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 total 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 the whole earth.(E)
7 All who serve carved images,
those who boast in worthless 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 between the cherubim.(A)
Let the earth quake.(B)
2 The Lord 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 the Lord 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)
but 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 Let the whole earth shout triumphantly to the Lord!(O)
2 Serve the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.(P)
3 Acknowledge that the Lord 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 bless his name.(T)
5 For the Lord is good, and his faithful love endures forever;
his faithfulness, through all generations.
Psalm 94
The Just Judge
1 Lord, God of vengeance—
God of vengeance, shine!(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 celebrate?(C)
4 They pour out arrogant words;
all the evildoers boast.(D)
5 Lord, they crush your people;
they oppress your heritage.(E)
6 They kill the widow and the resident alien
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 mankind knowledge—
does he not discipline?(J)
11 The Lord knows the thoughts of mankind;
they are futile.(K)
12 Lord, how happy is anyone 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 leave his people
or abandon his heritage,(N)
15 for the administration of 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 be your ally,
a throne that makes evil laws?(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’s shout joyfully to the Lord,
shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation!(X)
2 Let’s enter his presence with thanksgiving;
let’s 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’s worship and bow down;
let’s 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 ancestors tested me;
they tried me, though they had seen what I did.(AG)
10 For forty 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)
20 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, 21 “Separate yourselves from this community so I may consume them instantly.”(A)
22 But Moses and Aaron fell facedown(B) and said, “God, God who gives breath to all,[a](C) when one man sins, will you vent your wrath on the whole community?” (D)
23 The Lord replied to Moses, 24 “Tell the community: Get away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
25 Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26 He warned the community, “Get away now from the tents of these wicked men. Don’t touch anything that belongs to them,(E) or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”(F) 27 So they got away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Meanwhile, Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrance of their tents with their wives, children, and infants.
28 Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the Lord sent me(G) to do all these things and that it was not of my own will: 29 If these men die naturally as all people would, and suffer the fate of all, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But if the Lord brings about something unprecedented, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them along with all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol,(H) then you will know that these men have despised the Lord.”
31 Just as he finished speaking all these words, the ground beneath them split open. 32 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, all Korah’s people,(I) and all their possessions. 33 They went down alive into Sheol with all that belonged to them. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly. 34 At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled because they thought, “The earth may swallow us too!” 35 Fire also came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were presenting the incense.(J)
Abraham Justified by Faith
4 What then will we say that Abraham, our forefather(A) according to the flesh, has found?[a] 2 If Abraham was justified[b] by works,(B) he has something to boast about—but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness.[c](C) 4 Now to the one who works,(D) pay is not credited as a gift, but as something owed. 5 But to the one who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly,(E) his faith is credited for righteousness.
David Celebrating the Same Truth
6 Likewise, David also speaks of the blessing of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
7 Blessed are those whose lawless acts are forgiven
and whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the person
the Lord will never charge with sin.[d](F)
Abraham Justified before Circumcision
9 Is this blessing only for the circumcised,(G) then? Or is it also for the uncircumcised? For we say, Faith was credited to Abraham for righteousness.[e](H) 10 In what way, then, was it credited—while he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? It was not while he was circumcised, but uncircumcised. 11 And he received the sign of circumcision(I) as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith[f](J) while still uncircumcised. This was to make him the father(K) of all who believe(L) but are not circumcised, so that righteousness may be credited to them also. 12 And he became the father of the circumcised, who are not only circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith our father Abraham had while he was still uncircumcised.
Possessions and the Kingdom
23 Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.(A) 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”(B)
25 When the disciples heard this, they were utterly astonished and asked, “Then who can be saved?”
26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”(C)
27 Then Peter responded to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you. So what will there be for us?”
28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things,(D) when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne,(E) you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother[a] or children or fields because of my name will receive a hundred times more and will inherit eternal life.(F) 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.(G)
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