Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 97
The Majestic King
1 The Lord reigns! Let the earth rejoice;
let the many coasts and islands be glad.(A)
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround Him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.(B)
3 Fire goes before Him
and burns up His foes on every side.(C)
4 His lightning lights up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.(D)
5 The mountains melt like wax
at the presence of the Lord—
at the presence of the Lord of all the earth.(E)
7 All who serve carved images,
those who boast in idols, will be put to shame.(H)
All the gods[a] must worship Him.(I)
Psalm 99
The King Is Holy
1 The Lord reigns! Let the peoples tremble.
He is enthroned above the cherubim.(A)
Let the earth quake.(B)
2 Yahweh is great in Zion;
He is exalted above all the peoples.(C)
3 Let them praise Your great
and awe-inspiring name.(D)
He is holy.(E)
4 The mighty King loves justice.
You have established fairness;
You have administered justice
and righteousness in Jacob.(F)
5 Exalt the Lord our God;
bow in worship at His footstool.(G)
He is holy.(H)
6 Moses and Aaron were among His priests;(I)
Samuel also was among those calling on His name.
They called to Yahweh and He answered them.(J)
7 He spoke to them in a pillar of cloud;(K)
they kept His decrees and the statutes He gave them.
8 Lord our God, You answered them.
You were a forgiving God to them,(L)
an avenger of their sinful actions.(M)
9 Exalt the Lord our God;
bow in worship at His holy mountain,
for the Lord our God is holy.(N)
Psalm 100
Be Thankful
A psalm of thanksgiving.
1 Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth.(O)
2 Serve the Lord with gladness;
come before Him with joyful songs.(P)
3 Acknowledge that Yahweh is God.
He made us, and we are His[a](Q) —
His people, the sheep of His pasture.(R)
4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving(S)
and His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him and praise His name.(T)
5 For Yahweh is good, and His love is eternal;
His faithfulness endures through all generations.
Psalm 94
The Just Judge
1 Lord, God of vengeance—
God of vengeance, appear.(A)
2 Rise up, Judge of the earth;
repay the proud what they deserve.(B)
3 Lord, how long will the wicked—
how long will the wicked gloat?(C)
4 They pour out arrogant words;
all the evildoers boast.(D)
5 Lord, they crush Your people;
they afflict Your heritage.(E)
6 They kill the widow and the foreigner
and murder the fatherless.(F)
7 They say, “The Lord doesn’t see it.
The God of Jacob doesn’t pay attention.”(G)
8 Pay attention, you stupid people!
Fools, when will you be wise?(H)
9 Can the One who shaped the ear not hear,
the One who formed the eye not see?(I)
10 The One who instructs nations,
the One who teaches man knowledge—
does He not discipline?(J)
11 The Lord knows man’s thoughts;
they are meaningless.(K)
12 Lord, happy is the man You discipline
and teach from Your law(L)
13 to give him relief from troubled times
until a pit is dug for the wicked.(M)
14 The Lord will not forsake His people
or abandon His heritage,(N)
15 for justice will again be righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow[a] it.(O)
16 Who stands up for me against the wicked?
Who takes a stand for me against evildoers?(P)
17 If the Lord had not been my helper,
I would soon rest in the silence of death.(Q)
18 If I say, “My foot is slipping,”
Your faithful love will support me, Lord.(R)
19 When I am filled with cares,
Your comfort brings me joy.(S)
20 Can a corrupt throne—
one that creates trouble by law—
become Your ally?(T)
21 They band together against the life of the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death.(U)
22 But the Lord is my refuge;
my God is the rock of my protection.(V)
23 He will pay them back for their sins
and destroy them for their evil.
The Lord our God will destroy them.(W)
Psalm 95
Worship and Warning
1 Come, let us shout joyfully to the Lord,
shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation!(X)
2 Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving;
let us shout triumphantly to Him in song.(Y)
3 For the Lord is a great God,
a great King above all gods.(Z)
4 The depths of the earth are in His hand,
and the mountain peaks are His.(AA)
5 The sea is His; He made it.
His hands formed the dry land.(AB)
6 Come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.(AC)
7 For He is our God,
and we are the people of His pasture,
the sheep under His care.[b](AD)
Today, if you hear His voice:(AE)
8 Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the wilderness(AF)
9 where your fathers tested Me;
they tried Me, though they had seen what I did.(AG)
10 For 40 years I was disgusted with that generation;
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray;
they do not know My ways.”(AH)
11 So I swore in My anger,
“They will not enter My rest.”(AI)
Remembrance of Grace
7 I will make known the Lord’s faithful love
and the Lord’s praiseworthy acts,
because of all the Lord has done for us—
even the many good things
He has done for the house of Israel
and has done for them based on His compassion
and the abundance of His faithful love.
8 He said, “They are indeed My people,
children who will not be disloyal,”
and He became their Savior.
9 In all their suffering, He suffered,[a](A)
and the Angel of His Presence saved them.
He redeemed them
because of His love and compassion;(B)
He lifted them up and carried them
all the days of the past.(C)
10 But they rebelled
and grieved His Holy Spirit.(D)
So He became their enemy
and fought against them.
11 Then He[b] remembered the days of the past,
the days of Moses and his people.
Where is He who brought them out of the sea
with the shepherds[c] of His flock?
Where is He who put His Holy Spirit among the flock?
12 He sent His glorious arm
to be at Moses’ right hand,
divided the waters before them(E)
to obtain eternal fame for Himself,
13 and led them through the depths
like a horse in the wilderness,
so that they did not stumble.
14 Like cattle that go down into the valley,
the Spirit of the Lord gave them[d] rest.
You led Your people this way
to make a glorious name for Yourself.
Engage in Battle
18 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies(A) previously made about you, so that by them you may strongly engage in battle, 19 having faith(B) and a good conscience.(C) Some(D) have rejected these and have suffered the shipwreck of their faith. 20 Hymenaeus(E) and Alexander(F) are among them, and I have delivered them to Satan,(G) so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.
Instructions on Prayer
2 First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all those who are in authority,(H) so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness(I) and dignity.(J) 3 This is good, and it pleases God our Savior,(K) 4 who wants everyone(L) to be saved(M) and to come to the knowledge of the truth.(N)
5 For there is one God(O)
and one mediator(P) between God and humanity,
Christ Jesus, Himself human,(Q)
6 who gave Himself—a ransom for all,(R)
a testimony at the proper time.
7 For this I was appointed a herald, an apostle(S) (I am telling the truth;[a] I am not lying), and a teacher of the Gentiles(T) in faith and truth.
Instructions to Men and Women
8 Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument.(U)
The Barren Fig Tree Is Cursed
12 The(A) next day when they came out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13 After seeing in the distance a fig(B) tree with leaves, He went to find out if there was anything on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit(C) from you again!”(D) And His disciples(E) heard it.
Cleansing the Temple Complex
15 They came to Jerusalem,(F) and He went into the temple complex(G) and began to throw out those buying and selling in the temple. He overturned the money changers’(H) tables and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple complex.
17 Then He began to teach them: “Is it not written,(I) My house(J) will be called a house of prayer(K) for all nations?[a] But you have made it a den of thieves!”(L)[b] 18 Then the chief priests and the scribes(M) heard it and started looking for a way to destroy Him. For they were afraid(N) of Him, because the whole crowd was astonished by His teaching.
19 And whenever evening came, they would go out of the city.
The Barren Fig Tree Is Withered
20 Early(O) in the morning, as they were passing by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. 21 Then Peter(P) remembered and said to Him, “Rabbi,(Q) look! The fig tree that You cursed(R) is withered.”
22 Jesus replied to them, “Have faith in God.(S) 23 I assure you:(T) If anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt(U) in his heart, but believes(V) that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.(W) 24 Therefore I tell you, all the things you pray(X) and ask for(Y)—believe that you have received[c](Z) them, and you will have them. 25 And whenever you stand(AA) praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive(AB) him, so that your Father(AC) in heaven(AD) will also forgive(AE) you your wrongdoing. [26 But if you don’t forgive, neither will your Father in heaven(AF) forgive your wrongdoing.]”[d][e]
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