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”!
8 Zion hears and rejoices;
the towns[a] of Judah rejoice
on account of your justice, Lord.
9 For you, Lord, are the Most High above all the earth;
you are exalted high above all divine beings.[b]
10 Hate evil, you who love the Lord!
He guards the lives of those who love him,[c]
delivering them from domination by[d] the wicked.
11 Light shines on the righteous;
gladness on the morally upright.[e]
12 Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones!
Give thanks at the mention of his holiness!
A psalm
Sing Praise to the King
98 Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done awesome deeds!
His right hand and powerful[f] arm[g]
have brought him victory.
2 The Lord has made his deliverance known;
he has disclosed his justice before the nations.
3 He has remembered his gracious love;
his faithfulness toward the house of Israel;
all the ends of the earth saw our God’s deliverance.
4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Break forth into joyful songs of praise!
5 Sing praises to the Lord with a lyre—
with a lyre and a melodious song!
6 With trumpets and the sound of a ram’s horn
shout in the presence of the Lord, the king!
7 Let the sea and everything in it shout,[h]
along with the world and its inhabitants;
8 let the rivers clap their hands in unison;
and let the mountains sing for joy
9 in the Lord’s presence, who comes to judge the earth;
He’ll judge the world righteously;
and its people fairly.
The Agelessness of Wisdom
22 “The Lord made me as he began his planning,[a]
before his ancient activity commenced.
23 From eternity I was appointed,
from the beginning,
from before there was land.
24 When there were no ocean depths,
I brought them[b] to birth
at a time when there were no springs.
25 Before the mountains were shaped,
before there were hills,
I was bringing them[c] to birth.
26 Even though he had not made the earth, nor the fields,
nor the world’s first grains of dust,
27 when he crafted the heavens,
I was there—
when he marked out a circle on the face of the deep,
28 when he made the clouds from above,
when the springs of the depths were established,
29 when he set a boundary for the sea
so the waters would not exceed his limits,[d]
when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
30 Then I was with him, his master craftsman—
I was his delight[e] daily,
continuously rejoicing in his presence,
20 Truly, I tell all of you[a] emphatically, the one who receives whomever I send receives me, and the one who receives me receives the one who sent me.”
Jesus Predicts His Betrayal(A)
21 After saying this, Jesus was deeply troubled in spirit and declared solemnly, “Truly, I tell all of you[b] emphatically, one of you is going to betray me!” 22 The disciples began looking at one another, completely mystified about whom he was speaking. 23 One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus kept loving, had been sitting very close to him.
24 So Simon Peter motioned to this man to ask Jesus about whom he was speaking. 25 Leaning forward on Jesus’ chest, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”
26 Jesus answered, “He is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread after I have dipped it in the dish.”[c]
Then he took a piece of bread, dipped it, and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.[d] 27 After he had taken the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus told him, “Do quickly what you are going to do!” 28 Now no one at the table knew why Jesus[e] said this to him. 29 Some thought that, since Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him to buy what they needed for the festival or to give something to the destitute. 30 So Judas[f] took the piece of bread, immediately went outside…and it was night.
The New Commandment
31 After Judas[g] had gone out, Jesus said, “The Son of Man is now glorified, and God has been glorified by him. 32 If God has been glorified by him,[h] God himself also will glorify the Son of Man,[i] and he will do so[j] quickly. 33 Little children, I’m with you only a little longer. You will look for me, but what I told the Jewish leaders[k] I now tell you, ‘Where I’m going, you cannot come.’ 34 I’m giving you a new commandment…to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
A Davidic Psalm[a]
Praising God for His Works
145 I will speak highly of you, my God and King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
2 I will bless you every day
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
3 The Lord is great,
and to be praised highly,
though his greatness is indescribable.
4 One generation will acclaim your works to another
and will describe your mighty actions.
5 I[b] will speak about the glorious splendor of your majesty
as well as[c] your awesome actions.
6 People[d] will speak about the might of your great deeds,
and I will announce your greatness.
7 They will extol the fame of your abundant goodness,
and will sing out loud about your righteousness.
8 Gracious and merciful is the Lord,
slow to become angry,
and overflowing with gracious love.
9 The Lord is good to everyone
and his mercies extend to everything he does.
10 Lord, everything you have done will praise you,
and your holy ones will bless you.
11 They will speak about the glory of your kingdom,
and they will talk about your might,
12 in order to make known your mighty acts to mankind[e]
as well as the majestic splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your authority endures from one generation to another.
13b God[f] is faithful about everything he says
and merciful in everything he does.
14 The Lord supports everyone who falls
and raises up those who are bowed down.
15 Everyone’s eyes are on you,
as you give them their food in due time.
16 You[g] open your hand
and keep on satisfying the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all of his ways
and graciously loving in all of his activities.
18 The Lord remains near to all who call out to him,
to everyone who calls out to him sincerely.[h]
19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him,
hearing their cry and saving them.
20 The Lord preserves everyone who loves him,
but he will destroy all of the wicked.
21 My mouth will praise the Lord,
and all creatures will bless his holy name forever and ever.
Faith Overcomes the World
5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah[a] has been born from God, and everyone who loves the parent also loves the child. 2 This is how we know that we love God’s children: we love God and keep his commandments. 3 For this demonstrates our love for God: We keep his commandments, and his commandments are not difficult, 4 because everyone who is born from God has overcome the world. Our faith is the victory that overcomes the world. 5 Who overcomes the world? Is it not the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
6 This man, Jesus the Messiah,[b] is the one who came by water and blood—not with water only, but with water and with blood. The Spirit is the one who verifies this, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three witnesses in heaven—the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one.[c] 8 And there are three witness on earth—the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and these three are one.
9 If we accept human testimony, God’s testimony is greater, because it is the testimony of God and because he has testified about his Son. 10 The person who believes in the Son of God believes this testimony personally.[d] The person who does not believe God[e] has made him a liar by not believing the testimony that he[f] has given about his Son.
11 This is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is found in his Son. 12 The person who has the Son has this life. The person who does not have the Son of God does not have this life.
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