Book of Common Prayer
The Lord’s Power and Dominion.
97 (A)The Lord [a]reigns, may the (B)earth rejoice;
May the many [b](C)islands be joyful.
2 (D)Clouds and thick darkness surround Him;
(E)Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
3 (F)Fire goes before Him
And (G)burns up His enemies all around.
4 His (H)lightning lit up the world;
The earth saw it and (I)trembled.
5 The mountains (J)melted like wax at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the (K)Lord of the whole earth.
6 The (L)heavens declare His righteousness,
And (M)all the peoples have seen His glory.
7 May all those be ashamed who serve (N)carved images,
Who boast in (O)idols;
[c](P)Worship Him, all you [d]gods.
8 Zion [e]heard this and (Q)was joyful,
And the daughters of Judah have rejoiced
Because of Your judgments, Lord.
9 For You are the Lord (R)Most High over all the earth;
You are exalted far (S)above all [f]gods.
10 (T)Hate evil, you who love the Lord,
Who (U)watches over the souls of His godly ones;
He (V)saves them from the hand of the wicked.
11 (W)Light is sown like seed for the righteous,
And (X)gladness for the upright in heart.
12 Be (Y)joyful in the Lord, you righteous ones,
And (Z)praise [g]the mention of His holy name.
Praise to the Lord for His Faithfulness to Israel.
99 (A)The Lord reigns, [a]the peoples tremble!
He (B)sits enthroned above the cherubim, [b]the earth quakes!
2 The Lord [c]is (C)great in Zion,
And He is (D)exalted above all the peoples.
3 May they praise Your (E)great and awesome name;
(F)Holy is [d]He.
4 The [e]strength of the King (G)loves [f]justice;
You have established [g](H)order;
You have (I)executed [h]justice and righteousness in Jacob.
5 [i](J)Exalt the Lord our God
And (K)worship at His footstool;
(L)Holy is He.
6 (M)Moses and Aaron were among His (N)priests,
And (O)Samuel was among those who (P)called on His name;
They (Q)called upon the Lord and He answered them.
7 He (R)spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
They (S)kept His testimonies
And the statute that He gave them.
8 Lord our God, You (T)answered them;
You were a (U)forgiving God to them,
And yet an (V)avenger of their evil deeds.
9 Exalt the Lord our God
And worship at His holy hill,
For the Lord our God is holy.
All People Exhorted to Praise God.
A Psalm for [j]Thanksgiving.
The Lord Implored to Avenge His People.
94 Lord, God of [a](A)vengeance,
God of [b]vengeance, [c](B)shine forth!
2 (C)Rise up, (D)Judge of the earth,
Pay back retribution (E)to the proud.
3 How long, Lord, shall the wicked—
How long shall the (F)wicked triumph?
4 They pour out words, they (G)speak arrogantly;
All who do injustice (H)boast.
5 They (I)crush Your people, Lord,
And (J)afflict Your inheritance.
6 They (K)kill the widow and the stranger
And murder the orphans.
7 (L)They have said, “[d]The Lord does not see,
Nor does the God of Jacob perceive.”
8 Pay attention, you (M)stupid ones among the people;
And when will you understand, (N)foolish ones?
9 He who (O)planted the ear, [e]does He not hear?
Or He who formed the eye, [f]does He not see?
10 He who [g](P)disciplines the nations, will He not rebuke,
He who (Q)teaches mankind knowledge?
11 The Lord (R)knows human thoughts,
[h]That they are mere breath.
12 Blessed is the man whom (S)You discipline, [i]Lord,
And (T)whom You teach from Your Law,
13 So that You may grant him (U)relief from the (V)days of adversity,
Until (W)a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For (X)the Lord will not abandon His people,
Nor will He (Y)abandon His inheritance.
15 For [j](Z)judgment [k]will again be righteous,
And all the upright in heart [l]will follow it.
16 Who will (AA)stand up for me against evildoers?
Who will take his stand for me (AB)against those who do injustice?
17 If (AC)the Lord had not been my help,
My soul would soon have dwelt in the land of silence.
18 If I should say, “(AD)My foot has slipped,”
Your faithfulness, Lord, will support me.
19 When my anxious thoughts [m]multiply within me,
Your (AE)comfort delights my soul.
20 Can a [n](AF)throne of destruction be allied with You,
One (AG)which devises [o]mischief by decree?
21 They (AH)band themselves together against the [p]life of the righteous
And (AI)condemn [q]the innocent to death.
22 But the Lord has been my (AJ)refuge,
And my God the (AK)rock of my refuge.
23 He has (AL)brought back their injustice upon them,
And He will [r](AM)destroy them in their evil;
The Lord our God will [s]destroy them.
Praise to the Lord and Warning against Unbelief.
95 Come, let’s (AN)sing for joy to the Lord,
Let’s shout joyfully to (AO)the rock of our salvation.
2 Let’s (AP)come before His presence (AQ)with a song of thanksgiving,
Let’s shout joyfully to Him (AR)in songs with instruments.
3 For the Lord is a (AS)great God
And a great King (AT)above all gods,
4 In whose hand are the (AU)depths of the earth,
The peaks of the mountains are also His.
5 [t]The sea is His, for it was He (AV)who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let’s (AW)worship and bow down,
Let’s (AX)kneel before the Lord our (AY)Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And (AZ)we are the people of His [u](BA)pasture and the sheep of His hand.
(BB)Today, [v]if you will hear His voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts as at [w](BC)Meribah,
As on the day of [x](BD)Massah in the wilderness,
9 “When your fathers (BE)put Me to the test,
They tested Me, though they had seen My work.
10 For (BF)forty years I was disgusted with that generation,
And said they are a people who err in their heart,
And they do not know My ways.
11 Therefore I (BG)swore in My anger,
They certainly shall not enter My (BH)rest.”
God’s Ancient Mercies Recalled
7 I will make mention of the (A)mercies of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord,
According to all that the Lord has granted us,
And the great (B)goodness toward the house of Israel,
Which He has granted them according to His (C)compassion
And according to the abundance of His mercies.
8 For He said, “Certainly they are (D)My people,
Sons who will not deal falsely.”
So He became their (E)Savior.
9 In all their distress [a](F)He was distressed,
And the (G)angel of His presence saved them;
In His (H)love and in His mercy He (I)redeemed them,
And He (J)lifted them and carried them all the days of old.
10 But they (K)rebelled
And grieved His (L)Holy Spirit;
Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy,
He fought against them.
11 Then (M)His people remembered the days of old, of Moses.
Where is (N)He who brought them up out of the sea with the [b]shepherds of His flock?
Where is He who (O)put His Holy Spirit in the midst of [c]them,
12 Who caused His (P)glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses,
Who (Q)divided the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name,
13 Who led them through the depths?
Like the horse in the wilderness, they did not (R)stumble;
14 Like the cattle which go down into the valley,
The Spirit of the (S)Lord gave [d]them rest.
So You (T)led Your people,
To make for Yourself a glorious name.
18 This (A)command I entrust to you, Timothy, (B)my [a]son, in accordance with the (C)prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you (D)fight the good fight, 19 keeping (E)faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to [b](F)their faith. 20 [c]Among these are (G)Hymenaeus and (H)Alexander, whom I have (I)handed over to Satan, so that they will be (J)taught not to blaspheme.
A Call to Prayer
2 First of all, then, I urge that (K)requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made in behalf of all people, 2 (L)for kings and all who are in [d]authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and [e]dignity. 3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of (M)God our Savior, 4 (N)who wants all people to be (O)saved and to (P)come to the [f]knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is (Q)one God, and (R)one mediator also between God and mankind, the (S)Man Christ Jesus, 6 who (T)gave Himself as a ransom for all, the (U)testimony [g]given at [h](V)the proper time. 7 (W)For this I was appointed as a [i]preacher and (X)an apostle ((Y)I am telling the truth, I am not lying), as a teacher of (Z)the Gentiles in faith and truth.
Instructions for Believers
8 Therefore (AA)I want the men (AB)in every place to pray, (AC)lifting up (AD)holy hands, without anger and dispute.
12 (A)On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. 13 Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 And He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.
Jesus Drives Money Changers from the Temple
15 (B)Then they *came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple area and began to drive out those who were selling and buying on the temple grounds, and He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling [a]doves; 16 and He would not allow anyone to carry [b]merchandise through the temple grounds. 17 And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written: ‘(C)My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? (D)But you have made it a den of robbers.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard this, and they (E)began seeking how to put Him to death; for they were afraid of Him, because all (F)the crowd was astonished at His teaching.
19 And (G)whenever evening came, [c]they would leave the city.
20 (H)As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. 21 And being reminded, Peter *said to Him, “(I)Rabbi, look, the fig tree that You cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered and *said to them, “(J)Have faith in God. 23 (K)Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted to him. 24 Therefore, I say to you, (L)all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted to you. 25 And whenever you (M)stand praying, (N)forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you for your [d]offenses. 26 [[e](O)But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your [f]offenses.”]
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.