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)
Birth of Samson
13 The Israelites again did what was evil in the Lord’s sight,(A) so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines forty years. 2 There was a certain man from Zorah,(B) from the family of Dan, whose name was Manoah; his wife was unable to conceive and had no children. 3 The angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Although you are unable to conceive and have no children, you will conceive and give birth to a son. 4 Now please be careful not to drink wine or beer,(C) or to eat anything unclean;(D) 5 for indeed, you will conceive and give birth to a son. You must never cut his hair,[a] because the boy will be a Nazirite(E) to God from birth, and he will begin to save Israel from the power of the Philistines.”
6 Then the woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me. He looked like the awe-inspiring angel of God. I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. 7 He said to me, ‘You will conceive and give birth to a son. Therefore, do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from birth until the day of his death.’”
8 Manoah prayed(F) to the Lord and said, “Please, Lord, let the man of God you sent come again to us and teach us what we should do for the boy who will be born.”
9 God listened(G) to Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman. She was sitting in the field, and her husband, Manoah, was not with her. 10 The woman ran quickly to her husband and told him, “The man who came to me the other day has just come back!”
11 So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he asked, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?”
“I am,” he said.
12 Then Manoah asked, “When your words come true, what will be the boy’s responsibilities and work?”
13 The angel of the Lord answered Manoah, “Your wife needs to do everything I told her. 14 She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine or drink wine or beer. And she must not eat anything unclean. Your wife must do everything I have commanded her.”
15 “Please stay here,” Manoah told him, “and we will prepare a young goat(H) for you.”
27 After they brought them in, they had them stand before the Sanhedrin, and the high priest asked, 28 “Didn’t we strictly order you not to teach in this name?(A) Look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”(B)
29 Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than people. 30 The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus,(C) whom you had murdered by hanging him on a tree.(D) 31 God exalted this man to his right hand as ruler and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.(E) 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit(F) whom God has given to those who obey him.”
Gamaliel’s Advice
33 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.(G) 34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was respected by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered the men[a] to be taken outside for a little while.(H) 35 He said to them, “Men of Israel, be careful about what you’re about to do to these men. 36 Some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, and all his followers were dispersed and came to nothing.(I) 37 After this man, Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and attracted a following. He also perished, and all his followers were scattered. 38 So in the present case, I tell you, stay away from these men and leave them alone. For if this plan or this work is of human origin, it will fail;(J) 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even be found fighting against God.” They were persuaded by him.(K) 40 After they called in the apostles and had them flogged, they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them.(L) 41 Then they went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be treated shamefully on behalf of the Name.[b](M) 42 Every day in the temple, and in various homes, they continued teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.
Jesus and John the Baptist
22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went to the Judean countryside, where he spent time with them and baptized.
23 John(A) also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water there. People were coming and being baptized, 24 since John had not yet been thrown into prison.(B)
25 Then a dispute arose between John’s disciples(C) and a Jew[a] about purification.(D) 26 So they came to John and told him, “Rabbi,(E) the one you testified about, and who was with you across the Jordan,(F) is baptizing—and everyone is going to him.”(G)
27 John responded, “No one can receive anything unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah,(H) but I’ve been sent ahead of him.’(I) 29 He who has the bride(J) is the groom. But the groom’s friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly[b] at the groom’s voice. So this joy(K) of mine is complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”
The One from Heaven
31 The one who comes from above(L) is above all. The one who is from the earth is earthly and speaks in earthly terms.[c] The one who comes from heaven is above all.(M) 32 He testifies(N) to what he has seen and heard, and yet no one accepts his testimony. 33 The one who has accepted his testimony has affirmed that God is true.(O) 34 For the one whom God sent speaks God’s words, since he[d] gives the Spirit(P) without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son(Q) and has given all things into his hands.(R) 36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son[e] will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.(S)
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