)
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.(F)
6 Splendor and majesty are before Him;
strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.(G)
7 Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.(H)
8 Ascribe to Yahweh the glory of His name;(I)
bring an offering and enter His courts.(J)
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness;(K)
tremble before Him, all the earth.(L)
10 Say among the nations: “The Lord reigns.(M)
The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken.(N)
He judges the peoples fairly.”(O)
11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and all that fills it resound.(P)
12 Let the fields and everything in them exult.
Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy(Q)
13 before the Lord, for He is coming—
for He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with His faithfulness.(R)
Psalm 34
The Lord Delivers the Righteous
Concerning David, when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech,[a](A) who drove him out, and he departed.
1 I[b] will praise the Lord at all times;
His praise will always be on my lips.(B)
2 I will boast in the Lord;(C)
the humble will hear and be glad.(D)
3 Proclaim Yahweh’s greatness with me;(E)
let us exalt His name together.(F)
4 I sought the Lord, and He answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.(G)
5 Those who look to Him are[c] radiant with joy;(H)
their faces will never be ashamed.(I)
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him from all his troubles.(J)
7 The Angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear Him, and rescues them.(K)
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.(L)
How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him!(M)
9 You who are His holy ones, fear Yahweh,
for those who fear Him lack nothing.(N)
10 Young lions[d] lack food and go hungry,(O)
but those who seek the Lord
will not lack any good thing.(P)
11 Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.(Q)
12 Who is the man who delights in life,
loving a long life to enjoy what is good?(R)
13 Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from deceitful speech.(S)
14 Turn away from evil and do what is good;(T)
seek peace and pursue it.(U)
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and His ears are open to their cry for help.(V)
16 The face of the Lord is set
against those who do what is evil,(W)
to erase[e] all memory of them from the earth.(X)
17 The righteous[f] cry out, and the Lord hears,
and delivers them from all their troubles.(Y)
18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
He saves those crushed in spirit.(Z)
19 Many adversities come to the one who is righteous,
but the Lord delivers him from them all.(AA)
20 He protects all his bones;
not one of them is broken.(AB)
21 Evil brings death to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.(AC)
22 The Lord redeems the life of His servants,
and all who take refuge in Him will not be punished.(AD)
Midian Oppresses Israel
6 The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord handed(A) them over to Midian seven years, 2 and they oppressed Israel.(B) Because of Midian, the Israelites made hiding places(C) for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and the Qedemites(D) came and attacked them. 4 They encamped against them and destroyed the produce of the land, even as far as Gaza. They left nothing for Israel to eat, as well as no sheep, ox or donkey. 5 For the Midianites came with their cattle and their tents like a great swarm of locusts. They and their camels were without number, and they entered the land to waste it. 6 So Israel became poverty-stricken because of Midian, and the Israelites cried out to the Lord.
7 When the Israelites cried out to Him because of Midian, 8 the Lord sent a prophet(E) to them. He said to them, “This is what the Lord(F) God of Israel says: ‘I brought you out of Egypt and out of the place of slavery.(G) 9 I delivered you from the power of Egypt and the power of all who oppressed(H) you. I drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 I said to you: I am Yahweh your God. Do not fear the gods of the Amorites whose land you live in. But you did not obey Me.’”
The Lord Calls Gideon
11 The Angel[a] of the Lord(I) came, and He[b] sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was threshing wheat in the wine vat in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12 Then the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said: “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
13 Gideon said to Him, “Please Sir,[c] if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened?[d] And where are all His wonders that our fathers told us about? They said, ‘Hasn’t the Lord brought us out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.”
14 The Lord[e] turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the power of Midian. Am I not sending you?”
15 He said to Him, “Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.”
16 “But I will be with you,”(J) the Lord said to him. “You will strike Midian down as if it were one man.”
17 Then he said to Him, “If I have found favor in Your sight,(K) give me a sign(L) that You are speaking with me. 18 Please do not leave this place until I return to You. Let me bring my gift and set it before You.”
And He said, “I will stay until you return.”
19 So Gideon went and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from a half bushel[f] of flour. He placed the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. He brought them out and offered them to Him under the oak.
20 The Angel of God(M) said to him, “Take the meat with the unleavened bread, put it on this stone, and pour the broth on it.” And he did so.
21 The Angel of the Lord extended the tip of the staff that was in His hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire came up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the Angel of the Lord vanished from his sight.
22 When Gideon realized that He was the Angel of the Lord, he said, “Oh no, Lord God!(N) I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face!”(O)
23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace to you. Don’t be afraid, for you will not die.” 24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it Yahweh Shalom.[g] It is in Ophrah of the Abiezrites until today.
6 Remember this:[a] The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of necessity, for God loves(A) a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able(B) to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work. 9 As it is written:
10 Now the One who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness.(E) 11 You will be enriched(F) in every way for all generosity, which produces thanksgiving to God through us. 12 For the ministry of this service(G) is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing in many acts of thanksgiving to God. 13 They will glorify God for your obedience to the confession of[c] the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity(H) in sharing with them and with others through the proof provided by this service. 14 And they will have deep affection for[d] you in their prayers on your behalf because of the surpassing grace of God in you. 15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.
A House Divided
20 Then He went home, and the crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat.[a] 21 When His family(A) heard this, they set out to restrain Him, because they said, “He’s out of His mind.”(B)
22 The scribes(C) who had come down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul(D) in Him!” and, “He drives out(E) demons(F) by the ruler(G) of the demons!”(H)
23 So He summoned(I) them and spoke to them in parables:(J) “How can Satan(K) drive out Satan?(L) 24 If a kingdom(M) is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan rebels against himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished![b]
27 “On the other hand, no one can enter a strong man’s house and rob his possessions unless he first ties up(N) the strong man. Then he will rob his house. 28 I assure you: People will be forgiven for all sins[c] and whatever blasphemies(O) they may blaspheme. 29 But whoever blasphemes(P) against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness,(Q) but is guilty(R) of an eternal sin”[d](S)— 30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”(T)
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