Book of Common Prayer
The Lord Reigns
97 (A)The Lord reigns, (B)let the earth rejoice;
let the many (C)coastlands be glad!
2 (D)Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;
(E)righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 (F)Fire goes before him
and burns up his adversaries all around.
4 His (G)lightnings light up the world;
the earth sees and (H)trembles.
5 The mountains (I)melt like (J)wax before the Lord,
before (K)the Lord of all the earth.
6 (L)The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all (M)the peoples see his glory.
7 All worshipers of images are (N)put to shame,
who make their boast in (O)worthless idols;
(P)worship him, all you gods!
The Lord Our God Is Holy
99 (A)The Lord reigns; (B)let the peoples tremble!
He (C)sits enthroned upon the cherubim; (D)let the earth quake!
2 The Lord is (E)great in Zion;
he is (F)exalted over all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your (G)great and awesome name!
(H)Holy is he!
4 (I)The King in his might (J)loves justice.[a]
You have established equity;
you have executed justice
and righteousness in Jacob.
5 (K)Exalt the Lord our God;
(L)worship at his (M)footstool!
(N)Holy is he!
6 (O)Moses and Aaron were among his (P)priests,
Samuel also was among those who (Q)called upon his name.
They (R)called to the Lord, and he answered them.
7 In (S)the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;
they (T)kept his testimonies
and the statute that he gave them.
8 O Lord our God, you answered them;
you were (U)a forgiving God to them,
but (V)an avenger of their wrongdoings.
9 Exalt the Lord our God,
and worship at his (W)holy mountain;
for the Lord our God is holy!
His Steadfast Love Endures Forever
A Psalm for (X)giving thanks.
100 (Y)Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 (Z)Serve the Lord with gladness!
(AA)Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that (AB)the Lord, he is God!
It is he who (AC)made us, and (AD)we are his;[b]
we are his (AE)people, and (AF)the sheep of his pasture.
The Lord Will Not Forsake His People
94 O Lord, God of (A)vengeance,
O God of vengeance, (B)shine forth!
2 (C)Rise up, O (D)judge of the earth;
repay to the (E)proud what they deserve!
3 O Lord, (F)how long shall the wicked,
how long shall (G)the wicked exult?
4 They pour out their (H)arrogant words;
all (I)the evildoers boast.
5 They (J)crush your people, O Lord,
and afflict your heritage.
6 They kill (K)the widow and the sojourner,
and murder (L)the fatherless;
7 (M)and they say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
8 (N)Understand, O dullest of the people!
Fools, when will you be wise?
9 (O)He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10 He who (P)disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
He who (Q)teaches man knowledge—
11 (R)the Lord—knows the thoughts of man,
that they are (S)but a breath.[a]
12 (T)Blessed is the man whom you (U)discipline, O Lord,
and whom you teach out of your law,
13 to give him (V)rest from (W)days of trouble,
until (X)a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 (Y)For the Lord will not forsake his (Z)people;
he will not abandon his (AA)heritage;
15 for (AB)justice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will (AC)follow it.
16 (AD)Who rises up for me against the wicked?
Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17 (AE)If the Lord had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the land of (AF)silence.
18 When I thought, (AG)“My foot slips,”
your steadfast love, O Lord, (AH)held me up.
19 When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.
20 Can (AI)wicked rulers be allied with you,
those who frame[b] injustice by (AJ)statute?
21 They (AK)band together against the life of the righteous
and condemn (AL)the innocent to death.[c]
22 But the Lord has become my (AM)stronghold,
and my God (AN)the rock of my (AO)refuge.
23 He will bring back on them (AP)their iniquity
and (AQ)wipe them out for their wickedness;
the Lord our God will wipe them out.
Let Us Sing Songs of Praise
95 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us (AR)make a joyful noise to (AS)the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us (AT)come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us (AU)make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is (AV)a great God,
and a great King (AW)above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for (AX)he made it,
and his hands formed (AY)the dry land.
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us (AZ)kneel before the Lord, our (BA)Maker!
7 For he is our (BB)God,
and we are the people of his (BC)pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
(BD)Today, if you (BE)hear his voice,
8 (BF)do not harden your hearts, as at (BG)Meribah,
as on the day at (BH)Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your fathers put me to the (BI)test
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my (BJ)work.
10 (BK)For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
and they have not known (BL)my ways.”
11 Therefore I (BM)swore in my wrath,
“They shall not enter (BN)my rest.”
David Anointed King
16 The Lord said to Samuel, (A)“How long will you grieve over Saul, since (B)I have rejected him from being king over Israel? (C)Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, (D)for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, (E)‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. (F)And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” 4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city (G)came to meet him trembling and said, (H)“Do you come peaceably?” 5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. (I)Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they came, he looked on (J)Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord's anointed is before him.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, (K)“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, (L)but the Lord looks on the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called (M)Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made (N)Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, (O)“There remains yet the youngest,[a] but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, (P)“Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was (Q)ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, (R)“Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 13 Then Samuel took (S)the horn of oil (T)and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. (U)And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
Prayer for Spiritual Strength
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom (A)every family[a] in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to (B)the riches of his glory (C)he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit (D)in your inner being, 17 (E)so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being (F)rooted and (G)grounded in love, 18 may have strength to (H)comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and (I)height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ (J)that surpasses knowledge, that (K)you may be filled with all (L)the fullness of God.
20 (M)Now to (N)him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, (O)according to the power at work within us, 21 (P)to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
The Cost of Following Jesus
18 Now (A)when Jesus saw a crowd around him, (B)he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 (C)And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave (D)the dead to bury their own dead.”
Jesus Calms a Storm
23 (E)And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but (F)he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, (G)“Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you (H)afraid, (I)O you of little faith?” Then he rose and (J)rebuked the winds and the sea, and (K)there was a great calm. 27 And the men (L)marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even (M)winds and sea obey him?”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.