Book of Common Prayer

God Is King

93 The Lord rules. He is dressed with great power. The Lord has dressed Himself with strength. For sure, the world is built to last. It will not be moved. ² Your throne is set up from long ago. You have always been. ³ The floods have lifted up, O Lord. The floods have lifted up their voice. The floods lift up their beating waves. ⁴ The Lord on high is more powerful than the sound of many waters and the strong waves of the sea. ⁵ Your Word is very sure. O Lord, Your house is holy forever.

A Call to Worship the Lord

96 Sing to the Lord a new song. Let all the earth sing to the Lord. ² Sing to the Lord. Honor His name. Make His saving power known from day to day. ³ Tell of His shining-greatness among the nations. Tell of His wonderful works among all the people. ⁴ For the Lord is great and should be given much praise. He is to be honored with fear above all gods. ⁵ For all the gods of the nations are false gods. But the Lord made the heavens. ⁶ Honor and great power are with Him. Strength and beauty are in His holy place.

⁷ Give to the Lord, O families of the nations, give to the Lord the honor and strength that He should have. ⁸ Give to the Lord the honor of His name. Bring a gift and come into His holy place. ⁹ Worship the Lord in holy clothing. May all the earth shake in fear before Him. ¹⁰ Say among the nations that the Lord rules. The world is built to last. It will not be moved. He will be right when He says who is guilty or not.

¹¹ Let the heavens be glad. And let the earth be full of joy. Let the sea and all that is in it make a loud noise. ¹² Let the fields and all that is in them be full of joy. Then all the trees of the land will sing for joy ¹³ before the Lord. For He is coming. He is coming to say who is guilty or not on the earth. He will be right in what He decides about the world. And He will be faithful to the people.

Those Who Trust in God Are Happy

34 I will honor the Lord at all times. His praise will always be in my mouth. ² My soul will be proud to tell about the Lord. Let those who suffer hear it and be filled with joy. ³ Give great honor to the Lord with me. Let us praise His name together.

⁴ I looked for the Lord, and He answered me. And He took away all my fears. ⁵ They looked to Him and their faces shined with joy. Their faces will never be ashamed. ⁶ This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him. And He saved him out of all his troubles. ⁷ The angel of the Lord stays close around those who fear Him, and He takes them out of trouble.

⁸ O taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the man who trusts in Him! ⁹ O fear the Lord, all you who belong to Him. For those who fear Him never want for anything. ¹⁰ The young lions suffer want and hunger. But they who look for the Lord will not be without any good thing. ¹¹ Come, you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord. ¹² Who is the man who has a desire for life, and wants to live long so that he may see good things? ¹³ Keep your tongue from sin and your lips from speaking lies. ¹⁴ Turn away from what is sinful. Do what is good. Look for peace and follow it.

¹⁵ The eyes of the Lord are on those who do what is right and good. His ears are open to their cry. ¹⁶ The face of the Lord is against those who sin. He will keep the people of the earth from remembering them. ¹⁷ Those who are right with the Lord cry, and He hears them. And He takes them from all their troubles. ¹⁸ The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart. And He saves those who are broken in spirit.

¹⁹ A man who does what is right and good may have many troubles. But the Lord takes him out of them all. ²⁰ He keeps all his bones safe. Not one of them is broken. ²¹ Sin will kill the sinful. And those who hate God’s people will be held guilty and punished forever. ²² The Lord saves the soul of those who work for Him. None of those who trust in Him will be held guilty.

Speaking in Special Sounds Is Not the Greatest Gift

14 You should want to have this love. You should want the gifts of the Holy Spirit and most of all to be able to speak God’s Word. ² The man who speaks in special sounds speaks to God. He is not speaking to men. No one understands. He is speaking secret things through the power of the Holy Spirit. ³ The man who speaks God’s Word speaks to men. It helps them to learn and understand. It gives them comfort. ⁴ The man who speaks in special sounds receives strength. The man who speaks God’s Word gives strength to the church. ⁵ I wish all of you spoke in special sounds. But more than that, I wish all of you spoke God’s Word. The one who speaks God’s Word has a more important gift than the one who speaks in special sounds. But if he can tell what he is speaking, the church will be helped. ⁶ Christian brothers, if I come to you speaking in special sounds, what good is it to you? But if I tell you something God has shown me or something I have learned or what God’s Word says will happen in the future or teach you God’s Word, it will be for your good.

⁷ There are things on which people play music. If strange sounds are made on these, how will others know which one is played? ⁸ If a horn does not make a good sound, how will men know they are to get ready to fight? ⁹ It is the same if you speak to a person in special sounds. How will he know what you say? Your sounds will be lost in the air. ¹⁰ There are many languages in the world. All of them have meaning to the people who understand them. ¹¹ But if I do not understand the language someone uses to speak to me, the man who speaks is a stranger to me. I am a stranger to him. ¹² Since you want gifts from the Holy Spirit, ask for those that will build up the whole church.

The Picture-Story of the Workmen in the Grape-Field

20 “For the holy nation of heaven is like the owner of a grape-field. He went out early in the morning to hire workmen to work in his grape-field. ² He promised to give them a day’s pay and then sent them to his grape-field. ³ Later in the morning he went to the center of the town where people gather. He saw men standing there doing nothing. ⁴ He said to them, ‘You go to my grape-field and work also. Whatever is right, I will pay you.’ And they went. ⁵ Again he went out about noon and at three o’clock and did the same thing. ⁶ About five o’clock he went out and still found others doing nothing. He asked them, ‘Why do you stand here all day and do nothing?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said, ‘Go to my grape-field and work. Whatever is right, I will pay you.’

⁸ “When evening came, the owner of the grape-field said to the boss of the workmen, ‘Call the workmen. Give them their pay. Start with the last ones hired and go on to the first ones hired.’ ⁹ The workmen who had been hired at five o’clock came up. Each one of them got a day’s pay for his work. ¹⁰ When the workmen who had been hired the first thing in the morning came, they thought they would get more. But each one got a day’s pay. ¹¹ After they received it, they talked against the owner. ¹² They said, ‘The last workmen hired have only worked one hour. You have given to them the same as to us. We have worked hard through the heat of the day.’ ¹³ But he said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me when I promised to pay you a day’s pay? ¹⁴ Take your pay and go. I want to give the last ones hired the same as I have given you. ¹⁵ Do I not have the right to do what I want to do with my own money? Does your eye make you want more because I am good?’ ¹⁶ So those who are last will be first and the first will be last.”